The Early Cimexian

Cyanophytes of the Early Cimexian

By the start of the Cimexian Epoch, cyanophytes, descended from the terramats, had transformed the coasts of Atmos into shimmering expanses of blue flora. During the late Pelitolacene and early Cimexian, nearly 30 million years of steady evolutionary radiation had produced an astonishing array of forms. What began as microbial biofilms clinging to tidal rocks had become a dynamic and increasingly complex kingdom of photosynthetic life, rivaling early Earth plant analogs in both spread and function.

Cyanophytes established themselves across every major continent on Atmos. Through gradual rafting events, some lineages even reached Norlona, the ice-laced northern supercontinent, where they adapted to extreme cold, dim light, and nutrient-poor soils. Among these hardy pioneers were the Stragulumuscis, (Carpeting Mosses), low-lying, frost-resistant descendants of the terramats that clung tightly to stone and ice, forming glacial crusts that could photosynthesize even under snow cover. Filamentaphytes (Thread Plants), delicate, wispy cyanophytes, evolved in sheltered tidal pools and brackish inlets, where water movement was gentle and sedimentation high. Instead of anchoring firmly to rocks or sand, filamentaphytes floated in tangled, gauzy masses, almost like underwater cobwebs. Their thin filaments trailed in the current, maximizing surface area for photosynthesis and gas exchange. Many hosted mutualistic microbes that lived within the threads, adding nitrogen fixation or chemical defense. Terranimbii (Puff Colonies), found primarily in foggy highland valleys and wet montane crests, evolved as sponge-like, moisture-trapping colonies that thrived on airborne condensation rather than full submersion. Their puffy, cushion-shaped structures were pale blue to violet, able to retain water like mosses in otherwise dry air. These cyanophytes spread across rocks other cyanophytes, creating vibrant highland meadows.

Cuculaformis (Hood Forms) was a lineage of terramats characterized by their broad, hood-like canopies and modest stature, never exceeding one meter in height. These short umbrella-like organisms were among the most recognizable of the early Cimexian flora, forming dense, low forests of undulating caps across coastal zones.

Cuculaforms relied on a singular stalk, twisting, ridged, and structurally reinforced, that elevated their hooded canopy into the air column. This structure not only maximized photosynthetic exposure, but also played a vital role in dispersing their reproductive spores. The hood itself was riddled with microscopic openings along its underside, releasing spores into the breeze or catching those of others.

Though they lacked true vascular systems, cuculaforms evolved dense networks of microtubules beneath their canopies to transport nutrients and water. These networks could also share resources between neighboring individuals, particularly in shaded or damaged areas, making cuculaform groves surprisingly resilient. Cuculaforms tended to thrive in shaded margins and disturbed soils, filling important roles in early Cimexian succession ecology.

Despite this diversity, the true evolutionary explosion of the late Pelitolacene and the early Cimexian came from Radiculatusis (Root Forms). Radiculats represented a major departure from the dominant small-bodied, often matlike terramats of the Pelitolacene. Radiculats evolved dense, downward-thrusting filamentous roots that allowed them to anchor into silts, cling to cliffsides, and even perforate rock. These root-like appendages burrowed deep to extract minerals, funneled water toward their photosynthetic crowns, and anchored entire cyanophyte forests.

Another key innovation that propelled the success and diversification of the radiculats, aside from their root structures, was their unusual form of aerial sexual reproduction. Unlike most early terramats, radiculats developed hermaphroditic reproductive structures, with each mature individual bearing both male and female organs. These were not centralized organs but highly specialized appendages, branching off from the main stalk like slender limbs.

The male organ, known informally as the seedspike, is pointed downward and ends in a fractal array of narrow, finger-like projections. From these extensions, the radiculat would release lightweight, airborne seed-spores during dry, warm periods when the air was most conducive to wide dispersal. Each seed-spore was coated in a waxy sheath to resist UV and desiccation, ensuring it remained viable for days aloft.

The female organ, or catchfrond, branched upward and outward, forming a net-like array of sticky filaments. These acted like aerial drift nets, trapping passing seed-spores from nearby radiculats. Once a compatible seed-spore makes contact, the catchfrond secretes a thin mucilaginous film, triggering a germination response in the seed-spore. The outer coat of the spore dissolves, releasing a packet of genetic material that penetrates a receptive pore on the catchfrond surface.

