Hollowdomes
| Hollowdomes | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Mnidjm Other | |
| Week/Generation | 23/148 | |
| Habitat | Sagan 4 Global | |
| Size | 2 cm - 16 cm Diameter | |
| Primary Mobility | Sessile | |
| Support | External (Chitin-based lens shell) | |
| Diet | Photosynthesis | |
| Respiration | Unknown | |
| Thermoregulation | Ectothermic (Lens directed basking) | |
| Reproduction | Asexual, Budding | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order | Eukaryota Kyanozoa Hyalophyta Cryotholopsida Cryotholales | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
|---|---|
The hollowdomes are a group of glass flora best distinguished from the others by their distinctive rounded dome shape and a hollow core which they fill with nutrients to store for the harder times. These nutrients are stored in the form of glycogen suspended in the stored water. Separating the outer chitinous lenses and the fungus-like core is a network of airgaps which trap heat, making it much warmer inside than the air outside the dome. The intricacy of this insulation varies from between species depending on the climate, with species in warmer environments having less developed insulation. All species require readily available amounts of sunlight, not doing well in areas of shade. The only method of defense they have to prevent shading is to crowd out other flora to prevent them from growing over them. If this fails they will use, their root system to attempt to grow away from the area, using the heat from the sun on the soil to sense where to grow.
Reproduction is carried out typically by budding off of the root systems. If the root system spreads far enough from the bulb they will begin forming a new sprout. These sprouts are typically reliant on the parent to provide the foundational nutrients before they grow large enough to begin photosynthesizing on their own. Fungal cores, if separated from the main body due to damage from predation, can also form new bulbs if they are able to take root in the soil and have enough internal nutrients to survive. Bulbs repair themselves by first repairing the fleshy core, and then scabbing over with grows that will later develop into the chitin shells.
They can be found on all major continents of the world, however they are absent from the more isolated landmasses such as Jaydoh, Maineiac, and Truteal due to the separation. The one exception is Fermi, as an offshoot population of the pioneer hollowdome that had managed to figure out how to live on the Darwin Glacier was able to spread across the southern ice sheet to the Fermi glacier and beaches.