INTRODUCTION

Desma is a planet, very similar to Earth, in terms of climatic, atmospherical, chemical and geological composition. It is located right in the Goldilocks zone, and its gravity is virtually identical to our home world. This extraordinary Earth clone eventually became seeded by a small collection of Earth biota. It is unclear how exactly all of these organisms were seeded on Earth. Was it caused by a super evolved space-faring human civilization? Was it terraformed by an alien civilization? No one knows what was the motif and explanation for it. What we do know is that a terraformed planet, composed of a simple ecosystem of moles, crabs and snails eventually formed. By the time the planet was successfully terraformed, a collection of landmasses and oceans can already be identified.

Continents:

• Primaria - This is the largest continent of Desma. It is colonized by desmans, crabs and snails, and it stretches from the north pole to the southern hemisphere, having a wide array of biomes.

• Hespera - A large continent that seems to have broken out of Primaria some time before the seeding event. It is uniquely inhabited by invertebrates, with snails and crabs being the only major animals found, with no desmans known here. It is a largely tropical and temperate continent.

• Austra - A smaller, southern continent, colonized by desmans, crabs and snails.

• Io - A small northern continent colonized only by snails.

Oceans:

• Thala - A giant ocean that bathes all of the four continents.

• Oura - A northern ocean that bathes northern Primaria and Io.

• Convara - A southern ocean that bathes southern Primaria, Hespera and Austra.

• Tripla - A triple seaway that separates northern Primaria, southern Primaria and Hespera.

Islands:

• Toron - A small island forming at the center of the Tripla junction.

• Moiotta - A small island south to Hespera.

• Nealva - A peculiar island, north to Austra, that is colonized only by desmans, but lacks crabs and snails.

• Kamista - A small southern island.

• Frigia - A small southern island located south to Kamista.

• Traippa - A small island south to Austra.

• Pinna - An island to the southeast of Austra, colonized by desmans, crabs and snails.

• Waya - One of the islands east of southern Primaria.

• Praia - One of the islands east of southern Primaria.

• Raia - One of the islands east of southern Primaria.

• Butchy - A small island located in the southern Primaria gulf.

• Ya - A small island located in the southern Primaria gulf.

• Baia - An island located to east of northern Primaria

• Lupis - A northern island located near northern Primaria.

• Raibba - An island between northern Primaria and Hespera, colonized only by snails.

• Ceua - An island to the northwest of Hespera.

• Maya - An island west to Hespera, colonized by crabs.

• Taura - An island west to Hespera, colonized by crabs.

LIST OF ORGANISMS

Bacteria - Bacteria are simple and abundant, mostly single-celled and free living organisms. They constitute the majority of prokaryote organisms. They can inhabit in any environment on Desma, the air, the earth, freshwater, hot springs, caves and the deep ocean. They also form symbiosis with animals and plants, but some can be parasites. The name bacteria derives from the Ancient Greek, meaning "staff" or "cane" in reference to their frequent rod-like shape. The diversity of bacteria is so immense, that most of our knowledge is reserved to just about 1% of their actual diversity. Some bacteria technically exist as endosymbionts, such as is the case of chloroplasts of plants.

"Archaea" - Archaeans are often the basis for the formation of a unique domain of organisms, that is likely paraphyletic, in respect to eukaryotes. They were originally classified as species of bacteria, before later studies suggested otherwise. Unlike bacteria, it is not really known if they can produce endospores, dormant non-reproductive structures used by bacteria. These are major components of the biota of Desma. Their diversity allows them to fill various roles, such as carbon fixation, nitrogen cycling, maintaining symbiotic relationships between organisms, etc. Their distinctions from bacteria were identified in the 1970s, based on their ribosomal genomes.

"Protista" - Protist is the informal term used for any eukaryote that is not classified as an animal, plant or fungus. It is a paraphyletic collection of organisms, as many protists may be closer to any of these three major groups of eukaryotes. Their diversity is much bigger than those of macroscopic eukaryotes found in Desma. Their adaptations are unique and not found in multicellular organisms of the planet. The study of protists is named protistology. Many protists are single-celled, microscopic, and have a nucleus. Many protists may be classified and nominated in accordance to their perceived similarities with plants and animals.

