Creature List

The ruby flopper is found commonly in the red jungles of agrona and can be seen foraging for red tongues that grow up from the soil and occasionally infect worm trees. The flopper feeds almost exclusively on these macro-microbial colonies which pigment gives the flopper its distinctive red coloration which is used as camouflage. Ruby floppers may supplement their diet by feeding on dead cartilage tissues that can be found on the outside of some infected worm trees. This feeding behavior has led to behavioral adaptations to keep the flopper safe from predators. As the name implies the flopper would purposely jump up off of trees if it feels threatened or notices sudden movement and would trash around violently in an attempt to deter predators. Large ‘fins’ help the flopper move around and climb up the slimy worm trees using a suction force on the bottom of the fins.

Mixed media – 2019

The Common Worm Trees are of the phylum aerocardia but are in the class hemophyta due to the symbiosis of sanguinoids to generate more energy off of a rich diet of sulfur compounds. They have a large triangular membrane funnel opening at their pharyngeal anterior that aids in the collection of sulfur compounds precipitating in rainwater that is funneled down into their bodies. Due to sulfur being readily precipitated out of the atmosphere via the water cycle, worm trees take a place in the sulfur cycle by filtering the rain water inside of an internal spiral cavity that runs throughout their body that filters sulfur compounds from the water and converts the sulfate products from the symbiosis of hospitia and sangiunoids that live inside the pharyngeal membrane into hydrogen sulfide that is fed back to those organisms. These worm trees also extract sulfur compounds directly from the soil through capillary action with a water solution. Sulfuric acid that results from these chemical processes or from rainwater is separated and expelled out with wastewater in the spiral root.

Mixed media – 2021

Crubawl are solitary predators, limiting interactions to fights over carcasses and mating. Carrier Crubawls are very protective of young spawns and will carry them in their jaws to safety when storms are near. The crubawl is one of the apex predators of the rainbelt, stalking the stormy volcanic fields and mudflats. They live a lifestyle similar to that of earth polar bears aside from taking a pursuit approach to hunting. They have a purely carnivorous diet that consists of large placonota and other rytioneura. Furthermore, it has powerful jaw muscles inside of its football-shaped head which gives it a bite force of 2,500 psi, letting it crack open the exoskeletons of large placonota. Along the sides of the crubawl is a lateral line of chemoreceptors that are extremely sensitive to smells carried in the moist wind. Chemoreceptors are the key to the crubawls success as it allows them to track herds of prey for miles. The crubawls singular hindleg helps it propel its large body and using its ridged tail for balance, it is able to reach bursts of speed reaching 38 mph. 

Mixed media – 2021

The chubeast is a very social animal that roams in groups called spurs, ranging from 50 or more individuals that inhabit some of the blood jelly plains and migrate to new feeding areas as the season changes. They gesture to one another with movements of their sail, moving it back and forth to send signals to the rest of the spur about danger or obstacles ahead.

Mixed media – 2021

The goredrinker is one of the common inhabitants to see roaming the blood plains and rocky shores of mania d. Standing at a height of 1.28 meters, the goredrinkers body is slim and balanced for its windy habits. Its bipedal posture allows the goredrinker to strut across the wet terrain without getting stuck in the mud or disturbing the goredrinkers prey of moving hemophyta red cones. Their slim exoskeleton is composed of a matrix of unique keratin proteins that are reinforced by deposited layers of calcium phosphate. This exoskeleton stretches and grows out of the edges of the plates throughout the goredrinkers active lifestyle. This flexible armor makes for a lightweight exoskeleton which allows them to protect themselves along with aiding in aerodynamics while sailing on the strong equatorial winds. 

Mixed media – 2022

The Finback is one of the largest terrestrial walking creatures on Agrona inhabiting the outskirts of the red jungles. These giants feed off of the plentiful worm trees, possessing robust digestive systems to extract as many nutrients as possible. They can often be seen using their size to push over smaller worm trees to feed on the photosynthetic membranes. The finbacks tend to ignore the rest of the worm tree and prefer the soft membrane tissues but could accidentally kill the worm tree in the process. The worm trees have methods to try to deter them but finbacks are very persistent. They exist within unstable herds where familial members will join with other family groups to find better feeding groups. Due to the size of a finback, they often don’t worry about predators at all aside from attacks on the young and sick members of the group which they will protect with their lives. Modified tissue on the front feet developed into hardened claw-like structures that they use for defense and for foraging in times of food shortage. Finbacks are known to stay in mated pairs with the unique 6 sexes system being vestigial in the species. Only male, female, and hermaphrodites exist within their populations which is thought to mean they are not under heavy breeding pressure. This does not mean that carrier finbacks don’t exist as the occasional genetic mutation does arise. These pairs form groups that are composed of 2 or 4 mated pairs. While the lifespan of the finbacks is unknown, it is known that they live long enough to have their gill sails frayed at the edge and elders having their pyrite beaks worn to the point of being unusable which leads to them starving. The only predators that attempt any frequent attack are the sawdragons and only during the seasonal finback migration. This migration happens during the cooling period of the year and is done to find new feeding grounds. These migrations require crossing treacherous terrain and between mountain ranges.

Mixed media – 2022

Gill burrs are oceanic obligate parasites that live in the oceans of Agrona. They get their name from inhabiting and feeding upon the vulnerable pulmonary strata (colloquially known as gill sails) of many rytioneura. Gill burrs live the majority of their life in what is known as the diploid phase, gaining much of their nutrition from their host’s blood and tissue. The gill burrs gorge themselves on the fleshy tissue of the gill sail to the point of rupturing the vesicae which will release gametes and infectious bile into the surrounding water. These gametes are free-floating and often self-fertilize unless they are released nearby another gill burr. In this instance, the Gill burrs will communicate using chemical traces through the host’s tissue to synchronously rupture the reproductive vesicae. After fertilizing the developing gill burr will try to stick to the flesh of the pulmonary strata to further its development into the diploid phase. If the fertilized gill burr doesn’t find a new host to stick to it will remain dormant, remaining as a near-microscopic blob until disturbed. 

Mixed media – 2022

The devil whale is a large carnivore that stalks the northern oxygen-rich oceans of Agrona. It is an example of some of the handful of species of its genus that have managed to survive in arctic waters and grow to large sizes to conserve energy. While being grouped into the phylum placonota this is a point of contention despite the fact they are more closely related to placonota than any other phylum. They are thought to be an evolutionary offshoot of the phylum that internalized their keratin structures early on. The devil whale has massive eyes compared to the rest of its body and it uses them to hunt for prey deep under the cold waters of Agrona. Its body is protected from the cold by a dense layer of keratin filaments that fill the space underneath its skin with a dense mesh of fibers that help insulate the devil whale.

Mixed media – 2022