Gelatins
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Gelatins include all descendants of the Filthy Gelatin.
Anatomy
Gelatins from the outside look like a small yellow ball covered in pores. These pores lead into the many chambers that make up the inside of a gelatin, these chambers all connect in the center. Their yellow opaque outer flesh is soft and is rubbery or jelly-like, the inner flesh is relatively spongy and even softer.
Inside them the chambers are filled with yellow blood-sap, the blood-sap is yellow due to concentrations of free moving cells used as defense against invasive microbes or debris brought into the blood from seawater. Lining the walls of the chambers are flagella that whip through the blood-sap and cause a current which allows the blood-sap to flow throughout the Gelatin.
Behavior
Gelatins generally stay suspended in the open water photosynthesizing, although the Floating Gelatin would float out of the water and keep themselves suspended in the air, and the Twinkiiro keep themselves anchored on the seabed. They seep water into themselves through their pores and mix it directly into their blood. Excess water and most cellular waste is gradually excreted through their outer flesh into the surrounding water, buildups of undissolved material or salt in the blood can be collected in globs of mucus and expelled through one of the pores. If something large or particularly dangerous is taken into one of the blood-sap chambers it can be closed off from the other chambers and all contents can be released to avoid any further damage.
Breathing and Blood
Gelatin respiration is just like Earth's plants where they breathe in CO2 and breathe out oxygen. Nutrients is free floating in their blood, high levels of defensive cells are also in their blood, these cells are used mainly for fending off invasive microbes and destroying foreign material in the blood. To gain many of their needed nutrients they seep water into themselves through their pores and directly mix it into their blood, this is how foreign material often gets into them.
Diet & Energy
All Gelatins are yellow because they absorb purple light. Unlike many of the photoysnthetic life of Sagan 4 the Gelatins produce oils instead of sugar or starch.
Unusual to this group the Pioneer Twinkiirobranch and descendants have a specialized portion of its body for taking in nutrients, most Gelatins allow water to seep into their blood directly for digestion and processing, this "root" of sorts have a concentration of digestive and defensive cells for processing and sanitizing soil taken into its chambers. Once processed the chamber contracts, forcing its blood up into the main body.
Evolution
Locomotion
Most Gelatins are incapable of movement, although the Floating Gelatin and Ice Gelatin were able to move out of the water and into the air by producing and storing hydrogen.
Reproduction
Gelatins release large cells from its surface that clump together with their sister cells and those released from other gelatin. This mass forms something similar to the gelatins ancestor,the colonial crocusium, except it is very soft and easily torn apart, any pieces broken off during this stage simply turn into smaller masses. During this time the cells of the mass work together to grow their own glob, or piece of the mass, and build up a store of energy, when about two cm across they cells enter their second stage of development. In this stage they become hostile towards one another, the cells gathering together with others from the same ancestor cell. The separate clumps inside the mass grow at a cancerous rate, each glob trying to starve the other out or even consume the others into oblivion. During this time some cells might mutate and develop their own clumps, just prolonging the war. Once the war is over and only one clump remains it, settles, stocks up on oil, and begins transforming into the fully developed gelatin.
Senses
The only gelatin that had shown any sign of being able to sense their surroundings were the Floating Gelatins and the Ice Gelatins which were able to sense light, dark, and wind when floating. No other gelatins show any signs of significant senses.
Size
Gelatins are generally under 10 cm wide.
Types of Gelatins
Free Floaters: The most basic group, also the first, it includes the Filthy Gelatin and the Disorderly Gelatin. Defined by its members lifestyle of floating in open water.
Air Floaters: This group is defined by the members ability to float in the air and to produce, store, and utilize various chemicals including hydrogen gas and antifreeze, it includes the Floating Gelatin and the Ice Gelatin.
Immobiles: Contains the decedents of the Twinkiiro, this group is defined by its members lifestyle of being anchored to the seabed.