NESLife V

Spoiler :
Dentinus: merciary
Opportunistic grazer/scavenger
Swarming
Evolved from: Locosensus
Genes: Digestion x2, Crawling x3, Smell Sense x1, Teeth x1 [Radula], Shell x1
Description: In order to get the most out of whatever food it could find the Dentnus has developed a "mouth" in order to insure that all food makes it to digestion. With the added nutrients the Dentinus was able to develop a shell-like coating around its body to provide some protection from the digestive juices of the Oreallie.


Marmoracelyphus: Krzowwh
Evolved from: Dentinus
Genes Added: Shell x1, Poison Resistance x1
Description: The Marmoracelyphus crawls around coastal area, taking a sort of amphibious lifestyle. It is able to satiate itself rather easily, as it has adapted an immunity to poisonous organisms, compounded with its finely serrated radula and ability to detect chemical trails, to find its prey at an efficient rate. Like its ancestor, it uses a shell in order to protect itself against outside threats. However, the shell of the Marmoracelyphus is more solid and structured into a sort of prolate spheroid, surrounding the bulk of the body, rather than directly on its surface.

OOC: I must admit I am disappointed that the Barrus line did not make it. However, I would have thought that extinct creatures would show up in the stats, merely marked as extinct.
 
OOC: My evolution this turn was updated, now being mass reproduction and social behavior. I didn't change the description, though, as it probably is still close enough to still work.
 
That makes it 18. I would set a deadline on the weekend now :p DAFTy :D
 
Fossornatus Dissection

Good afternoon xenobio students! Today, I've managed to get a special treat for you- we're going to be dissecting something a little out of the norm- a Fossornatus! Yes, I had to pull a few strings to get one of these guys, but I'm sure it'll be worth it!

f0NQ9.png

Here we go, a nice dorsal view of the specimen. The name 'Fossornatus' roughly translates as 'digger swimmer'. Note its spiral shell- structurally very similar to that of its ancestor, the Circulatus, but smooth and... comparitively hydrodynamic in its shape. The orange structures on the sides are paddles, derived from the crawling structures its ancestors used to pull their bodies along solid surfaces, which in turn were derived from the harpoon filaments that the earliest spirulids used to hunt and locomote. This one still has harpoons, but they're a bit small and tricky to find, though they play a very important role in helping to catch and restrain prey.

At the anterior end, you can see the jaw- it's surprisingly strong, and filled with a battery of needle-like teeth. The jaw's capable of exerting respectable crushing strength- strong enough to break the shells of most of its contemporary prey items. It's also quite good, if you'll observe its shape, at digging through soft sand and mud, in search of prey. You can see a few of the sensory organs it would use to do so right around the mouth. Now, let's make an equatorial incision, just above the paddles, to get this shell off and take a peek inside!
 
D18DU.png

Good cut, good cut! Now just clear away the integument, and there we go! It takes a steady hand to get the outermost portion of the body to come out cleanly, but once you've cleared the few bits of connnecting tissue away, you can just split the two halves of the shell apart from each other. Calling it a shell is actually a bit of a misnomer, a closer analogue would be to call it an exoskeleton. At any rate, it's the outermost of three germ layers.

Yes, it looked roughly bilaterally symmetrical on the outside, but now that we're inside we can discern the distinctive body structure of a Spiculid of the phylum Spirulina. As you saw when removing the 'shell', the outer structure isn't very well-connected to the body's interior. That's because the Fossornatus' body slides around inside, coiling as it grows. If it were anchored in more locations, it would be unable to grow into the distinctive pattern that reveals it as a Spirulid.

Now, let's see what we can identify in here. Let's start with the dull purple spiral. This is what we call the coil, the central tube of a Spirulid's body. This one contains a long, thin, digestive tract, and the primary nerve tract.

Alright, now trace your finger right along the coil. See how the orange paddles are directly attached to it? In fact, the mouth, the sensory organs and every single paddle are attached to the outermost half-turn of the coil. As this animal grows, its rearmost paddles will undergo apoptosis, or pre-programmed cell death- just like the process that causes your fingers to get 'carved' out from embryonic mitts. At any rate, the body effectively digests this worn-out limb while growing a new one in the front. The recovered material from the digested paddle becomes... anyone?

Yes, the green stuff. These paired green bulbs you see are the auxiliary stomachs found in all Spirulids. They're little digestive engines, excellent at breaking down and absorbing nutrients. Now, this can be a bit tricky... and kind of sticky, but if you scrape your cutting tool along the coil- lightly, so you don't cut it- you can remove these stomachs, and get a better look at what else there is underneath.
 
