Podobitus

## Podobitus podobitus

Latest Mutations: Temperate Tolerance, Lobes to protect legs

This species is a herbivorous 'arthropod' native to the temperate ocean of both ends of the planet. Like it's relatives it has odour receptors inside it's spiracles. It has a calcified exoskeleton with lobes that protect it's legs and can curl up into a ball.

Status: Unlisted

Habitat: Subpolar Temperate Ocean, Polar Temperate Ocean

Niche: Herbivore

Diet: Algae

Size: 8cm (length - head to end)

Nutritional Need: 205 x 8/100 = 16.4NP.

Food / Oxygen Requirement: 16.4 x 0.25 = 4.1NP per round (Needs to intake 4.1/0.8 = 5.1NP per round)/ 16.4NP.

Abilities: Anti-Freeze. Exothermic. Foul Taste. Large-Body Circulation. Liquid Excretion. Low Pressure Tolerance. Moults. Osmoregulation (Quite High Salinity). Roll Up. Solid Excretion.

Perception: Sight 2 (sees clearly up to 5m away at the front and sides, blue and green perception, side monocular vision, front binocular vision). Chemoreception 2 (chemicals 5m from mouth). Wide Vision 1 (wide field of view from sides that catches peripheral movement, monocular vision). Smell 1 (odours 1m from spiracles).

Stats: Buoyancy 1 (Adjustable Buoyancy). Coordination 2. Desiccation Resistance 1. Dexterity 1. Digestion 3 (100% Plants, Digests 80%). Evolution 1. Filtration 1. Immunity 1. Jumping 1. Pierce Strength 1. Reach 1. Respiration 1 (Ram Ventilation). Stamina 3. Strength 1. Support 2. Swim Speed 1.7. Toughness 2. UV Resistance 2. Walk Speed 1.5.

Intelligence / Behaviour: 1. Hungry > Search for food. 2. Food (algae) > Graze with mandibles and chela. 3.  Tired > Rest. 4. Pain > Swim Away. 5. Maturity > Reproduce.

External Features: A highly jointed, calcified exoskeleton with nine segments covers the the skin, which contains blue melanin pigments. The lobes extend out the side of the body to cover the legs. Around the mouth is a pair of weak, horizontal mandibles and a circle of chemoreceptors. It has two eyes (camera eyes with calcite lenses that change shape and that have no blind spot) on stalks either side of the head. Behind these stalks on each side is a (typical apposition) compound eye. Blue and green come cells can be found in all these eyes. Two chelipeds with weak claws are held at the front of the body and there are four pairs of paddle-lined legs. The rear of the body has an exoskeleton fantail and below that a hyponome.

Internal Features: Each cell in the body contains a relatively small number of piezolytes. Spiracles lead into water-filled tubes. Just inside them are found odour receptors. Glands near the skin secrete a foul fluid. Blood vessels run all throughout the body and in these vessels is an antifreeze (xylomannan fatty acid and polysaccharide). A system of muscles stretches across the body. Near the lower wall can be found the gonads as well as the large protonephridium and near the upper wall is the enclosed swim bladder. Through the mostly lower half runs the monogastric digestive system, from the mouth through the tubes to the stomach and coiled intestines. Ganglia in the head connect to a dual nerve cord along the dorsal half, which has many nerves branching off it to encompass the whole body.

Reproduction: Sexual Reproduction. External Fertilisation. 1,000 eggs per spawning.

Castes/Phases: None.

Locomotion: Active (20NP). Paddles with legs and fan tail, boosts with hyponome.

External Features: Highly Jointed Calcified Exoskeleton (10NP, +2 Toughness, +1 Desiccation Resistance, +2 Support, -1 Respiration, -1 Stamina, +Moults, +Roll Up, -Cutaneous Respiration, -Permeable Skin, -Wriggling). Skin (3NP, +1 Immunity, +1 Respiration, +1 Stamina, +Stationary Respiration, +Cutaneous Respiration, +Permeable Skin). Medium Pigmentation (2NP, +2 UV Resistance). Mandibles (5NP, +1 Pierce Strength, +1 Digestion, +1 Dexterity, +1 Reach). Mouth (0NP, +1 Filtration). Chemoreceptors (2NP, +2 Chemoreception). Camera Eyes w/ blue and green cone cells (11NP, +2 Sight, +Monocular Vision, +Binocular Vision, +Blue Perception, +Green Perception). Compound Eyes w/ blue and green cone cells (11NP, +1 Wide Vision, +1 Sight, +Monocular Vision, +Blue Perception, +Green Perception). Chela (5NP, +1 Dexterity, +1 Pierce Strength, +1 Reach). Legs w/ paddles (5NP, +1 Walk Speed, +1 Jumping, -0.3 Swim Speed, +Paddling, +Walking). Fan Tail (4NP, +1 Swim Speed). Hyponome (7NP, +0.5 Swim Speed).

Internal Features: Piezolytes (5NP, +Low Pressure Tolerance). Spiracles (0NP, +1 Respiration, +1 Stamina, +Ram Ventilation). Odour Receptors (2NP, +1 Smell). Foul Fluid Gland (7NP, +Foul Taste). Closed Circulatory System w/ heart (21NP, +2 Stamina, +Large-Body Circulation). Anti-Freeze Compound (2NP, +Anti-Freeze). Muscular System (7NP, +1 Strength, +0.5 Walk Speed, +0.5 Swim Speed, +Wriggling). Gonads (14NP, +Sexual Reproduction, +Hermaphrotism, +External Fertilization). Swim Bladder (7NP, +1 Buoyancy, +Adjustable Buoyancy). Large Nephridium (19NP, +Liquid Excretion, +Osmoregulation). Monogastric Digestive System w/ coiled intestines (19NP, +2 Meat Digestion, +2 Veg Digestion, +1 Immunity, +Solid Excretion). Centralised Nervous System (19NP, +2 Coordination).

Temporal Range: R.225 - Present (Atrobocean Stage of the Oliverian)

Distribution: Cosmopolitan

Lifespan: 2 years

Predecessor: Caulops primus

Classification: Gempliaorinae (sf), Gempliaoridae (f)

Discoverer: StealthStyle