Skafonomades

Skafonomades are a species of Celernantida that inhabit the Vadum Mare. These particular animals have evolved a eusocial lifestyle similar to that of termites, constructing complex floating nests that migrate between the reefs.

**Evolutionary history**

Skafonomades were believed to have evolved from a group of celernantida that formed communal shoals as a defense mechanism and that eventually developed into eusociality over millions of years.

**Biology**

They have decreased in size from their ancestors, with the largest of them only reaching around 80cm in length. They have lost their limb like structures instead adopting a more serpentine style of movement. The three proboscises have specialized, with two become more dexterous and capable of grasping/manipulating whilst the other has remained a solely feeding organ. Their olfactory sensors have improved and become more centralized at the front of the animal along with the evolution of a multitude of sensitive whisker like hairs. Skafonomades are capable of surviving outside of water but must keep the gill like openings on their flanks wet.

**Diet**

Skafonomades predominantly feed on marine polyspeculates along with scavenging off any dead animals found in their territory. Skafonomades also will occasionally farm the mold like Celestivita that can grow on the hull of their nests.

**Lifecycle**

All Skafonomades are born from frog like eggs to a queen in her royal chamber. These eggs are taken to communal nursery chambers by workers were they are cared for before they hatch. After hatching these offspring’s futures will be dictated by their caste.

**The castes**

Skafonomades have also become polymorphic with a variety of castes performing specific roles for the nest. Some castes have in fact become so specialized that they are incapable of performing other functions. For instance, both kings and queens are completely incapable of feeding themselves instead being hand fed directly from attentive workers. There are six castes in the Skafonomades species, them being:

* Workers: The lifeblood of the nest, workers perform the vast amount of tasks that are required in a eusocial lifestyle. From the maintenance of the nest, gathering food or caring for the queens and their young, it is the workers that fulfill these roles. They average around 20 cm in length

* Soldiers: As their name would suggest this caste are the primary line of defense for the nest with their two gripping proboscises having developed impressive “fangs” that can deliver a painful venom and a series of armored scutes on the head. They average around 30 cm in length

* Freighters: The largest of the castes, second only to the queens themselves, freighters are the heavy lifters of the nest. Their two manipulating proboscises are connected to large pouches that can be used to store a variety of materials. These materials can range from water to air to the paste like substance that the Skafonomades build their nests from. Their large size also means they are well suited to moving heavy objects. They average around 50 cm in length
* Scouts: Scouts are the eyes and ears of the nest, relaying important information to the rest of the colony. With larger eyes and sensory nodes than the other castes, scouts patrol the territory of the nest for dangers, feeding grounds and marine debris from which the Skafonomades use to construct their nests. They average around 20 cm in length
* Queens: Like many eusocial species the queens of a Skafonomade’s nest are dedicated to the soul purpose of breeding. When hatched a queen is destined to either fill out new royal chambers as the nest expands or inherit the chamber of a recently deceased queen. Queens dwarf all other members of the nest, often being to large to traverse the tunnels of their own home. This is often of little issue for the queens as it is quite possible for a queen to never leave her royal chamber. Skafonomades have an oligogynous hive structure with a multitude of queens spread out in a single nest. They average around 80 cm in length
* Kings: The only male caste in the entire Skafonomades species, kings (also known as drones) are responsible for the queen’s continued production of new Skafonomades. A single queen will commonly have an entire harem of kings that live out their lives in her chamber. When a king is hatched they will remain in their respective nursery chamber until they reach adulthood. At this point they leave their home in search of another hive. The majority of these kings will perish in this search, meaning that only the strong secede. When a new hive is found the king will make their way to a royal chamber were they can join a queen’s harem. Kings only live for a fraction of their queens lifespan, at around a few weeks (queens living for years) to prevent inbreeding. They average around 5 cm in length

**The nest**

   Structure: Skafonomades nests can vary significantly in size from only one or two meters in diameter and containing a single queen, to some tens of meters long and containing a population of over a million. Nests are built in a similar manner to icebergs, with the majority of the colony being found under the waterline. This, along with a series of large air pockets located above water results in the entire nest being able to self right itself in the advent of capsizing. Many redundant air pockets allow for additional buoyancy and nest chambers are compartmentalized to prevent mass scale flooding. The outer hull of the nest below the waterline is covered in small spike protrusions to discourage predation and if filled with honeycombed layers for additional strength. A nest is made up of many individual chambers that are specialized for an individual purpose such as sleeping, storage or child rearing.

* Construction: Skafonomades construct their nest out of any marine debris that they come across, though most predominantly with “driftbone” (Wallace 2’s version of driftwood). Any pieces of driftbone collected by the nest are often broken apart into work able sizes. Large pieces are often weaved into the nests superstructure whilst smaller ones are used in the creation of skaf paste. Skaf paste is a substance that is used to construct much of the nest. It is made from a variety of materials including the Skafonomade’s waste and remains along with the aforementioned driftbone pieces. Broken down and combined with the help of symbiotic microorganisms in specialized chem chambers results in watertight pulp like material that can be molded into a variety of shapes and forms.
* Lifestyle: Skafonomades are nomadic in nature, moving from feeding-ground to feeding-ground. This means that their nest must often be capable of movement and relocation itself. When mobile the nest is often only at the whim of the currents but if required the nest’s occupants may simply push their home to a desired location or to avoid dangers. When a suitable location is found (most often by a scout) the nest is moved into an advantageous position above the feeding ground. When this is done, an army of workers and freighters sets to work, creating a series of skaf paste tethers to the reef bed. These tethers, which are made from a special form of skaf paste that has been treated with certain secretions, is more elastic that traditional skaf paste allowing for a degree of shock absorbency in the waves. These tethers are constantly maintained and patrolled to prevent damage be it from attackers or simply the ocean itself. When the nest must move on again, these tethers are cut and the nest goes back on its way.
* Food: Skafonomades are predominantly herbivorous, feeding of most marine polyspeculaes that they came across but they hold no qualms about consuming any carcasses that happen to drift into their territory or is killed after attacking their home. It is also not unheard of for some Skafonomades to cultivate mold like celestivita species that can grow on the nest above water line.
* Water: One of the most unique chambers in a Skafonomades nest is the solar still chambers. These dome shaped rooms contain large semi transparent windows that allow sunlight into the chamber and a pool of salt water in the center. The sunlight heats the water causing it to evaporate, leaving the salt behind. The resulting water vapor condenses on the chamber walls as fresh water and is collected by freighters and taken to communal reservoirs for later use. The salt is also collected by workers for other uses such as food preservation.
* Duplication: Due to the Skafonomades being oligogynous there are multiple royal chambers throughout the nest, each with a single queen and her harem of kings. This not only lowers the likelihood of a nest going extinct due to a predator attack or catastrophic flooding but also acts as a means of creating new nests. In the event that something causes a chunk of the nest to break off, be it a storm or some large animal, if that chunk contains one or more royal chambers then that it will become an independent colony. This is the only known way that Skafonomades nest replicate, which raises the possibility that every single nest in the shallow sea is the distant descendant of a single individual colony.