ASTROVITAE ISSUE 01

CAPTIVATINGWORLDS | LETTERSFROMSATURN
EMERALD BOTTLE-GHOST:
Scientiic Name: Viridampulla venaphorus
Like the hookgourds and tanglegourds, this
creature gets most of its nutrition from
symbiotic microbes living in its skin. In the
emerald bottle-ghost’s case, however, these
microbes utilize a variant of chlorophyll to ix
light.
SPOTTED HOOKGUARD (LEFT) & TANGLEGOURD (RIGHT):
Scientiic Name: Nodophoramorphis maculosus and Nodophora
oculocaulis (respectively)
Although I don’t yet know why the tail and tip of these animals have
hooked together, such an arrangement seems to serve some important
purpose since the hookgourds and tanglegourds are some of the most
populous and diverse groups in the rings. The hook-arrangement
prevents these creatures from opening their mouths, so they’ve
developed a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic microbes,
which are visible on the skin as the patches of black and yellow.
BLUE-THORNED ANCHORHEAD:
Scientiic Name: Ancoricephalus caerulicuspis
Anchorheads are parasites that remain
dormant for most of their lives until they bump
into a larger animal. Once contact is made, the
anchorhead burrows into its host’s lesh with
its long, needle-like spines and proceeds to feed
on the host’s juices with its hollow tongue.
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