Once the genetic packet from the seed-spore penetrates the receptive pore of the catchfrond, the radiculat initiates an internal fertilization process. Specialized reproductive cells within the catchfrond form a temporary zygocyst, a thick-walled, nutrient-rich chamber where the fusion of genetic material is finalized. This structure, protected within the catchfrond’s tissue, is insulated from the desiccating external environment and buffered against UV radiation by endogenous pigments. Within a few days of fertilization, the zygocyst begins to swell and ripen at the tip of the catchfrond, forming a bulbous podlike growth called a propseet.

When mature, the propseet undergoes an internal pressure change. Eventually, the pod ruptures, sending the now-hardened propseed (the next-generation offspring) tumbling to the ground or, in some morphs, gliding short distances on stiff, parachute-like filaments. Once a catchfrond has successfully released its propseed, it typically withers and detaches, freeing up energy for new growth. This ensures that the parent radiculat doesn’t overburden itself and allows for successive waves of reproduction, often staggered seasonally. Some large-bodied radiculats develop seasonal catchfrond arrays, growing new fronds each reproductive cycle, while others maintain continuous reproductive output in stable climates, with dozens of fronds at various stages of fertilization and seed production.

The evolutionary triumph of radiculats could be traced to two key innovations: their anchoring roots, which granted them structural stability in a wide range of soils, and their dual-appendage sexual system, which enabled wide genetic dispersal and cross-pollination. These advantages allowed radiculats to spread with remarkable speed across the southern continents of Atmos during the early Cimexian.

Among the earliest and most successful colonizers was a short, sleek lineage known as Caeruleugramenis (Blue Grasses), also known as "Bluegrass." These were not grasses in the terrestrial sense, but, tapering, blade-like radiculats that grew in tight, flexible clusters. Rarely exceeding two meters in height, most were under one, with their entire upper body comprised of a single, elastic, photosynthetic shaft.

Instead of broad fronds or cap-like crowns, each individual bluegrass grew as a thin, upright spire, lightly twisting as it grew and tapering to a fine tip. The base of each plant was embedded in a tight knot of fibrous roots and tendrils that gripped the soil in networks, often merging with neighbors to create near-matlike fields of biomechanical cohesion. These root-bonded communities acted almost like a single organism, distributing moisture and stabilizing one another against Atmos’s notoriously fierce winds.

Despite their minimalistic form, bluegrasses retained the full complement of radiculat reproductive organs, though greatly reduced in size and tucked into small folds along the upper blade. This design allowed bluegrasses to propagate both sexually and clonally, often switching modes depending on conditions. In arid years, they would rely on vegetative offshoots, forming spreading rings and waves of new growth. In wetter cycles, their aerial reproductive strategy dominated, dusting entire regions with seed-spores from hundreds of thousands of synchronized emitters.

Caeruleugrams were ecosystem enablers, early stabilizers of loose soil, moisture-retainers, and shade providers for smaller non-radiculat flora and juvenile terramats. Their dense networks of roots prevented erosion along escarpments and flood basins, and their seasonal dieback created nutrient-rich mulch, paving the way for later, more massive radiculats to establish themselves. Bluegrasses themselves would evolve into thousands of different forms, blanketing Atmos's landmasses in meadows of varying shades of blue.

Another successful clade of radiculats to emerge from the early southern colonization wave was Dendriradixis (Tree Roots). Whereas the bluegrasses pursued a strategy of minimal form and rapid spread, the dendriradixes took the opposite path, These organisms prioritized height, longevity, and territorial dominance, giving rise to some of the first large-bodied, upright flora analogs on the planet.

Dendriradix species are characterized by tall, columnar central stalks with multiple branching crowns. Unlike their radiculat ancestors, the dendriradixes no longer photosynthesize from their entire bodies. Instead, these upright structures support dense whorls of photosynthetic fronds, typically arranged in vertical clusters at the top of each main stalk. The base of each dendriradix is reinforced by a thickened radial root mass that extends outward and downward, both anchoring the organism and allowing it to draw nutrients from a wide area. In some species, the root systems form cooperative networks with nearby terraspores, enhancing their ability to extract minerals and moisture from the soil.

Dendriradixes grow slowly but invest heavily in structural support and vertical reach. Their strong central trunks allow them to access light above lower competitors, while their spreading root systems enable long-term stability in exposed or erosion-prone soils.

Reproductively, dendriradixes retain the same general strategy as basal radiculats: seedspikes for releasing airborne spores or seeds, and catchfronds for intercepting spores from other individuals. In many species, these structures are relatively inconspicuous, embedded within the frond clusters at the crown.

