Narlan is the name for one of the prominent cities the
Vanarans – the main sapient group to colonise the moon – have built on the
surface. The term “Narlan” comes from the word for the city in one of the
interspecies languages easiest to pronounce for humans (it’s still
phonologically distinct from any human language, so transcription into the
Latin alphabet is difficult; Dallan and Garrad are also possible spellings).
Although the city isn’t particularly large compared to many of the other
prominent Nemorosan settlements, it’s one of the oldest, and holds a lot of
significance to the Nemorosan Vanarans.
The general region surrounding the city is also known as
Narlan. Due to their level of technological development, very little farmland
is needed, since much food can be produced indoors in molecular synthesisers.
The base materials for these foods comes from simple but fast growing plants
which can also be grown within the city. Because of this, the surrounding
countryside is able to grow wild and is relatively unaffected by the activity
of the Vanarans.
The area is filled with large black trees, relatively spaced
out from each other due to the lack of sunlight reaching lower ground. This
prevents very many new plants from growing. Instead, most of the forest floor
is covered in sessile non-photosynthesising organisms, many of which are
primary producers obtaining their energy from chemosynthesis. There are many
secondary producers too, feeding off of dead matter that falls to the dim
forest floor.
Most of the ground these plant-like organisms grow in is
composed of ice – both water and ammonia – but there are also a great deal of
organic compounds in the soil, hydrocarbons larger than methane that remain
solid at the moon’s temperature range. Many of these, of course, would be
liquid or gaseous at room temperature.
The forest is located in a valley, with extremely large
slopes on either side. Because of the planet’s low gravity, the relatively low
density of ice compared to rock, and the much faster nature of geology on ice
worlds like Nemoros, the moon can have much more dramatic topography. Floods
can often be quite severe, though luckily the weather progresses much more
slowly so there’s usually plenty of warning, with any “animals” that need to
slowly retreating to high ground. These floods provide plenty of nutrients for
life on the forest floor, especially for the chemosynthesisers. This makes them
an important part of the forest’s ecology, ensuring the sulphurous compounds in
the ice soil are constantly replenished.
Narlan is quite close to the moon’s equator, although with
such a dense atmosphere distributing the temperature this has little effect on
the climate. Narlan is also on the side of the moon facing Aulea, which –
although completely obscured to any human standing on the surface by the smoggy
tholin layer – is visible high in the sky to the Vanarans, who can see
infrared.
Tree
(Macrophyllales)
Size: Varies, often grows up to 200 metres, with the tallest species reaching a kilometre.
Habitat: Terrestrial; specific preferred conditions depend on species
Colouration: Black
Symmetry: Radial
Reproduction: sexual, both fertilization and the distribution of spores occurs by wind and methane dispersal in most tree lineages
Most large trees on Nemoros belong to a phylum of plant-like organisms that grow in a repeating segmented fashion, forming tall chains of these segments. In most species, each segment possesses a small hydrogen sac in the centre, and in the larger and more tree-like lineages there’s a large bladder at the top of the plant. These tree-like lineages also possess around two to five very large leaves at the very top. With the low light levels, light competition is high, so leaves need to be very large to get enough sunlight. Although these plants are black, absorbing most light in the visible spectrum, they absorb infrared light even more strongly, which is what they obtain most of their energy for photosynthesis from. They also engage in a degree of chemosynthesis.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Atralia
Division: Segmentophyta
Class: Dendrophyceae
Order: Macrophylales
Fungal grass(Muscomycetes)
Size: A few millimetres to many centimetres in length, diameter is much smaller
Habitat: Terrestrial, grows best in wooded areas with low light where it doesn’t run into competition with photosynthesising organisms
Colouration: White or grey, sometimes brown
Symmetry: An individual “blade” (or hair) has roughly circular symmetry
Reproduction: sexually or asexually, via the spread of spores. Specific reproductive strategies vary by species.
A hair-like chemoautrophic organism grows near the ground, somewhat fungus-like in appearance. It can be grey or white in colour, and there are also larger bushes formed of distantly related species. This is what most grazing animals on the surface eat in wooded areas, and in fact many browsing animals eat from the fungal bushes. With little light reaching the ground, chemosynthesis is more practical on the forest floor than the photosynthesis large trees engage in. As well as chemosynthesis, these fungus-like organisms are able to absorb dead rotting biomatter, recycling dead trees and “animals”.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Aphota
Division: Pilosomycota
Class: Muscomycetes
Tachyptilon selenopolis
Size: 30 cm up to neck
Diet: vegetation and “fungus”
Habitat: Woodland river valleys
Colouration: Orange with darker blotches
Symmetry: Triradial
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a chimera
This small herbivore spends a lot of its time hiding in fibrous “fungal” bushes from predators like Crytodus and other otodons. Their hairy bodies allow them to feel around in these bushes without having to use their sonar, which will alert their presence to predators.
