Lifeforms

Awnworm

Awnworm (*Ventworm awn*). Dwells in hot, mineral-rich water, where its plumes collect hydrogen sulfide and other minerals from the environment. Can survive near-boiling temperatures.

BFJ

*Dactylbrachia gigas*, the behemoth finger-legged jelly. A massive specimen with no Earthly analog.

Bloom Parasite

A beaked, armless cephalopod (similar to squid) that feeds on blood and body fluids. Massively infected with a large RNA virus (generated name: Proteavirus beta) that alters its behavior.

Bullethead

*Panopliateuthis velos*, the armored squid dart. A swarm predator that attacks by ramming and penetrating its prey.

Cerathecan

"Our PDAs point to organisms like the cerathecan and exclaim 'behold: the road not taken'. On Earth, seed shrimp are tiny slime-dwellers; on Proteus they grow huge. But just as easy life in our decontaminated bases deafens us to the call of Proteus, easy analogies blind us to the truth. The map from Earth is not only wrong, so is its basic dogma. Evolution does not follow roads here." —Anita Gottschall, *The Way Away Home*

Collector Leviathan

Enormous cephalopod predator (tentatively *Tyrannoteuthis phobocoeus*, tyrant squid of fearful curiosity). Feeds on hard-shelled, heavily defended prey. Solitary but highly intelligent. Likely a deep-sea creature.

Coral Crab

An enormous crab (tentatively *Ostrakonskelos anaktoraphore*, hard-legged palace-bearer) that hides among coral domes.

Crimson Shrimp

Crimson Shrimp is passive fauna catalogued in Coral Gardens. Current records list 5 confirmed spawn points in 1 biome, within the Main zone, with the cluster centred near -3538 / 4267 / -46. No combat stats are attached to this passive entry, so the wiki profile focuses on habitat placement, spawn observations and threat classification.

Deepwing Brooder

*Titanotagmatapterya amalthea*, the titanic wing-segmented cup of plenty. An enormous arthropod leviathan with a huge tearing beak and a payload of fatty deposits, which it uses to both feed and protect its eggs.

Electric Geordie

Electric geordie (tentatively *Salpapod geordiwangi*). A relative or morph of the common geordie. Attracted to electrical current.

Fish School Flutter Tail

Fish School Flutter Tail is passive fauna catalogued in Colonist Bunker, Coral Gardens, Graveyard and 3 more. Current records list 213 confirmed spawn points in 6 biomes, across Default Devmap, Main, PCG Zoo and 2 more zones, with the cluster centred near -1906 / 2502 / -26. No combat stats are attached to this passive entry, so the wiki profile focuses on habitat placement, spawn observations and threat classification.

Fish School Mirrorhalfmoon

Fish School Mirrorhalfmoon is passive fauna catalogued in Colonist Bunker, Coral Gardens, Plateaus and 1 more. Current records list 186 confirmed spawn points in 4 biomes, across Default Devmap, Gameplayzoo Stimuli, Main and 3 more zones, with the cluster centred near -1628 / 2060 / -20. No combat stats are attached to this passive entry, so the wiki profile focuses on habitat placement, spawn observations and threat classification.

Flash Slug

*Seaslug kleptopharos*, the stolen beacon slug. A free-swimming, luminescent relative of the waterslug with chimeric traits from another species entirely.

Foureye

Foureye (*Morokotoform duplex*). A predatory fish always born in pairs of identical twins. The twins pair belly-to-belly, joining their digestive and nervous systems to behave as a single organism.

Geordie

Geordie (tentatively *Salpapod geordie*). A jet-propelled omnivore evolved from an organism resembling a bony octopus.

Giant Tube Salp

Giant Tube Salp is fauna catalogued from the current creature data. No combat stat block is attached to this entry, so the wiki profile focuses on the structured habitat and spawn facts available.

Great Jaw

Great jaw (tentatively *Megamya sudacna*, great clam that bites you). An enormous omnivorous clam with a a dangerous defensive/feeding strategy.

Halfmoon

Halfmoon (tentatively *Moliform luna*). Large forage fish which strains plankton from seawater and nibbles at small growth.

Hammerhead

Hammerhead (tentatively *Panoplia hammerhead*). An armored, herd-dwelling, territorial herbivore with a powerful ram.

Houndgar

Houndgar (tentatively *Teuthis courser*). A squid that dazzles prey for marrowbreach ambush.

Hoverthorn

*Monopter astrapakantha*, the one-finned lightning thorn. A small fish that has discarded fins in favor of a living magnetohydrodynamic thruster.

Hycean

*Hycean hycean*, a remarkable flying predator named for planets that mix a hydrogen sky and a water ocean.

Jelly Ring

Jelly ring (tentatively *Thermodont sufganiyah*, heat eating jelly donut). Not a jelly, but full of jelly. Feeds on the heat and chemical flux of hydrothermal vents.

Jetocaris

Jetocaris (tentatively *Tripod phrontiscaris*). A three-legged social crustacean that displays parenting behavior.

Locust

Locust is passive fauna catalogued in Axum Ruins, Coral Gardens, Graveyard and 1 more. Current records list 137 confirmed spawn points in 4 biomes, within the Main zone, with the cluster centred near -2908 / 4516 / -147. No combat stats are attached to this passive entry, so the wiki profile focuses on habitat placement, spawn observations and threat classification.

Marrowbreach

Marrowbreach (tentatively *Mango marrowbreach*).

Needler Mango

*Mango kestros*, the dart-throwing shark. Territorial predator capable of launching uranium-tipped tusks at up to twenty meters per second.

