Nosepicker Urhook
From Sagan 4 Alpha Wiki
| Nosepicker Urhook | ||
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| (Ambulolimax nasofodio) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Bufforpington Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/167 | |
| Habitat | Lamarck Water Table | |
| Size | 40 cm Long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Unknown | |
| Diet | Carnivore (Magnekite), Cannibalism | |
| Respiration | Gills, Cutaneous Respiration | |
| Thermoregulation | Exothermic | |
| Reproduction | Sexual, Two Sexes, Mucus-Lined Sac of Eggs | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Superkingdom Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Subclass Order Superfamily Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Viridisagania Mancerxa Siphonozoa Konydonta (info) Echinopoda Ichthyosepiomorpha Hypnoherpetia Urankyloidea Bradyankistridae Ambulolimax Ambulolimax nasofodio | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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As millions of years passed, the slow urhook became increasingly ill-suited for its environment. Its prey had developed armored exoskeletons that it struggled to pierce. While it is impressive that the slow urhook was able to cling on for so long, change would inevitably come as some individuals adapted to their new armored prey.
The nosepicker urhook has replaced the slow urhook in Lamarck Water Table. It has adapted to get around the defenses of its new prey source, the magnekite, by attacking its one weak spot: its nose. Its recurved proboscis has straightened out aside from a sharp upward turn at the very end. The proboscis is inserted into the nasal cavities of the magnekite and then rapidly swung upwards, puncturing its soft nasal membranes. A slurry of digestive fluids is then injected into the magnekite, digesting it from the inside out, while the nosepicker urhook slurps up the resulting liquefied flesh. The nosepicker urhook's sensory tentacles have taken a more active role. While they are still used for chemoreception and are highly sensitive to touch, they are also used to restrain any prey they come across. Their uppermost tentacles have grown so large that they are often held over the back as to not offset their center of mass too much. These are the primary tentacles used in pinning their prey. Their lower tentacles are shorter and are used to help manipulate it so it can properly insert its proboscis into its prey's nose. Nosepicker urhooks will often linger around their kills, repeatedly feeding from them until they can no longer extract any more food from it.
The nosepicker urhook's magnetic organ has been modified so that it only 'sees' ahead of it. This is to prevent the iron stores on its back from interfering with its 'magnet vision'. Their newly developed neck allows them to crane their head about to scan their environment for prey with their magnetic organ. Because their prey has ferromagnetic armor, magnetosensory is the nosepicker urhook's primary method of navigation. Nosepicker urhooks are capable of communicating with each other via magnetic pulses emitted by the organ.
The nosepicker urhook's limbs have been modified further. Its frontmost pair have been modified into a pair of gills to aid in respiration, improving its ability to gather oxygen. This front pair of limbs has lost its swimming ability, as they were already poorly suited for the task. It still undertakes cutaneous respiration like its ancestors and can waddle about on dry land. However, its head is still too unwieldy to be properly supported. As a result, they spend their entire lives underwater. Their four hind limbs have adapted to better support their weight. They walk on the cave floor in a sprawling posture not unlike that of a salamander. They can now swim by frantically paddling their four hind limbs, but this swimming is awkward, and they often stick to the cave floor. They have a more defined head than their ancestor, with the body being compressed to a certain extent to help make it easier to support its head.
The nosepicker urhook no longer hibernates, as this behavior is irrelevant in an environment that sees no seasonal changes. Instead, both males and females are active at all times of the year. Nosepicker urhooks will also mate at all times of the year. Due to limited resources, nosepicker urhooks do not mate constantly, and will only do so when food is abundant enough. Females and males will signal their availability with a series of magnetic pulses, with the two approaching each other while engaging in a duet of pulses. Like the water-table urhook, the females will care for their young until they are big enough to hunt their own prey. When their young are small, they will ride on their mother's back, feeding on the mucus that exudes from it. When they grow large enough, the mother will allow her young to feed from her kills, which often are able to support multiple nosepicker urhooks. Once the young learn to hunt their own prey, they will leave their mother behind. Some males will actively seek to mate with any female they come across, even those with young. These males are known to go as far as to attempt to kill off and eat the young as to ensure that his young are taken care of. However, females with young are incredibly aggressive towards males, and will often fight back. They first emit a warning signal via their magnetic organ. If the male continues to advance towards her, she will attack by grabbing the male and stabbing him repeatedly with her proboscis. This often leads to the female killing and eating the male. As a result of this, males will often avoid females with young, with only the largest and the boldest trying to kill the young.