Bubblehorn

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Bubblehorns are decapod creatures, with a hard shell and two long sensing organs, with some exceptions, that descend from worms. The shell started to form in ancient ancestors which had symbiosis with marine sulfur microorganisms, and become rigid when it moved to shallow waters. Coming to shore, where most of them are currently, they developed horns with smell sensing structures, later evolved into rounded protrusions, originating the first known species, the spikedshell bubblehorn. Most of them are detritivore and exhibit amazing forms, being in charge to keep clean most of environments on Sagan 4.

Senses
Like saucebacks, the bubblehorns are blind. However, in contrast to them, their main sense is the olfaction. They are able to “see” smells using their smelling organs, creating a map on their minds, being guided by gradients of scents and odors present on the environment. Some species can have variations in the number and shape of these organs, which changed in order to improve the defense, camouflage or food capture chances.

Feeding
Most of them use their “bubble horns” to catch food, which adheres to the tip of the protrusions and then is driven to the mouth. Coming from an old aquatic ancestor with a filter feeding diet, in land these creatures started to eat mainly uneven moist food, being it residues of fresh pre-digested foods from other creatures or decaying matter. Later, some groups evolved to a more diverse diet, being it composed by small elements of flora, minerals or particles present on air or water, between others. Some species evolved their front legs into graspers to catch food, protecting the smell sensors from damage, while others developed body appendages or even branched protrusions to help in the food capture.

Reproduction
These creatures are anisogamous, having two different genders. After fertilized, the female lays its soft eggs near to a very moist place, where the offspring will hatch. Most of them will lay the eggs into water, but some lines evolved different strategies to do it, according to their habitats. Several species will use water puddles found near to rocks or flora to lay the eggs; others evolved mucus to keep the eggs protected from desiccation and attached to surfaces; and some species lay them into nutritive purses, giving to offspring a quick food source when hatching.

Locomotion
While most of bubblehorns just walk, several lines evolved the limbs in different ways to go around, including fins in marine species. In Wright, scaling species evolved suction cups under the feed to promote the adhesion to vertical surfaces, like flora stalks, while burrowing ones changed the back legs to a shovel-like shape allow them to burrow backwards. In Glicker, cave species can produce sticky mucus that adheres to their feet and allow them to scale the walls and reach the cave ceiling. The same mucus adheres to their horns and dips forming long fine lines, used to fish airborne particles. On the east side on the continent, hilly areas have species with round shells and horns employed like arms, pulling the creature into motion, rolling down from hills.

Behavior
Bubblehorns are famous by their inimitable bodies, which grant them a singular beauty. They are not social creatures, meeting only for mating purposes. Even having a hard shell, the soft body of bubblehorns is very vulnerable to attacks. In this way, they adapted different ways to disguise into environments, acquiring shapes and behaviors to make them similar to fauna, flora or not living matter. Notable examples include those similar to crystal and purple flora; those able to hide between dung mounts, feeding from them; bubblehorns able to mimic rocks and stay hidden into caves; and critters with fake eyes and colorful shells, which stay upside down and stride supported by strong horns, in order to seem larger and keep predators away. There are still other species able to bury into sand; keep symbiotic relations with microorganisms which give them protection and additional food sources; or some species that will close the body and protect into a retractile cloak. Several species are known for taking care of the eggs, while some of these will recur to a paedophagic diet in rare moments, when the food scarcity conditions. Most of them live near to moist places, avoiding the water loss. Bigger species use to have a light skin color to avoid the super heating, since they have a larger body surface in contact with the sun, leading to more water losses.

Breathing & Blood
Like several other groups of worms’ descendants, bubblehorns breathe through several pores located along the body. Aquatic forms evolved ways to take air, keeping it inside air bladders or extracting it from water using intestine lung-like organs. Bubblehorns have a fine blood based on iron, giving it a ruddy coloration.