There are multiple Tachyptilon species in the Narlan forests, each focusing on a slightly different diet to avoid competition. The largest, Tachyptilon selenopolis, is able to use its long neck to reach vegetation from small trees or tree-like “fungus”, often absorbing nutrients directly into their gastric feathers, which are almost permanently out and able to stretch in size.
While their primary head is used to obtain food from above them, food from the ground is eaten with the mouths under their feet. They have well developed digestive systems on all four limbs, unlike most other trilaterians in which the leg stomachs are very reduced. Their feet being adapted in this way allows them to eat from the ground without having to bend their heads down.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Myostea
Order: Peinopoda
Family: Tachyptilidae
Genus: Tachyptilon
Species: Tachyptilon selenopolis
Giant Striped Acanthid(Eurygaster gulastomachus)
Size: 3 meters tall
Diet: Aphotans (grassy fungus-like organisms) and other sedentary primary producers. They are also detrivores, eating any dead organic matter that falls from the countless aerial organisms above.
Habitat: Can be found in a wide range of habitats, primarily open woodland and savannas
Colouration: Dark grey or orange with dark stripes
Symmetry: Triradial
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a chimera
While the most primitive trilaterians have their “heads” and the top of their body, more closely resembling the tetrahedral shape of their ancestors, this isn’t a very convenient position for grazing from the ground. Because of this, there is a particular lineage – hypostomes – who have essentially flipped upside down, with their primary mouths facing the ground. Without the need to browse for food in trees or bushes, having this appendage at the top of their body serves little advantage to outweigh the costs.
The hypostomes of the Narlan woodland have a diet that consists mostly of the fibrous fungus-like chemosynthesisers that grow in the flood basin, as well as dead biomatter that falls from aerial life forms. The sulphurous compounds these fungi organisms need to grow are renewed during the regular flooding, which means these floods are an important part of the ecology for the animals that eat the fungus. Although many species of this fungus have adapted to this grazing by becoming tougher, Eurygaster has a claw-like beak on its primary mouth which allows it to bite through the tough tissue with ease, and a digestive system well adapted for processing it. All the way down its throat are rows of blunt teeth for grinding down its food.
Like many other “herbivorous” trilaterians, this animal is able to obtain nutrients not only from their primary mouth, but absorbs it through their feet too. It is especially common for liquid methane to be absorbed this way, particularly during flooding when the bottom of their feet are often submerged anyway.
Eurygaster tends to gather in large herds for protection against predators. There is often a complex social structure, although they’re peaceful and fights for dominance within a group are uncommon. Usually, the oldest and largest member of a group will lead and decide where to graze next. Each of their three legs possesses a large pouch for sound production, with the air expelled through slits below it. The sounds produced by these pouches are used for communication between members of the herd. Their pouches are also an important part of their echolocation, allowing them to detect approaching predators from great distances away, much better than eyeless species without these pouches can. If they sense approaching danger, they gather closely together to make themselves more intimidating to predators, who are usually much smaller than they are.
These animals find it hardest to defend themselves against aerial predators like Opticophis, since their usual tactics of gathering together don’t work as well against predators that can attack from above, targeting the weakest members of the group without having to go through the others. Aerial predators can also easily retreat if it’s too much for them to handle, so the risks around attacking are relatively low. These two factors mean large groups aren’t as much of a deterrence as they are with ground based predators. To counter this, the back of Eurygaster is covered in large, sharp spines, which make attacks from above more difficult. Usually, if a flying predator wants to attack the animal, they will have to fly lower and strike its unprotected sides, which puts the predator in greater danger of being attacked by the individual and other members of its herd.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Myostea
Order: Hypostomata
Family: Acanthidae
Genus: Eurygaster
Species: Eurygaster gulastomachus
Narlan Acanthodon(Acanthodon aequatorensis narlanensis)
Size: 1.4 meters up to neck
Diet: Carnivorous, primarily focuses on large hypostomes
Habitat: Tropical forests, grasslands and savannahs (the
subspecies A. a. narlanensis is
adapted to rainforest wetlands)
Colouration: Pale grey
Symmetry: Triradial
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae. As chimeric
adults, they find a mate to fuse their larvae with. They are also able to
reproduce without a mate, producing identical chimeras. Their tiny larvae are
released into the air after fusing, although they do still take care of their
young; the entire group raises any Acanthodon
young that grow in their territory communally. Acanthodon larvae don’t travel far, so they are usually related to
pack members.