Nibbler Mango

Nibbler mango (tentatively *Mango tructa*). A pesky omnivore adapted to scrape-feed. It will happily snap at fish, sponges, kelps, and human limbs.

Nibbler Shark

Nibbler Shark is large predatory fauna catalogued in Colonist Bunker, Coral Gardens, Plateaus and 1 more. Current records list 13 confirmed spawn points in 4 biomes, within the Main zone, with the cluster centred near -3348 / 4197 / -29. Recorded creature tuning lists 100 HP and 500 max swim speed. Movement data contains 8 behaviour rows.

Periscopic Clowncrab

*Ostrakonskelos periskopion*, the hard-legged periscope. A social crab that shelters among stinging anemones.

Pneuma

"The pneuma is one of the ecological amputees we keep finding. It evolved for a niche that no longer exists. It found new ways to get things done, but I think it's still trying to grip that phantom hand." - Sophie Boucher, *Proteus As Patient*

Quadrate

Quadrate (tentatively Salpapod tetragnatha). A carnivorous relative or morph of the common geordie.

Sandspear Juvenile

Sandspear Juvenile is large predatory fauna catalogued in Axum Ruins, Coral Gardens, Overgrown Ruins and 1 more. Current records list 20 confirmed spawn points in 4 biomes, within the Main zone, with the cluster centred near -2899 / 4209 / -102. Recorded creature tuning lists 1000 HP and 500 max swim speed. Movement data contains 6 behaviour rows.

Scourge Hive

Scourge Hive is fauna catalogued from the current creature data. No combat stat block is attached to this entry, so the wiki profile focuses on the structured habitat and spawn facts available.

Shiver Leviathan

"Most of the biosphere is void. A wet desert five thousand meters deep. Life at the surface has its time in the sun and then it dies. The dead snow down to the bottom to feed strange life.

Shiver Male

*Skythopterygion atropos*, the scythe-finned fate-ender. The male of a sexually dimorphic leviathan predator species which dwells in open water and attacks in packs (or shivers).

Snorkleback (Adult)

Snorkleback (Adult) is fauna catalogued from the current creature data. No combat stat block is attached to this entry, so the wiki profile focuses on the structured habitat and spawn facts available.

Surge Jelly

Surge jelly (tentatively Staurobrachia capacitor). Large, complex jelly that hunts with electric shocks.

Teal Cycloplet

Teal Cycloplet is passive fauna catalogued in Coral Gardens. Current records list 29 confirmed spawn points in 1 biome, within the Main zone, with the cluster centred near -3462 / 3982 / -49. No combat stats are attached to this passive entry, so the wiki profile focuses on habitat placement, spawn observations and threat classification.

Tongue Thief

*Postpanoplia epicurean*, the voracious unarmored armored fish. Unpredictable and hungry, especially when under the influence of a parasite.

Twin Sitaray

*Sitaroid gemini*, the twin ray that resembles a sitar. A dark-sea electropredator driven towards the surface by ecological disruption.

Veps Defender

Veps Defender is fauna catalogued from the current creature data. No combat stat block is attached to this entry, so the wiki profile focuses on the structured habitat and spawn facts available.

Veps Sensor

Veps Sensor is fauna catalogued from the current creature data. No combat stat block is attached to this entry, so the wiki profile focuses on the structured habitat and spawn facts available.

Water Slug

Water slug (tentatively *Seaslug hydroclast*). A biological enigma that converts seawater into drinkable fresh water.

Waxmoon

Waxmoon is predatory fauna catalogued in Axum Ruins, Colonist Bunker, Coral Gardens and 1 more. Current records list 15 confirmed spawn points in 4 biomes, within the Main zone, with the cluster centred near -2341 / 4282 / -143. No combat stat block is attached to this entry, so the wiki profile focuses on the structured habitat and spawn facts available. Movement data contains 6 behaviour rows.

Acid Raion

*Raion carbonica*. A colony of worms living inside a shared membrane, probably a sponge. Uses weak acid to digest prey. 1. Raion An organism defined as a sponge occupied by a colony of cloned predatory worms. This sponge is chambered, akin to Earth's extinct sphinctozoans; the chambers grow around a central pump. 2. Pressurized acid The raion's worms secrete weak acid as a digestive factor and defense mechanism. This acid is held under pressure by a plug in the raion's central pump. To avoid unwanted acid release, cut away the chambers before disturbing the central pump. 3. Volcanic origin? The acid raion may have originally evolved near a cold seep or a volcanic caldera. Acid-friendly biochemistry gave it a useful defense mechanism and feeding strategy to colonize other waters. 4. Medical gel The raion's central pump is partially plugged by a mass of worm residue; this keeps the pressure in the chambers high. This residue contains useful clotting factors and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Recommend collection. 5. Problematic genetics Spectrogenetic analysis indicates the host sponge and the resident worms contain partial copies of each others' genomes. This is a biological impossibility on Earth, and suggests that genetic inheritance functions differently on this world. Assessment: useful source of weak acid for batteries. Central plug contains medically relevant gel. Cut away chambers before removing central plug. Consult with your Noetic Advisor system to research optimum search areas.

Aeroshell Sponge

A glowing sponge (tentatively *Symphon aeroshell*) that resembles the cone of a heat shield on atmospheric entry. 1. Predation strategy The aeroshell feeds on microorganisms attracted to light, especially in dark caves where it can be mistaken for the sun. 2. Light source Instead of relying on symbiotic bacteria, the aeroshell generates its own light through oxygen-fueled reactions. This light is piped throughout its tissue by glassy fibers resembling those grown by Earth's glassy sponges - among the longest living animals known. 3. Symbiotic partner Often found associated with shootroots (hard-surfaced starfish-like organisms that burrow into the seafloor). The exact dynamics of the symbiosis are unknown. Await further updates. Assessment: useful light source in dark water. May provide interesting bio-optics reference.

