Polyphagii duocytus
Polyphagii duocytus is a palaean and decomposer in zone N. Like it’s extremely distant relative, Noflava disprus, it has the ability to alternate between generations: a generation that is able to ferment organic substances into compounds such as acetic acid, acetate, and hydrogen gas and another generation that metabolizes the products of the previous generation and produce methane. Due to this, they usually live in 4 types of areas.
In the soil of zone n, the first generation breaks down simple organic molecules present within detritus. This produces heat which melts snow, from which they obtain their water as well as a way to keep them from freezing to death. The methane generated by the second also traps the heat helping the snow further melt. This important as the melted snow allows them to travel to other places where detritus is.
The second environment they inhabit is within the burrows of Capilliarmus antarctipoda. They will usually build chambers within their burrows to house P. duocytus since the heat generated keeps them warm. In this environment, they behave similarly to how they behave outside of the burrow, However, they usually don't travel very far due to the constant influx of detritus provided by C. antarctipoda.
The third environment they live in is within the digestive tract of C. antarctipoda as they have a special chamber in which they house P. duocytus.This fermentation chamber is surrounded by many blood vessels which transfers the heat produced by fermentation throughout the body, giving C. antarcticpoda a kind of mock endothermy. Most of them are usually killed here, providing C. antarcticpoda with much of its amino acid requirements. However some are able to survive and make their way out C. antarcticpoda via defecation.
These parakaryotes have an average size of 20-30micrometers. They possess a cell wall, ribosomes, and vacuoles; the outside of the cell is covered in microvilli and a flagella. Every time it divides, one cells will be of the opposite generation. They lack a consistent mitosis cycle and their division rate depends on food availability and population density, however, their peak reproductive rate is around one division every 20minute during times low population density. This is to maximize the amount of heat collectively being produced as to keep them from freezing to death. Though they can produce their own heat to keep themselves from freezing, they can also make also make their own antifreeze compound. If food is unavailable for long periods of time, they will go into a state of dormancy, which includes lowering their metabolism and shutting down many other chemical processes in their body, and they will only become active again once food is available.