Although the horn-like structures at the ends of each limb
are used for hearing in most tetrastomes, there’s a particular lineage of
trilaterians where these hearing organs have adapted for use in catching prey.
Called otodons, these creatures have three tooth like structures at the end of
their primary mouth, whereas in the limbs used as legs they have retained their
ancestral function. It’s a particularly large group, most members of which are
carnivorous, and species within this group use various different hunting
strategies.
Acanthodon is a
particularly social otodon, living in large groups and hunting prey larger than
itself in packs. They are quite intelligent, capable of a great degree of
cooperation and planning, and have a complex hierarchal group structure. Acanthodon can be violent to individuals
from outside the group, and will attack if any are trespassing on their
territory.
They have three large stomach feathers permanently on the
outside of their body, which gives them a well-developed sense of smell they
use for tracking prey. The aural horns on their pedal mouths are quite well
developed, allowing them to hear prey nearby or detect them with sonar. To mark
the territory of the group, they chemically mark the ground they walk on with a
substance excreted from the mouths of their feet. This chemical signature can
be detected by gastric feathers under their feet, and they are quite familiar
with the signature of other members of their group.
Able to take down prey larger than itself by relying on
numbers, Acanthodon focuses primarily
on hypostomes and other large creatures. However, they are rarely ever able to
kill the much larger hadrosomes because of their colossal size, so they are
relatively safe from Acanthodon.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Myostea
Order: Otodontes
Family: Acanthodontidae
Genus: Acanthodon
Species: Acanthodon aequatorensis
Subspecies: Acanthodon
aequatorensis narlanensis
Curve Toothed Otodon(Cyrtodus stigmatos)
Size: 60 cm up to neck
Diet: Meat, eats small animals
Habitat: woodland
Colouration: Orange to grey with darker splotches
Symmetry: Triradial
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae. As chimeric
adults, they find a mate to fuse their larvae with. They are also able to
reproduce without a mate, producing identical chimeras. After fusing, as much
of their larvae as possible is planted into a specific part of the ice, which
the parent guards.
Not all otodons are large apex predators like Acanthodon. Cyrtodus goes after much
smaller prey, and are solitary hunters, preferring stealth and ambush to
hunting prey down. They often sit in fungus bushes, waiting for suitable prey
to pass, then grab them, making use of their long, swift necks.
In order to better
hide themselves, they don’t use active sonar to detect them, since the sound
would alert their prey to their presence. Instead, they listen for the sound of
their footsteps. Their senses are keen enough that they can draw a clear
picture of their surroundings just from this. However, this also means it’s
possible to avoid them by staying very still, making as little noise as
possible, although luckily for Cyrtodus this only works if every other animal nearby
is quiet too.
These carnivores also have predators of their own. Since
they’re a common target of Opticophis,
they have well camouflaged bodies, increasing their chances of escaping the
notice of their eyed predators. The dark blotches and patches that break up
their form don’t only conceal them from predators; many of the small airfish
they catch possess eyes, too, so it serves them well to remain camouflaged from
them.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Myostea
Order: Otodontes
Family: Belonodontidae
Genus: Cyrtodus
Species: Cyrtodus
stigmatos
Narlan Onychotid
(Belonoglossa maximus)
Size: 1.8 metres from ground to neck when standing
Diet: Vegetation from trees
Habitat: Arboreal
Colouration: Dark grey to black
Symmetry: Triradial
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
Living high in the trees, Belonoglossa is relatively safe from non-aerial predators. Their
aural horns have adapted for use in climbing, growing longer in size to allow
these creatures to hang from them. They spend most of their time eating,
absorbing nutrients from the tree’s fluids by planting their sharp-tipped
prehensile tongue into it. Sensory feathers on this tongue allows the creature
to feel around for the most nutrient rich areas, or find any other food worth
eating such as the mossy fungus that often grows on trees.
High up in the tree canopy, Belonoglossa has access to more sunlight than most terrestrial
species in the area, and since it’s relatively inactive it’s able to spend a
great deal of its time photosynthesising. Because of this, its skin is very
dark, pigmented by the high amounts of melanophyll present.
