Web Limeball

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Web Limeball
(Calciglobus telaphilia)
Artwork of Web Limeball
Species is extinct.
25/?, unknown cause
Creator Coolsteph Other
Taxonomy
Domain
Kingdom
Subkingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Eukaryota
Phoenoplastida
Phoenophyta
Spherophyta
Euspherophyta
Calciglobales
Calciglobaceae
Calciglobus
Calciglobus telaphilia
Week/Generation 24/153
Habitat Mandate Limestone Caves
Size 2 cm Wide
Primary Mobility Unknown
Support Unknown
Diet Detritivore, Parasite (Mandate Gossalizard webs)
Respiration Passive (Stomata)
Thermoregulation Ectotherm
Reproduction Fast asexual budding, very resistant spores
Descendant of Ancestor of


The web limeball lives on the webs of mandate gossalizards. The tiny, undetectable spores settle onto the web, first absorbing debris, (such as prey scraps) bioaerosols, and bacteria through its skin and later through its roots. As it grows older, it may derive nutrients from the web itself, dissolving its proteins with a mild acid. Like its ancestor, it is only mildly sticky, but freshly germinated web limeballs are so small the weak stickiness suffices.

The number of roots a web limeball has is variable, depending on age or chance. As the growth of roots is staggered, younger specimens have fewer roots than older ones.

Notably, the web limeball is unable to synthesize Vitamin K. This is normally no hindrance, since it receives all it needs from its diet of webs. If experimentally induced to grow on a substrate lacking in Vitamin K, it will struggle to grow, "bleed" profusely, dry out and die.

While web limeballs may live on both active and abandoned mandate gossalizard webs, populations on active mandate gossalizard webs are larger. This is because organisms that eat the limestone ball may also eat the web limeball, but when the organism tries to eat the web limeball it often alerts the mandate gossalizard, which rushes out to eat the herbivore.

Living Relatives (click to show/hide)

These are randomly selected, and organized from lowest to highest shared taxon. (This may correspond to similarity more than actual relation)
  • Table Cushion (family Calciglobaceae)
  • Yellow Cushion (order Calciglobales)
  • Sanguine o' Spheres (class Euspherophyta)