Libraphotocyanus imuphotus

Libraphotocyanus imuphotus
Creator	Zenith
Information
Status	Extant
Zones	10
Roles	Decomposer, Producer
Classification
Genus	Libraphotocyanus
Species	Libraphotocyanus imuphotus
Evolution
Date	May 15th, 2020
Ancestor	Libraphotocyanus cytosol
Descendants	Libraphotocyanus imudurulorica Libraphotocyanus soluvescor

50 micrometers (length)

L. imuphotus is a unicellular organism found on the seafloor of Zone 10. L. imuphotus are descended from populations of L. cytosol that found themselves on Zone 10's seafloor due to ocean downwelling.

Adaptations: L. imuphotus are packed with chloroplasts (~70% more than their ancestor) that allow them to photosynthesize with the low amount of light that reaches the 100m maximum depth of Zone 10. L. imuphotus prevent themselves from floating up to the surface by maintaining a higher salt level, making them denser. The cellular membrane of L. imuphotus has changed structurally, now featuring actin filaments, derived from those used for organelle movement, allowing for pseudopod action. The cell wall has also changed to accommodate this, and now features holes for pseudopods to be pushed through. These pseudopods allow populations of L. imuphotus to disperse and prevent them from running out of detritus as well as provide more surface area for detritus to diffuse into the cell.

Feeding: A majority of the energy (~95%) that L. imuphotus uses comes from sunlight. This means that during extended periods without sunlight, such as at night, L. imuphotus enters a state of dormancy. The other ~10% comes from particulate detritus that diffuses through the cell membrane. Primitive digestive enzymes derived from metabolic enzymes, such as those used for autolysis, are used to break this matter up, which provides a nice supplement to their diet of weak light.

Reproduction: L. imuphotus reproduces asexually via mitosis and will do so every hour when it has access to weak light or every 45 minutes with access to digestible detritus and sunlight.