Belonoglossa is
still at risk of being preyed on by Opticophis
and similar occulates, and since they’re relatively poor at defending
themselves they have developed a poison to deter predators.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Myostea
Order: Macroglossida
Family: Onychotidae
Genus: Belonoglossa
Species: Belonoglossa maximus
Macroglossa pinguis
Size: 1.4 meters up to neck
Diet: omnivorous. They eat small animals, especially
airfish, as well as “plant” matter and “fungus”
Habitat: forests
Colouration: white or pale grey with blotches of dark grey,
black or brown
Symmetry: triradial
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
Macroglossa belongs
to a lineage of large tongued tetrastomes, most of which are omnivorous. The
tongue developed from an extension of the flesh on the inside of the mouth, and
is able to stretch far beyond its resting size. Macroglossa can use this to obtain food. Small animals are also
caught with this tongue, and it possess three sensory feathers sensitive to not
only touch but also taste and smell.
Like Cyrtodus,
they are primarily solitary hunters, and focus on ambushing small prey. Their
well camouflaged body allows them to remain hidden from eyed airfish, which
they can often be seen lashing at with their tongues.
In order to effectively digest their varied diet, they have
a very well developed digestive system, with a large chemical stomach to
effectively break down food. Their feather stomach, however, is of a typical
size, although it’s able to absorb both “plant” and “animal” matter.
Macroglossa is
able to climb trees, using its feet mouths as suction cups, reducing air
pressure by expanding the sonar sacs. This allows it to reach vegetation it
otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Myostea
Order: Macroglossida
Family: Macroglossidae
Genus: Macroglossa
Species: Macroglossa pinguis
Uranoichthys macrourus
Size: 3 meters long
Diet: Tree vegetation, tree “fungus”
Habitat: The air, usually near trees
Colouration: Black on top, white underneath
Symmetry: Bilateral
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
These large, fish-like creatures swim not in a liquid, but
in the air. With the moon’s extremely thick atmosphere, flying is more like
swimming, with the air about a tenth as dense as water, or a fifth as dense as
liquid methane. It takes little hydrogen to keep aerial species buoyant, which
is stored in their swim bladders, and some smaller airfish are able to stay in
the air through the act of swimming alone.
Uranoichthys macrourus
is a particularly large species of airfish – although airfish can get much bigger – though even at its size it
has no trouble staying afloat. Unlike most trilaterians, not one but three of
their limbs are used as primary mouths, with the third functioning as a tail.
They also lack the ancestral triradial symmetry of trilaterians. The three
mouths allow it to obtain more food than would otherwise be possible; if it had
just one, eating the same amount of food would be more time consuming. This is
especially important for providing an “animal” of its size with the energy
needed for flight, as well as the energy needed produce enough hydrogen to
remain afloat.
Uranoichthys has
extremely large sonar sacs, as well as slits on its tail for the passage of
air, similar to Eurygaster. This not
only allows it to detect predators more easily, but gives it the “visual”
acuity needed to fly affectively. This is especially important in a forested
environment, with a lot of obstacles to navigate through.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Tricephalida
Order: Megalocystes
Family: Megalocystidae
Genus: Uranoichthys
Species: Uranoichthys
macrourus
Carnivorous Oculate
(Opticophis narlanensis)
Size: 1.5 - 2 meters long
Diet: meat; tends to focus on large myosteans like
acanthids, but will eat a large variety of prey
Habitat: woodland
Colouration: grey
Symmetry: Bilateral
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
Not all tetrastomes navigate entirely through sonar. One
lineage, called Oculata, have developed a row of eyes at either side of the
body, developed from photosensitive strips their ancestors used to detect
orientation and the time of day. Most oculates are carnivorous, making full use
of the advantage their eyesight gives them over most prey species.
Like many oculates, Opticophis
is an ambush predator, able to silently spot any prey with its eyes. The
frontmost pair are the most developed, and are situated at the end of extendable
stalks that allow them to look around more easily. Common to other oculates
their three mouths also have beaks, which have a strong bite able to cut
through the flesh of most prey and even shells.
They are comfortable swimming both ways up, and will usually
orient themselves in the position that allows them to spot their prey the
clearest, without their fins obscuring their eyes.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Tricephalida
Order: Oculata
Family: Caulopsidae
Genus: Opticophis
Species: Opticophis
narlanensis
Airfish
(Triallorhampus brachylaemus)
Size: 20 - 30 cm long
Diet: tiny insect-like organisms, seeds
Habitat: In the air in forests, as well as lakes, rivers,
and ponds
Colouration: grey or grey-brown
Symmetry: bilateral
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
As well as the much larger species, there are countless
small, fish-sized airfish that can be seen swimming in the air. Distantly
related to Uranoichthys, Triallorhampus possess a broad tail
fluke, and has thin, long mouths that allow it to effectively eat seeds and
catch insect-like organisms. They have two thin dark photosensitive strips on
either side of their back, which Vanaran genetic studies have demonstrated to
be homologous with Opticophis eyes. This
is likely an ancestral feature retained from the common ancestor of the two
groups.
