Quefts

Quefts
First Appearance	22/141
Census	18 total / 0 extant
Progenitor	Hexcrawler
Community and Production Information

Quefts include the decedents of the hexcrawler, and were indigenous to Mason. They were the primary land-based fauna. Like other life on Mason, they became extinct due to the moon losing its atmosphere.

Anatomy

The provuci possesses two hardened appendages along its throat; these are used to help it gather food.

Quefts posses five appendages attached to the body, although the form and function vary from lineage to lineage, from long legs used to run, to hard appendages used to obtain food. Two types of oral appendages are also found on quefts, tentacle-like ones which in most species are kept curled tightly in the mouth most of the time, and two or three specialized heat sensing organs which left quefts "see" infared radiation. The latter are covered in a thin membrane which encloses a gel-like substance. Heating in specific areas of the queft's membrane are amplified through the gel and picked up by modified flagellum, allowing them to make a map of nearby heat sources. The tentacle like appendages are used to gather and process food, and usually number five or six. The exterior of a queft is covered in thick, leather-like skin which helps protect it from harsh UV and predators.

Breathing and Blood

Quefts have four exterior breathing vents that allow it to smell and facilitate gas exchange. Two on each side generally merge toward the end of the end of the breathing tube, allowing one exterior vent. The majority of the respiratory system is contained within these breathing tubes. Air is pumped in and out of the tubes through rippling contractions along the tubes that produce wave-like motions. The interior of the tube consists of a thin mesh of tissues, kept moist by bodily fluids, that perform gas exchanges. Some tissue functions to absorb oxygen, and some to release CO2 and other waste gases, with the oxygen absorbing one being clustered near the front, and the latter near the back. Running around the breathing tubes are a cluster of ring-shaped arteries, which transport the gases via the queft's blood. The "hearts" mentioned are just single-chambered pumps found at even intervals. Queft blood, like all decedents of the mason hexspourous, is copper based and therefore blue.

Diet & Energy

Quefts are heterotrophic, and can range widely from herbivores to carnivores.

Evolution

All quefts are decedents of the hexcrawler, which was the first completely land based descendant of the mason hexspourous.

The hexcrawler was the ancestor of all quefts.

Locomotion

Quefts generally travel using various combinations of their five body appendages, although the decedents of the leteti can "fly" using ammonia gathered from airbulbs.

Reproduction

Quefts are asexual, and lay gelatinous eggs that are hidden in holes within the ground.

Senses

Quefts have three primary senses; their ability to sense levels of infrared radiation, smell, and touch, although they can pick up ground vibrations via their touch sensors.

The jedec uses its infared receptors to hunt its prey and navigate.

Types of Quefts

There are three main groups of quefts:

Flying Quefts - Decedents of the Leteti, they use ammonia from airbulbs to stay buoyant, moving with three paddles-shaped appendages.

Jawed Quefts - Decedents of the provuci and the jedec; each has primitive "jaws" formed out of hardened bodily appendages.

Quefts - "Normal" Quefts, quefts that follow the basic anatomical plan of the quefts.