Chlorophyta - Chlorophytes are a diverse type of green algae. They have cholorophyll and carotenoids, compounds also present in the spinach that covers the lands of Desma. In opposition to some photosynthetic protists, like ocrophytes, they lack a chloroplast endoplasmic reticulum. Some chlorophytes have flagellum, that allow them to move and swim in the water. This is a basal trait retained from ancestral chlorophytes. Single-celled chlorophytes can reproduce via a variety of assexual methods. However, some other species reproduce sexually. The more basal chloroplasts produce walled resistant stages, called "cysts" before reprduction.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) - Spinach is a green leafy flowering plant that was originally native to Asia, a continent from Earth. It is an edible plant, though it does have a high oxalate content. It is a dioecious plant, so an individual plant can have both male and female flowers, which are wind pollinated. Spinach is also designated as "spinnedge" or "spynoches". It is rich in vitamin C. It also has high levels of folate. Back on Earth it was a plant heavily produced for human consumption. It is a great source of carotenoids. Depending on the soil it grows, however, spinach can be subject to high cadmium concentrations. It is also rich in vitamin K.

Slime molds - Smile molds are a polyphyletic collection of eukaryote organisms. Many are microscopic, but some in the Myxogastria clade can form large macroscopic slime molds. Some slime molds can engage in behaviors otherwise only observed in brained animals. These organisms always had a conflicting taxonomy. It was only by the late 20th century that slime molds, originally believed to be fungi, were revealed to be largely distinct from them. Dictyostelid slime molds, for instance, were once proposed to have diverged before plants, fungi and animals (though now they're known to be closer to fungi and animals). Slime molds exist in different eukaryote groups, such as excavatans, heterokonts, rhizarians, amoebozoans and non-fungi holomycotans.

Fungi - Fungi is a diverse group of organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, and also larger ones, like mushrooms. They're heterotrophs, like animals, secreting digestive enzymes to absorb the dissolved organic molecules around them. They are some of the main decomposers in the ecology of Desma. Fungi are a solid monophyletic clade. They show a diversity of life strategies and ecologies, ranging from unicellular aquatic organisms to large terrestrial mushrooms. Genetic studies have gradually given clearer glimpses about the relationships and diversity of this clade. The term fungus comes from the Latin word for "mushroom".

Lichens - Lichens are a special hybrid organism, a mutualistic colony composed of fungi, algae and bacteria. It is the archetypal symbiotic organism. They are important actors in nutrient cycling, and are fed by a variety of animals, such as nematodes, snails and crabs. They come in various shapes, colors and sizes, and may even resemble plants, with leafy-like structures. Macrolichens have a bush or leaf-like appearance, but there are also the microlichens, which do not. These terms are unrelated to the actual size of these forms, but more so to the way these grow. Lichens can appear on almost any surface, from the ocean depths to the tallest mountains.

Nematoda - Nematodes, colloquially known as roundworms, form the animal phyllum Nematoda. These have a tubular digestive system, with a defined mouth and anus. There is an immense amount of species, virtually impossible to count. They are the most diverse and abundant animals in Desma, and are ubiquitous across every oceanic, freshwater and terrestrial environment, including mountains, frigid poles, deserts and oceanic trenches. Their eccological roles are crucial in areas where no other animals can be found. Nematode hails from the Ancient Greek, meaning "thread species", due to many having a thread-like appearance. They're part of the larger Nematoida clade.

Freshwater crab (Potamon fluviatile) - Freshwater crabs are found in the vegetated streams, rivers and lakes of Desma, even though they're crustaceans originally native to Europe, on Earth. It has five pairs of legs, with the first being armed with large claws. Back on Earth, it was heavily captured by humans for consumption. It likes to live near riverways that stream down from mountains. Its range, in Desma, is broad, but very fragmented. Populations of these crabs are reduced, despite the vast distribution. In a few east Thalan islands, these crabs are the sole major animal inhabitants. Rivers is where these crabs can most commonly be found.

White garden snail (Theba pisana) - The whie garden snail is an edible species of air-breathing land snail that belongs to the Helicidae family. It is a very abundant species, in fact some populations are at risk of overgrowing, devastating large spinachlands, affecting the whole ecosystem. Their numbers are regulated by crabs and desmans that hunt them. The color of its shell is usually of a creamy white. Patterns of yellow and dark color can also be frequently observed on these snails. Juveniles have a sharp keeled shell, which is not arranged in that way in adults. Due to the lack of competition from other snail species, the white garden snail displays a much grander array of individual and population diversity in Desma.

Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) - The pyrenean desman is a semi-aquatic mammal, one of only two species of desmans that were around during the Holocene epoch, on Earth. It is endemic of northern Iberia, and it was an endangered species on that planet. It has a characteristic elongated black nose, covered in vibrissae, used to sense the movement of prey in mud and crevices. These mammals defend a territory of their own, with males having a larger territory than females. They define their territory through scent marks. These mammals are excellent swimmers, but their clawed feet make them also excellent climbers, allowing them to appropriate from both the aquatic and the terrestrial lifestyle.