Pyaventrapper
From Sagan 4 Alpha Wiki
| Pyaventrapper | ||
|---|---|---|
| (Stygioscolex sulfurus) | ||
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| 20/133, Loss of host | ||
| Information | ||
| Creator | Somarinoa Other | |
| Week/Generation | 20/131 | |
| Habitat | Rhodix Vents | |
| Size | 5 cm Long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Unknown | |
| Diet | Omnivore (Pyavent, Swarmhunter, Martyr) | |
| Respiration | Unknown | |
| Thermoregulation | Ectotherm | |
| Reproduction | Asexual, Spores Covered by Gelatinous Material | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Phoenoplastida Pansegmentocaudazoa Segmentocaudazoa Abyssovermes Stygiognatha Stygioscolicidae Stygioscolex Stygioscolex sulfurus | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
|---|---|
Pyaventrappers split from the ventrappers, yet have not traveled far. While their ancestors congregate and cover the Rhodix Vents themselves, this new species instead do so on the local pyavents that had evolved some millions of years earlier. They are not tremendously different in overall physical design from their ancestors. Since they live in a slightly new location, they cannot replace their ancestors, as the ecosystems of vents of these types are based entirely to sustaining itself in a small area, with many organisms clustered together.
Like the ventrappers before them, they spend their lives in tubes. To build their tubes, they chew up small portions of the pyavent's outer crust and combine it with the same gelatinous paste that is derived from their egg gelatin. This substance still hardens quickly with a likeness to cement. Unlike their ancestors, however, these tubes now lay adjacent to the pyavent, and in fact the lower half of the tube is made out of the crystal that they excavated from. Because of this, they have had to double in size in order to reach prey as it swims by. Each pyaventrapper excavates and builds a maze of tunnels, and each will have at least two exits in case a predator comes to try and prey upon them. Occasionally their tubes will connect by pure coincidence with the tubes of their neighbors; under these circumstances each pyventrapper will attempt to avoid one another but will not prevent their neighbor from fleeing into their maze-tubes in times of escape.
When about to produce young for the first time, a pyaventrapper will excavate a small cave where it will lay its various spores. The young will remain in this tiny cave until mature enough to increase their survival rate outside their parent's tunnel, at which time they are forced to leave. Once out on their own, they will excavate their own miniscule tunnels, where they will just build new tunnels when they grow too big for their old ones. Youth are small enough to warrant them having to filterfeed from the waters around them, and generally do not have to expose themselves to the outside because of this, although their tunnels are easier to break into since they are so much smaller.
Adults will generally attempt to convince swarmers to their tubes with their bioluminescent jaws, but are known to be particularly insidious - they will also attempt to attract both swarmhunters and martyrs as well. They have had to adapt a similar bioluminescent ability to the other two species due to this. Since they do not have eyes, they instead now smell the chemical reactions caused by the activation of bioluminescence. Since they build their homes on the pyavents that extend over the hydrothermal vents that create the local currents of the area, this is a great help in knowing if there are any species that utilize these abilities, at which time they will begin trying to lure them in with their own emissions. Like their ancestors, they will attempt to drag their prey into their tubes to consume, although if this is not possible for some reason, they will risk their lives and eat it outside of the tube.
Living Relatives (click to show/hide)
