The Early Pelitolacene

The Playtglosses

Claruglossis (Bright Tongues) emerged as a luminous clade among the deep-sea platyglosses. These abyssal descendants of the microglosses evolved bioluminescence as an adaptation to the absolute darkness of the deep ocean. In the absence of sunlight, light becomes a powerful ecological tool, one utilized by the claruglosses to aid in their survival. Their soft, jelly-like bodies are dotted with specialized photophores that emit a steady or rhythmic glow. This bioluminescence plays several roles: it confuses or deters would-be predators, attracts tiny drifting particles and microorganisms toward their long plate tongues, and, in some species, even serves as a form of simple communication between individuals in the same swarm. By glowing gently, claruglosses create localized “light zones” in the abyss, acting as beacons in an otherwise pitch-black world. These glowing detritivores drift slowly in dense aggregations near the ocean floor, sifting through organic detritus and marine snow. In doing so, they convert this falling biomass into sustenance not only for themselves but for a whole suite of abyssal organisms

Cyanovorglossis (Blue-Eating Tongues), or "blue tongues" form a sharp contrast with the abyssal claruglosses. Unlike their deep sea cousins, these microglosses lived in the sunlit waters of the Pelitolacene’s upper oceans. Unlike their abyssal relatives, these delicate, drifting creatures evolved to harness the sun’s energy directly. Through a symbiotic relationship with cyanosymbions, microscopic, photosynthetic organisms, they have achieved a rate adaptation in nektonic organisms: photosynthesis

Blue tongues incorporate their photosynthetic symbionts through ingestion during their early life stages. As juvenile blue tongues drift through the photic zone, they feed on free-living cyanosymbions suspended in the water column. Over time, these microorganisms are not digested, instead, they become embedded within specialized tissues beneath the creature’s translucent skin.

This ingestive symbiosis allows blue tongues to gradually stockpile microscopic cyanophytes as they grow, embedding them throughout their body in a diffuse lattice just beneath the epidermis. Once a sufficient population of cyanosymbionts has been established, the blue tongues transition to a largely autotrophic lifestyle. Their bodies become flush with subtle blue-green hues, a result of both light filtering through their gelatinous tissues and the pigments of their photosynthetic passengers. This mode of symbiont acquisition is reminiscent of how Elysia chlorotica on Earth acquires algae through feeding, though bluetongues differ in that they host entire living cyanophytes rather than just their chloroplasts. This ongoing incorporation of new symbionts gives them flexibility, as if one patch of cyanophytes is damaged or dies, it can be replaced over time through continued feeding. Though they still supplement their energy intake with organic detritus and microscopic prey, photosynthesis provides the majority of their sustenance, especially in nutrient-poor zones. This solar-assisted feeding strategy allows them to drift languidly in the upper layers of the ocean, conserving energy while bathed in sunlight.

The Dumplings

Nepapipantis (Crab Pips), or "Dumpling Crabs," is a benthic offshoot of the pelagic dumplings. Where dumplings embraced the open ocean, nepapips took a different path. These creatures have settled back down to the sediment, not as sessile filter feeders like their magtroglodyte ancestors, but as bottom-walking, armored neotenes. In example of evolutionary convergence, the soft, gelatinous tentacles of their ancestors have stiffened into jointed, crab-like limbs, giving these animals a scuttling gait across the sea floor. Their bodies have grown compact and rounded, reminiscent of the “dumpling” shape of their ancestors, but now encased in a hardened outer shell that protects against predators and abrasive terrain. Their tentacles now serve as stout walking legs, supporting their top-facing central mouth. Their behavior and morphology reflect an Earth-like trend known as "carcinization," the tendency of evolution to arrive again and again at a crab-like form, despite different ancestral origins. Much like how diverse lineages of crustaceans on Earth have independently evolved a flattened, hard-shelled body with multiple legs for maneuvering in tight benthic spaces, nepapips arrived at this shape through radically different means. Despite their squat build, they are surprisingly agile, able to flip themselves upright if overturned and even burrow partially into sediment to hide from larger predators. Their central oral disc remains prominent, fringed with fine, ciliated feeding hairs that sweep edible particles inward. Some species graze lithoflora reefs, while others have been observed prying open small bivalved vorms or scavenging fallen biomass.

Sequaxpipantis (Pursuing Pips), or "Dumpling Fish," is a clade of active, nektonic descendants of pipant-form magtrogs that have specialized as agile midwater predators. Unlike the benthic nepapips, which returned to the seafloor, sequaxpips retained and further refined their free-swimming lifestyle. Over time, they transitioned from passive filter feeders to active hunters.

