Lampsichelus

## Lampsichelus paladarus

Status: NT

Timespan: R.91 - Present

Habitat: Mid Ocean, Deep Ocean

Distribution: Non-polar Ocean, Below the thermocline

Niche: Carnivorous Filter-Feeder

Nutritional Value: 73

Size: 11.5cm (length)

Predecessor: Asteridermus mutatiogenus

Classification: Achmachelusidae, Tyrannidea, Caudaria

Latest Mutations: Intestine = 1, Serrated Teeth = 2, Hanging Lure = 5, Oily Liver = 4

Info: In the darkness of the abyss, Lampsichelus is the most well-lit of all animals, able to put on quite a light show; as well as the numerous bioluminescent spots on its body that act as one, there is a bulb on the end of a barbel protruding from the jaw that also produces light - this is controlled independently of the others, and can be flicked up and down to be more enticing. However, rather than use it to catch prey, the lights for this species are more useful in terms of finding another individual for mating. This is because there is stiff competition for prey, such as Thanostoma altium, and so it is largely restricted to filtering flesh from marine snow. The most significant obstacle to being a predator is that it has lost the teeth in the upper jaw, probably as a result of continual filter-feeding. Unlike its predecessors, it can control its own buoyancy now with an oil-filled liver, although it has a shrunken digestive system, making digestion less efficient.

Description: All over the black body tapering to a short, spiked tail are light blue bioluminescent spots, as well as a line of electroreceptors and three gills on each side. The two spikes are venomous. At the front, above the cartilage jawed mouth are olfactory receptors and facing forwards are a pair of cup eyes. The jaw contains very simple, shapeless teeth but only on the lower jaw. A cartilage barbel protrudes out and down from the lower jaw, and has a light blue bioluminescent bulb and a hinging muscle at its base. A pair of oval fins, supported by rays of cartilage are attached vertically just behind the gills and there is a fatty hump on the back. Inside, the organs are bathed in hemolymph by an open circulatory system. All the muscles contain a vacuoles. It's digestive system is proportionately very small and narrow, which consists of the stomach and gut. There is also a liver, which is filled with oils. The body has cartilage vertebrae running down the back and is controlled by two nerve cords and a rung of nerves. The tiny brain in the head controls this.

Previous Mutations: Extra-Efficient Muscles, Electroreceptors, Open Circulatory System, Tail, Three Gill Slits, Cartilage Vertebrae, Digestive Carnivorous Bacteria, Two Poisonous Spikes on Tail, Dentine Teeth, Cup Eyes, Jaw, Fins (two vertical near head), Hump, Bioluminescent Lights, Olfaction, Temperate and Tropical Tolerance, Bioluminescence Control, Genders, Oily Liver

Discoverer: BlackInk

## Lampsichelus hippocratesii

Status: NT

Temporal Range: R.114 - Present (Novaglacian)

Habitat: Tropical Deep Ocean, Temperate Deep Ocean (above 3000m)

Distribution: Cosmopolitan

Niche: Carnivorous Filter-Feeder

Size: 11.5cm (length)

Nutritional Worth:

Predecessor: Lampsichelus paladarus

Classification: Skelechelusidae (f), Brevicauda (so), Caudomorphii (c), Bilateria (p)

Perception: Can smell odours within 10 metres, can sense the direction of light, can sense electrical signals within 10 metres.

Latest Mutations: Innate Immune System

Info: Cruising through the twilight zone or the abyss at depths below 1000m, this pelagic filter feeder sustains itself mostly off of the meat that drifts down from animals at the surface. It has emerged during a disease epidemic, and this pressure has produced a simple immune system. It is innate and so has a very broad, immediate and non-specific response to detecting pathogens. It now produces phagocytes that engulf the pathogens.

Anatomy: All over the black body tapering to a short, spiked tail are light blue bioluminescent spots, as well as a line of electroreceptors and three gills on each side. The two spikes are venomous. At the front, above the cartilage jawed mouth are olfactory receptors and facing forwards are a pair of cup eyes. The jaw contains very simple, shapeless teeth but only on the lower jaw. A cartilage barbel protrudes out and down from the lower jaw, and has a light blue bioluminescent bulb and a hinging muscle at its base. A pair of oval fins, supported by rays of cartilage are attached vertically just behind the gills and there is a fatty hump on the back. Inside, the organs are bathed in hemolymph by an open circulatory system. All the muscles contain a vacuoles. It's digestive system is proportionately very small and narrow, which consists of the stomach and gut. There is also a liver, which is filled with oils. The body has cartilage vertebrae running down the back and is controlled by two nerve cords and a rung of nerves. The tiny brain in the head controls this. The body now produces phagocytes.