Once established, dendriradixes can dominate a region for centuries. Their dense canopies create shaded understory environments, reducing the success of smaller radiculats nearby. Leaf-litter and decaying root structures contribute to local soil composition, creating relatively nutrient-rich zones over time. Dendriradixis groves often serve as anchor points in the landscape, shaping the distribution of other plant forms and influencing water retention and erosion patterns. Their ecological role is somewhat analogous to early terrestrial trees on Earth, although their physiology is still firmly rooted in the radiculat plan: no true wood, no vascular tissue, but dense, fibrous layers of photosynthetic tissue and toughened support structures.

Poremorphs of the Early Cimexian

Like the cyanophyte terramats, the poremorph terraspores had diversified into a range of structurally simple yet ecologically important forms. Terraspores spread like a living network across the damp underlayers of cyanophyte meadows and rocky outcroppings. Lacking true roots or vascular tissue, terraspores relied on capillary action, osmosis, and mutualistic microbes to draw nutrients and moisture through their spongey, semi-submerged bodies.

Early terraspores were saprotrophic, digesting dead matter with the help of exoenzymes and symbiotic decomposer microbes. In this way, terraspores functioned as the primary recyclers of Cimexian landscapes, breaking down fallen cyanophyte mats, dead terramat crusts, and the decaying bodies of other surface-dwelling terraspores. A variety of early terrestrial morphs diversified during the Cimexian, each adapted to the uniquely challenging conditions of Atmos’s newly colonized landmasses. Without animal partners to aid in dispersal, digestion, or disturbance, these early organisms evolved a range of inventive strategies for reproduction, survival, and competition, often relying solely on water cycles, wind, and the decay of cyanophytes to sustain themselves.

One common form was Cryptosporis (Hidden Spores), a low-growing, crust-like terraspore that spread in tight, camouflaged mats across rocky surfaces. Its spore sacs were embedded within its thick, leathery surface and only emerged during heavy rains, when the outer tissue softened enough to expose its reproductive structures. Cryptospores were especially successful in upland and highland habitats, where their ability to survive long dry periods and cling to exposed substrates made them an early pioneer of erosion-prone environments. Another morph, Altisporis (High Spores), grew tall, slender stalks topped with pointed, wind-sensitive caps. These caps would sway in the breeze, gradually drying and cracking until they ejected lightweight spores in puffs. Altispores typically grew in open areas between cyanophyte stands, where wind exposure was greatest. Some species developed fine, hair-like filaments surrounding the cap, which caught morning dew and funneled moisture down to the base, an important adaptation for survival in drier, inland soils.

A particuarly succesful early lineage of terraspores was Esuriensporis (Hungry Spores). Unlike many of its terraspore cousins, who passively absorb decaying matter, esurienspores were semi-active substrate feeders. They were primarily found in nutrient-poor or high-competition environments, where a more aggressive nutrient acquisition strategy is advantageous. Like most terraspores, above its central body rose a broad, fleshy cap with deep, ragged slits that both protected its upper tissues and served as a launching platform for its spores. When mature, the cap rhythmically contracts, releasing acidic, sticky spores into the air.

Ensurienspores were unique in that their spores were sticky and mildly acidic, allowing them to adhere to passing fauna and begin feeding even before germination. Targeting nearby flora, and even fauna after the invasion of land, this strategy allowed ensurienspores to obtain nutrients from the moment of 'birth.' Furthermore, subsequent to the later colonization of land by Atmosian fauna, this targeted form of dispersal would enable the ensurienspores to quickly and efficiently colonize areas far beyond their native habitats, ensuring this lineage's success.

Carosporis (Fleshy Spores) was another successful lineage of terraspores distinguished by its swollen, bulbous spore sacs that protruded from a stout, semi-woody base. These sacs were fleshy and water-retentive, serving both as reproductive structures and as reservoirs of moisture in arid or fluctuating climates. Carospores relied on mechanical rupture caused by environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature shifts, and erosion to release their spores.

Cycles of hydration and desiccation caused the sacs to expand and contract over time. During periods of high humidity or following rainfall, internal pressure would build within the ripening sacs. Eventually, they would split open, ejecting clouds of fine, sticky spores into the surrounding air or across the soil surface. In windy environments, these spores could travel considerable distances before settling into detritus-rich patches suitable for germination.

A carospore's surface was porous and absorbent, enabling it to take in nutrients from decaying cyanophyte mats and other organic debris. Typically found in transitional zones between moist lowlands and drier upland crusts, carospores played a crucial role in soil formation and nutrient cycling during these early stages of terrestrial colonization, helping prepare the land for future, more complex lifeforms.

