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SquidySpecsOfficial — Ephyrazoan Diversity Diagram

Published: 2021-12-14 14:37:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 16097; Favourites: 130; Downloads: 1
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Description The Ephyrazoan clade was hit hard by the collapse of coral reefs, but was able to quickly bounce back thanks to higher oxygen levels and vacant niches. This has also allowed the cnidarians to evolve intriuging adaptations.

1. Crested Kelp Ephyrazoans are a group of herbivorous benthic jellies that have completely taken over the Grazing Ephyrazoan's niche. Like their contemporaries they can easily infest and munch down kelp forests (which have since evolved their own defenses), which previously resulted in dramatic population swings between the two organisms. The group uses radial teeth derived from sclerites to chop up algae efficiently. This was until more specialized Crested Kelp Ephyrazoan predators evolved to cull their voracious appetites. Now after the extinction, their ecosystem is balanced and kelp forests are stable.

2. The Death Spaghettis are another successful clade of shelled Ephyrazoans in the Rhizophorean. These ambush predators use long tentacles to sense for and sting prey in the form of croissant worms, arthroteans, loboteans, other ephyrazoans, and basal nemerteans. The pasta fiends are common in Clampifer reefs, tidepools, and the deep sea.

3. Soft-bodied Ephyrazoans though not as derived as the shelled ephyrazoans are just as successful as they were in the Neoediacaran. As an example, figure 3 shows a magnificent species of Ephyrazoan that swims in a similar manner to a feather star or sea spider as a defense mechanism. Their bright hypnotic colors warn open water predators of it's toxins, allowing the cunning cnidarian to swim away from the benthic agitator freely.

4. Nearly all species of Ephyrazoan had small calcified structures within their skin called sclerites for support and protection. Slowly over time, it became more advantageous for these benthic jellyfish to increase the size of these structures. This has led to two modern (early Rhizophorean) clades, the segmented and bowled Ephyrazoans. The segmented Ephyrazoans have multiple enlarged pieces of Sclerites covering their bodies for armor. They fill niches comparable to brittle stars, crabs, and annelid worms to an extent. The bowled Ephyrazoans have fused their many sclerites into one large skeleton similar to scleractinian anthozoans but likely derived from different circumstances. They are so named because when they die, the shell left behind looks like a bowl with spines. Bowled Ephyrazoans fill niches comparable to sea urchins, snails, annelids, and octopodes.

5. One of many predators that have since evolved to control Crested Kelp Ephyrazoans. The Crushbeak Sarcoptifer, included in a group that includes some omnivorous species, uses an interesting jaw set up specifically meant for crushing shelled Ephyrazoans. The jaws have sharp ends for lifting and impaling their prey, which is then brought to a middle segment that crushes the shell, only for the exposed animal to be sucked in by the corona and mouth.

6. An important species of segmented Ephyrazoan, the Reef Eater has also developed teeth-like sclerites. These crushing mineralized structures are used to chomp on rocks and algae in a similar manner to Parrotfish. The Neoediacaran's Ankylofers had previously filled this niche but they have gone extinct along with the coral reef collapse. The Reef Eaters are important because their rock eating behavior creates space for new Clampifers to grow, and their poop creates sand which can result in island formation.
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hallucine [2021-12-14 18:54:09 +0000 UTC]

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hallucine [2021-12-14 18:53:49 +0000 UTC]

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baldeagle007 [2021-12-14 17:33:23 +0000 UTC]

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SquidySpecsOfficial In reply to baldeagle007 [2021-12-14 19:20:09 +0000 UTC]

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