Jockey Charnlit

Jockey Charnlit(Zoofolia vector)
Species Information
Creator	Bufforpington More by this creator
Week and Generation	2/15
Habitat	Vailnoff Twilight Floor, Vailnoff Twilight Slope, Vailnoff Midnight Floor, Vailnoff Midnight Slope
Size	1 cm Long
Support	Unknown
Diet	Filter-Feeder (10-250 μm), Detritivore
Respiration	Unknown
Thermoregulation	Unknown
Reproduction	Asexual (Budding, Fragmentation)
Taxonomy
Genus	Zoofolia
Species	Zoofolia vector
Ancestor	Charnlit
Descendants	Jocklit, Backhugger

The jockey charnlit evolved as a result of some individuals growing on the backs of nightgrazers. This resulted from some of the zoofolia buds falling and sticking onto the backs of passing nightgrazers, resulting in the organism growing on the creature's back. This provided the jockey charnlit a higher vantage point for filter-feeding. However, they often grew too big for their host. As a result, the jockey charnlit has undergone some changes. They have generally become smaller, allowing them to be less of a strain on their hosts. Their holdfast now sports eight 'legs' that increase the surface area of the holdfast. This in turn gives them a stronger grip to their host. Jockey charnlit typically are found on nightgrazers. While they do occasionally inhabit other asterzoans, they typically die when dragged into the sunlight zone.

Because suitable hosts can be hard to find at times, the larvae have become significantly more advanced. While they retain their original scale shape, the center of the body has become thicker and the fringes of the body have become thinner. The thinner portion has been modified into a pair of fins capable of propelling the larvae through the water. The larvae also has a defined head that sports two short tentacles that are filled with chemoreceptors. This allows them to detect the wastes of nearby nightgrazers. Once a host is located, they will use their tentacles to feel their way to the back of the organism, where they will stick themselves to. The larvae have also developed a simple nervous system that allows it to interpret the information collected by the chemoreceptors and tactoreceptors. Nutrients are transferred throughout the body via nutrient ducts. These ducts interface with the digestive surface on the ventral side of the larva's body, transferring nutrients and wastes between the ducts and digestive surface.

Once attached to a host, the larvae will begin using nutrients gained through filter-feeding and the degeneration of its nervous system and nutrient ducts to metamorphose into a holdfast. From there, the mature jockey charnlit will begin growing its frond. Once the frond reaches a certain length, the final isomer will split off to form a new larvae as a new isomer takes its place.