Swift Gilltail
| Swift Gilltail | ||
|---|---|---|
| (Branchiolatus platina) | ||
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| 21/?, unknown cause | ||
| Information | ||
| Creator | Xenomoose Other | |
| Week/Generation | 17/116 | |
| Habitat | LadyM Ocean (Sunlight Zone) | |
| Size | 20 cm Long | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Unknown | |
| Diet | Carnivore (Green Swarmer, Dark Swarmer, Whorl, Netwhorl, Foi, Whorl Needler) | |
| Respiration | Semi-Active (Ram Gill) | |
| Thermoregulation | Ectotherm | |
| Reproduction | Sexual, 2 Sexes, Trailing Eggs | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Binucleozoa Symbiovermes (info) Pterigiophora (info) Caudabranchia (info) Branchiolatiformes Branchiolatidae Branchiolatus Branchiolatus platina | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
|---|---|
The swift gilltail has split from its ancestor in the LadyM Ocean (Sunlight Zone). It has adapted to move very quickly. Its tail is very large, with its back and bottom fins fusing together. Its tail takes up a lot of the body and has many more larger gill slits. The intake hole is larger to allow more water through. the side fins are almost near the head and it has a sharp semi-extendable beak. Due to these adaptations it can move extremely fast through the water. However it comes with a price. Due to the increased effort to obtain oxygen and its small body compared with the tail, it must eat almost constantly. The swift gilltail spends almost its whole life speeding around eating prey in a mad rush.
They group together in schools to ball around swarms of prey. They then capture their prey with their beaks that can extend a short distance. If they only find one prey item, the school erupts into a frenzied race to eat the single creature.
Due to their lifestyle, the swift gilltail must reproduce as quickly as possible (malnourished members of a school die rather quickly). Since their is no place to hide their eggs, they let them trail behind on long strands. The young hatch in a relatively short period of time and eat the egg they hatch from to get a starting boost.
Living Relatives (click to show/hide)
