Beachfruit
10-15 cm long
As populations of Beakfruit (Detrihelix ramphops) grew massively in Zone 5, some got pushed closer and closer to the shores of zone 5A to avoid competition. Eventually, it reached the point where the tides would come out and expose them to the sun and air. Repurposing their shell pocket retained from the Scavenging Floating Fruit (Detrihelix fruitflotensis) that can store and release air once for buoyancy as a primitive sort of lung with the flesh becoming heavily vascularized to perform gas exchange. This, combined with thicker skin to prevent desiccation, allowed them to move out of the water to scavenge on the beaches of zone 5A.
In many ways, the Beachfruit live similarly to their ancestor the Beakfruit. They spend their time crawling around on the sediment looking for anything edible; when ever it is carrion, eggs, seeds, or detritus during the hours of the day. They breed in a similar fashion to their ancestor as well, breeding in the winter where the eggs get carried in an “egg pouch”, a tube attached around their body inside the shell which opens near the cloaca. Like in the Beakfruit, the egg pouch's opening is entirely concealed when the Beachfruit is in a relaxed position, only being exposed if it were to stretch outwards. Hatchlings then feed mostly on detritus and biofilm in deeper waters until they are big enough for larger meals such as seeds and carcasses. Once they shift to their adult diet, they move into the shallows where their main predators are either absent or relatively unfit to hunt them in the specific environment they live in.
The biggest difference between the Beachfruit and its ancestors are their adaptations for land along with their associated behaviors relating towards the land. The primitive lung in their shell allows them to get oxygen out of the air to some degree, while their tougher skin helps retain water. Combined, these two adaptations allow them to stay out of the water for about an hour or two before they begin to suffocate, although direct exposure to the sun in a non-damp area cuts it down to half an hour at the most.Their young lack the thick skin, however, and dry out in open air which restricts them to living in the deeper waters where the tides don't reach them. The Beachfruit fall prey to both Jelyshelywashinshila jelouhellou and Spinagnathusensis sandapygmeus as youngsters, but once they settle the beach as adults they only have to worry about the S. sandapygmeus as they come to breed. Their only predators as adults, however, aren't as good at moving on land and as such their primary defense is to head onto dry land. They use their "tongue" tentacles to slither across the sand with decent speed, allowing them to efficiently move on terrestrial substrate compared to the awkward belly dragging of S. sandapygmeus. On occasion, Beachfruit will travel farther inland to feed on the abundant poylph matter, but they must return to the oceans as they still need meat in their diet along with the fact that even their tougher skin cant take the dry season air for long.