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NeoTerra: Moustached Sponge-Dragon

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Description

NeoTerra was a Speculative Evolution project that I an a number of other people worked on. The project itself is defunct and the team has fallen apart, but the creatures and ideas still exist. NeoTerra is set 20 million years in the future, and the animals that we've come up with are extremely bizarre and hopefully somewhat plausible.

Hagfish are one of the groups of animals I volunteered to develop. Thus, I came up with Reef Hagfish, which live in the cold-water Sponge Reefs in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.

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Reef Hagfish are unusual creatusres. While many species resemble their deep-sea ancestors in biology and behaviour, not a single one could be mistaken for the ghoulish beast from the twilight zone. They are almot always boldly patterned in bright colours, a huge difference from the monotone grayish-pink or black and white spots of their modern ancestors. One group has even developed bioluminescence. The most unique thing about these hagfish, however, is the presence of eyes. Modern hagfishes' eyes are extremely reduced, barely able to distinguish between light and dark. In Reef hagfish, however, the eyes are fully developed and plainly visible, able to form high-resolution images. This is essential, because when the hagfish moved from the deep sea to the reefs they had all variety of other predators to watch out for, as well as a host of new prey to find. Thus eyes- And consequently bright colours- Was a natural adaptation. The behaviours of many species also changed- Some became fast-moving midwater predators, chasing after small fish. Others acted like piranhas, hunting in schools to attack any wounded creature too slow to get away. Still others became ambush predators, using their cryptic colours to surprise unsuspecting fish. Whatever the case, all are equally unique, equally weird, and equally beautiful denizens of the reefs of the Pacific Ocean.


Kingdom Animalia
  • Phylum Chordata
    • Class Myxini
      • Order Myxiniformes
        • Family Recifomyxinidae
          • Genus Toximimus
            • T. megalotentaculatus: Masquerade Slime-eel

          • Genus Spectromyxine
            • S. iridescens: Spectacular Jewelfish
            • S. columbiensis: Candy-cane Jewelfish
            • S. intricata: Copperbelly Jewelfish
            • S. pardus: Leopard Jewelfish

          • Genus Kryptotretus
            • K. ajax: Moustached Sponge-Dragon
            • K. hexactinellidytes: Roughskin Sponge-Dragon
            • K. fraseri: River-Dragon

          • Genus Myxiris
            • M. robustus: Amethyst Reef-Dragon
            • M. venator: Blackfin Reef-Dragon

          • Genus Luminotretus
            • L. runius: Rune Hagfish
            • L. whirli: Lamp Hagfish

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Sponge-Dragons are among the most common of reef hagfish, but they are among the least often seen. This is due to the fact that almost all members of this genus are masters of camouflage. Varying in size from one to three feet long, they can be found in all variety of places in the reefs, usually hiding in plain sight on the sponges or seaweed. They are very diverse; Several species have adapted to live on very specific types of sponge, and one species has even invaded fresh water.

The Moustached Sponge Dragon lives up to it's name. It's nasal tentacles are elongated and covered in frilly extensions, similar to the tassels on a wobbegong shark. It is a large species, often exceeding two feet in length. It's tail fin has a ragged, tasseled edge to further aid in it's camouflage. It is generally found motionless on the reef, waiting for a fish or other tasty morsel to come within striking distance. It's feathery barbels serve both to disguise the head and lure in prey.
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