Tartarostracus

## Tartarostracus caecus

Latest Mutations: Lose Lobe, Lose Membranes

This is a yellow-coloured freshwater bivalve, that filters passing particles of food using it's tentacles. It lives a sessile lifestyle across Tartarus, after it's initial free-swimming larval phase. Unlike it's predecessor, it has no jelly-filled lobe or membranes.

Status: Unlisted

Habitat: Freshwater & Brackish Water in Tropical Very Humid Barrens, Tropical Monsoon Barrens, Tropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Tropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Tropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Humid Barrens, Subtropical Monsoon Barrens, Subtropical Wet-Dry Barrens, Subtropical Winter Semi-Arid Barrens, Subtropical Arid Barrens, Subtropical Very Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Very Arid Barrens, Warm Continental Arid Barrens, Subpolar Moderate Continental Arid Barrens, Subpolar Moderate Continental Arid Barrens, Polar Cool Oceanic Summer Semi-Humid Barrens

Niche: Sessile Filter-Feeder

Diet: Any particle of marine snow meat or organism 0.5mm big or smaller.

Size: 2.3cm (length - shell front to back)

Nutritional Need: 130 x 2.3/100 = 3NP.

Food / Oxygen Requirement: 3 x 0.25 = 0.8NP per round (Needs to intake 0.8/0.6 = 1.3NP per round)/ 3 x 0.9 = 2.7NP

Abilities: Anti-Freeze. Exothermic. Inflexible. Liquid Excretion. Osmoregulation (Freshwater Salinity). Permeable Skin. Small-Body Circulation. Solid Excretion. Subzero Metabolism.

Perception: Chemoreception 2 (detects chemicals 5m from mouth). Light Sensing (other side).

Stats: Buoyancy -1. Clam Strength 1. Coordination 2. Desiccation Resistance 1. Digestion 1 (100% Meat, Digests 60%). Filtration 3. Immunity 2.  Respiration 2 (10% off, Cutaneous Respiration, Stationary Respiration). Stamina 3. Strength 1. Support 2. Swim Agility -1. Swim Speed 0.5. Toughness 3. UV Resistance 2. Walk Speed -0.5.

Intelligence / Behaviour: 1. Hungry > Wait for food. 2. Food > Stick cirri out of shell and filter. 3. Tired > Rest. 4. Pain > Close shell. 5. Maturity + Early Spring Full Moon > Release gametes.

External Features: The yellow carotenoid-pigmented and cylindrical body is contained within an aragonite, horizontal, symmetrical bivalve shell secreted by the mantle. Around the mouth are ciliated cirri and a circle of chemoreceptors. There are six pairs of gill slits. On one side of the body is an eyespot.

Internal Features: Each cell in the body contains lysozymes and a small number of piezolytes. A system of muscles stretches across the body. Near the lower wall can be found the gonads as well as the large saccate metanephridium. Through the mostly lower half runs the monogastric digestive system, from the mouth through the tubes to the stomach and intestines. Ganglia in the head connect to a single nerve cord along the ventral half, which has many nerves branching off it to encompass the whole body. Next to this is a notochord. In the middle of the body is a hemacoel with violet (hemerythrin) blood through which an anti-freeze (thrietol sugar alcohol) flows.

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

Castes/Phases: Hermaphroditism. Larval Phase until 10% developed: Larval C. have no shell but retain the pinhole eye on one side. (Changes - Pelagic Filter-Feeder. 147 x size = NP. -Inflexible. Sight 1: Blurry of vision in one direction, monocular. Toughness 0. Clam Strength 0. Desiccation Resistance 0. Support 1. Buoyancy 1. Swim Speed 1.5. Swim Agility 0. 0.5. Wriggling. Hungry > Search for food. Food > Use cirri to filter. Tired > Rest. Pain > Swim away. The larvae has no shell. It has a pinhole eye on the other side to the eyespot. Therefore, it looks a ciliated, yellow cylinder with tentacles and jellyfish lobe at the front end. Active. Use cilia to paddle and pulsate jelly-filled lobe.)

Locomotion: Sessile (0NP).

External Features: Skin (3NP, +1 Immunity, +1 Respiration, +1 Stamina, +Stationary Respiration, +Cutaneous Respiration, +Permeable Skin). Medium Pigmentation (2NP, +2 UV Resistance). Cylindrical (0NP). Bivalve Shell (14NP, +3 Toughness, +1 Clam Strength, +1 Desiccation Resistance, +1 Support, -1 Buoyancy, -1 Swim Speed, -1 Swim Agility, -1 Walk Speed, , +Inflexible, -Wriggling). Ciliated Cirri (7NP, +2 Filtration). Mouth (0NP, +1 Filtration). Chemoreceptors (2NP, +2 Chemoreception). Cilia (2NP, +1 Swim Speed, +Ciliated Paddling). Eyespot (3NP, +Light Sensing).

Internal Features: Piezolytes (5NP, +Low Pressure Tolerance). Lysozymes (1NP, +Subzero Metabolism). Gills (4NP, +1 Respiration, +1 Stamina, +Ram Ventilation, +Only Works Underwater). Open Circulatory System (3NP, +Small-Body Circulation, +1 Stamina). Anti-Freeze Compound (2NP, +Anti-Freeze). Large Nephridium (19NP, +Liquid Excretion, +Osmoregulation). Muscular System (7NP, +1 Strength, +0.5 Walk Speed, +0.5 Swim Speed, +Wriggling). Monogastric Digestive System (18NP, +1 Meat Digestion, +1 Veg Protein Digestion, +1 Immunity, +Solid Excretion). Centralised Nervous System (20NP, +2 Coordination, +Stimulus Response, +Subconscious Functions, +Body Movement Control). Notochord (4NP, +1 Support). Gonads (14NP, +Sexual Reproduction, +Hermaphroditism, +External Fertilzation).

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

Distribution: Kommos

Lifespan: 2 years

Predecessor: Cilistoma caecus

Classification: Cilistominae (sf), Cilistomidae (f)

Discoverer: StealthStyle