| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Anchored |
| Category | Starfish |
| Biome | Tar Delta |
| Scan Tool | Bioscanner |
The Song Star is an anchored Lifeform that appears in the Tar Delta region. It has two variations: open and closed. It is the source for Hydraulic Bulbs.
Appearance
The Song Star is composed of 6 prickled leaf-like structures that are slightly in an anti-clockwise twisting pattern. It has a central stalk in the middle which hosts a Hydraulic Bulb.
Behavior
Section stub.
Databank Entry
Source: Scan a Song Star
Rootstar stenagmos, the singing rootstar. Makes noise on a worldwide scale.
1. Age of plastic
Like other rootstars, the song star has two rings of plastic-coated limbs, one upraised and one downturned. It does not feed through its downturned roots.
2. Sonar killed the lithotroph star
The upper limbs are lined with sensitive olfactory receptors. Though evolved to sense minerals, they bind silicate crystals that vibrate in response to sound. The song star hears with its noses.
3. House of wax
The song star's central bulb is filled with waxes. (Genes were transferred from a crustacean or arthropod with a developed lipid biology.) Modified mouthparts fire sonar through the bulb, while high-tension ligaments from each arm shape the bulb like a lens. The arms coordinate through the circular nerve cord around the bulb, which is stimulated by each sonar pulse. In a sense the song star thinks sound.
4. Ghost pulse train
The song star behaves as a fish-finder, firing sonar up the water column to reveal the position of prey fish and plankton masses to nearby predators. The star feeds off the marine snow produced by this carnage. Like Earth's bats, song stars tune their sonar to avoid detection by prey. Individuals develop unique voices to specialize their targets.
5. Beacon
Fourier analysis of ambient sea noise detects harmonized song star emissions. They may serve as waypoints for migrating organisms, attracting biomass and predators.
6. Defensive response
The waxy bulb is a perfect treat for any predator dextrous enough to cut away its tendons. Song stars close at the approach of any leviathan-class predator. Song stars cannot hunt without their sonar lens, but they will feed deaf relatives by aiming sonar at prey above them long enough for the lens to regrow.
Assessment: cut tendons to central bulb to harvest, as long as no leviathan predators are nearby. Potential applications as hydraulic fluid.
Gallery
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