Floraverms

Floraverms
(Floravermis ssp.)
Information
Creator	Colddigger Other
Week/Generation	26/165
Habitat	Global (Sagan 4)
Size	1mm - 5 cm long
Primary Mobility	Unknown
Support	Unknown
Diet	Herbivore, Detritivore
Respiration	Semi-Active (Unidirectional Tracheae)
Thermoregulation	Ectotherm
Reproduction	Hermaphrodite (Live Young)
Taxonomy
Domain Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Subclass Order Suborder Superfamily Family Genus Species	Eukaryota Binucleozoa Symbiovermes Thoracocephalia Optidorsalia Polyptera Odontosynoptera Euodontosynoptera Cadovermoidea Floravermidae Floravermis Floravermis ssp.

Ancestor:	Descendants:
Vermees

The Floraverm split from its ancestor, the Vermees and spread across the globe in much the same way as it. They've specialized further into the niche of consuming flora detritus, as well as consuming fresh flora tissues. The majority of the species lean toward 1 centimeter or less in size, though there are many goliaths in the genus reaching up to 5 centimeters. The majority of small species can complete their lifecycle in a matter of weeks, the smallest being 1 millimeter reaching maturity in 10 days under optimal conditions. As ectotherms their activity is reliant on heat availability in their environment, tropical species during both night and day are common while temperate regions are dominated by diurnal species with few nocturnal forms. In places with cold seasons hibernation must be practiced.

Just like the rest of the lineage they belong to, they inherited a radula-like spine-covered inverted mouth to scrape up food, from the Clear-Wing Worm. The Floraverm group enlarged this mouth to take in larger amounts of food and further pulverize it. Their first segment has diminished, with their inverting mouth leading directly into a crop-like first segment of their intestine. This intestine makes up the majority of their biomass, allowing them to rapidly extract nutrients from what they eat, while continuously shoving more food into it.

Floraverms have simplified their segmentation with the expansion of their intestine, with each segment, with exception to their first one, now bearing roughly the same external traits. Their chitinous segments have been thinned to the point of being virtually non-existent, with the thickest portion being a supportive ring which each of their eyes sits upon. On the ventral side of the segment chitinous hooks have developed to allow better grip when climbing or crawling around.

The entrance holes to their simple tracheal system are concentrated between their first and second segments, the exit holes between their last segment and the one prior. Their single chambered pump for this system sits a quarter of the way down their body from the head. It is supported by internal structures and uses muscle both for inflating and deflating. Their hemoglobin-containing blood allows these tubes to remain relatively simple compared to other tracheal systems. The looped branching of the trachea tubes could be considered reminiscent of a unidirectional lung, if the lung were spread down the length of the organism. To maintain the unidirectional nature of this system pieces of tracheal tubing are fused in such a manner as to create a tesla valve, this distinct fusion can be found at both the front and back ends of the tracheal system.

The majority of herbivorous species specializes in their own particular handful of flora, and even then particular parts of said flora. Some stick to leaves, some burrow into soft stems, roots, and new growth, while others even specialize in infesting fruits and sporangium. Their need for regular regularly available food, and their style of mouthparts, limits them from bothering to consume tougher parts of flora such as wood, thick chitin, tough seeds, or bark. Some will specialize in Plent lineages, but most prefer purple or black flora as hosts. Others will specialize in crystal or even worm flora, though avoiding the thick chitin. Flora with chemical weaponry to deter herbivores are left alone in favor of easier food. There are various forms, typically more basal, that survive in leaf litter and detritus, however this niche is far more dominated by their ancestor the Vermees.

Commonly they can be found stuck to the undersides or edges of leaves they're eating, or inside the soft tissued stems they're hollowing out. A Floraverm can easily spend its entire life on a single host. One large Obsidoak could hold generations before they skeletonize it and disperse into the forest for new hosts.

Larger ones tend to be solitary, but a common lifestyle among Floraverms is existing in tight clusters that move together. This can startle predators into thinking they're confronted with a body much larger than an individual Floraverm. Few members of the genus are found living amphibious lives, scooting around the beds of rivers and streams, or the intertidal zones of beaches. All require terrestrial access for air since they cannot swim, with a very small handful managing to spread among the Driftwood Islands, and none are truly pelagic.