>>5419130>>5419133>>5419138>>5419139>>5419154>>5419158The Flounder Feeders have swollen their swim bladder and condensed the gasses within, allowing them to slow or stop themselves and shift their elevation by expanding or retracting the organ. This has an immense impact on their vertical mobility but even more critically, they’re now capable of passively floating with the tides instead of exerting their tails to stay afloat. In the starving times, this cuts calorie expenditure down by as much as a quarter, greatly improving their chances of survival. Even so, the Flounder Feeders aren’t pressure-resistant enough to sink into the abyss and between the heightened cold and radiation they aren’t able to rise to what might be scraping by on the ice, but their range within the narrow band ecosystem has widened considerably. Notably, they’re able to feed on easily-digested Stone Moss with a much lower risk of being dashed on the rocks.
As a result of natural selection toward Flounder Feeders most capable of using their newfound buoyancy to navigate the waves, their brains have seen an increase in mass, nearly doubling in size. This increases their sense of consciousness, allowing them to briefly remember objects not in their immediate perception and more quickly react to unfamiliar stimuli. This also increases their nutritional requirements but their omnivorous diet has widened their definition of “food” massively, and their saliva, teeth, and stomach each render it less difficult to process. Their rate of starvation increases but a reduction of accidents sees the Flounder Feeders become slightly more survivable as a whole. Currently, their brain is smooth and simplistic, with no emotions outside of hunger, fear, and a neutral, calm state. It also has little stimulus to act on, with the Flounder Feeder’s sensory apparatus limited to a decent sense of smell and a dull sense of nearby vibrations. The Flounder Feeder population has grown.
>1/2 