I've just caught up with this. And I have to say: Noooooo, Neofloatus!
 
4wBiW.png

Alright, down to the nitty-gritty! I've turned this specimen upside-down to make this next bit clearer. Ignore the translucent gunk for now, that's part of the gills, but they're very difficult to hold together in the dissection.

From this view, you can really see some of the strange adaptations this creature has made to achieve a bilateral form from a spiral body plan. You can see that the spiral, normally vertical, has been turned horizontal and laterally flattened, and how the paddles on the left (the Fossornatus' right) are greatly extended, so that they can reach beyond the flattened coil. When the shell is on, they appear to be symmetrical!

You know how flatfish, like halibut or turbot, have distorted themselves and became asymmetrical to achieve a certain body plan? Well, it's the exact same sort of thing with the Fossornatus!

Now, let's go back to that translucent, mesh-like gunk I told you to ignore before. That material is a fine filament that grows out from the paddles inside the body, forming a spongy material with huge surface area, ideal for facilitating gas exchange in the water. These gills, a unique development in the Fossornatus and its lineage, are perhaps another reason that the 'shell' has very few attachments- with an open internal space, gas exchange is much more efficient, and the paddles, where most of the animal's energy is used, have access to an abundant supply of oxygen.

Alright everyone, I'm going to leave this specimen out for sketching. I want a report on the evolution of the organ systems found in Spirulids by lab next Thursday. Don't forget to bring your goggles for that session, we'll be having a guest instructor... and just maybe get to learn about his work with Kangaraptors!
 
Transylvaniansilvaetus: Algeroth
Evolved from: Creeposilvaetus

*Genetic drift: +1 Gene bonus for evolving from this species*
Genes Added: Tendrils x1 [Parasitic], Cold tolerance x 1, Water Retention x1

Description: Some species of Creeposilvaetus that grown on Petrosa Sparguntur and used them as anchors eventually learned how to tap into them and use parts of their nutrients for themselves in times of need. This adaptation proved useful in spreading Transylvaniansilvaetus as it allowed them to spread on the bodies of animals that become seeded by the microscopic fractions of colony. Often the herbivores that eat one plant of Transylvaniansilvaetus helped it to spread further.

Transylvaniansilvaetus also spread in colder seas and on land, its harder skin protecting it from cold and drying out better than it predecessor and its parasitic roots using nutrients from nearby plants.

I hope that this (and name) is OK

bonefang: You can add another gene. I would suggest another photosynthesis or maybe faster growth. EDIT: You can add three genes, two as usual, ono bas bonus from the genetic drift.
 
Boyoina/Nintz
Evolved From: Atjja
Genes Added: Photosynthesis x3, Poison x2
Genes Removed: Swimming x1
Genes Specialized: Poison x2 [Mucus Coat x1]

Description: An interesting line of the Atjja was the coastal-dwelling Boyoina. This algae is found on many rocks and coastal tide pools, and has begun to resemble certain types of land-dwelling plants more than before. This algae has adapted to life on land, despite the cold environments. Boyoina developed an increased rate of photosynthesis to make up for its failure to migrate. The mild poison of the Atjja intensified on land, resulting in a significantly stronger poison, but also developed a highly basic (not acidic) coat of its poison in which it lived.

This turned the algae from poisonous to eat, to poisonous to even touch, as potential predators found themselves scarred and burned from this new development.
 
Boyoina/Nintz
Evolved From: Atjja
Genes Added: Photosynthesis x3, Cold Resistance x2, Poison x2
Genes Removed: Swimming x1
Genes Specialized: Poison x2 [Mucus Coat x1]

Description: An interesting line of the Atjja was the coastal-dwelling Boyoina. This algae is found on many rocks and coastal tide pools, and has begun to resemble certain types of land-dwelling plants more than before. This algae has adapted to life on land, despite the cold environments. An even hardier resistance to cold helped this to occur, though it also developed an increased rate of photosynthesis to make up for its failure to migrate. The mild poison of the Atjja intensified on land, resulting in a significantly stronger poison, but also developed a highly basic (not acidic) coat of its poison in which it lived.

This turned the algae from poisonous to eat, to poisonous to even touch, as potential predators found themselves scarred and burned from this new development.

I think you might have added one to many genes. 2 genes by default, +1 if you got the bonus last turn or it's a genetic drift creature.
 
Oops, thanks. I though that removing a gene gave an extra point.
 
Hmmm....

Well let it be said that I am sticking with my edited creature unless removing a trait gives another point, in which case refer to the quoted post version.
 
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