Amphora Sponge

*Symphon amphora*. A sponge adapted to colonize — and create — air pockets. 1. Amphora-shaped structure Like all sponges, the amphora requires constant flow through its pores to survive, but it pumps air rather than water. Contraction and expansion forces moist air through the sponge's pores. Absorbent surfaces harvest water and carbon dioxide from the air. Waxy coating helps prevent water loss. 2. Radiolytic metabolism The soft blue glow of the sponge is bioluminescence fueled by radioactive minerals in the sponge's vanes (the structures growing from the anchoring rhizoid). This radiation splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gases gather in the cave ceilings the amphora prefers to colonize, creating pockets of knallgass (unmixed hydrogen and oxygen). Though breathable, this air is highly flammable and an explosion risk. The sponge's symbiotic bacteria feed on the hydrogen and oxygen, producing energy and water. The sponge uses this energy to fix carbon from the air and grow, as an Earth plant would. Assessment: a remarkable step. The amphora sponge may evolve an entire lineage of dry-land sponges, colonizing niches filled by plants and fungi on Earth. Indicates the presence of an air pocket. Swim up to breathe. Do not ignite flares or discharge electrical devices in the pocket.

Apocalypse Sponge

*Symphon apokalupsis*. An unassuming button-shaped sponge that may be an omen of mass extinction. 1. Simplicity Among the earliest animal forms on Earth, sponges are a group of cells that live between two membranes and work together to pump water. Sponges on this world are similarly elegant. 2. Tolerance Due to this simplicity, sponges tolerate low oxygen and high temperatures better than many other organisms. They also benefit from elevated death rates, which floods the water with decaying matter. 3. Role in mass extinction Biospheres dominated by sponges may be an indicator of a recent or ongoing mass extinction. After Earth's first major die-off during the Ordovician period, some 85% of species went extinct, leaving a world ruled by sponges. The popular existential terror franchise "Life Is Only Pulse" is set in a fictionalized version of this time period. Assessment: possibly a warning sign of planetwide ecological collapse. Possibly not.

Branching Coral

Nahema, voice log, go. This is a typical Protean coral, but it's not a typical *Earth* coral. Yeah, the gross morphology is a branching tree, like the extinct Acropora...but if you look inside, it gets weird. On Earth, coral are little jellyfish who build stone houses. On Proteus...it's more like they moved into an apartment block. A sponge. The coral polyps lived in the sponge's pores...they paid rent by cleaning and protecting the sponge. Eventually some sponges turned hard and rocky, like Earth's sclerosponges. If I'm right, we should see other coral-sponge pairs that have worked out different deals. Each deal suited to a particular ecological niche. The real question is....what is going on with these genetics?

Cabbage Shootroot

*Shootroot cabbage*. A robust bottom-dwelling organism anatomically similar to a plastic starfish, or to an opened variety of Earth's extinct blastoids. 1. Animal anatomy The cabbage shootroot's upwards-facing mouth is surrounded by outstretched arms. These arms are hard, tightly grouped, partly calcified, and covered in a tough biopolymer characteristic of other shootroots (tentative name: polyproteovinyl). These arms produce the cabbage-leaf texture that gives the shootroot its name. 2. Seabed burrowing A second set of arms uses ribbons of the same tough biopolymer to dig into the seabed, stirring up sediment and expanding cracks in rock. This is a difficult and metabolically expensive process, but it is a niche with little competition. 3. Symbiote kiss The cabbage shootroot does not use its mouth to eat, or its hard leaflike arms to feed. These surfaces seem to be reserved for a symbiotic partner. The cabbage shootroot uses its mouth to transfer nutrients gathered by its roots to the symbiote, and to receive a trickle of food or chemistry in exchange. 4. Circular nerve cord Like all shootroots, the cabbage shootroot is notable for its expression of a circular nerve cord. Assessment: do not sit. You may receive nutrients.

Cage Gorgon

*Gorgon thalamiskos*. A predatory soft coral named for its resemblance to Earth's gorgonians. 1. Sponge-coral moiety Like hard corals on this world, gorgons are sponges inhabited by cnidarian polyps — tiny jellyfish like organisms which live within the sponge and direct its growth. Unlike hard corals, they do not produce a limestone structure or host photosynthetic microbes. They are pure predators. 2. Caged friend The cage gorgon specializes in capturing and protecting a symbiotic partner, which attracts prey for the gorgon to sting and eat. The cage gorgon larva probably adheres to a partner (such as a cherimoya rotsac) and then grows around it, eventually fastening the partner to the seafloor. 3. Duplex larva The free-swimming reproductive stage of the cage gorgon carries cells of a host sponge, like seeds. These seeds are genetically distinct from other sponges in the ecosystem, suggesting the cage gorgon is monogamous with only a single host sponge. Assessment: cutting open the cage gorgon allows access to the symbiotic partner and carries no risk of inflicting pain or suffering. The cage may attract a new partner before healing, or survive while empty.

