BFJ
Dactylbrachia gigas
, the behemoth finger-legged jelly. A massive specimen with no Earthly analog.
Overview
, the behemoth finger-legged jelly. A massive specimen with no Earthly analog.
Gameplay attributes
No extractable gameplay attributes for this entry.
PDA Analysis
1. Jellylike body plan
Even the largest terrestrial jellies are anatomically simple, with a gelatinous bell, a central stomach, and tentacles. By contrast, the BFJ (an acronym for Behemoth Finger-Legged Jelly) has complex organs and a sophisticated nervous system.
2. Gas bladders
Most of the BFJ's volume is occupied by gas bladders, controlled by a net of distributed nerves that automatically regulate buoyancy. Sedentary BFJs resting on the seafloor flood their gas bladders with seawater.
3. Multiple eyespot
The BFJ's eyes are differentiated into small, sharp-focus eyes and large wide-field arrays. They focus exclusively upward. Fine muscles in the rhopalia (eye clusters) can adjust the eye to focus through different classes of seawater and even air — suggesting the BFJ spends time at the surface of the sea.
4. Muscular arms
Unlike the trailing tentacles of most jellies, the BFJ's arms are muscular hydrostats like squid arms. Covered in finely developed sensory hairs, they do not seem to be used for predation. Instead, they seek out chemical resources in the seafloor. Methane-sensing organs are particularly dense at the tips of the arms.
5. Exhaustion
The index BFJ scanned by the user seems to be feeding on sunlight while awaiting an unknown future state in its life cycle.
Assessment
Related Creatures
More entries from the same ecological slice.
Cerathecan
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Collector Leviathan
Enormous cephalopod predator (tentatively *Tyrannoteuthis phobocoeus*, tyrant squid of fearful curiosity). Feeds on hard-shelled, heavily defended prey. Solitary but highly intelligent. Likely a deep-sea creature.
Deepwing Brooder
, the titanic wing-segmented cup of plenty. An enormous arthropod leviathan with a huge tearing beak and a payload of fatty deposits, which it uses to both feed and protect its eggs.