Unlike some of its more filamentous or web-like relatives, the caraspore was rooted in place by a dense, sponge-like base that absorbed nutrients from decaying material around it. Though it did not creep or spread horizontally like some terramat species, its clustered growth habit and frequent spore release made it a prolific colonizer of early soil patches. It was particularly successful in humid coastal lowlands and on the fringes of cyanophyte groves, where it played a key role in breaking down organic matter and helping to structure the first fertile soils of Atmos.

The Scuttlebugs

Emicocimexis (Scuttling Bugs), or "Scuttlebugs," were the first fully terrestrial 'animal' lifeforms on Atmos. These small, many-legged creatures were descendants of the varicataurs, a lineage of pleruplod centaurs that had specialized in consuming pinguespores, nutrient-rich, fat-storing membranutriors that had long formed a staple of shallow benthic ecosystems.

As pinguespores gradually gave rise to terraspores, adapting to life in semi-aquatic and then fully terrestrial environments, their primary consumers followed. The ancestors of scuttlebugs, once tied to the tides, began frequenting the muddy intertidal zones and, over time, ventured farther inland, tracking the slow inland creep of nutritious fungal growths and decomposing cyanophyte mats. Morphologically, they adapted for this shift by developing semi-rigid exoskeletal structures and internal hydrostatic support systems, retaining the tristag-derived breathing system: inhaling through a mouth-like opening and exhaling through small lateral pores in the neck. These respiratory structures became increasingly efficient at handling dry air, eventually enabling true air-breathing life. Eventually, the first scuttlebug took its breath on land along the northern shore of the continent of Sorlona. Its position gave it strategic access to the neighboring landmasses of Weslona and Eslona, both separated by shallow inland seas and submerged continental shelves. Over the following millions of years, scuttlebugs would spread across these adjacent continents through gradual coastal colonization and overwater dispersal events.

Scuttlebugs inherited a body plan that offered both evolutionary opportunity and constraint. Unlike their aquatic ancestors, scuttlebugs no longer relied on water buoyancy to support their mass. Instead, their spinal shell, once a segmented dorsal ridge used for protection and structure in pleruplods, gradually expanded and fused to form a full-body exoskeleton. This tough, chitinous-like armor prevented desiccation, shielded them from physical abrasions, and maintained internal pressure in the absence of surrounding water. Internally, scuttlebugs retained their hydrostatic skeleton, a system of pressurized internal fluids that allowed their muscles to generate motion by pushing against fluid-filled chambers.

This combination, a semi-rigid exoskeletal frame coupled with hydrostatic pressure, was highly effective at small body sizes. However, this same system imposed hard limitations. Without the support of an internal skeleton or reinforced jointed limbs, any increase in size would compromise their mechanical stability. Just as many of Earth’s invertebrates are constrained in size by their reliance on exoskeletal and hydrostatic mechanisms, scuttlebugs were evolutionarily bound to microfaunal niches, rarely exceeding a few inches in length.

Their physiology further reflected this adaptation to small-scale living. As poikilotherms, scuttlebugs relied on environmental temperatures to regulate their internal heat. This made them well-suited to warm, humid conditions, where dense fungal mats, decaying cyanophytes, and moist cyanoflora provided both food and shelter. Their small size allowed them to exploit microhabitats such as root tangles, shaded soil crevices, and moist underleaf pockets, which larger fauna could not reach.

Scuttlebugs, like almost all tristags, reproduce through a three-stage life cycle consisting of juvenilafer, virifer, and matrifer stages. Scuttlebugs reproduce via eggs, which are typically laid in clusters within moist, shaded environments such as under decomposing cyanophyte mats or nestled among the root tangles of early terraspores. The eggs are soft-shelled but coated in a waxy, semi-permeable membrane to reduce water loss, an essential adaptation for surviving in early terrestrial environments where desiccation posed a constant threat.

Upon hatching, the scuttlebug emerges as a juvenilafer: a small, semi-transparent, soft-bodied form that lacks full exoskeletal coverage. During this stage, the juvenilafers feed voraciously on the fungal detritus and soft pore tissues which their eggs are laid among, growing rapidly while remaining largely hidden within moist substrate layers.

