Xenoslontus rimorsqualus

Xenoslontus rimorsqualus
Creator	OviraptorFan
Information
Status	Extant
Zones	C1
Roles	Scavenger
Classification
Genus	Xenoslontus
Species	Xenoslontus rimorsqualus
Evolution
Date	August 10th, 2020
Ancestor	Xenoslontus quadrambiguus
Descendants	No results

As populations of Xenoslontus quadrambiguus thrived, competition with one another resulted in some populations moving away from active predation to scavenging. As these populations focused on a diet of carrion, eggs, and detritus, they began to develop specific adaptations to better suit this lifestyle which resulted in them diverging into their own species.

10 cm long
Originated in zone C1

While they can live in the shallows, Xenoslontus rimorsqualus prefer to live in the deeper parts of the lake, where their predators like Amfivioslontus lutosquama and Xenoslontus quadrambiguus (the latter when they are juveniles) inhabit less frequently. When they do inhabit the shallows, they have to rely on their molted stripe of reddish brown and a dull grey body color to avoid detection. In deeper waters, however, they are relatively free to swim along the lakebed in search of their food. The development of a small dorsal fin near the end of their tail adds a bit of stability, even if at the cost of speed(which is not really necessary for their lifestyle, while stability is a bit more important when you shove your face in dirt and don't want to tumble over in the process). Their snout has become longer and more narrow to act like a shovel, which is better adapted to digging in substrate to find their preferred meals(as while they can live on particulate matter alone, they much rather prefer carrion and eggs if they come across them since they provide more nutrients in their diet), at the cost of partially sacrificing their ancestor's strong bite. Rummaging around in the sediment can cause wear and tear on the face over time, leading to the species developing tough skin on the snout to better resist abrasion.

Similarly to X. quadrambiguus, X. rimorsqualus will lay small batches of eggs of around 30 in number, which are then covered in the ancestral layer of mucus. They take about 1 week to develop and hatch, after which reaching adult hood within a mere month.