Glowsnapper

Glowsnapper
(Refulgiochelys glowus)


24/?, unknown cause
Information
Creator	TheBigDeepCheatsy ^Other
Week/Generation	22/144
Habitat	Drake Water Table, Sublyme Limestone Caverns
Size	1 m Long
Primary Mobility	Unknown
Support	Endoskeleton (Bone)
Diet	Male: Herbivore (Phantasmagoria Crystal, Phantasmagorian Crystal) Female: Carnivore (Cavamari, Sublyme Cavamari, Ylbershpelle Bubblehorn), Cannibalism (Glowsnapper tadpoles) Tadpole: Scavenger
Respiration	Active (Lungs)
Thermoregulation	Ectotherm
Reproduction	Sexual, Two Sexes, Frog-like Eggs Laid In The Water
Taxonomy
Domain Kingdom Phylum Superclass Class Order Family Genus Species	Eukaryota Carpozoa Spondylozoa Anisoscelida Saurochelones Refulgisauria Refulgichelonidae Refulgiochelys Refulgiochelys glowus

Ancestor:	Descendants:
Tablesnapper	Migrating Glowsnapper Seashellsnapper Cave Volox Glowspike Signaltail

The glowsnapper has replaced its ancestor. While the most cave dwellers have given up their eyesight, the tablesnappers in the Drake Water Table have not. The glowsnapper gets it's name because of the bioluminescent spots it has evolved on the sides of their bodies. These flicker like Earth's fireflies and are used for communication and to find out a mate.

Another striking way glowsnappers have evolved is their extreme sexual dimorphism. The males of this species are only 35 centimeters long while the females are 1 meter long. The males have also evolved their herbivorous nature by evolving a jagged beak that can cut into the many surrounding crystals, but the female is a strict carnivore that eats cavamari, bubblehorns, and glowsnapper tadpoles that come too close to them. The females have also evolved longer tails to help them swim in the water. The males have more spikes on the neck and shell, which protect such areas, and more tail-spikes that are primarily used for battling other males.

Not only have they changed physically, but internally as well. The females no longer have nostrils and have smaller lungs than their ancestors; much like the tadpoles of their species, the female's main method of getting oxygen is through absorbing it in the water; though they can still breath air, if needed. The females also seldom move, except when they have to find more food, during mating season, or when laying eggs. Females and tadpoles are mainly found in the Drake Water Table and in deep watery areas of the Sublyme Limestone Caverns, while the males are found in the Sublyme Limestone Caverns.

When mating season arrives, the females gather in the watery areas of the Sublyme Limestone Caverns and begin to glow. The males follow the lights and respond with their own. If more than one male is after a female, they will fight over it; such battles can be violent for they consist of thrashing their tails, clawing, and biting each other. These battles often result in the loser dying and the winner immediately goes to mate. After mating, the female digs a small burrow underneath some crystals and they guard the eggs until they hatch. Once the eggs hatch into tadpoles, they leave the mother right away because after 3 hours since hatching, the female's maternal instinct will vanish and it will eat anything that comes near it. The tadpoles also look identical to their ancestor's and eat any decaying flesh in their path.