Life in The Twilight, The Squigglepus

Sequestered away in Aether's depths the squigglepus unfurls a ghostly net casting a trap with the use of its four tentacle like arms. Unique among squims, its array of tentacles are actually what used to be its jaws. With its trap at the ready the squigglepus lies in wait, though not for some grand beast as the squigglepus is a filter feeder. With time its less than deadly net begins to sparkle with marine snow, remains of nutrients fallen from photic zone above. Once satisfied the squigglepus reels in its catch combing through its net for a well deserved meal, its dorsal jaw and teeth have lengthened to better wrap around its biological trawl. Pruned of debris, the squigglepus tenderly repairs its net before starting the cycle anew.

A life devoid of light means living in slow motion; consequently, the squigglepus has adapted a very slow metabolism, much like other deep sea life found both on Earth and on Aether. A slow metabolism is correlated with a longer lifespan and that is true for the case of the squigglepus. In ideal conditions a squigglepus will make it to 24 years of age before reaching a timely demise, significantly higher than the average lifespan of costal squims of around 8 years. Isolation ensures stability yet also solitude. As such, finding a mate remains a difficult endeavor; to adapt to this challenge the female squigglepus has a sophisticated sense of smell, this allows her to sift for male gametes during mating months. When a cluster of gametes is found she gingerly guides them to her rearmost gill slit, inside of which her eggs are fertilized, beginning the next generation. This delicate process is common to all squims; however with the higher population densities found to the photic zone, broadcast spawning doesn't require a fine toothed comb to be successful. 

Ironically, these filter feeding creatures themselves enter the world as plankton. The very same plankton that their parents will consume if given the chance, it is for this reason the squigglepus slowly ascends to the photic zone before releasing her thousands of eggs. Her eggs hatch within days, as the minuscule larvae grow they first resemble other squims, even with their mouthparts; however, as they continue to develop their mouthparts lengthen, almost as if illustrating the developments that led to their evolution. Around the time they reach what is essentially their adult size they begin to sink: their mouthparts now unwieldy with drag they are sitting ducks to the agile predators of the photic zone, their maturation prompts their descent. Now exhausted from their one-way migration, their metabolism has already begun to slow. For the few that have made it this far life is all but ensured, they will now have shelter from all the dangerous elements of the surface, they need not fear of weather, predation, nor temperature. Like a twisted, warped mirror so long as life continues in the photic zone life its obscured reflection will persist within the dark.

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