Towershroom

The Towershroom is a massive anchored lifeform that dominates the Tar Delta region.

Appearance

The Towershroom resembles a rough-textured jellyfish with a flat disk on top of its upper body littered with tiny, spherical growths. The jellyfish-bell shaped structure beneath it splits into 3 limbs that diverge at a point into the sea-bed that are surrounded by leaf-shaped appendages.

Databank Entry

Hyphen tower, a chitinous life form. Reminiscent of Earth's mysterious prototaxites, though hundreds of times as large.

1. Hyphen

A Protean algae that forms threads, or hyphae, which weave together into ropelike structural elements. The thread is chitinous, but too tough to harvest for fiber with hand tools.

2. Growth patterns

The towershroom grows from a seabed anchor. A buoyant, gas-filled cap shielded by a hard plate pulls the stalks upward. Growth occurs from the center of the stalks, where new threads are spun and allowed to take up tension.

3. Very tallshroom

Adult specimens exceed 100 meters in height, matching Earth's redwoods. Instead of photosynthesis, the towershroom's height allows it to access horizontal currents driven by global trade winds. Feeding filaments inside the stalks filter nutrients from these currents.

4. Mechanotroph?

Some structures in the towershroom's feeding sites function like reversed flagella, turning in the current to generate chemical energy. It is unclear if they generate enough energy for metabolism, or if they function as sensors.

5. No limit

There is no mechanical limit on the size of the towershroom, and its buoyant cap can likely support the weight of a submersible or a small seabase.

6. Digestible

The towershroom may be able to twist its stalks closed for protection, which implies other organisms feed upon it.

Conclusion: possible base site. The tallshroom may have been prematurely named.

Source: Scan a Towershroom