Beached Gelatus

The beached gelatus split off from its ancestor, the layered gelatus, by a series of coincidences that led it to live an amphibious lifestyle. Many gelati would be washed upon the beach by the large waves produced by the wind and mason's small gravity. These, tossed ashore, would normally die rapidly out of their natural environment. Some, however, were inevitably swept into a "sweet-spot", where the waves would quickly wash ashore, covering the gelati and giving it life-giving water and the vital gases dissolved in the water. This region on the beach was also a common waypoint of dead matter carried by the waves, and the gelati soon began to grow in profusion here, capturing the detritus that was swept ashore. And in their turn, the gelati adapted to these new conditions. They flattened, and a ring of flesh dug into the rocky sand of the Mason beach, anchoring it so that it might not be swept away. When a wave came and washed over it, it expanded, filling itself with water and the detritus carried with it. It gradually released this water, subsisting off of it until the next wave came upon it. Modern beach gelati have another source of energy revenue, in the gildrings that grow in profusion in their pores, on their surface, and underneath their semi-transparent outer skin. The gelati will allow these to grow there, but will occasionally cull the members, turning them into nutrients to sustain itself.