Cherimoya Rotsac

*Rotsac cherimoya*. A tunicate-like animal which collects alcohol from decaying matter to produce a creamy, flavorful mucus. 1. Cherimoya Named for its resemblance to the terrestrial cherimoya fruit (or custard apple). It can be eaten whole or sucked on through a straw; the exterior tunic is soft but the heart, nervous system, and other organs should be spat out. The rotsac contains mercury sulfide, which will eventually accumulate to dangerous levels in the human body. 2. Peculiar metabolism As a rough inverse of the lucifer rotsac, the cherimoya rotsac converts alcohols to sugars rather than decomposing sugars to alcohols. The cherimoya achieves this with a chemical pathway that does not occur on Earth. Aqueous cinnabar provides a source of mercury to oxidize alcohols into simple sugars. The cherimoya has no other behaviors: it simply stores sugars as it grows into a taut, full adult. 3. Symbiotic partner Because of its plentiful stored sugars, the cherimoya is a common symbiotic partner for organisms like the cage gorgon. 4. Enteric reproduction The cherimoya rotsac is gonochoric - either male or female. However, it does not release eggs or sperm into the seawater. Instead, its reproductive cells are eaten by organisms feeding on the cherimoya. They seek out other cherimoya rotsacs' gametes in the digestive tract of the host. The fertilized embryos are then expelled by the host organism, providing them with nutritious waste to bootstrap their growth. Assessment: edible. Your digestive tract may briefly become pregnant.

Coral Dome

*Coral geodesica*. The defining feature of its shallow biome. 1. Coral analog Like Earthly coral, the dome is a colony of polyps, small jellyfish-like animals that secrete a limestone skeleton. This process uses dissolved carbon dioxide from the seawater: corals are therefore an important method of climate regulation, since they transform atmospheric carbon into hard limestone. 2. Dual feeding strategy The dome's outer surface feeds on sunlight, using photosynthetic symbiotes known as zooxanthellae. As the dome grows, the colony clears its interior, recycling the limestone for reuse. Polyps on the inside of the dome hunt with stinging tentacles. 3. Mineral expulsion As the dome grows, it collects and expels mineral waste, creating nodes of quartz. 4. Critical ecosystem element The dome corals help regulate global climate and provide a breakwater, reducing erosion in their shallow surroundings. The domes capture nutritious sediments from sea currents. Pioneers should prioritize a survey of coral health. Assessment: critical source of quartz. Vital to the local ecosystem.

Cradle Shootroot

A basket-shaped organism (tentatively *shootroot cunabulum*) with no clear Earthly analog. Anatomically similar to a plastic starfish, or to an opened variety of Earth's extinct blastoids. 1. Animal anatomy The flattened, fibrous 'leaves' are the arms of an animal loaded with photosynthetic symbiotes. The central structure houses a digestive system and a hard, sticky cradle (the cunabulum). A second ring of arms grows into the seabed, seeking crevices in the rock. 2. Preferred symbiote The cradle is an exchange site with a symbiotic partner (such as the lucifer rotsac). Spectrogenetic analysis suggests the cradle shootroot is younger than the rotsac. It may have originally parasitized free-floating lucifer rotsacs, before evolving a niche as an anchor: providing a refuge and minerals to the rotsac in exchange for a share of the rotsac's fermented food. 3. Plastic fibers Although it lacks the true cell walls of Earth plants, the cradle shootroot strengthens its tissues with bioplastic fibers. Too tough to cut by hand, they could be severed by a cutting tool. Assessment: tough fibers could be used to synthesize fabric, possibly food.

Curtain Gorgon

*Gorgon aulaia*. A soft, predatory coral akin to Earth's gorgonians, especially the Venus fan. 1. Sponge-coral moiety Like Earth's brown tube sponges (*Agelas schmidti*), soft corals on this world are a colony of coral polyps growing within a matrix of sponge tissue. In this specimen it is very difficult to distinguish the sponge's jellylike inner tissue (or mesohyl) from the soft coenenchyme which connects the coral polyps. 2. Ribbons of tissue The curtain gorgon forms a long, low-lying fan of tissue which catches prey. The curtain gorgon is an obligate predator and cannot survive on sunlight, but some specimens are colonized by chemotrophic bacteria which may provide the gorgon with extra energy. 3. Plasticized skeleton The gorgon's skeleton is chemically similar to PVC (polyvinyl chloride, an obsolete industrial plastic). Assessment: indicates the presence of plankton and other small sea life.

Dangling Salp

*Salp pendulous*. A sticky, suspension-feeding predator that captures organisms from the current. 1. Salp-like biology Like Earth's salps, this is a colony of zooids — tiny, cloned animals (in this case tunicates) — that form a long, tube-like pump. The salp draws in water to filter for plankton. 2. Hard holdfast The holdfast that anchors the feeding string is secreted by the same zooids that make up the rest of the organism. Spectrogenetic analysis detects proteins similar to those expressed by reefbuilding sponges and corals. 3. Bloom response Terrestrial salps can reproduce very quickly, allowing them to grow with—and devour—sudden blooms of algae. If the algae bloom is too dense, the salps may clog. Assessment: may be a useful indicator of ecological stress. Await further updates.

Donut of Worms

An organism (tentatively *Raion donut*) that resembles an Earthly anemone or ceriantherian, but is actually a sponge occupied by a colony of predatory worms. 1. Raion An organism defined as a sponge occupied by a colony of cloned predatory worms. 2. Hunting strategy The worms live in the sponge's jelly (called the mesohyl), protruding from its anus (the osculum) to sting passing prey with sticky cells and draw them into the sponge. 3. Puzzling genetics Spectrogenetic analysis indicates the host sponge and the resident worms contain partial copies of each others' genomes. This is a biological impossibility on Earth, and suggests that genetic inheritance functions differently on this world. Assessment: minor sting hazard — do not insert fingers. Important scientific discovery.

Donut, No Worms

Donut of worms (tentatively *Raion donut*) without visible worms. 1. Normal state Just as terrestrial corals contain photosynthetic partners called zooxanthella, the donut contains a population of predatory worms. 2. Disturbed state Just as terrestrial corals sometimes expel their partners when under stress, this donut raion has discharged or killed its population of worms. (Alternatively, they have left in search of a better host.) This may be a reproductive strategy, a defensive reaction to the worms turning on and feeding upon the sponge, or a response to environmental stress. Assessment: unclear how long the donut can survive without its primary food supply. Terrestrial corals survive only days to weeks after bleaching.

