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WC Round 1

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Description

I had a blast participating in :iconworld-craft:'s first round! The SEED resulted with the requirements: Liquid, species with this code can be found in or around liquids. Herbivore. Hive mind. Projectiles. And lives on a very forested, plant based planet.

I have no idea what to call this critter, but I enjoyed coming up with the details.

Base Facts: This animal is an amphibian living in swarms of 30-50. Nests reside partially submerged underwater on the banks of humid swamps. They grow to about a foot in length and live for about 7 or 8 years.

How and Where it lives: Most of their lives are spent underwater or underground. Most of the swarm consists of female gatherer's who spend their lives outside of the nest gathering water reeds and fresh fallen leaves. Any males are assigned to watching eggs, raising larvae, and assisting the queens of the nest. Queens can grow up to two feet in length and live twice as long as the average worker.

1. These appendages consist of frilled gills used for underwater life and whisker like hairs that sense vibrations in both water and mud. They are also used to communicate between each other by quivering and sending out vibrations.

2. Small frills on the snout are used to sense what's in front of it underwater and underground as the eyes are virtually useless.

3. Two small slits on the front of the snout give the creature a sense of smell which it used to find good plants and sense danger.

4. Four thin pits sit on the sides of the snout and sense heat. This is also used for communication, as the creatures can heat different parts of their bodies to portray different emotions. The heat pits can sense when other larger animals are near.

5. Large, scaled front legs are used to both swim and tunnel. Short, durable claws are used to dig through dirt and mud, pushing aside small rocks and moving through roots. The webbed lining between the fingers is used to help propel the creature through the muddy floor of a swamp. During it's adolescence and larvae-type stages, these appendages are the first to fully form.

6. The small spines along the back and head are mostly used to propel the creature through thick mud. They are attached to muscles which control how they contract and relax. In extreme cases, the creature can shoot them at an attacker.

7. The tail is used to propel the animal through water and mud. It is also used to build nests.

8. Ex. of the spines lying in a relaxed position.

9. Ex. of the sockets of where the spines have been ejected.

10. Ex. of the spines as the contract and are pulled back. This is for movement and giving warnings to various predators.

11. Ex. of a spine being ejected. There's not really any aim.

12. Interior of the mouth.

13. The skin colour of a juvenile and a queen.

14. The skin colour of an adult male.

15. The skin colour of an adult female

Reproduction: The life cycle starts off with a queen laying eggs and one of the males fertilize them. The animal begins as a soft jelly egg hidden in a soggy hole in the nest. As this creature develops, it begins rather like a tadpole (after hatching) with a large head and the beginnings of the front legs. The front legs continue to develop as the head sprouts it's gills and soft lumps for what will soon be the spines. The body stretches and the back legs begin to develop. The tail stiffens and the front legs grow stronger.

(c)me
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