Mimic Pylon

Tentatively *Pyloraptor mimic*. A predatory animal disguised as a leafy kelp. Discharges electrical shock when disturbed.

1. Cephalopod-like body

Resembles an octopus or squid planted mantle-down in the seabed, with its arms spread to mimic kelp. Pouches of symbiotic bacteria between the arms allow it to photosynthesize. A beak at the center of its arms is plugged with mucus.

2. Electrical hunting

The four arms contain electrocytes, organs which build up an electrical charge. When disturbed by prey, the electrocysts discharge, causing paralysis or death. It is unclear if the prey are directly eaten, or if they decompose in a garden around the mimic pylon. (Organisms which feed on external decay are known as saprotrophs.)

3. Implies kelp

The pylon's cryptic aggressive mimicry of leafy kelp implies that kelp must exist on this world. Most species in Earths' oceans eat to survive, with primary production (the conversion of sunlight into biomass) carried out by plankton and algae. Leafy kelp were a late evolutionary development.

4. Cave mouth strategy

Mimic pylons tend to cluster around sea cave entrances, perhaps to feed on organisms entering or leaving the caves. Alternately (and speculatively) they may have been planted there by another species to control access.

Assessment: avoid contact to prevent injury. May mark cave mouths.