Clambering Helix
20 centimeters long, 10 centimeter diameter of shell
Facing competition from several other species of Helid for the local plort seeds in the river, a population of Hexix petramiaculis began to focus their attention less on the underwater seeds and more on the seeds above the water. This led to the evolution of Hexix scandere.
The Clambering Helix (Hexix scandere) is an interesting helid, filling a similar but more narrow ecological niche to their extinct ancestor Acrilix pessulus. They spend a lot of their time crawling on the riverbed, using their six main tentacles (which have become several centimeters longer than their ancestors) to hang onto the rocks as they search for food. Although they still occasionally feed on the seeds of the vines of plorts that grow underwater, competition with other species meant they had to take advantage of other food sources. This led to them feeding primarily on the seeds growing under the leaves of the Heliplort (Stagnumplortatus helicopterus). To get at this meal though, the Clambering Helixes need to exit the water and crawl up the stem. Since their earliest ancestors were a saltwater species, their bodies are adapted to taking in a lot of water. Much like their ancestor Hexix petramiaculis though, they draw in a lot of water in their freshwater home due to this adaptation, making them pudgy and heavy compared to their early ancestors. While this results in them taking longer to climb the stems of Heliplorts difficult and slower, their shell is capable of storing water to keep themselves damp which then allows them to feed above the surface of water for around 3 hours. Their six main tentacles help them hold onto the stem and slowly crawl, while the sensory tentacles have become longer than their ancestor to help detect the seeds and assist in feeding. After eating, it must return to water to refill before it dries out.
Much like their ancestors and cousins, the Clambering Helix are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. Sperm is released into the water, which fertilizes both one's own eggs and the eggs of nearby Clambering Helix. The 1-2 dozen fertilized eggs are stored in their shells near the opening.
