Mudslider Teuthopin: Difference between revisions

Mating occurs in early fall. In preparation for this, healthy hermaphrodite specimens will, over the course of a week, take on a rich vibrant teal color. This hue is not unlike the favored camouflage of the ice teuthopins, and signifies both as a sign of sexual readiness and also to help attract potential mates. The process begins early in the morning, with individuals surfacing and searching for secluded, open spot, whereupon they will repeatedly release a heavy thrumming sound as they rapidly vibrate their vocal sacs. While there is great risk in doing so, the desire to mate overwhelms them, and as such they may do this for hours at a time. Should they be successful in their endeavors, they will attract several others of their kind. What follows next is much like how other, early teuthopins did to reproduce, though with one additional step. A small "tournament" occurs, with mock fighting between the various contestants going on in order to determine which is the more powerful individual. Said fights involve smacking beaks together and slapping each other with their tentacles, until one contestant surrenders. In time, a victor is determined, and who then goes on fertilize all the other hermaphrodite's eggs, before they are all placed in the pouch of a carrier or two, depending on how many contestants there were. This process can be exhausting, especially for the victor, and most will soon retreat underground - because of the energy expended by the winner, who often doesn't have their own eggs fertilized, they will resort to reabsorbing their unfertilized eggs in order to regain some nutrients and energy. (edited)

The hundred or so young eventually hatch inside the pouch, where they will remain for a week or so as they develop further, nourished by the shells of their former eggs as well as by numerous unfertilized ones. Unlike in their ancestors, beyond this point they are showed no further parental care, and are released in mass. The young must head out into the world by themselves, guided only by their natural instincts, and begin to hunt within hours of their "birth". They put on weight rapidly during this time, and for good reason. With the colder winter months approaching, they need all the blubber they can accumulate, else they risk dying from the cold. Many will not survive, with over 90% succumbing to the elements, predators, and on very rare occasions, even outright cannibalism by older, larger individuals. Those that do survive, though, will reach sexual maturity towards the end of their second year of life, thus giving them a chance to carry on the species.