Dragon's scale coral

Flagon Spraion

*Spraion flagon*. Databank generation alert: known scientific theory inadequate to explain specimen. Interpretation and improvisation may lead to error. 1. Sponge-worm hybrid Like the raions, this is a sponge occupied by worms. The sponge pumps seawater, while the worms feed on meioafauna in the current. In this 'spraion' the two organisms have become genetically entwined: each can give birth to the other. This defies conventional evolutionary theory, which uses reproductive barriers to define species. 2. Alternating generations Some of the sponge's germ cells undergo a transformation into worm embryos. This transformation involves the activation and expression of stored genetic material from the worm genome. Adult worms leave the sponge, swim to a new anchor site, and die. Their bodies provide food to a newborn flagon sponge. 3. Possible explanations The simplest explanation is that these are two alternating generations of the same organism — like the polyp and medusa stages of the jellyfish life cycle. But spectrogenetic analysis suggest the flagon sponge and its resident worms evolved tens of millions of years apart. Exactly how the reproductive cells of one organism can yield an adult of another species is unknown. Assessment: advise further investigation. May yield insight into genetic adaptations specific to this world. Await further updates.

Fridge Worm

*Ventworm cryocthonian*, the vent worm that brings cold from below. 1. Vent worm The fridge worm's body plan is familiar from terrestrial analogs — a tubular body with a protruding gill. The body hosts a colony of symbiotic bacteria in a chamber called the trophosome ("feeding body"). These bacteria help the worm survive extreme environments. 2. Cold water emitter The cryocthonian lives in colonies along geothermal gradients—from hot to cold. It exploits the flow of energy and minerals through the rock to feed. Colonies pumps deep, cold brine (usually at 4 degrees C) to the worms exposed to hot water, helping regulate their temperature. 3. Sulfur-based metabolism The symbiotic bacteria in the fridge worm feed on sulfur and other dissolved minerals. The fridge worm uses cold deep-sea brine to trigger chemical reactions which help collect minerals from the hot vent water. Assessment: Produces pockets of cold water. May attract life that cannot tolerate the surrounding heat.

Hecaton Tunic

*Hecaton tunic*. Named for the hundred-handed hecatoncheires of Greek myth. A complex of animals undergoing competitive sex differentiation. 1. Anatomy Each pore on the surface of the hecaton is the mouth of a tunic, a complex filter-feeding animal. The colony's branching structure allows each tunicate acces to the water so it can breathe and eat. Each tunic grows a flexible, semi-hard polyvinyl shell which merges with the neighbors' tunics, defending the entire colony. 2. Growth patterns Analysis suggests the colony begins as a single stem of identical tunicates cloned from an embryo. More successful tunicates become large and sexually mature, starting new arms of the colony and developing their own eggs. Less successful tunicates are driven to the ends of the arms, where they shrink and develop a teal bioluminescence. 3. Viral reproduction The less successful tunicates do not release sperm. Instead, they are heavily infected by a strain of large RNA virus in the seawater. The majority of the tunic's genome consists of copies of this virus insert by retroviral action. How the hecaton tunic fertilizes eggs is therefore unclear—it seems to lack sperm cells. Assessment: reproductive enigma. Await further updates.

Jack Sponge

Nahema, voice log, go. Earth's last great man joked that the Creator must love stars and beetles, because It made so many of them. Two hundred years later we've found a lot of alien life, but not a lot of beetles. Sorry, Jack. But look—your Creator's still playing favorites. Wherever It works, It seems to get started with a sponge.

Jelly Lei

*Anthobrachia hebesoros*, the young stack of flower arms. Reproductive stage of a flower-like jelly. 1. Polyp Despite its resemblance to a kelp, the jelly lei prefers to hang underneath surfaces—where it cannot photosynthesize. It is the rooted polyp phase of a jellyfish's life cycle. The chain of 'flowers' growing beneath the polyp are larval jellyfish, called ephyra. The stalk itself is called a scyphistome. 2. Ephyral traits The budding larvae have broad, flat petals which will eventually merge into the adult jelly's bell. These petals already host photosynthetic symbiotes—it is possible the adult jelly will seek light sources to grow, akin to the terrestrial upside-down jelly. Note the purple color produced by photosynthetic retinal, the same molecule your eyes use to detect light. 3. Heat stress The jelly lei's growth cycle has been accelerated by heat stress. The stalked parent may release its larvae early to allow them to swim clear of hot, oxygen-depleted water. Assessment: sign of ecological crisis.

Listening Gorgon

*Gorgon Kryphakous* or Listening Gorgon. A soft coral with dull olive filaments. A predatory filter feeder that sways with the current like kelp. Not known to be hostile or harmful to humans, but remains under observation (see notes below). 1. Sound sensitive Dissecting the Listening Gorgon's basal filaments reveals a web of vibration-sensitive cilia hidden in its soft, gelatinous core. These can detect movement through water at resolutions not seen except in the airflow sensors of clip-winged gnats on Kepler-22b - enough to pick up the swish of a tail through miles of water. 2. Reactive orientation At first the listening gorgon appeared inert, but its movement is simply too slow to be perceived. It has been observed to orient itself over time to specific low-frequency vibrations. It will do this even if food is less abundant in that direction. 3. Silent. The Gorgon kryphakous has no vibration-producing organs. It emits no detectable signals - no chemical plumes nor bioluminescence. It is essentially silent across all known communication spectra. ASSESSMENT: Requires further analysis. One leading hypothesis suggests that the Listening Gorgon once tracked the low-frequency vibrations of a massive, slow-moving marine species - now possibly extinct, or still undetected in the deeper zones of Proteus’s oceans. If so, the open question is whether this trait evolved in response to an ecological partner... or a threat

