Firefighter Pedesorm
| Firefighter Pedesorm | ||
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| (Podostracon ignipraeliator) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Bufforpington Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/167 | |
| Habitat | Maineiac Temperate Woodland, Maineiac Bush, Maineiac Plains | |
| Size | 6 cm Tall | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Unknown | |
| Diet | Herbivore (Marbleflora, Pioneeroots, Chitjorns, Rustmolds, Cryobowls, Glaalgaes, Larands, Toxiglobes, Sunstalks, Supershrooms, Vingrasions, Yanisflora, Tetrabrachs (Saplings), Auger Prongion (Saplings)), Detritivore, Coprophagic | |
| Respiration | Unknown | |
| Thermoregulation | Ectotherm | |
| Reproduction | Sexual, Two Sexes, Snail-Like Eggs Buried Underground, Very Fast Breeder | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Binucleozoa Symbiovermes (info) Conchovermizoa (info) Euconchovermes Cursorilimaces Podostracidae Podostracon Podostracon ignipraeliator | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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As Maineiac expanded into Lamarck, the island's biosphere has changed, with many new biomes appearing. However, many of them lack the landmass' signature small generalist group, the Pedesorms. It was only a matter of time before this diverse clade radiated further into uncharted territory. The firefighter pedesorm has colonized the new temperate biomes on the western side of the landmass, primarily inhabiting drier grasslands and scrublands. Their ancestry is of a mixture between the cavern and plains-dwelling miner pedesorm subspecies, which spread into the bush and plains from the east. Without the usual cave flora or dry shrubites to inhabit, this new population of pedesorms took on a new lifestyle in order to adapt to their new environment.
The firefighter pedesorm's only major physical change from its ancestor is its trunk-claw. The front of the claw is scythe-like, which it uses to cut down flora. The back of the claw is adze-like, which cuts into the soil and roots up the rootstock of the flora it is eating.
The firefighter pedesorm's shell grows exactly the same as its ancestors'. The hard materials it consumes will be incorporated into its shell. Sometimes, this results in a cyan or green shell from glassflora or chitjorn chitin. However, more often than not, the shell is black due to the consumption of soil and rock. Black-shelled firefighter pedesorms are the most common, comprising about 70% of individuals. Blue-shelled pedesorms are the second most common, with 20% of individuals having this color. Green-shelled pedesorms are the rarest, only making up 10% of the population.
The firefighter pedesorm's biggest changes are in its behavior. Like its plains-dwelling ancestor, it is gregarious and will gather and cooperate to a certain extent in gathering and consuming food. However, without any dry shrubites to mine, its target has changed to the small, low-growing flora of its habitats. They will gather in large numbers and voraciously devour everything they can, stripping the ground bare. Any pioneer flora that attempts to take root in this void will also be consumed, creating a roughly circular patch of bare earth that can grow up to three meters wide. This patch is called a forum. A group of firefighter pedesorms, referred to as a squad, often patrols the edge of the forum, with some in the center. They will spend much of their time grazing on the flora on the edge of the forum, while maintaining the center if food is available. The size of the forum will vary depending on the number of pedesorms in the squad that maintains it, and it will stop growing once the rate of plant growth outpaces the squad's feeding.
Firefighter pedesorms are incredibly skittish, with the squad always being on the lookout for predators. If they feel one stomping around or see one in their general direction, they will dart into the overgrowth that surrounds the forum and hide in it for protection. Often the unlucky few in the center of the forum are the ones to be picked off. However, this behavior still greatly reduces mortality among firefighter pedesorms. Forums sometimes will link up, but this often harms the firefighter pedesorm's ability to find shelter and may lead to the collapse of the forums. This is especially true when a forum is surrounded on all sides by other forums. However, rare ring or line-shaped configurations of forums will sometimes appear and persist for extended periods of time.
The firefighter pedesorm's namesake comes from its relationship with wildfires. The forum's main purpose is to provide protection from them. When a wildfire erupts, the squad will retreat to the center of the forum to avoid the flames, which cannot reach them due to the ground being stripped of all fuel. This, however, can be a double-edged sword, as predators following the flames can come across a forum and eat their fill of pedesorms while they are attempting to shelter from the flames. More often though, other small fauna will use the forum and hide among the squad to evade the flames. Ring-shaped forum configurations offer a unique advantage, as the island of flora in the center is protected from the flames. If a predator attempts to attack ring forum-dwelling squads, they will flee into the central island for protection. This leads to ring configurations being the most long-lasting forums. Line-shaped forums often have the unintended consequence of impeding the progress of wildfires but are notably less capable of protecting plants from them than the ring-shaped configurations.
Firefighter pedesorms primarily inhabit the western half of Maineiac Bush and Mainieac Plains. They are unable to cross into the eastern half of the bush due to their small size and terrible swimming ability preventing them from crossing the river. While firefighter pedesorms do inhabit Maineiac Temperate Woodland, it's more so due to a lack of competition in the region.
When the spring comes, firefighter pedesorms will mate in a frenzy. They bury their eggs in the forum's soil while it is being moistened by the spring rains. When the eggs hatch, the young will venture off into the wilderness to join other young firefighter pedesorms to form their own forums. This is to prevent the current forums from becoming too overpopulated. However, it is not uncommon for forums to take in new pedesorms after some of the members of their squad have died. This is often what keeps the forums alive in the wake of predation.