Bloblump and Shucklump

While some sealumps become terrestrial animals in the southern ecoregion, another group spreads to the far-reaches of the globe thanks to retaining their ancestor's strong swimming ability. The benevolent grass-gobbling bloblump makes its home in the saltswamps of Serinaustra just north of the longdark swamp, while its specialized cousin the shucklump can be found diving in the polar basin, within Serina's arctic circle. A close genetic relationship is betrayed with similar appearances, but behavioral changes for each habitat have already rendered these sister species very distinct.

The Bloblump

A delightfully round animal, the semi-aquatic bloblump floats along southerly wetlands, grazing water plants with an especially wide, shovel-shaped snout. 

Bloblumps are common Serinaustran trunkos that are still adapted to find food in water, with large lobed feet that make them strong swimmers. But they are now firmly inland creatures, avoiding the sea for shallow freshwater and brackish waters, and this is reflected in their increased buoyancy that keeps them bobbing at the surface like corks, and very poor divers. These round animals feed by dabbling just a few feet below the surface, often dipping their heads down and raising their rumps vertically in the air, as they pull up aquatic grasses with their broad, flexible flanges, which have semi-retractable spines at their edges that help provide a better grip as the flange wraps around grass and pulls toward the mouth. With the flanges being the primary manipulator to feed with, the trunk has gotten even smaller, and is now used largely for gestural communication, though it still assists in reaching far-underwater food and tugging it up by its roots.

The bloblump lives in gregarious herds without dominance hierarchies, and lacks much sexual dimorphism, though male have a larger inflatable sinus that balloons up when excited. Pairs are monogamous or semi-monogamous, with pairs or sometimes small groups of bonded adults raising their young as a family unit in which both sexes take part. They are outwardly docile, retiring animals that rarely demonstrate aggression within their herds, and which are very tolerant of other animal species; smaller creatures often rest on their backs as they float along at a slow pace. Adult bloblumps have few enemies, as their size - 600-800 lbs - and their groups, plus their preference to live on water too deep for land animals to easily navigate but too shallow for oceanic predators to reach,  provide protection against most threats.  Their young are vulnerable to seadragons, scroungers, and brutes however, and are kept very close to their mothers and fathers until they are significantly grown: they can often be seen sitting on the adult’s wide backs as if on boats, watching the world go by. Occasionally some scroungers may hunt infirm or unwary  adults, using tools to extend their capabilities, though this is difficult as the whole herd will surround an injured individual to protect it, charging at attackers and attempting to crush them under their own weight, and will remove spears from their fellow’s bodies where they cannot reach them on their own. The bloblump is a calm, sensitive animal, but also a smart one; it will hold grudges against enemies and even plot revenge, killing predators responsible for the death or injury of a loved one at a later date by surprise by dragging them into the water to drown them or smash them to death against the ground.. Herds will cooperate to these ends, meaning that to hunt one of these seemingly gentle giants is a real risk to take - they will never forget it.

These trunkos, if left to their own devices, are peaceful and amusing animals with complex social bonds and endearing behavior. Even grown adults play together, often with objects such as bits of wood that can be tossed around as a ball, and they may be mischievous, pulling the tail feathers of one another or of other animals that come near the water to drink, then running away. Young individuals are especially curious, often spending long periods of time watching other, smaller animals at a distance and trying to play with the young of other trunko species, sometimes successfully. Despite their large size, the voices of these creatures are comically little, consisting mainly of high-pitched squeaks and giggle-like chatter. Both sexes “sing”, harmonizing melodic whistles, perhaps to affirm pair bonds, and when herds rest at midday they may all sing together in this way, as they doze around half-asleep.

The Shucklump

A deep-diving trunko with a taste for seafood, the shucklump uses a strong sense of touch and hand-like flanges to hold and open hard-to-access food sources.

The shucklump is the closest relative of the bloblump, a smaller sister species which diverged under three million years ago. These two species form a clade separate from the other sealump species of the Serinaustran ecoregion. They are still highly aquatic and able to swim long distances, even crossing over oceans. This is how the shucklump has ended up almost as far away as possible from its cousin, being an endemic species of the polar basin in the early hothouse. Its ancestors reached the basin by traveling upriver from the sea along Serinarcta's east coast.

This species of trunko is a more specialized animal than the bloblump, and more carnivorous. Most of the diet is comprised of shellfish, especially bivalve clams, which it opens dexterously by prying the two shells apart with its flanges, then pulling the meat out with its ridged trunk in just a matter of seconds. It dives well, being smaller and less buoyant than its kin, and it can hold its breath for ten minutes as it scours the freshwater seabed in waters up to 100 feet deep for its prey. Seaweeds - mostly algae, but also freshwater waterweed and floating plants - round out most of the last 20% of its diet, with it occasionally scavenging on dead fish and birds opportunistically.

The eyes of the shucklump are larger relative to its body size than those of the bloblump, giving it better night vision in the polar winter, through which it remains and continues to hunt for food. When diving in deep, dark waters however eyesight is virtually useless, and so the shucklump has evolved whisker-like hairs along its flanges and trunk, derived from the small keratin hooks of its ancestors used to help hold food. These feelers are connected to nerves in the face, and let the hunter find it preferred food by touch in the darkness.

Living in small herds, shucklumps keep an eye out for danger. The species is monogamous, usually raising two chicks at a time, which are protected by the group against predators such as fishing triyenas which will readily single out wayward chicks in the longdark night. Sexes look mostly alike - male bloblumps are only slightly bigger than females - and both sexes have bulbous snouts which inflate with air to increase the volume of their calls. Vocalizations are used to keep in touch as they forage in the sea in times too dark to easily see each other as they surface for air. This sac-like sinus serves another role too - it is filled with air before a dive, serving like a scuba diver's oxygen tank to let the shucklump refill its lungs and prolong its time underwater.