Lucifer Rotsac

Tentatively *Rotsac lucifer*, the light-bringing rotsac. A tunicate-like animal which ferments decomposing biomatter inside its body. 1. Hidden body The rotsac's larval swimming body transforms into a spherical adult form. Because fermentation does not require oxygen, the rotsac actually stops breathing as it matures. 2. Swollen with hydrocarbons The rotsac contains isoprene, useful for fabricating rubber and lubricant. High diacetyl levels give the rotsac a strong caramel funk. 3. Bioluminescence Glow may attract animals (especially sun-seeking microorganisms) to defecate or die on the rotsac. Bioluminescence seems to play an important role in this world's ecology. Regular experiments with light reactions are advised. 4. Symbiote Often found glued to the cradle shootroot, an unrelated species of starfish-like bottom-dweller that provides the rotsac with an anchor while it grows. Assessment: useful source of organic polymers for rubber and oil. Consult your Noetic Advisor to research optimal search areas.

Macaron Sponge

*Symphon macaron*. A sponge that has developed a disc of flagellated feeding cells. Named for the dessert sandwich cookie (not available in current fabricator settings). 1. Hardened plates Instead of a sponge's normal inner and outer layers, the macaron develops two hard plates of pinacoderm. These anchor the feeding disc to a holdfast. 2. Feeding disc The sponge's mesohyl (internal jelly) has specialized into feeding disc, with tentacled cells that pull particles from the surrounding seawater. This leaves the delicate jelly vulnerable to predators and parasites. 3. Hostage exchange The feeding disc hosts the larvae of sponge-eating organisms in its pores. By providing a shelter and habitat for their young, the macaron may buy itself a degree of safety and defense. (These larvae are themselves tempting prey for many species.) 4. Unusual protein expression Many of the cells in the feeding disc express proteins also found in the hosted larvae. This may be a recognition signal to attract the desired species. ASSESSMENT: Inedible despite name. Await further updates.

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.

Necrolei

*Anthobrachia necrolei*. A clonal stalk of large jellies, similar to Earth's stauromedusae. Each jelly remains moored to the stalk, rather than maturing into a free-swimming medusa. 1. Enormous size and hunger Rather than feeding on prey, the necrolei gathers dead matter from the seawater. The size and height of the stalk are directly related to the rate of death and decay up-current. 2. Acid-yielding metabolism The necrolei has adapted to low-oxygen seawater. It ferments much of the matter it collects in a central 'basket' stomach, a process which requires no oxygen and yields strong acids. The necrolei concentrates these acids around its eggs as a defense. Assessment: large numbers of necrolei in this region indicate a bloom, a population explosion caused by a flood of nutrients. This is a poor sign for the health of the ecosystem and perhaps for the state of the global climate. Produces egg clusters that can be processed into strong acid.

Noon Gorgon

Noon gorgon (tentatively *Gorgonian meridiem).* A predatory soft coral that lures prey by mimicking the sun in the dark. The brightest noon gorgon in a cave will attract the majority of the prey, creating an arms race to be as bright as possible. Noon gorgons feed much of their energy to their symbiotic light-producing lucifer rotsac. The ancestral noon gorgon may have evolved to grow towards or around lucifer rotsacs, using them as bait. Eventually, a symbiotic partnership developed. Expect noon gorgons to modify their spectrum in different depths and biomes.

Oxygen Tunic

*Tunic aeolian*. A bizarre animal that splits seawater into hydrogen (on which it feeds) and oxygen (which it releases). 1. Tunic Like Earthly tunicates, this is a complex animal with a heart, nerve chord, and a flexible exterior shell (the tunic). 2. Radiolytic metabolism At the heart of the oxygen tunic is a nugget of radioactive metal such as uranium, radium, or thorium. Radiation from this nugget splits water into hydrogen and oxygen through radiolysis. The oxygen tunic retains the hydrogen to feed an internal colony of sulfur-reducing bacteria, and releases the excess oxygen. 3. Blue glow Cherenkov radiation from the core excites radioluminescent pigments in the tunic, producing a distinctive blue glow. This may be a warning to would-be predators that the oxygen tunic releases poisonous quantities of oxygen. 4. Implications for life on this world The oxygen tunic's metabolism suggests that this world has an energetic geology and a biosphere adapted to use radiation as a food source. It also has interesting implications for life without sunlight. On Earth, even deep-sea vents depend on oxygen produced by photosynthesis. No such dependency exists here. Assessment: emergency oxygen source for divers. Beware that repeated use could lead to radon buildup, with serious health risks including cancer.

Pebbled Sporal

*Sporal psephos*. A moiety (two paired species) of a sponge and a coral. Possibly a single chimeric organism. 1. Reefbuilding Reefbuilding on this world seems to be carried out by a range of sponge-coral pairings. In hard corals, the sponge has lost its ability to feed independently and provides a hard shell for the corals. In this organism, the relationship is reversed: the coral polyps grow a hard surface shell, while the sponges continue to pump water. Because the hard shell blocks the sponges' pores, they work in pairs, with one inhaling through its osculum and one exhaling. 2. Dome coral association Frequently found on the surface of the larger dome coral, blocking patches of its surface from receiving sunlight. This may be an opportunistic/parasitic relationship. 3. Confusing genetics Both coral polyps and sponge cells seem to carry the full genome of both organisms, blurring the definition of a species. It is unknown how a single organism can contain genomes for two biologically distinct species; the two cannot reproduce sexually to combine their genes. Assessment: interesting data point.