Triallorphampus is
comfortable both in and out of methane. When it wants to enter a body of
liquid, it increases the pressure of its swim bladder to reduce buoyancy.
This is only one of the many small airfish species present
in Narlan. There are countless others, too many to give a comprehensive
description of here.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Tricephalida
Order: Megalocystes
Family: Pterygourida
Genus: Triallorhampus
Species: Triallorhampus
brachylaemus
Decaophthalmos borealis
Size: 10 - 20 cm long
Diet: fruit and seeds, fungus, vegetation
Habitat: In the air in forests, in forest lakes and rivers
Colouration: brown or grey-brown, often has a blotted patterning
Symmetry: bilateral
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
Not all small airfish are eyeless. Decaophthalmos is distantly related
to Opticophis, with five eyes at each
side of their body. Their diet is more herbivorous than that of Opticophis, consisting largely of hard
fruit and seeds, which it can crack open with its strong beaks. While most of
their relatives use their eyes to see prey, as a herbivore Decaophthalmos uses its vision spot
predators and search for food. Their vision provides them an edge over many
other species when it comes to avoiding predation, as it allows them to see
predators from much further away; sonar only works to a limited distance.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Tricephalida
Order: Oculata
Family: Bicaudidae
Genus: Decaophthalmos
Species: Decaophthalmos
borealis
Wetland Gigantid
(Diphyllops potamodytes)
Size: 30 meters at shoulder
Diet: tree tissue, aphotan “fungus grass”, tree “fungus”,
“fungus bushes”, shrubs, ice
Habitat: Wetlands, often forested wetlands
Colouration: grey skin, white exoskeleton
Symmetry: Bilateral
Reproduction: Adults search for a mate for their offspring
to merge and become a chimera with, and let the larvae grow in a nest. These
larvae are looked after until they’re developed enough to take care of
themselves.
While the majority of tetrastomes lack a hard skeleton,
hardly needing it in the moon’s low gravity, this isn’t true for all lineages.
In particular, one group, the hadrosomes, possess an exoskeleton, providing
them with much greater support for their often immense size.
According to Vanaran genetic studies (fossils are hard to
obtain or date in the shifting ice), the first hadrosomes possessed a full
covering, initially protecting them from moisture loss and defending them from
predators. Later on, however, their skeletons opened up, greatly reducing their
weight while still providing a degree of support. Some fully covered species
exist today, mostly in dry environments.
As one of the few lineages with skeletons, hadrosomes are
able to grow far larger than any other group, reaching gargantuan
proportions. With the moon’s low
gravity, they can easily grow larger than any animal on Earth. Tetrastomes
usually breathe through their skin, which works well in the thick air, but at
the sizes hadrostomes reach this isn’t efficient enough. Instead, hadrosomes
possess lungs, developed from modified swim bladders. A hole on either side of
the body, going through the pelvic bone, leads to this lung.
Although they are trilaterians, they have moved away from
the basic three-fold symmetry of the group, with the rear limb functioning as a
tail to counterbalance its head in most species.
With its long neck, Diphyllops and other gigantids are able
to reach for food without having to move their large, lumbering bodies too
much. A small long-necked head is essential for such a large animal, which will
inevitably require large quantities of food.
On the sides of their neck are two overgrown external
gastric feathers. These serve a primarily sensory function, although for the
purpose of efficiency they do absorb nutrients as they feel around. These
feathers are sensitive to both touch and taste, which are this creature’s
primary senses. The feathers can extend to tens of times their resting size, so
Diphyllops can effectively make
itself aware of its surroundings within a large radius this way without having
to move. As it feels around with these feathers, it is primarily concerned with
searching for food.
Diphyllops potamodytes,
adapted to a forested environment, is smaller than many other gigantid species.
It is also able to absorb nutrients through its legs and tail, with
well-developed stomachs in those parts of its body. This is to make use of the
frequent floodings, and the nutrients that come with it. When the ground is
wet, or rich in nutrients from a recent flood, these nutrients are absorbed
through the feet.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Hadrosomata
Subclass: Psilodermata
Order: Platyurida
Family: Gigantidae
Tribe: Diphyllopini
Genus: Diphyllops
Species: Diphyllops potamodytes
Swamp Otocerus(Otocerus paluster)
Size: 15 metres at shoulder
Diet: aphotan “fungus grass”, shrubs, ice
Habitat: Wetlands
Colouration: grey skin, white exoskeleton
Symmetry: Bilateral
Reproduction: Adults search for a mate for their offspring
to merge and become a chimera with, and let the larvae grow in a nest. These
larvae are looked after until they’re developed enough to take care of
themselves.
