 | ||
| Avalon | ||
|---|---|---|
| System | Heze | |
| Type | Planet | |
| Astronomical Classification Index | TTMRN/H-sE | |
| Habitable | Yes | |
| Affiliation | Final Frontier Project | |
| Location | Virgo | |
| Discovery Date | June 1, 2047 | |
| Equatorial Radius | 5246.032 km | |
| Gravity | 0.86 g | |
| Atmosphere | N2, O2, CO2 | |
| Rotational Period | 31h, 43m, 02.43s | |
| Axial Tilt | °46 16'05.43' | |
| Mass | 1.09 M🜨 | |
| Tidally Locked | No | |
| Orbital Period | 3.325 years | |
| Orbital Speed | 13.46 km/s | |
| Orbital Radius | 3.72 AU | |
| Orbital Eccentricity | 0.705 | |
| Inclination | °22 5'38.06' | |
Avalon, officially known as Heze (/ˈhiːziː/, hee-zee) III, is a terrestrial planet located in the Heze (Zeta Virginis) binary system, located 74 lightyears away from Sol in the Virgo constellation. Classified as an anomalous body by the Sol Defence Corps, the planet is a myriad of dualities - a habitable atmosphere and abundant wildlife clash dramatically with its toxic soil and poisonous oceans. Avalon is covered in a greenhouse fog that partially blocks light from its parent stars, its lukewarm temperature instead coming from the planet's highly volcanically active crust. Avalon hosts no colonies save for the SDC research base LZ Alpha.
Avalon was discovered in June 2047 via the transit method of it intersecting it's parent star, Heze. However, the planet's thick fog had masked its unique properties and was not considered a habitable planet until advanced technologies had allowed scientists to discover its atmospheric composition remotely, prompting it as a prime habitable candidate and marking it for later exploration by the Final Frontier Project.
Planetary Information
Avalon is a terrestrial planet slightly over half the volume of Earth, but with twice the density, giving a gravitational pull of approximately 0.86 G, meaning minimal adjustment is required for anyone stepping foot on the planet. Much of Avalon is geologically active, with earthquakes and volcanoes creating hot springs which form steaming lakes. Although it is an uncommon sight, some of these lakes can grow to incredible size, rivalling that of even the Caspian. Despite the otherwise hostile implications set forth by the planet's activity, pockets of life containing fauna and flora exist in patches which surround these lakes, creating a network of oases which are shrouded in a purple hue brought along by the color of the glowfruit tree's leaves. Life on Avalon is massively dependant on and has, speculatively, evolved around the characteristics of these oases. The dense population of glowfruit trees on Avalon can cause a natural phenomenon in which lights produced by their bioluminescence can be seen from low orbit on the dark side of the planet. This creates the illusion of city lights as seen on Earth from space, despite there being no actual intelligent or advanced life native to the planet.
About 46% of Avalon is covered in water, with prominent underground aquifers making up another significant portion of the planet's water content. Approximately 35% of the water forms small seas across the planet, formed of saltwater containing potassium chloride, which contributes to the near identical nature of Avalon's atmosphere to that of Earth. Ice caps can also be found at the planet's poles. There are several more prominent mountain ranges and highlands are present on the surface, and routinely see varying amounts of snowfall all year round. Avalon has no natural satellites - due to this, tides are not present and the planet's axial tilt is subject to severe fluctuations every few thousand years, with the planet likely entering the more extreme of these tilt phases.
Environment
Most of Avalon's weather activity consists of mildly acidic precipitation with an average pH level of 3.8, weaker than vinegar. While it is not harmful to skin, it is an eye irritant and protection should be worn during rainy days. During the winter season the rain freezes into acidic snow and hail. The thick fog over the planet can also produce erratic, violent lightning storms that can either be dry or accompanied by rain. This can lead to forest fires, some of which have been sighted burning across the planet. With an axial tilt of almost 47 degrees against Heze A, the planet experiences extreme seasonal changes, with seasons often lasting for several years at a time due to the planet's slow orbital speed around its parent sun. During winter, the New Medan caldera is plunged into snow, with acidic blizzards often seen battering against the colony's structures and driving most of the permanently-stationed inhabitants indoors. The first winter experienced on Avalon had shown the glowfruit trees abundant in the area are, in fact, evergreen, and instead of shedding their leaves and fruits instead change colour of their leaves (and even their fruits) in response to the drops in temperature.
Outside of the lush oases that host the majority of life on Avalon, the remainder of the planet is occupied by expansive, rocky wastelands. These wastelands are characterised by jagged, leaning mountain ranges formed by both tectonic movement influenced by intense volcanic activity, and icy peaks shaped over long periods by harsh storm winds into sharp points. These combine give the appearance of hostile, unwelcoming mountain ranges with appearances that vary also due to lightning storms. While these mountain ranges can sometimes be seen from the New Medan Caldera, the heat generated by calderas and their past eruptions across Avalon influence more than just their interior - sharp mountain ranges surrounding erupting calderas are typically flattened by the eruption, and the heat emitted by the dormant volcano afterwards prevents prominent ice peaks from forming, instead turning into Avalon's characteristic small lakes. These 'heat zones' as they are referred to, can warm up to kilometres around the caldera itself, depending on the size of the dormant volcano, creating some of the larger known lakes.
