Raythorn

The Raythorn is a small lifeform found in the Necrolei Hills, with a deep-sea variant located in the Tar Flats.

Appearance

The Raythorn features a long, streamlined body with a turquoise upper half and a white bottom half. It possesses two sharply angled pectoral fins that slightly curve backwards, displaying a gradient of white-yellow-cyan. Another pair of fins, which are broader and flat against its head, share this same coloring.

Its head has a black upper-half and a white bottom-half. It has two eyes on either side with azure sclera and a small black pupil surrounded by yellow, with a dark stripe running through it.

Behavior

Information regarding specific behavioral patterns is currently limited.

Databank Entry


TK akanthabatis. A fish-eating ray that survived a spectacular genetic collapse.

1. Thorn

The raythorn's streamlined body and long, toothy jaw are classical traits of a fish-eating predator. Unlike terrestrial rays, the largest fins are the pelvic fins, and the body is not significantly flattened. This indicates the raythorn is adapted for open-water cruising rather than bottom feeding.

2. Head first attack

The raythorn's wide, flat wings struggle to bank side to side. To help snatch prey, the four pectoral fins and the large crest steer the raythorn's head to the target. The crest contains an electrosensitive organ that pinpoints prey location at very short range or in extreme darkness.

3. Genetic killswitch

The raythorn's genome is riddled with chemical weak points (known in terrestrial organisms as 'chromosomal fragile sites'). Bizarrely, this appears to prevent mutation: the raythorn's genome is rigged to self-destruct at the slightest change. This prevents Proteavirus retrovirus from easily inserting new genetic material. This self-hostage strategy apparently kept the raythorn's ancestors genetically stable for an unusually long time in Protean evolutionary terms.

4. Crisis survivor

At some time in the past 100 million years, the raythorn's ancestors (probably a shallow water forage fish) faced a sudden collapse. The cause may have been competition from another species, an environmental change, or a neutral statistical event that finally overcame the raythorn's static genome. The survivors were forced to radiate into new forms—such as growing raylike wings and becoming a predator. The lack of related thorn species suggests that the raythorn was one of relatively few survivors. The raythorn's modern genome has lost some of its fragility at key sites related to diet and body plan, indicating they became open to viral recombination.

Assessment: Fascinating genetic specimen. Effective but nonthreatening predator.

Source: Scan a Raythorn

Gallery

In Game


Trivia

• The Raythorn was previously known as Hill Ray.