Radiator Coral

A hard coral that frequently grows on hydrothermal vents. It uses the temperature gradient between its anchored base and its cold-water lip to drive metabolic reactions. Await further updates.

Stagged Mephit (HiHat)

*Mephit ceryneian.* A stack of cloned clams adapted to life in very hot water. The central stalk that connects them appears to be a symbiotic worm worm worm worm worm 1. Clamclone Clam stack clone stack! Jelly lei like. Connect on worm like coins on spindle. Monitoring PDA bad output. 2. Genderstack All clone female. Worm forms antlers: emit male cell. Why worm help clam? No more worm. Worm taken over by clam cancer. 3. Hot hot hot! Clams evolve shut forever. Too hot! Never open...but then starve? A ha, eat with tissue fans, withdraw if nibble burn. Starvation solved. 4. Namepun Stack sounds like stag and stack has antlers and stag has antlers. Stagged. Name for hot water living clam? Mephit. Stagged mephit. Assessment: bad output stop.

Stilt Orb

Titan Rockbore

The titan rockbore (Lithodont titanicae) shares certain biological traits with the large organism on the horizon. Because the size of the organism implies the need for enormous amounts of nutrients, the titan rockbore may be a root or pipe that ultimately connects back to the central tower. The rockbore has evolved receptor sites for the seawater-borne Proteavirus Follow the roots. Tend the roots. Save what lives.

Titan-class Organism

The titan-class organism on the eastern horizon pushes the boundaries of planetbound life. —Visible height exceeds two kilometers —Visible width approaches three kilometers —Dimensions of subsurface structure unknown —Material properties unknown —Ecological niche unknown Recommend further investigation.

Toxic Sponge

A hateful and malicious sponge. Assessing PDA neural temperature. Reducing output subjectivity. *Symphon achlys*, sponge of dying mist. A dangerous semi-predatory sponge that acts as the central node in a necrobiome. 1. Bacterial arsenal Sponges cultivate bacteria which secrete helpful chemicals. At some point in its history the toxic sponge was infected by a bacterial symbiote which generated a powerful antibiotic (akin to the human Streptomyces). The bacterium used this antibiotic to extinguish competition, then began an internal power struggle to evolve compounds that could destroy rival strains of its own species. The result is a sponge flush with an antibiotic so concentrated it causes skin burns and nerve damage. 2. Touch based hunting strategy When brushed, the sponge contracts sharply, expelling a cloud of antibiotic toxin. Microorganisms are killed, and larger species may enter convulsions and die nearby. The dead matter decomposes, releasing nutrients upon which the sponge feeds. 3. Animal gene fragments The toxic sponge's genetic code contains fragment of an animal genome: likely a crustacean. Assessment: avoid. Keep medical supplies on hand to treat chemical burns and nerve damage.

Tripe-bowl Raion

*Raion calix*. A puzzling combination of worm colony (the raion) and slime mold. 1. Feeding strategy Feeds on drifting matter, though the worms also sting and kill meiofauna (small sea life between 45 nm and 1 mm in size). 2. Glassy central structure The central structure is a glasy spicule similar to those found in Earth's glass sponges. The worms live in this structure, creating a raion — a sponge inhabited by worms. 3. "Tripe bowl" The ‘tripe bowl’ around the base is a single enormous cell, similar to Earth’s syncytial slime molds. The structure resembles the lining of a cow’s stomach, although this Voronoi pattern is common to self-organizing structures in many exobiologies. Its function is unclear. In terrestrial analogs, syncytial structures can be found in both healthy tissues like muscles and in tissues infected by certain viruses. Optogenetic analysis cannot determine the tripe bowl's genetic ancestry. Assessment: biological enigma. Await further updates.

Whip Gorgon

*Gorgon mastix*, the whip gorgon. A soft coral similar to the earthly gorgonians — it lacks the hard limestone shell of a true reefbuilding coral. 1. Earthly namesake Named for the extinct *Leptogorgia virulata*, Earth's sea whip. Like the sea whip it is a predator, and it must defend its soft body from parasites and predation. 2. Spine defenses Unlike the terrestrial sea whip, which developed a chemical arsenal to repel unwanted contact, the whip gorgon colony has developed specialized 'soldier' polyps which migrate to the surface and develop a brittle spine. When disturbed, this spine snaps off, releasing the soldier's payload of toxins. It is impossible to project the effects of this sting on colonists, but mechanical similarities to the infamous Australian gympie-gympie plant suggest negative outcomes ranging from chronic agony to total sleep deprivation lasting weeks to years. 3. Carnivorous diet 'Civilian' polyps in the whip gorgon use their stings to kill and digest microscopic prey. They lack the brittle spine and powerful toxins of the soldier polyp. ASSESSMENT: Avoid contact. Consider pruning back with hand tools.

Aster Scyllid

*Megahecaspid aster*. A colony of shell-forming, algae-like organisms analogous to Earth's haptophytes or coralline algae. 1. Megahecaspid A colony of hecaspids — organisms with fatty or starchy interiors surrounded by many shields of calcium carbonate. 2. Bacterial symbiote These hecaspids use internal bacterial reservoirs to feed on sunlight, chemical, or even radiation. (Electrical feeding is theoretically possible but not yet observed.) 3. Nutrient trove The interior of the colony is a reservoir of high-density food storage. An appropriate nickname might be 'sea tuber' (not to be confused with the nickname for deep-sea metallic nodules). Assessment: positive sign for biodiversity. Await further updates.