Beneath Avalon's surface is a vast network of entangled, labyrinthic caves. Initial research suggests the volcano that once dominated the New Medan caldera - and theoretically others - had many lava conduits formed underneath its surface once the volcano had gone extinct, as evidenced by the heavy presence of igneous rock. However, the sporadic nature of the tubes as well as the lack of clear flow direction dispute this theory, and further studies hint that the tunnels may have been, in fact, artificially constructed.
LZ Alpha (New Medan Caldera)
The Emissary's initial landing site of the planet was on a plateau nestled inside a dormant volcano, with temperatures and conditions ideal for life to thrive. These oases, of which many are scattered across the planet, are the only places in which the native wildlife on Avalon survive. Surrounded by a geothermal spring with high walls, the caldera forms both a natural oasis and a sanctuary for animals (and, in the future, maybe even colonists), shielded from the toxic climate outside the caldera. The area has been officially named LZ Alpha, but has been also given a name by the scientific community - the New Medan caldera. The landing zone contains four habitation pods, a water filtration system, surface-to-orbit communications equipment and a singular shuttlepad. New Medan is usually manned by 30-50 SDC personnel including Research, Exploratory and Medical staff.
There are multiple research posts within the cave system under New Medan oriented towards mineral studying, radiometric dating and seismic activity measurement, alongside other topics of research. Curiously, the New Medan Caldera finds itself, currently, host to little wildlife. While it possesses some small, insect life and microbial life, it is remarkably absent of Skydancers or Snare Plants. A widely agreed upon conclusion to the prominent lack of wildlife settlement within New Medan is simply that no Skydancers have settled in the New Medan Caldera yet, explaining not only their lack of a presence, but also the lack of Snare Plant presence, as the Snare Plant is dependent on Skydancers on prey to survive, and as such, have all died out within New Medan as of the Emissary's arrival.
Anomalous Properties
Classified as an anomalous body by the SDC, Avalon holds a plethora of mysteries that violate the conventional laws of scientists previously known, prompting it to be a high-priority research target for both the United Nations and AXIOM Corporation, both of which have poured billions of credits into funding research expeditions via the SDC's Final Frontier Project.
Rogue Planet Theory
Radiometric dating of bedrock samples as far as 2.3 miles below the surface of the planet have led to the discovery that Avalon as a planet is 3.4 billion years old, nearly 3 billion years older than its parent star, Heze. This has led to the theory that Avalon is, in fact a captured, formerly rogue planet from a distant star system, owing to its highly eccentric orbit and unusual rotational period. Avalon's original star system, as well as how it had sustained life even while rogue, still remains a mystery. Many leading theories, though none confirmed or allowed to be studied, include survival in subterranean systems as seen on modern Avalon or preservation of indigenous life through either cryogenic or biological methods over the rogue period.
Owing to the Rogue planet theory, Avalon's orbit is extremely eccentric, so much so that it alternates between the third and fourth planet in the solar system depending on its season, occasionally surpassing the barren planet Heze IV. The stability of the planet's orbits, seemingly yet unaffected by Avalon's gravitational influence, suggests that if the rogue planet theory is correct, the capture would only have been done recently, approximately in the past 10,000 years or so. If Avalon was captured before this time period the orbits of Heze I, II and IV would have deteriorated due to Avalon's gravity. Due to Avalon's extreme eccentricity and alternation in order, it has been found to be exceptionally difficult to record an average for the planet's aphelion and perihelion in the time that the SDC has established operations on Avalon.
Density
Avalon, despite only having just above half of Earth's mass, has twice its density. While the planetary core composition has not been properly analysed yet, scientists suggest the core and mantle are made up of far denser material than iron. One theory suggests the presence of hypothetical solid mercury at its core, crushed by the planet's gravity so much that it has become solid in spite of mercury's natural liquid state. Such a composition would be highly unnatural, as mercury is not found normally in such high quantities to become the main component of a planet's core.
Atmosphere
Avalon's lower atmosphere composition has a nitrogen-oxygen blend almost perfectly mirroring that of Earth, composed of 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 2% other gases. The atmosphere is breathable to humans without much need for protection or assistance. Part of the 1% of other gases is argon, while another significant portion is methane, thought to be emitted by forest fires but also the prevalent wetlands on the planet. There are trace amounts other gases as well, such as carbon dioxide. The upper atmosphere is a cloud of particulates, ozone, methane, and other greenhouse gases, forming a nigh-impenetrable, high-albedo fog that shields the planet from Heze's heat. This gives the planet a cloudy, almost bluish-white appearance when viewed from the outside, while inside the atmosphere the sky is a gloomy dark grey or black.