Otocerus is
another hadrosome, belonging to a family closely related to Diphyllops. As platyuarids, both groups
use their tail as an extra base of support, resting on it when they need to,
with a flat pad at the tip to support this function. This allows them to
support more weight than most otherwise bipedal hadrosomes.
Otocerus, rather
than growing a long body with an extended neck, instead makes use of this
greater support by growing outwards, with a stocky body and thick musculature.
Their neck is much shorter than that of Diphyllops,
but much thicker, making it better protected during the frequent fights for
dominance these animals engage in. The heads of all its relatives is covered in
a thick, strong skull, which is used for head butting. Some, including
Otocerus, also have tusk like horns coming out of their necks, which are
actually modified hearing organs.
Otocerus often
rests on its head, giving its heavy body four points of support. It supports
its weight on its tusks, which are strong enough to do this, usually lifting it
back up to move. However, sometimes they will drag their tusks against the
ground, especially if the ground is particularly muddy and with low friction,
leaving distinctive tracks. They have a large stomach in their necks, which
brings their centre of gravity forwards; this is why resting their head against
the ground is so important. If they don’t do this, they have to bring their
legs further forwards towards their centre of balance, increasing torque on
their leg muscles.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Superclass: Trilateria
Class: Hadrosomata
Subclass: Psilodermata
Order: Platyurida
Family: Osteopidae
Genus: Otocerus
Species:
Trachyderma magnus
Size: 1.5 metres in diameter
Diet: Vegetation, largely aphotan “fungus” growing on trees
Habitat: Forests
Colouration: Grey
Symmetry: Four fold spherical symmetry (tetrahedral)
Reproduction: Fuses with mates as larvae, growing into a
chimera
Although trilaterians are highly successful, not all
tetrastomes belong to this group, with some retaining their ancestral features.
Trachyderma is particularly primitive
compared to trilaterians, with the tetrahedral symmetry found in the first
tetrastomes – although unlike the first members of this group, who were
aquatic, Trachyderma lives out in the
dry air. Although spherical symmetry would normally be more of a disadvantage
outside of the moon’s murky lakes and seas, Trachyderma
magnus is nevertheless a common sight outside Narlan City, often seen
floating through the air.
These creatures move primarily using jet propulsion,
releasing dense air from their sonar sacs to provide thrust. There is a slit on
each limb leading into the sonar sacs, allowing air to be continually pumped
into the sacks and out of the mouth during flight. With a hydrogen filled swim
bladder, they were able to remain buoyant in air, although their jet propulsion
produces enough force that they should remain airborne even without it,
especially smaller individuals. This is due to the low gravity, which means it
takes less energy to stay in flight in general, coupled with the dense
atmosphere, allowing a given volume of air expelled to produce more thrust than
it would on earth.
Since they have legs facing in every direction, it’s
possible for them to move around entirely though jet propulsion, without
bending their limbs at all. In fact, some similar species are unable to move
their limbs, with their rigid skin not allowing for this. Trachyderma, however, is capable of such movement, with the ability
to change the rigidity of its skin through chemical processes in its body. When
its skin is harder, it is much better protected from predators, but at the cost
of flexibility, so this is usually its resting state. When it needs to change
position, or when feeding, it will make its skin become more pliant before
bringing it back to its harder state.
To further protect it from predators, Trachyderma has a body covered in small spines, making it more
unpleasant to eat. This protects it even from animals large enough to eat it
whole, who find consuming these creatures unpleasant.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Superphylum: Megaptila
Phylum: Tetrastomata
Class: Acamptopoda
Order: Podotremata
Family: Acanthoasteridae
Genus: Trachyderma
Species: Trachyderma magnus
Ditreme(Sedecopes virosus)
Size: 10 – 15 centimetres long
Diet: vegetation, much smaller “bugs”
Habitat: Trees
Colouration: Orange or red, also reflects light in the
infrared
Symmetry: Bilateral
Reproduction: grows flowers on body, which produce tiny
larvae. Larvae merge with a mate, then grow in a pouch inside the mother’s body
Although the majority of large, motile land organisms are
tetrastomes, other phyla do exist on the moon. Ditremes are one such example.
Most are tiny, comparable to insects and worms on Earth, although some groups
are larger, especially on the sea floor.
