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Description

scientific name: prionobrachid gigas
common name: trunk trender
average height: ~4 ft (at top of sail)
average weight: 50-70 lbs

The Prionobrachid Gigas (large saw-arm) is one of the two species of the genus Prionobrachium, which is also contained in the family prionobrachidae, and the genus is the only genus of the family. The Prionobrachids are found only on the Morgan and Daven Islands, specifically in the Jellytree forest. Within the stands of Jellytrees, the prionobrachids fuel themselves on the wealths of Jellytrees.

The P. Gigas is an odd type of social creature, living in herds of up to thirty, yet not really caring to pay each other any mind. A large portion of the reason these seemingly solitary creatures tend to gather in larger groups is partly due to the limited size of the islands, yet another reason is due to the size of the Jellytree forest, which I suppose could be counted with the first as the same reason. Although another reason is because the social congregations provide a strong sense of safety, stemming from the fact that any predator, albeit small due to the nature of islands, could easily pick off any of the slow-moving P. Gigas’ with ease. Though they are incapable of forming social bonds, and don’t care if members of the herd are picked off. They won’t even bother to pay any mind to any juvenile that is picked off, which is something interesting.

The Prionobrachid Gigas feeds upon the abundant Jellytrees on the islands it inhabits using its large saw-like protrusion at the end of its trunk, which, as they are descendents of the zitonbrachidae family (includes the chorometrisipods), is a derived structure of the hooked claw that is present in the mainland zitonbrachids, the ancestors of the P. Gigas. This saw is made entirely of “bone,” and is incredibly strong, and they will use this saw to disembowel the Jellytrees, cutting through the hard leathery skin and feasting upon the fleshy jello-like insides. To help them grab onto this gelatinous material, the bottom finger of the trunk has evolved small pointed teeth, which are used to rip out chunks of the insides, and the trunk brings the insides to the mouth, where they are then ingested. While the saw is not able to be retracted, it is able to be moved up slightly, which helps in feeding, as it is out of the way and doesn’t pose a problem when eating.
Because the P. Gigas is specially adapted to feeding on the Jellytrees, they are incapable of ingesting anything other than the Jellytrees, which means they cannot eat lampaphytes, bushes, berries, fruits or anything else, as their digestive organs are well-adapted to digest the gelatinous flesh. The gizzard has evolved contracting muscles, and the inner walls are lined with blunt tooth-like structures, which are in charge of mashing the jello-like flesh, splitting it and mashing it down into small, manageable bits. The foregut’s acids have become a potent corrosive juice, and is powerful enough to make short work of the Jellytree’s hardy and tough jello-like flesh, turning it into a nutritious sludge, which is then flushed into the main gut. In the main gut, the sludge is absorbed, along with all water, and the remnants of the sludge are shoved into the intestines and are then excreted.
While they could eat lampaphytes and fruits and other non-Jellytree plant life, their guts are not well-adapted enough for it, and so they tend to stick to their Jellytrees.

Because of the nature of islands, such as their limited size and limited resources, and the fact that predators need suitable sizes of land to hunt efficiently, the Prionobrachid Gigas has not faced nearly as much predation as their mainland cousins, and as such, they have grown to over three times the size of their mainland counterparts. Another contributing factor to their insular gigantism is due to the relieved vacancy of the islands, with the absence large herbivores to prevent the growth of the zitonbrachids. Because there were no larger herbivores at the time of the P. Gigas’ island colonization, they could attain larger sizes than on the mainland, and while one group evolved to feed on the steppe of the islands, the other group evolved to feed on the Jellytrees.
But while they don’t face as persistent predation, they do fall victim to occasional predation, mostly from the island-adapted leptognathids. However, the predators are smaller than the P. Gigas, and so they do not often try to prey on one. However, if one does feel threatened by any potential predator, their main weapon utilized is their saw-like protrusion of bone, which is viable of destruction not only against the Jellytrees but also against stithopod skin and flesh.

The reproduction of the P. Gigas is just standard, like many other stithopods, yet instead of deciding who passes on their genes through means of aggressive physical battles, the passer-of-genes is determined through non-physical flashing battles, in which two hermaphrodite individuals will flash their sails at one another, performing a “dance” of sorts, flushing blood into certain parts of their sail to make it light up.