Their bodies are still rounded and soft, retaining the general “dumpling” silhouette of their larval ancestors, but they are more streamlined than those of drifting filter-feeders. Their eight tentacular limbs, once primarily used for slow undulation, have evolved into powerful and precise propulsion organs. By rhythmically pulsing and flexing their appendages in coordinated bursts, they can accelerate quickly and change direction with sharp control, ideal for chasing down small, evasive prey. The primitive eye ring has become more advanced, with some species developing partial lensing or directional sensitivity, allowing better visual tracking in the dim pelagic zones where they hunt.

The Sugoplods

Humosugis (“Burying Suckers”) is a specialized lineage of densisugs that have adapted to a fully parasitic lifestyle. Rather than briefly attaching to a host to feed, humosugs embed the entire front portion of their bodies into the flesh of larger marine organisms, anchoring themselves securely while continuously drawing blood and bodily fluids.

Their bodies are small and soft, with the anterior region heavily muscularized for burrowing and gripping. Hooked mouthparts, evolved from the rasping structures of their densisug ancestors, pierce deep into the host’s tissue.

Once attached, the humosugs inflate as their sac-like abdomen expands with ingested blood, growing bulbous and distended over time. Some species become nearly immobile in this state, relying entirely on host locomotion. A few even mimic the texture and coloration of their host’s body to avoid detection by potential cleaners or predators. They are often found embedded in the softer, less mobile regions of large vorms, pelagic ostiverms, or even the flanks of sluggish deep-sea creatures. Individuals may remain attached for weeks, slowly siphoning nutrients, and only detaching to reproduce or if the host perishes. Though energetically inexpensive, their strategy comes at the cost of independencehumosugs are vulnerable to host defenses, grooming behaviors, and competition from other parasites. Still, they represent a successful deviation from the short-term parasitism of their ancestors, embracing a slower, more sustained form of exploitation.

Muresugis (Rock Suckers) is a sedentary offshoot of the sugoplod lineage. Unlike their mobile viatosug cousins, the muresugs have traded mobility for a life spent clinging to hard, immobile substrates such as cliff faces, rocky outcroppings, and lithofloral reef structures. In contrast to their wandering relatives, muresugs have adapted to a slow, methodical existence, creeping across the surfaces of stones and sediment-crusted walls in search of sustenance.

Their most distinctive feature is their camouflaged, mineralized shell, which closely resembles the rock surfaces they inhabit. This stony carapace provides not only protection from predators, but also effective visual concealment, muresugs can be nearly indistinguishable from the rocks they cling to, a crucial defense for such sluggish creatures.

Using their powerful, muscular sucking feet, they latch tightly onto the substrate, even in high-current environments. Though capable of movement, they do so slowly, inching along in search of food. Their diet consists mainly of fingopores that carpet the rocks in microbial mats, as well as organic detritus that accumulates in crevices and on surfaces. The muresug feeding apparatus includes a set of scraping mouthparts, ideal for grazing microscopic particles and rooting through biofilm layers. Some species have developed short sensory feelers to detect chemical traces left by fingopore growths, helping them locate particularly nutrient-rich patches.While their lifestyle is less dynamic than their mobile relatives, muresugs are highly successful in their niche, dominating shaded rocky regions in both shallow and mid-depth waters during the Pelitolacene.

The Rigiducoclids

Furcatococlis (Forked Shells) is a lineage of rigiducoclids that inhabit the muddy, sediment-rich seafloors of the late Pelitolacene. These rigiducoclids are named for the bifurcation of their tentacular mustaches, which split into two fine branches at their tips. In their adult, matrifer stage, furcatococlids extend their long, flexible mustaches from a central oral aperture. These appendages are coated with sensory hairs that help capture suspended organic material. At their tips, the mustaches fork into two finer branches, allowing the animals to sweep broader arcs through the water and trap a higher volume of food particles. This forked morphology also provides greater dexterity, with the tentacles able to gently twist, comb, and fold around drifting particles.

Some species possess only two such mustaches, while others sport up to eight, each bifurcated at the end like delicate calipers. These mustaches operate in rhythmic sequences-some sweeping wide to collect matter, while others fold inward to transfer particles toward the mouth. They are common in coastal lagoons, delta outflows, and benthic silt plains, forming stable, low-growing communities similar to Earth’s oyster beds. In some ecosystems, hundreds of individuals gently sweep the water in tandem, filtering out fine organic matter that larger grazers miss.

Planuscoclis (Flat Shells) is a horizontally flattened clade of rigiducoclid inmoticochlids, closely related to the furcatococlids. These organisms have adapted to live pressed flush against the seafloor, with wide, thin shells that maximize contact with the sediment and help stabilize them in soft or silty substrates. Their low profile makes them more resistant to displacement by currents and less visible to predators that patrol above. Many planuscoclids lie partially buried, with only their perimeter and mustaches exposed, which helps them avoid both predation and fouling. Others live on top of sediment mats, often clustering in dense, overlapping beds where hundreds of individuals form a living filter carpet. In regions of slow-moving, nutrient-rich water, such as estuarine deltas and abyssal plains, planuscoclids are often dominant sessile lifeforms.

