| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Species | Tripod phrontiscaris ("three-legged caring-crab") |
| Attitude | Passive |
| Type | Mobile |
| Category | Foragers |
| Biome | Necrolei Hills, Overgrown Ruins |
| Scan Requirement | Bioscanner |
The Jetocaris is a passive cave-dwelling invertebrate.
Appearance
The Jetocaris has a deep-blue crab-like body bearing three walking legs and a mouth on the front covered by four black, triangular mandibles that interface to form a protective enclosure for their radulae (feeding tongues). On either side of the mouth are a pair of small, forelimb appendages tipped with black claws frequently used to groom their radulae.
Its two eyes are bright green, pill-shaped with a convex surface and situated on short stalks. Each eye has an upper and lower pseudopupil.
The fourth jointed segment of each walking leg is enlarged and features a valved thruster that leverages concentrates bursts of water through the dorsal opening to allow the jetocaris to hover in-place and swim through jet propulsion. Each leg is tipped with a black claw for walking along the ocean floor and preparing the seabed for radulae insertion.
Jetocaris radulae are long and flexible white stalks capable of penetrating into the seabed.
Behavior
Jetocaris inhabit caves and are indifferent to the presence of pioneers. While often solitary, jetocaris may exist in small consortiums with fellow adult and juvenile jetocaris. When adult jetocaris are not found propelling themselves or juveniles throughout their territory, they can be found clawing at the seabed with their legs to prepare the sand for radulae insertion in search of food.
Unlike adults, jetocaris juveniles are skittish, rapidly mounting the carapace of nearby adults when pioneers approach. Juvenile jetocaris move large distances by themselves infrequently, instead depending on adults for much of their movement throughout their habitats.
Databank Entry
Jetocaris (tentatively Tripod phrontiscaris). A three-legged social crustacean that displays parenting behavior.
-
Tripod body plan Due to early evolution of bilateral symmetry, no three-legged organisms exist on Earth. The jetocaris’ legs may have formed from the fusion of six earlier legs, three on each side. The small forelimbs remained independent.
-
Leg jets Evolving from leg-mounted gills, a valved thruster on each leg allows the jetocaris to hover and swim. Fusing the legs to double the size of each gill-thruster improves efficiency in simulations.
-
Feeding tongues The jetocaris deploys two long, flexible radulae (perhaps evolved from food-handling maxillipeds) to search for food. The forelimbs clean and groom the radulae. These appendages are sensitive, but capable of regeneration. This suggests the jetocaris can regrow its nerves—and something in the seabed likes to bite them.
-
Parenting behavior The jetocaris carries and protects juveniles of the same species, and its expressive body language suggests a dense social life. Spectrogenetic analysis indicates that some juveniles are adopted—they are not genetic offspring of the carer. Adoption has been observed in many species: though it is a mistake from a rational adaptive standpoint. It may be a sign of instinctive behavior. Or perhaps the jetocaris once lived in eusocial groups, with a single reproductive queen producing young that were tended by workers.
Assessment: mostly harmless. May provide emotional benefits.
Source: Scan a Jetocaris
Gallery
In Game
Trivia
- The name Jetocaris is formed from a fusion of "jet" referring to the creature's jet propulsion, and "Caris" a Latin word meaning "shrimp"
- The PDA databank entry states a creature that dwells in the seabed feeds on jetocaris radulae; this creature is likely to be the sandspear, although no such interaction exists in-game.