Unlike tetrastomes, which have an incomplete digestive
system with only a single opening acting as both a mouth and an anus, ditremes
have a digestive tract running entirely from one end of their body to the
other. They tend to have elongated bodies, with more primitive members of the
group being worm-like, and have skin that’s able to contract which allows their
entire body to act as a muscular hydrostatic skeleton. This contractile tissue
functions similarly to the muscles of Earth life (although due to the low
temperatures it must be chemically very different to function), unlike the coil
muscles of tetrastomes, suggesting they have an independent origin to
tetrastome muscles. They lack hearts of any kind, with transport fluids either
drifting naturally or being forced to move from the movement of the organism
itself.
Sedecopes virosus is
one of the largest species in the Narlan forest. It’s a very advanced ditreme,
possessing both legs and eyes, with the front most pair of legs adapted for
food consumption, with a serrated inner edge. The pair second to the front bear
the organism’s photoreceptors, primarily sensitive to infrared, which is what
most of the light reaching the surface of the moon consists of.
In order to avoid predation they have developed a toxic
substance inside their body fluids, deterring predators. In order to both alert
their presence to predators and to herbivores that may eat them accidentally, Sedecopes has a number of adaptations
that allow them to stand out more. To warn visual animals, they are brightly
coloured and have a series of stripes running along their back. While they
stand out even in the visual spectrum, in the infrared can be distinguished
from their surroundings even more so. However, this doesn’t work for animals
with no eyes, of which there are many, so a second adaptation is the presence
of specific textures on their stripes which echolocateing organisms should be
able to detect with their sonar. Animals learn to recognise these patterns, and
avoid them.
Although most ditremes do lack skeletons of any kind, Sedecopes has a long flexible cord
running along the outside of its back, providing support not otherwise provided
by the hydrostatic skeleton. This feature is shared by all rhabdonotes;
organisms belonging to a specific order of ditremes. Other than this, however, Sedecopes is boneless, supported
entirely by hydrostatic pressure.
 |
| Selection of various other ditremes |
Although small brained, Sedecopes
engages in quite complex social behaviour. They establish groups and large
territories, and will often fight any intruders they feel threatened by. To
mark their territory, they leave their urine everywhere, possessing specific
chemicals they can be identified by. They use the two appendages near the back
of their body to spread this urine around, which are also able to secrete
specific pheromones. The pheromones from these limbs can be used to convey
specific messages.
Pheromones and urine embedded on the surface of trees is
detected with chemical receptors on the sensory hairs of their limbs,
especially those of the eyes and rear limbs.
While many ditremes simply release their larvae into the air
and hope they find other larvae to merge with, Sedecopes specifically seeks out a mate. Complex mating dances and
pheromone tastings are done, until they eventually find suitable partners,
based on indicators of health. Mating rituals usually take place during the 37
hour long nights, when it’s dark enough to escape the notice of the few oculate
species immune to their poison. The climate is hardly affected by season, but
in order to ensure individuals’ reproductive cycles line up, flowering usually
occurs during their mating season in the sun is directly overhead, which occurs
twice a year.
Unlike tetrastomes, their flowers tend to be relatively
small, fewer in number, and less random in arrangement. Usually a pair of small
extensions grow near the head, which are capable of movement and able to
extract or deposit larvae between individuals. While they’re stiff in most
ditremes, Sedecopes has developed
such that during flowering the muscular wall of the outer body extends and
begins to grow around the flower, allowing the flower to act as a muscular
hydrostat capable of movement.
Once larvae are ready, the Sedecopes mother consumes them and allows them to grow inside a
pouch in their body. They exit through the mouth once they are large enough,
and the mother takes care of them. Usually they have much fewer offspring at a
time than other ditremes and even tetrastomes, focusing on the survival of a
few rather than having as many as possible.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Phylum: Ditremata
Class: Micropoda
Subclass: Videacia
Order: Rhabdonota
Family: Campidae
Genus: Sedecopes
Species: Sedecopes
virosus
Lepidozoan
(Longipes acanthophyllon)
Size: 30 centimetre diameter with limbs spayed out
Diet: Vegetation
Habitat: Forests, in the air
Colouration: brown exoskeleton, black leaf
Symmetry: Radial (six fold)
Reproduction: reproduces sexually, all are hermaphroditic,
lays eggs
Another common phylum is Lepidozoa. Like ditremes, they tend
to be relatively small, although they are far less widespread or diverse
compared to ditremes. However, they have an advantage over ditremes, which is
the present of an exoskeleton, protecting them from moisture loss.
Both tetrastomes and ditremes can be compared to Earth
slugs, unable to thrive in dry environments, although they are somewhat better
protected from moisture loss than slugs are. Lepidozoans, however, are abundant
in arid climates.
