Engineering core
Character
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a new animal for the planet Arsenae
- Image Credit: X
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Arsenae
- Name: Violet marsh shrimp
- Designation: non-sentient
- Origins: Arsenae
- Average Lifespan: 5 standard years
- Estimated Population: Planetary
- Description: A crustacean with a violet colored upper body with pink stripes and a dull pink underbelly. Their eyes rest on small swiveling stocks for a better field of vision. The antennae that stick out from the front of their faces help detect subtle changes in their environment, whether it's prey or predator. Long filter feeding appendages surround their mouths and help direct small particles of food toward their mouth. They possess a long powerful tail that can propel them quickly in short bursts. An adult shrimp can reach up to .3 meters in length when full grown. Violet marsh shrimp are a freshwater species that live in warm brackish waters of marshes and swamps.
- Breathes: Type I (aquatic)
- Average Height of Adults: 2.5 centimeters
- Average Length of Adults: .3 meters
- Skin color: Violet upper body with pink stripes and a dull pink underbelly
- Hair color: N/A
- Distinctions: Violet marsh shrimp are a crustacean with a violet colored upper body with pink stripes and a dull pink underbelly. Their eyes rest on small swiveling stocks for a better field of vision. The antennae that stick out from the front of their faces help detect subtle changes in their environment, whether it's prey or predator. Long filter feeding appendages surround their mouths and help direct small particles of food toward their mouth. They possess a long powerful tail that can propel them quickly in short bursts. An adult shrimp can reach up to .3 meters in length when full grown. Violet marsh shrimp are a freshwater species that live in warm brackish waters of marshes and swamps. The only real distinction between males and females is that females carry egg clusters on the underside of their tails.
- Races: None
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive
- Excellent swimmers: Violet marsh shrimp, despite their looks, are actually very good swimmers. A quick strong stroke of their tail can send them rocketing backwards away from would be predators.
- Rapid breeders: The average female Violet marsh shrimp can lay upwards of seven hundred eggs at a time. This high number ensures greater odds for the survival of the next generation. Violet shrimp also grow at a rapid pace, reaching full size in seven standard months, and breeding size in only five standard months.
- Low on the food chain: Violet marsh shrimp are prey for a large number of animals. From fish to birds and even some semi-aquatic animals. With no real nature defenses, these shrimp rely mainly on their swimming speed and rapid breeding for survival.
- Whims of the seasons: Living in marshes and swamps can have its drawbacks. While the dense foliage and brackish waters help provide protection, they are at risk of droughts. During harsh warm summers, there's a chance that their marsh or swamp may dry almost completely up. This can expose them to many problems, ranging from being trapped on land all the way to easy targets for predators.
- Diet: Filter feeder: Violet marsh shrimp use long appendages covered in fine sensitive hairs that surround their mouths to trap particles floating in the water and direct it to their mouths. These particles can contain anything from plant material to decaying animal material, even specks of sand and mud get caught in these appendages. Anything caught directed towards their mouths, but first non-edible and edible materials are separated by tiny sensitive claws that can detect one from the other by both taste and feel. Edible material is then guided into the mouth while everything is is tossed away.
- Communication: Violet shrimp communicate through use of body language, such as tail flicks, and use of their two largest antennae. Antennae on Violet shrimp can detect many things on another shrimp, from if their sick or ready to mate. These shrimp can generate a tiny amount of electricity which can be sent out in a pulse to warn other shrimp of danger. The antennae themselves can pick up these electric pulses from two meters away.
- Technology level: None
- Religion/Beliefs: None
- General behavior: Violet marsh shrimp live in loose colonies that dwell in marshes and swamps. There is no social structure, as each shrimp will come and go as they please. Many tend to stick near one another to increase the odds of spotting danger. When danger arises, a shrimp will release a small electric pulse before using its tail to propel itself away from the threat, this acts as a warning signal to other shrimp in the area. When seeking a mate, male Violet shrimp use their long antennae to find a potential female. Once found, he proceeds to show off his strength by using his tail to propel himself as far and as fast as he can. Female Violet shrimp lay their eggs, as many as seven hundred, amongst the leaf litter and thick clusters of plants in order to hide them from predators. These eggs will hatch in a matter of two weeks, upon which the newly hatched shrimp will remain hidden amongst the leaf litter and grasses until they are big and strong enough to survive the marsh. These hatchlings won't have long to wait, Violet shrimp are rapid growers capable of reaching full size in seven months.
Violet marsh shrimp are one of the oldest crustaceans species on Arsenae, changing very little in several million year existence. Oldest fossil records indicate the evolved from a river species found in higher elevations and only ended up in the marshes when the formed just a few thousand years before. These large shrimp have adapted well to their environment, as they are found in large numbers sca across the planet's equator. The shrimp itself falls prey to many animals, from fish and semi-aquatic animals to birds. More rec in their history, as far back or further as 30,000 BY, they have become food for the people of Arsenae. Originally they were caught in traps made of bamboo, a practice still in use, by Arsenians who lived at the edge of the marshes. With the introduction of agricultural farming came the farming of these shrimp in large numbers. Large fields were flooded into replica marshes and seeded with Marsh Oona and other aquatic plants. Then the shrimp were released into these fields where they rapidly populated the artificial marsh. Farmers were then capable of raising both grains and shrimp in large numbers. This type of farming is only practiced inside Arsenae's equatorial band. Outside of this small region of the planet is too dry and arid for such marshes or swamps to exist.