Tallshroom

*Hyphen tallshroom*. A mysterious, chitinous life form with no clear terrestrial analog. 1. Hyphen Hyphens are colonies of hard-shelled hecaspids: shell-making algae. (Algae on this world descended from a star-like 'solarian' cell, while all animal life descended from an elongated 'polarian' cell.) Hecaspids in the colony align their shells into a column, forming tough armored threads, or hyphae. On Earth hyphae are characteristic of fungi, but it is not clear if an analogous group exists on this world. 2. Tallshroom The tallshroom is a complex organism with differentiated organs, but all its structures are fundamentally threadlike — hyphenated — and constructed of tough biopolymer akin to chitin. Gill-like structures along the flanks collect oxygen and chemistry from the water, fruiting bodies disperse reproductive cells, and the central body forms a sealed 'wellhead'. 3. Armored driller Tallshrooms drill their hyphae into the rock below, cracking open their own hydrothermal vents. The body captures the outflow of this vent, where bacteria convert minerals into energy. If the outflow becomes too hot or rapid, the tallshroom's drumlike top blows open, releasing the catastrophic overflow. 4. Viral history Like the mammalian placenta, the tallshroom's hyphae evolved in an explosion of retroviral inserts. These viral proteins are expressed in the tips of the drill fibers. Hyphae may have originally evolved as viral predators—inserting a symbiotic virus into armored life forms by growing on and cracking through their bodies. 5. Cousins Despite millions of years of evolutionary separation, the tallshroom shares elements of its body plan with the false fission drum *Polymephycite tympanum*, a fellow member of clade Scyllidae. It is unknown whether this represents convergent evolution, mimicry, or a viral gene transfer. Assessment: indicator of new evolutionary pathways unique to this world.

Feather Kelp

Fern Kelp

Wort Wort

*Wort wort*. One of the first kelplike organisms encountered on this world (provisional designation: *kaulos*). Like kelps, it is a large algae, not a plant. Rather than photosynthesis. the wort wort generates energy through fermentation. 1. Living fermenter Fermentation is metabolism without oxygen. Though slow, it produces energy-rich alcohols. The wort wort's bulbs (or worts) contain wort (a sugary fluid) which is fermented by symbiotic bacteria into alcohol. The wort wort collects biomatter too tough for other digest to decay as mash for its wort. 2. Animal genetics The biochemical processes used by the wort wort are derived from fish muscle cells. This is difficult to explain, given that the two branches of life must have diverged billions of years ago. 3. Dark sign The wort wort thrives in low-oxygen oceans. Whether deoxygenation occurred in the past or is only now beginning requires further analysis. Assessment: slowly contributes energy to the ecosystem by recycling dead matter. Possibly a sign of a past or future mass extinction.

False Fission Drum

Tentatively *Polymephycite tympanum*. Not animal, plant, or fungus, but a fourth category of complex life analogous to Earth protists. 1. Central structure The central stipe is a biopolymer akin to chitin or keratin held upright by a beard of air-filled sacs (pneumatocysts). 2. Dual feeding strategy Photosynthesis is the primary nutrient source, but cave-dwelling drums subsist on dissolved nutrients. 3. Reactor glow Adults develop a large bioluminescent swelling called a sprangia. Its blue light precisely mimics the Cherenkov radiation of a nuclear fission reactor immersed in seawater. Assessment: further investigation required. Await further updates.

Bloom Canker

This chimeric organism (Viroblast gaggraina) is a feeding and reproduction site for a large RNA virus (generated name: Proteavirus beta). It is a colony of funnel-shaped cells similar to Earthly choanoflagellates. 1. Natural origin The canker's cells are infected by the Proteavirus beta strain, which modifies their behavior and gene expression. The cells work together to form a slime mold. 2. Structural slime The slime mold uses glue borrowed from clam anchor proteins to grow a holdfast stalk and numerous sporangia (fruiting bodies) too tough to be cut with hand tools. 3. Viral crystals The canker stores solid crystals of Proteavirus beta virion. When the canker feeds, it releases Proteavirus beta into the seawater, then soaks up killed microorganisms. These crystals are vulnerable to high-frequency sonic resonance. 4. Network effect The canker grows towards other infected organisms, transferring nutrients and electrical current. If the viral bloom ecosystem is a body, these cankers are both mouth and gonad. 5. Protective shell Cankers grow a tough, crablike shell using genes from other Proteavirus beta-infected organisms. Pores in the shell provide excellent sonic insulation, but the canker cannot feed with its shell closed. Assessment: primary feeding site for ecologically dubious viral bloom. Destroy when opened. Destruction may help nearby infected organisms clear the virus.

Bloom Sap

A water slug (Seaslug hydroclast) infected by an aggressive bacterial bloom and trapped in its own secretions. 1. Living water slug The slug is suffocating in a mass of sap-like resin secreted by its infected desalination organs. Probable infection vector: bacterial bloom in seawater. 2. Hardened saplike secretion The terpene-rich resin is produced by bacteria infecting the water slug. The process requires oxygen, which the bacteria steal from the slug or any other available source. The resin slowly hardens, but could easily be cleared by cutting and scraping. It serves no obvious adaptive function. 3. Viral anomaly Although the seawater in this region is saturated with a large RNA virus (generated name: Proteavirus), the bacteria infecting this sea slug carry a distinct viral strain (generated name: Proteavirus beta) that may be associated with bacterial blooms. Assessment: evidence of ecological crisis. Slug may be freed with appropriate tools. Consider limiting water intake from infected slugs.

Freesia Flower

Freesia Flower is a farmable variant listed by the item data under item. It links the wild resource to planter-based harvesting and related crafting data.

Cg Bulb Flower