While a fully covering exoskeleton would be a disadvantage
to most of the photosynthesising organisms of Nemoros, these organisms possess
a leaf-like structure growing out of their backs exposed to the open air, where
most of their photosynthesis takes place. Although they’re unprotected, they
can be regenerated relatively easily.
Lepidozoans are more distantly related to tetrastomes than
ditremes, laying eggs and mating through the exchange of gametes rather than
fusing as larvae. They also have permanent reproductive systems, instead of
flowering. While ditremes and tetrastomes could have developed these similar
mating strategies independently, genetic studies performed by Vanarans confirm
that these are homologous traits.
Longipes belongs
to one of the few aerial groups of lepidozoans, with an internal hydrogen
bladder much like those of many tetrastomes keeping it afloat; although due to
their small size not all members of this group possess them. Their six long
legs allow them to feel around well in the their forested environment without
the help of eyes or sonar, and the hairy ends of these limbs can act as fins to
guide their movement, as well as serving their sensory function.
Taxonomy
Tree: Nemorosavitae
Domain: Chemoplastae
Kingdom: Mobilida
Phylum: Lepidozoa
Superclass: Podocyclida
Class: Celypheopoda
Order: Aerocelyphea
Family: Hexapterygidae
Genus: Longipes
Species: Longipes
acanthophyllon
Lecanra (Nemorosan
garden star)
(Lecanra omnivora)
Size: Usually 20 – 40
centimetres in diameter
Diet: Specific aphotan “fungi” that grows on trees
Habitat: Various; the subspecies L. omnivora nemorosensis in particular is particularly well adapted
to living on trees and other sessile organisms.
Colouration: pale pink
Symmetry: Four fold radial symmetry
Reproduction: sexual or asexual, all hermaphrodites, lays
eggs. Young are bilaterally symmetrical, similar in appearance to a single
adult segment; other segments grow as the larva matures.
Not every organism on Nemoros is native to the moon. With
the colonisation of the body a few centuries ago by the Vanarans, there are a
number of introduced species, whether intentional or not. Already, the moon is
teeming with single celled organisms from the Vanaran home world Vanarek, which
was something that was very difficult to avoid. There are also a few larger
species, including Lacanra omnivora,
now a common sight in the forests surrounding the city of Narlan as well as
many other parts of the moon.
They were once a common garden pest on Vanarek, very
adaptable and able to eat a wide range of plants, although nowadays with most
hobbyists gardening in an enclosed environment this isn’t as much of an issue
(although sometimes they are deliberately placed into gardens to simulate the
difficulty of avoiding pests). This is what gave them their name, translating
very approximately as “garden starfish” in most Vanaran languages; Lecanra is this name’s translation in
the vocal trade language, with a more or less similar etymology. In the past
they could commonly be found in houses, too, and owing to their versatility
some have found their way aboard space ships.
They were adaptable enough that they were able to survive
after arriving on Nemoros. Their diet on the moon is very limited, however,
since, because of differences in the chemistry of Nemorosan life, there is a
lot of tissue they aren’t able to process. Still, they are able to live off
certain fibrous fungi growing on trees, and this is more a blessing than
anything else since it means they don’t outcompete native species and drive
them to extinction. With a very specific niche, other organisms are able to
focus on foods Lecanra doesn’t eat.
Their basic body plan has tetraradial symmetry, with four
long limbs with mouths close to the end. This makes them somewhat resemble a
four armed starfish. Food travels through a long digestive tract in each limb,
exiting through an anus at the centre of the body. There is a single eye at the
end of each limb, sensitive to infrared light. Hairs projecting from the end
helps it find food, sensitive to taste.
Each limb has a series of spines at either end; these spines
function similarly to legs, grasping the substrate as the animal moves. As the
animal stretches forwards, it grasps the tree or ground with these claws,
pulling itself across. The two frontmost claws are perhaps the most important,
piercing the substrate, although the claws second to the front assist in
turning. The claws are unable to bend, except slightly where they join the body
(although the second-to-front claws are more flexible) only serving as a means
of clinging to the surface either when staying still on a tree or moving across
it like an inch worm.
Since Vanarek is far drier than Nemoros, Lecanra has a layer of scales to protect
it from moisture loss. Since this prevents the animal from breathing from its
skin, it has eight spiracles on its back leading to a system of trachea where
hydrogen is absorbed.
Taxonomy
Tree: Vanaravitae
Domain: Panethana
Kingdom: Xenoteichea
Phylum: Actinoura
Class: Squamatostellida
Order: Quadrilateria
Family: Lecanridae
Genus: Lecanra
Species: Lecanra
omnivora
Subspecies: Lecanra
omnivora nemorosensis
