Needle worms (Exgeo)

*Exgeo* is a genus of land-dwelling panoplovitan. The genus currently houses two species: *E. insignispedetes* and *E. gelidaindagator.* However, in the past, there was a third species called *E. profugus*.

## Etymology

"Ex", "geo", "insignis" and "pedetes" come from Latin.

Put together, these words mean "remarkable leaper of the earth". The scientific name was given to the species when exobiologists saw a specimen jumping out of the earth.

"gelida" "indagator" comes from Latin.

Put together, these words mean "Ice hunter of the earth". The scientific name was given to the species when an exobiologist made a nearly fatal mistake after touching what seemed like ice. in reality, the 'ice' was the back plating of an adult Arctic needle worm.

"Profugus" comes from Latin.

Exgeo profugus means "fugitive of earth". The name was given to the species as it was the only one of its kind that became aquatic.

## Evolution and Classification

Needle worms can be put into the following groups within panoplovita:

Reproboscidae> Chelydrimorphes> Sanguivores> Lumbricomorphes

The genus has two species, one found in **Media insula** and one in **Terra septentrionis.**

Needle worms hail from the Reproboscidae superfamily, and the genus itself appeared 15 MYA. The ancestors to the *sanguivores* split off from *micropanoploviviformes* and then from the ancestors of the *Xanthorhinogryphus* genus. After their initial divergence, the earliest members of the *lumbricomorphe* family lost their limbs, developed external lungs and greater body size. *Exgeo gelidaindagator*, or the Arctic Needle worm, evolved later than it's tropical relative as it's ancestors migrated into Terra septentrionis.

## Physical characteristics

The needle worm is an unmistakable creature, as it's large, limbless body housing a single proboscis is a rare body plan amongst Wallace-II creatures. Apart from the shared(ish) traits found in both species, the species are very different in both ancestry and temperate range and are currently going under debate of whether they should be in the same genus or not. When digging, muscles similar to a tongue will seal the opening in the proboscis, preventing dirt from entering whilst digging. the 'gills' of needle worms have the ability to retreat into a flap in its skin when digging and are extremely hard to tear apart.

## Distribution

Tropical needle worms can be found in southern temperate forest biomes and Tropical forest biomes, although populations have survived in savannah. For a time, they could also be found in Northern **Media insula**.

The arctic needle worm can only be found in **Terra septentrionis**, Where populations can only live in areas that receive snowfall. Anywhere else, and the creatures won't be able to hide.

## Nutrient intake

The tropical species of Needle worm Is an exudativore, feeding off of the sap of bone trees. To find roots to feed off, Tropical needle worms raise their head above the ground to survey their surroundings. Once a bone tree suitable for consumption is encountered, the individual burrows into the earth underneath the polymorph until it hits its roots. The roots will then be punctured, allowing the needle worm to feed off the sap. occasionally, individuals will breach out of the earth to feed off the trunk. this behaviour sharpens their proboscis but may break it too. Unlucky individuals often encounter a group of common climbers, with injuries depending on the health of the proboscis.

The Arctic species practices hematophagy, where it feeds on the blood of its prey. Arctic needle worms are ambush predators, waiting in their burrows to ambush an unlucky creature. once the prey is within range, the creature lunges out of its burrow, wrapping around the victim to stab its belly, the Arctic needle worm has forelimbs it can use to pull a struggling victim into its burrow. Creatures struck in the belly region usually die due to the force of the strike, but live victims are dragged into the burrow to be killed. Lacking digestive enzymes like most other predators that feed off of fluids, the creature consumes all of the blood of the organism before shovelling it out of the burrow. Arctic needle worms are in-discriminatory predators, attacking both prey and predator alike.

## Behaviour

### Reproductive behaviour

Being the only species capable of producing sound, female tropical needle worms in heat will produce a loud noise that can be heard 7 miles away. However, the females will only do this when they cannot produce a scent (ex: during rain, floods and/or lacking the required materials for a scent.). Upon hearing the noise/detecting the scent, males within the surrounding vicinity will 'race' towards the source, moving at a maximum of 10 mph, although individuals can reach 15 mph. Once a male has reached the female before anyone else, the following males will abandon the pursuit, even if they are meters from the goal. it is thought that males do this to avoid wasting energy that would be spent on fighting. The pair will then mate 3-5 times a week, accomplishing this task by pressing their rear against the other's. After a few months, the female will then lay a brood of 3-8 eggs, which she will burry under a tree and guard fiercely. Centurions of Common Climbers have been warded off by a mother, although not without injury. Once the eggs hatch and the young burrow out of the ground, the female's maternal behaviour starts to decrease as the calves grow, up until the moment when they become of age. Purely out of fear of getting attacked by an enraged mother, certain species will avoid needle worm calves, even if they're abandoned/orphaned.

The reproductive behaviour of Arctic needle worms is similar to that of their tropical relative, with the only difference being that males will engage in intraspecific combat due to the extra speed and energy. A male will also kill a calve he doubts parenting. The nesting behaviour of both species is also different. A calving female will incubate her eggs in a 'brood den', not eating for several months/weeks/days until the eggs hatch. She will then exit the 'brood den' to hunt for her calves. Calves are fed via barely live prey of whom they can practice hunting skills on, and after a few months, the calves will be let out the brood den. a few more months and the calves will be set free. Brooding dens are a structure similar to a den with a slippery surface. this surface prevents the calves from wandering out the den and becoming lost.

Both species will kill calves they see as unwanted extra energy, although this will only happen to severely disabled young.

### Social structure

Tropical needle worms have no observable social structure.

Arctic needle worms have a territorial structure similar to that of a tiger or leopard, with a male's territory encompassing that of several females. The reigning male will be extremely aggressive to outsiders and fights usually result in the death of one male, although cases where both individuals involved die arent rare.

### Defensive reactions

Tropical needle worms largely have no natural predators, with a few exceptions. However, when threatened, the creature will rear up in a posture similar to a cobra, jabbing at the predator with surprising speed and accuracy. When being attacked by a poorly co-ordinated group of Common climbers, however, the Tropical needle worm does a barrel roll, crushing clingy creatures beneath its plates. It will then burrow underneath the earth as the rest of the group try to gather themselves.

Arctic needle worms are apex predators, however, when being confronted by another predator, they will rear up in a cobra's posture to stab the enemy. they may also use their limbs to help with attacking the aggressor, although with the range the limbs have they do little to nothing.

### Other

When digging, dirt may get trapped beneath the plates, which may cause harmful polymorph species to grow underneath, or alter the growth of the plate. to counter this, both species have glands at the base of each plate that secrete a fungal polymorph killing liquid. In the tropical species, this fluid has a viscosity of 10,000 in the tropical species, and a viscosity of 5,000 in the Arctic species. The glands in the arctic species have an anti-freeze component that allows them to flow faster than that of the tropical species.