You might have seen it munching away at your plants, or perhaps feasting on your tadpoles. Because the slorpsicus's body is very fleshy and soft, it's very rare to find fossilized evidence of its ancestors. Yet recently ancient slorpsicus fossils have been found, and combined with sketches and images from 50 million years ago, we've managed to figure out the slorpsici origin species: the leopard slug.
The leopard slug lived all over the world, save for Antarctica. It was mostly found in gardens, places where humans cultivated plants and flowers, and near human settlements in general.
Habitat: The leopard slug lived near human settlemenets, specifically in human gardens (places where humans would grow crops or pretty flowers). It enjoyed damp, dark places.
Adaptations: Leopard slugs were hermaphrodites - they could produce both male and female gametes! Leopard slugs could retract their heads into their bodies if threatened. Heads are one of the most important parts of the body, so this kept the head safe.
Limax Maximus (leopard Slug)
The leopard slug was a long slug - about 7 inches in length - that was brown and colour and had dark brown patterning. It had two antennae and no limbs.
The leopard slug ate other slugs, decomposed plants and moss, and carcasses of animals. It was eaten by animals like birds, snakes, and beetles.
The leopard slug was nocturnal, so it only came out at night. During the day it hid in dark areas like underneath stones and fallen trees, and it enjoyed shady, damp areas. The slug retracted its head into its shell when sleeping or annoyed and it was capable of associative learning.
The slorpsicus lives in most continents, save for Antarctica. It originated in the Northern part of Afroaustralasia, but its distant relatives were introduced to other places 50 million years ago.
Deep in the dense rainforests of Afroaustralasia, the canopy is so thick that barely any sunlight penetrates the ground. Large puddles form and stay for a long time, because of the constant rain, and many amphibious creatures, like the slorpsicus, live a life moving between these puddles and decomposing trees. You can hardly see anything here, but the chirps and buzzes of the animals are enough to guide you. Additionally, many of these land animals have developed bioluminescence, so small lights flit around the darkness. Further along the continent, on the coastline, thick plants crowd the water. The water level has risen high enough that the ocean seeps into forests, and underneath the sea is a thriving world within a post-human reef. Fish and amphibious creatures dart around degrading road signs, and mammals drink while standing on rocks made of old cars. The slorpsicus lives in the shoreline forests, slipping into the water to lay its eggs and to catch food, and it sleeps in the roots of the trees. On North America, the climate is warm but temperate, and old human settlements dot the landscape. Trees have overtaken them, leading to forests where the buildings and trees are equal.
Slorpsicus Maximus
The slorpsicus is about a foot long. It has four small legs and it is slimy to the touch. Its head has two antennae, and the head has bioluminescent capabilities. The head can be retracted into the body.
The slorpsicus eats smaller slorps and small aquatic creatures like tadpoles. Occasionally it eats small mammals. It is prey to large aquatic animals like snaphjaw and spine-tailed pike and it is also eaten by flying animals like bebekes.
The slorpsicus is a solitary animal for the most part. It is nocturnal, living under rocks and logs or in shallow water, and it goes out at night to hunt its prey. Its bioluminescence helps guide it and attracts prey, but it can quickly retract its head to turn off the glow if it fears a predator has seen it.
The Changing of the Environment
The temperature of the earth has increased due to global warming, and after humans have gone off to other distant planets, visiting occasionally, their settlements have become overgrown. The world is full of tropical plants, and due to continental drift, many continents no longer exist and are now Afroasutralasia. Large rainstorms occur often, leading to lots of water and long-lasting puddles. Of course there are very dry areas too, but the majority of the planet is covered in dense forests.
Though the gardens of humans are gone, the whole world is a garden. Slorpsicus still lives in shady, damp areas beneath plants and fallen trees, but their pneuomostome is now on the top of their head to serve as a sort of blowhole when they swim. Slorpsicus also has developed legs to move quickly and to swim, and their bioluminescent capabilities allow them to see in the thickest parts of the rainforests. Additionally, the eyes of the slorpsicus actually allow it to see instead of just sense light and dark, making it a better hunter.
Slorpsicus vs. Leopard Slug
In the ancient leopard slug species, there was the variation of being more tolerant to water. While most slugs drowned in deeper water, as the world got wetter, the slugs that could survive in water the longest survived and reproduced, increasing the slug water tolerance to a very long period of time. Now slorps spend lots of their life in the water, because the sea level is much higher and there is so much rain.
Water tolerance wasn’t the only trait to evolve. Slugs also developed limbs because it was incredibly difficult to swim without them. In the water, slugs began to wiggle the corners of their skirt to move in water, and over time the corners strengthened and extended to become limbs. The slugs that had limbs survived because they could live in more environments, and then they reproduced and had slugs with stronger limbs.
We have discovered a transitional species called pedalicus maximus between limax maximus and slorpsicus maximus. This creature was about 8 to 10 inches in length and featured a skirt with slightly extended corners. Additionally, its pneuomostome was on the top of its head, as it is with the slorpsicus, allowing it to breath underwater. We’ve found fossil evidence for this animal in the form of cast fossils, across North America and Afroaustralasia. Additionally, many old libraries have books with diagrams of all three species, and the anatomy shows a transition from slimy wigglers (limax maximus) to slimy walkers (pedalicus maximus) to slimy swimmers that also have the capability to walk (slorpsicus maximus)!
An image of pedalicus maximus
Pedalicus maximus fossil found in North America
Scientists Dr. Erghe and Dr. Ghoder are excited to share their discovery with the world! If you encounter a slorpsicus in the wild, tell it hello. Slorpsicus are capable of associative learning, and they will remember you if you fail to greet them adequately. Additionally, if you encounter a pedalicus fossil, please contact us through the Funginet!