Uksapo

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Uksapo
(Sapoconcha ramul)
Main image of Uksapo
Species is extant.
Information
CreatorMnidjm Other
Week/Generation26/165
HabitatRamul Temperate Beach, Ramul Temperate Woodland
Size16 cm Tall
Primary MobilityUnknown
SupportInternal (Muscular Hydrostats)
DietAdult: Herbivore (Pioneeroots, Marbleflora, Snotflora); Larvae: Planktivore (Redmosses, Orangemosses, Hexmalaphoelia, Flovars, Floatfilms)
RespirationActive (Shell Gills)
ThermoregulationEctothermic
ReproductionSexual, Two Sexes, Eggs
Taxonomy
Domain
Superkingdom
Kingdom
Subkingdom
Phylum
Class
Subclass
Order
Superfamily
Family
Genus
Species
Eukaryota
Viridisagania
Mancerxa
Siphonozoa
Konydonta (info)
Echinopoda
Euechinopoda
Pneumatostraca
Otoconchoidea
Uktodrakidae
Sapoconcha
Sapoconcha ramul
Ancestor:Descendants:

The uksapo are descendants of drake uktank that have found themselves isolated on the island of Ramul. Due to the limited resources compared to the mainland, the parent stock species could not survive in their original forms, instead over time being replaced by progressively smaller specimens. The condensing of their size has allowed them to utilize the Uktank locomotion methods. Each of their legs has the ancestral vertical and horizontal ring-shaped muscles, which support its weight like stacking tires. These muscles have bands of tissue reinforced with calcium carbonate that help keep them upright. This helps with more structural support, providing better muscular anchors.

Inside their shells is an extremely intricate patterning of gills, with a significantly increased surface area. This has given them more efficient oxygen absorption. Their skin and the internals of the shell have a thick mucus layer that keep them moist on land. This mucus also protects them somewhat in freshwater ponds and springs which they can use to feed and refill their shells, though they cannot reproduce in freshwater, as their eggs will become hypotonic, so they must return to the beach. The mucus also protects them from the worse effects of the ramulbane, though if an unlucky individual gets struck with a direct hit of spores they will have to rinse off in the closest body of water they can find.

They reproduce in the intertidal zone, away from potential predators in the water in protected tidepools and rock crevices. The females will lay their eggs into the pools, up to 100 eggs in a cluster similar to frog eggs, which the males will then enter and fertilize. Once mating is done, the males will remain by the eggs and aggressively defend them, to the point where it is not uncommon for them to starve to death. They will defend themselves and their eggs by waving their trunk claw and aggressively posturing. The claws are rather sharp and covered in micro-serrations on the underside, which will injury predators with weak enough skin, such as a bijadadu. Those that live long enough to defend the eggs will abandon them once hatched. The larvae will stay in the pools for 2 months, and will reach breeding age after a year. Adults live for about 7 years, though only about 20% reach adulthood.