Behaviour: This species is capable of processing information gathered from sense receptors and using that to form a picture of its surroundings. It can then respond to stimuli. It also has basic reasoning.

Discoverer: StealthStyle

## Lampsichelus bathyus

Status: LC

Temporal Range: R.140 - Present (Gammavian Stage of the Atroxian)

Habitat: Lower Ocean, 1500 - 3000m

Distribution: Cosmopolitan

Niche: Carnivorous Filter-Feeder

Size: 11.5cm (length)

Nutritional Worth:

Predecessor: Lampsichelus paladarus

Classification: Skelechelusidae (f), Brevicauda (so), Caudomorphii (c), Bilateria (p)

Perception: Can smell odours within 10 metres, can sense the direction of light, can sense electrical signals within 10 metres.

Latest Mutations: Lose Teeth

Info: Cruising through the abyss at depths below 1500m, this pelagic filter feeder sustains itself mostly off of the meat that drifts down from animals at the surface. It simply swims forward with its now toothless mouth, and engulfs particle-rich water. It's not quite as effective as the smaller filter-feeders like Masticephalus, but they crucially cannot digest meat.

Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. It knows to eat and avoid being harmed.

External Features: It has a tapering body and black pigmentation with oval pectoral ray-fins, a hump and two spines on the tail. It has a thin skin layer, a line of electroreceptors on the flank and blue autogenic photophores across the whole body. A mouth, olfactory receptors and two forward facing cup eyes are on the face. A blue bioluminescent bulb on a rod protrudes from the chin.

Internal Features: Each cell has osmolytes. Migmachordatix toxin is produced and secreted into the spines. Three gill slits sit each side of head. Muscles are along each side of the body and attached to the body wall and the cartilage vertebrae. The mouth is supported by a cartilage jaw. The gastrointestinal tract from the mouth has a stomach with digestive juices followed by intestines leading to the anus. A brain encased in the head connects to two nerve cords which branch into a network of nerves. An oil-filled swim bladder sits in the middle. It hosts male and female gonads. The hemacoel cavity, open circulatory system has red blood containing hemoglobin. Protonephridia, connected to hemacoel, expels waste through pores.

Discoverer: StealthStyle

## Lampsichelus edentulae

Status: LC

Temporal Range: R.140 - Present (Gammavian Stage of the Atroxian)

Habitat: Lower Ocean, 500 - 1500m

Distribution: Cosmopolitan

Niche: Carnivorous Filter-Feeder

Size: 11.5cm (length)

Nutritional Worth:

Predecessor: Lampsichelus hippocratesii

Classification: Skelechelusidae (f), Brevicauda (so), Caudomorphii (c), Bilateria (p)

Perception: Can smell odours within 10 metres, can sense the direction of light, can sense electrical signals within 10 metres.
Latest Mutations: Lose Teeth

Info: Cruising through the twilight zone or the abyss at depths below 500m, this pelagic filter feeder sustains itself mostly off of the meat that drifts down from animals at the surface. It simply swims forward with its now toothless mouth, and engulfs particle-rich water. It's not quite as effective as the smaller filter-feeders like Masticephalus, but they crucially cannot digest meat.

Intelligence / Behaviour: Processes information and responds based on fixed behaviours. It knows to eat and avoid being harmed.

External Features: It has a tapering body and black pigmentation with oval pectoral ray-fins, a hump and two spines on the tail. It has a thin skin layer, a line of electroreceptors on the flank and blue autogenic photophores across the whole body. A mouth, olfactory receptors and two forward facing cup eyes are on the face. A blue bioluminescent bulb on a rod protrudes from the chin.

Internal Features: Each cell has osmolytes. Migmachordatix toxin is produced and secreted into the spines. Three gill slits sit each side of head. Muscles are along each side of the body and attached to the body wall and the cartilage vertebrae. The mouth is supported by a cartilage jaw. The gastrointestinal tract from the mouth has a stomach with digestive juices followed by intestines leading to the anus. A brain encased in the head connects to two nerve cords which branch into a network of nerves. An oil-filled swim bladder sits in the middle. It hosts male and female gonads. The hemacoel cavity, open circulatory system has red blood containing hemoglobin and phagocytes. Protonephridia, connected to hemacoel, expels waste through pores.

Discoverer: StealthStyle