As the juvenilafers reach a critical size and energy threshold, they undergo their first major transformation into the virifer stage. Virifers are fully mobile and possess a hardened, articulated exoskeleton. This is the active foraging and dispersal stage of the scuttlebug life cycle. Virifers roam across the surface in search of food and potential mates, and it is during this stage that most scuttlebugs live the majority of their lives. Not all virifers will transition to the next stage, many die from predation, competition, or environmental stress before reaching the necessary conditions for the final transformation.

For those that do survive, a second metamorphosis leads to the matrifer stage. Matrifers are the female adults of the population. In many species, matrifers develop specialized reproductive organs and exhibit behaviors associated with nest-making or egg-laying. Unlike virifers, matrifers are often more sedentary, investing their remaining energy into reproduction. Depending on the species, a matrifer may guard its egg clusters, tend to developing juvenilafer broods, or simply release eggs into protected crevices to fend for themselves.

This tristag cycle provides scuttlebugs with a flexible reproductive framework that allows for adaptive dispersal, ecological role separation, and resource specialization between stages. It also helps buffer populations from environmental stress, as if conditions are poor, many individuals may delay transitioning to matriferhood, allowing the population to sustain itself in virifer form until conditions improve.

The gradual expansion of scuttlebugs from their point of origin on Sorlona to the southern continents of Weslona and Eslona unfolded over the course of several million years, driven by their small size and adaptability,. Though they were not capable swimmers or fliers, scuttlebugs were ideally suited for rafting, able to survive long periods nestled within mats of terraspores, decomposing cyanophyte debris, or drifting fungal biomass.

Weslona, the western neighbor of Sorlona, was the first to be colonized. Its relative proximity, separated only by shallow seas dotted with island chains and seamounts, meant that scuttlebugs could gradually island-hop over generations. Rafting events, especially during storms or seasonal tidal surges, carried them across in as little as 0.5 million years. Once ashore, the scuttlebugs quickly found familiar ecological niches along the coastlines, exploiting early terraspore and cyanophyte communities just as they had on Sorlona. Because of their close proximity, Sorlona and Weslona would experience frequent biotic interchange events, leading to relatively closely related lifeforms on both continents.

Eslona, to the east, was a greater challenge. It lay across a broader stretch of ocean, the eastern Interic Ocean, with fewer natural stepping stones. Nonetheless, due to the occasional appearance of large, floating masses of vegetative debris, they managed to make the crossing over a longer timeframe of approximately 1.5 million years. Upon arrival, they encountered slightly different ecosystems shaped by regional currents and climatic conditions, leading to early adaptive divergence between the Sorlonan, Weslonan, and Eslonan clades.

Norlona, the remote and ice-laced continent of Atmos’s far northern hemisphere, remained untouched by scuttlebugs during the early Cimexian Epoch. While their small size and rafting potential enabled scuttlebugs to colonize Weslona and Eslona relatively quickly, Norlona presented an entirely different set of challenges, both geographic and climatic, that rendered it inaccessible for tens of millions of years. Unlike the southern continents, Norlona was separated from the southern continents by a vast, deep oceanic basin with no shallow continental shelves, seamount chains, or island arcs to provide natural dispersal stepping stones. This made traditional rafting events extraordinarily rare and unlikely to succeed. Even if scuttlebugs or their eggs reached Norlona on floating debris, the environmental conditions there posed an extreme threat to their survival. Positioned near or within Atmos’s polar or subpolar zone, Norlona experienced cold temperatures, dry seasonal winds, and prolonged periods of snow or ice cover, all deeply inhospitable for small-bodied, poikilothermic organisms like the scuttlebugs, which rely on external warmth and moisture-rich environments to remain active and reproduce. As a result, scuttlebugs would not reach Norlona during the early Cimexian Epoch. Only with the evolution of cold-adapted lineages, potentially with antifreeze-like proteins, burrowing behaviors, or longer dormancy periods, would eventual colonization become feasible. Such an event would likely occur no earlier than 50 to 80 million years after the first terrestrial scuttlebugs appeared on Sorlona, and more plausibly around 100 to 150 million years into the Gaeacene Era, when long-range dispersal adaptations and ecological resilience had more time to evolve. For now, during the early Cimexian, Norlona remained a distant, frozen frontier, untouched by the creeping tide of animal life that had begun reshaping the southern continents.

The early continental migrations on Sorlona, Weslona, and Eslona set the stage for the first great diversification of terrestrial fauna on Atmos. Once established on the southern continents, scuttlebugs radiated into the many niches opened up by sprawling cyanophyte forests and spreading terraspore beds, laying the foundation for terrestrial ecosystems that would evolve throughout the Gaeacene Era.

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