Confornicativescis (Arching Feeders) is an elegant offshoot of the photosymbiotic lumevescis lineage, notable for their tall, upward-curving mustaches that form graceful arcs rising from their shells. These mustaches have become stiffened, rigid scaffolds optimized for one primary goal: lifting their photosynthetic symbionts toward the light. This vertical extension grants them an advantage in crowded or sediment-heavy shallow waters, elevating their cyanophyte colonies above competitors and potential obstructions. Confornicativescids form scattered colonies across well-lit marine flats, with their arched mustaches creating complex microenvironments, slowing currents, trapping nutrients, and providing shelter for smaller creatures.

Brevivescis (Short Feeders) is a compact, robust lineage of lumevescids adapted for life in more turbulent, sediment-heavy coastal waters. Unlike their taller relatives such as the confornicativescids, brevivescids have developed a short, stout body plan, with low-slung, tightly branched mustaches that hug close to the shell. This reduced height minimizes drag and lowers the risk of damage from strong currents, sand abrasion, or shifting debris, allowing brevivescids to thrive in environments where more delicate photosymbiotic forms might struggle.

Despite their smaller stature, brevivescids are densely colonized by cyanosymbionts. Their mustaches have evolved to be thick and bushy, maximizing surface area within a compact footprint. In this way, they maintain a high degree of photosynthetic efficiency while reducing their exposure. Their shells are often heavily ridged or textured, helping anchor them securely to rough or uneven substrates and offering additional surface area for microbial colonization.

The Lithoflora

Some groups, such as Cautefloris (Soft Flowers), a lineage of propaflori, have lost almost all of their structural integrity, becoming extremely delicate and pliable. These organisms resemble gelatinous sheets or blobs, draped loosely over rocks, sediment, or even other benthic organisms. Instead of maintaining a defined shape, cauteflors shift and ripple with the currents, their surfaces bristling with microvilli-like structures that maximize nutrient absorption from the surrounding water.

This extreme softening allows cautefloris to thrive in low-energy environments, such as sheltered basins, caves, and trenches, where wave action and predation are minimal. Some species are nearly translucent, offering little resistance to water movement and often blending seamlessly into their surroundings. In these habitats, they play an important ecological role, acting as spongy nutrient filters and providing a hospitable, moist substrate for microbial life and burrowing detritivores.

Others, like Burgufloris (Castle Flowers), descendants of the arduflors, have further adapted in favor of their hardy ancestor’s structural strategy. These lithoflora have taken robustness to an architectural extreme, developing fortress-like forms with thick, multilayered exteriors and labyrinthine internal chambers. Their outer surfaces are heavily calcified and often spiked or ridged, serving as a deterrent to grazers and helping deflect strong currents or sediment flows.

Burgufloris colonies can grow to massive sizes, sometimes forming reef-like ridges or isolated “towers” on the seafloor. These structures not only provide the plant with stability in turbulent environments but also create complex microhabitats for a diverse range of marine life. Small filter feeders, scavengers, and symbiotic microorganisms shelter in the cracks and folds of the burgufloris, turning these living fortresses into bustling ecological hubs. Internally, their porous walls and chambers slow down water flow, increasing nutrient contact time and allowing the lithoflora to extract more suspended particles. Some burguflora even cultivate inner “gardens” of photosynthetic or chemosynthetic symbionts, protected from external threats but still nourished by the currents funneled through the structure

The Raptors

Lancearepaxis (Spear Raptors), is a highly specialized descendant of the densrepax line, taking the piercing strategy of their ancestors to its most refined and aggressive form. Rather than simply incorporating a spear-like tooth into a swift ambush strike, lancearepaxes have fully integrated impalement into every aspect of their hunting strategy. With long, forward-thrusting jaws ending in a hardened, needle-like tooth, they turn themselves into living projectiles, darting, striking, and stunning prey with overwhelming kinetic force. These raptors are built for one thing: linear acceleration. Their streamlined bodies are slender and rigid, maximizing the transfer of muscular force into explosive forward movement. Upon locating a potential prey item, often vorms or soft-bodied pleruplods, they align themselves directly with it and launch in a sudden, unidirectional burst, aiming to pierce through the body in a single decisive movement.

