Climbing devourers

Phagoascendidae, “climbing devourers”

*Arborephagus ascensis*, “The climbing Tree-eater”

This creature is a descendant of the Sidobosia (likely of the Photophageae) and represents an adaptive response to the competitive environment of a Tropical Biome. It lives in the Tropical Rainforest of the large, eastern continent where the immense competition for light and nutrients between Producers is the main pressures for autotrophic organisms.

It has a 2 (or 3 if you count the cocoon) stage life cycle with:

A sessile, parasitic, photosynthetic Adult stage which lost its ability to move, parasitizes a celestiphytan host and produces offspring

And a hypermobile, heterotrophic Larval stage, which retained its ancestor’s mobility to search the forest for a suitable Host

## Adult stage

The adult stage's body is split into an upper and a lower part, both are movable through muscles to a low degree.

The lower part evolved from its ancestors’ limbs, it is mainly composed of vascular tissue (which stabilizes the “roots”) and some muscles, but few. It grows around the host, slowly strangling it. On the end of each “limb” or “root” is a hook, which is derived from the bony tips of the sidobiosan “limbs”. They are modified to pierce its hosts' outer tissue to absorb nutrients. To do this the “spikes” on the hooks release acids which liquefy the host tissue and this liquid is then absorbed into the body through 3 “feeding openings” under the hooks.

The upper part still has a cartilage endoskeleton and muscles and is more movable and flexible than the lower part. It is responsible for most of the phases of photosynthesis and reproduction. It sprouts 6 immense tentacles which grow over the forest canopy. At the tip of each tentacle it opens into 6 more tentacles which form a massive a flowerlike structure. These upper 6 tentacles are shaped like giant leaves and open like a flower to maximize photosynthetic surface over the canopy. When conditions are right, reproductive organs develop in the centre of this “flower”. A. ascensis is dioecious, male individuals produce spores which are released into the wind and fertilize female individuals. The female “blossom” will then develop into a “fruit” with 6 seeds. Each seed holds an embryo which develops attached to its mother until it falls off and scuttles away to find a new host.

## Larval stage

The *A. ascensis* larval stage retained its ancestors’ mobility but lost the ability to photosynthesize. Its body is radially, six fold symmetric and sports 6 dorsal, 6 ventral Tentacles and a ventral mouth and “jaw”. The main body is covered by a (secondary evolved) Exoskeleton for protection. The dorsal tentacles are covered with sensitive “Sensilla” which possess mechano-, chemo-, hygro- and thermoreceptors with which it perceives its environment. The large ventral tentacles are used for movement, like its Ancestor, and are equipped with “claws” adapted to climbing. The mouth is surrounded by 6 outer and 6 inner tentacles which form the Larva’s jaws. Both are equipped with teeth (modified bony tips) and are used to catch prey and later bore into its host tissue.

## Life cycle

After detaching from the mother, larvae will scuttle away and live on the Forest floor hunting small Dispeculata and when a Larva grows large enough it will search for a suitable, high place on a host, bore into its outer tissue, form a “cocoon” and begin metamorphosis. The dorsal tentacles will fall of and the inner anatomy will be completely rebuilt into the adult stage. When the metamorphosis is completed, a young adult will hatch out of the cocoon. It begins to envelop the host with its “roots” and start growing towards the sunlight over the canopy.

By splitting their lifecycle into a hypermobile, heterotrophic and a sessile, parasitic stage, the family of A. ascensis (Phagoascendidae)  are able to cope with the competition-dominated ecosystem of the tropical rain forests on the large, eastern continent. Adult Phagoascendidae could grow easily over the forest canopy without having to fight for light on the forest floor, because the larvae were able to actively choose a suitable location near the canopy where they could spend their sessile adult life.