Diastoga lignumphagus

Diastoga lignumphagus
Creator	OviraptorFan
Information
Status	Extant
Zones	5A
Roles	Decomposer
Classification
Genus	Diastoga
Species	Diastoga lignumphagus
Evolution
Date	June 29th, 2020
Ancestor	Diastoga insula
Descendants	No results

As populations of terrestrial polyphs began to diversify and spread, there was a relatively untapped source of food. While the populations of Sidocoga insula in the zone could break down the wood the dead polyphs leave behind, they are not efficient at it and take a while to break it down. Competition amongst themselves lead to some populations abandoning a generalist lifestyle and specialized on breaking down the wood.

1μm long
Originated in zone 5A

In many ways, Sidocoga lignumphagus was very similar to Sidocoga insula in terms of anatomy and lifestyle. Like their ancestors, they use their flagella to swim in the soil, using their microvilli to pull in nutrients. To live a terrestrial existence, they retain the ability to secrete chitin on their membranes to avoid desiccation. The main difference from their ancestors is a new type of enzyme that specializes in breaking down the wood of polyphs. This enzyme mainly targets the lignin of the polyphs, allowing them to break them down with less effort and subsequently gain more nutrients from the wood than from their ancestral enzymes.

Although they are terrestrial and their chitinous secretions hold moisture better, they still will desiccate and die if exposed to the sun's rays for too long. As such, they mainly spend most of their time in the soil or inside of rotting wood, only coming out when the warmth of the sun's rays disappear during rainstorms or at night (since they detect temperature changes through their membranes). During the dry season, when the soil close to the surface begins to dry out, Sidocoga lignumphagus move deeper underground where the soil remains damp. They can also survive deep inside the wood of dead polyphs, but its typically less hospitable than underground. They breed at the same pace as their ancestors, relying on mitosis to get the job done.