Prey struck by a lancearepax is often impaled or mortally wounded on impact. The predator may carry its victim for several meters before slowing down and shaking it loose. Once the prey is incapacitated, the lancearepax circles back and consumes it in large, swift gulps. While they cannot chew, their flexible jaws can extend and unhinge to accommodate a wide range of prey sizes. The evolution of this high-speed impalement strategy has come with tradeoffs, however. Lancearepaxes are delicate, metabolically expensive organisms that rely on frequent successful hunts to survive. Their spear-like tooth is delicate, and if it breaks, a lancearepax will soon after starve to death. Nonetheless, their single-minded approach to hunting has earned them a fearsome reputation as one of the most lethal morphs among the repaxiscoronid lineage.

Cheilosrepaxis (Lip Raptors) is a lineage of densrepax descendants with a highly specialized lower lip, elongated, muscular, and flexible, which functions as a prehensile appendage used to grasp and restrain struggling prey. This lower lip is not merely soft tissue; it is supported by a framework of muscular ridges and reinforced connective fibers, giving it the strength and dexterity to wrap around prey and hold it fast.

When a cheilosrepax lunges at a target, typically armored pleruplods, it does not aim to swallow them whole, like the perittosrepax, nor impale them, like the lancearepax. Instead, it clamps down with its lip, pinning the prey against the substrate or lifting it into the water column where it can then be crushed under its front tooth.

Rather than stabbing, the cheilosrepax uses its dulled tooth to wedge into shells and apply pressure, breaking through armored prey with repeated thrusts of its jaws. Combined with its gripping lip, this adaptation allows cheilosrepaxes to tackle tougher, more resistant prey that speed-based raptors tend to avoid.

Living in shallow coastal waters, cheilosrepaxes navigate through dense cyanophyte beds, rocky tidepools, and silty lagoons. Their bodies are broader and more maneuverable than their open-water relatives, with fins adapted for hovering and fine-tuned control rather than long-distance speed. Their coloration tends toward muted earth tones-blues, browns, and mottled grays-providing camouflage among the sediment and vegetation.

Uligorepaxis (Mojito Raptors) is a a vibrant and diminutive lineage of cheilosrepaxes, named for their bright green-and-white coloration and their preference for warm, tropical shallows. Unlike their larger, more powerfully built ancestors, uligorepaxes have shifted toward a lifestyle of nimble foraging, favoring agility and finesse over brute force. These tiny raptors have adapted the heavy lip-grasping strategy of their forebears, developing a long, sticky, telescoping tongue capable of darting out in a fraction of a second. This tongue is their primary hunting tool, used to snag small prey such as juvenile pleruplods, microvorms, and soft-bodied detritivores hiding among the cyanophyte thickets or tidepool crevices. Once captured, prey is retracted swiftly and swallowed crushed under their strong tooth.

The Centaurs

Perveniotauris (Reaching Centaurs) is an offshoot of the piscataur lineage, distinguished by the evolution of long, pointed barbs and ridges along the edges of their armored shells. These sharp protrusions serve multiple functions: providing additional defense against larger predators, disrupting their visual outline for camouflage, and assisting in anchoring themselves into crevices or sediment while lying in ambush. In some species, these barbs are even capable of delivering a mild toxin to deter would-be attackers.

Like their ancestors, perveniotaurs are ambush predators that rely on stealth and sudden motion to capture prey. However, while typical piscataurs conceal themselves among open rocky areas or sediment, perveniotaurs have taken this further, often wedging themselves tightly into narrow cracks or beneath overhangs on the seafloor. Their jagged shells help them lock into place, while their long, flexible lower arms extend outward to monitor the water column.

Pinnatauris (Finned Centaurs), is an active, agile offshoot of the caesitaur clade, distinguished by the development of a long, muscular tail tipped with a broad, fin-like structure. This fin allows them to execute powerful, bounding jumps through the shallow cyanophyte meadows they inhabit. While retaining the upright posture and blue coloration of their ancestors, pinnataurs are generally sleeker and more streamlined in form. Their shell plates are slightly reduced in mass, sacrificing some armor for enhanced mobility.

The fin-tail functions both as a means of propulsion and stability: with a powerful contraction of their rear muscles, they launch themselves forward in quick bursts, using the tail to steer mid-leap and to stabilize during landings. This mobility is particularly useful for navigating the patchy terrain of their habitat. In areas where sediment becomes too compact to dig effectively or cyanophyte growth becomes too dense to walk through, pinnataurs can leap over obstacles, quickly reposition themselves, or evade predators. Their leaping ability also allows them to surprise prey, often landing directly atop a poremorph burrow before digging it up with their broad lower arms.

While primarily solitary foragers like other caesitaurs, pinnataurs are somewhat more territorial and frequently engage in tail-lashing and short leaps as part of their boundary-setting rituals. Mating season sees even more acrobatic displays, with individuals using their tails to perform showy, spiraling jumps in shallow clearings between cyanophyte stands.

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