River Weed Plort

River Weed Plort
Creator	OviraptorFan
Information
Status	Extant
Common Name(s)	River Weed Plort
Zones	19
Roles	Producer
Classification
Genus	Miniplortatus
Species	Miniplortatus flumenoviriditas
Evolution
Date	December 19th, 2020
Ancestor	Breaching Plort
Descendants	No results

As the populations of local Helids exploded in numbers, they began to overgraze on the seeds of the Breaching Plort(Miniplortatus ipsumpervenirous). The ancestors of the River Weed Plort dealt with the problem by expending more energy into seed production. This one change led to several other changes in morphology and lifestyle that resulted in their speciation.

1-2 feet tall

The River Weed Plort (Miniplortatus flumenoviriditas)'s defense against the constant feeding of helids on their seeds was to produce more in bulk. The number of seeds that grow on their vines are double the amount of their ancestors, increasing the chances of at least some of their seeds surviving to become saplings. This adaptation was very costly when it came to energy, however, which meant they had to spend less energy into growing their stems so it could be used for the production of seeds instead. This resulted in the stems being around half the size of their ancestors while also submerging the leaves underwater. The fact the leaves are submerged meant they could not rely on their ancestral method of respiration, which lead to the evolution of thinning their cell walls for easier gas exchange over the entire surface of the leaf. Because of the powerful currents, the stems have become partially thicker to help prevent them from tearing off. The abundance of seeds are produced all year long, just like in their ancestors, which helps counter the intense grazing of the helids.