Description

scientific name: prionobrachid gigas
common name: trunk trender
average height: ~4 ft (at top of sail)
average weight: 50-70 lbs

The Prionobrachid Gigas (large saw-arm) is one of the two species of the genus Prionobrachium, which is also contained in the family prionobrachidae, and the genus is the only genus of the family. The Prionobrachids are found only on the Morgan and Daven Islands, specifically in the Jellytree forest. Within the stands of Jellytrees, the prionobrachids fuel themselves on the wealths of Jellytrees.

The P. Gigas is an odd type of social creature, living in herds of up to thirty, yet not really caring to pay each other any mind. A large portion of the reason these seemingly solitary creatures tend to gather in larger groups is partly due to the limited size of the islands, yet another reason is due to the size of the Jellytree forest, which I suppose could be counted with the first as the same reason. Although another reason is because the social congregations provide a strong sense of safety, stemming from the fact that any predator, albeit small due to the nature of islands, could easily pick off any of the slow-moving P. Gigas’ with ease. Though they are incapable of forming social bonds, and don’t care if members of the herd are picked off. They won’t even bother to pay any mind to any juvenile that is picked off, which is something interesting.

The Prionobrachid Gigas feeds upon the abundant Jellytrees on the islands it inhabits using its large saw-like protrusion at the end of its trunk, which, as they are descendents of the zitonbrachidae family (includes the chorometrisipods), is a derived structure of the hooked claw that is present in the mainland zitonbrachids, the ancestors of the P. Gigas. This saw is made entirely of “bone,” and is incredibly strong, and they will use this saw to disembowel the Jellytrees, cutting through the hard leathery skin and feasting upon the fleshy jello-like insides. To help them grab onto this gelatinous material, the bottom finger of the trunk has evolved small pointed teeth, which are used to rip out chunks of the insides, and the trunk brings the insides to the mouth, where they are then ingested. While the saw is not able to be retracted, it is able to be moved up slightly, which helps in feeding, as it is out of the way and doesn’t pose a problem when eating.
Because the P. Gigas is specially adapted to feeding on the Jellytrees, they are incapable of ingesting anything other than the Jellytrees, which means they cannot eat lampaphytes, bushes, berries, fruits or anything else, as their digestive organs are well-adapted to digest the gelatinous flesh. The gizzard has evolved contracting muscles, and the inner walls are lined with blunt tooth-like structures, which are in charge of mashing the jello-like flesh, splitting it and mashing it down into small, manageable bits. The foregut’s acids have become a potent corrosive juice, and is powerful enough to make short work of the Jellytree’s hardy and tough jello-like flesh, turning it into a nutritious sludge, which is then flushed into the main gut. In the main gut, the sludge is absorbed, along with all water, and the remnants of the sludge are shoved into the intestines and are then excreted.
While they could eat lampaphytes and fruits and other non-Jellytree plant life, their guts are not well-adapted enough for it, and so they tend to stick to their Jellytrees.

Because of the nature of islands, such as their limited size and limited resources, and the fact that predators need suitable sizes of land to hunt efficiently, the Prionobrachid Gigas has not faced nearly as much predation as their mainland cousins, and as such, they have grown to over three times the size of their mainland counterparts. Another contributing factor to their insular gigantism is due to the relieved vacancy of the islands, with the absence large herbivores to prevent the growth of the zitonbrachids. Because there were no larger herbivores at the time of the P. Gigas’ island colonization, they could attain larger sizes than on the mainland, and while one group evolved to feed on the steppe of the islands, the other group evolved to feed on the Jellytrees.
But while they don’t face as persistent predation, they do fall victim to occasional predation, mostly from the island-adapted leptognathids. However, the predators are smaller than the P. Gigas, and so they do not often try to prey on one. However, if one does feel threatened by any potential predator, their main weapon utilized is their saw-like protrusion of bone, which is viable of destruction not only against the Jellytrees but also against stithopod skin and flesh.

The reproduction of the P. Gigas is just standard, like many other stithopods, yet instead of deciding who passes on their genes through means of aggressive physical battles, the passer-of-genes is determined through non-physical flashing battles, in which two hermaphrodite individuals will flash their sails at one another, performing a “dance” of sorts, flushing blood into certain parts of their sail to make it light up.