Analysis of the upper atmosphere's particulates reveal clouds of ash in addition to ozone, suggesting a massive volcanic eruption (or chain of reactions) that had dispersed this cloud and caused it to block out the sun. However, temperatures on the planet had remained historically consistent according to geological surveys - signifying that either the ash was either always there, or that planetwide eruptions happen on a regular scale as part of the planet's way of maintaining a homeostatic atmosphere. The lack of this upper fog would result in the planet being cooked by its star, due to its relative proximity to the star in addition to its already lukewarm lower atmosphere caused by its plentiful geothermal springs.
Indigenous Life
Flora
Avalon holds a plentitude of fauna and flora, often displaying high resemblances to those on Earth, albeit with several notable differences.
Glowfruit Tree (candentis xenoarborum)
Scattered throughout Avalon lies a dominant species of evergreen tree, dubbed the Glowfruit Tree with the scientific name candentis xenoarborum (literally: hanging alien tree), which appears to be a tree with a wood-like trunk and bioluminescent 'fruit' pods that can be seen suspended from the trees on thin vines. The roots of the tree dig extremely deep, presumably to directly tap from the underground aquifers. The fruit of glowfruits are cantaloupe-sized circular drupes, containing high amounts of luciferin and luciferase, compounds that produce bioluminescence, as well as sucrose and various other organic compounds, including citric acid. The fruit is marginally edible but possesses an incredibly sour taste due to the high amount of citric acid in the fruit, leading to them being used instead as organic 'lanterns' should artificial light not be available. The high amounts of acid additionally lead to the fruits functioning as low-capacity electrochemical batteries (similar to lemons) and store about 200 milliamp hours of charge per fruit at 0.7 volts.
Glowfruits normally emit white light at around 3300K, a slight warm white, but cooling the fruit has shown to change its color temperature dramatically all the way to a pale blue at 8800K, when cooled to -10 degrees Celsius or below. Glowfruit freezes and dries up below -50 degrees Celsius, at which point its bioluminescent properties are permanently destroyed. The trees themselves possess a trunk of a light violet wood, comparable in appearance and texture to cherry. Topping it is a canopy of burgundy-colored leaves with high amounts of anthocyanin, giving the trees' appearance a highly exotic look compared to that of Earth trees. Glowfruit in enclosed growing environments sport remarkable gestation periods of only 8-10 days and reach the height of a 1-foot sapling within approximately 1-2 months. Owing partially to this, the trees have short lifespans, living for only about 20-40 years. Glowfruit wood inherits anthocyanin from its leaves, dyeing it a light lavender colour. While the wood itself is soft and porous - making it unsuitable as a construction material - its artisan value is often praised, and samples of the wood have been sent back to Earth for exotic woodworking.
Coexisting with the glowfruit Trees are violet-purple colored grass and weeds, displaying heavy similarity to grasses found on Earth. The grass displays similar deep-digging roots to that of the glowfruit tree, making weed and grass removal much more difficult than expected.
Anton's Snare Plant (Xenolaqueus antonius)
Similar to the Venus Flytrap of Earth, Anton's Snare Plant, more colloquially known as the Snare Plant, and scientifically as laqueus xenoviridita (literally: snare alien plant) is a species of carnivorous flora that grow and nestle in glowfruit trees, wrapping their vines around the branches of the trees, allowing the rest of the plant to hang towards the ground. During the Snare Plant's infancy, it begins to develop a rigid skeleton, a stomach storing large amounts of hydrolase digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid for breaking down prey and glands storing venom. During this time, the Snare Plant gains nutrition by secreting a sweet, sticky substance comprised of sucrose and citric acid - the same compounds found in glowfruit, which the Snare Plant draws from the tree itself - to lure in and trap Avalonian Fireflies. An infant Snare Plant is a target for avian animals, eating the supporting vines for the nutrition they draw from the glowfruit tree, causing the Snare Plant to fall out of the tree they are nestled in and die, where they are then feasted on further.
During the Snare Plant's adolescence, it begins to grow in size and further develop its digestive system. A digestive tract is formed as the Snare Plant grows and teeth-like barbs which dig into flesh and administer venom used to paralyse prey grow around the maw. The Snare Plant's venom is found to consist of high concentrations of curare, which causes complete skeletal muscle paralysis and asphyxiation. Once the Snare Plant reaches adulthood, it begins to bloom, growing petals which look like the leaves of glowfruit trees. Once bloomed, the Snare Plant lowers its proboscis. The growth period of the Snare Plant takes place over a month.
When the proboscis is stimulated, the Snare Plant quickly extends down on it's prey, using elastic-like skin and skeletal joints to lower down to heights of 6 metres and spring back up. The elasticity of the Snare Plant also allows it to hold onto it's typical prey without snapping. Once in possession of food, the barbs encircling the plant's digestive tract dig into the flesh of it's prey, keeping the maw closed in the absence of a strong jaw. The same barbs administer the Snare Plant's venom, paralyzing the plant's victim and allowing it to begin digesting it. The Snare Plant does so by secreting digestive enzymes which melt it's prey while the digestive tract begins to transfer the organic matter of the prey up into the Snare Plant's stomach. Digestion can take place over the course of one to two days, and Snare Plants to not typically lower their proboscis to feed again until a four days after it's last feeding session.
A byproduct of the digestive process is organic matter tends to fall off of the prey and onto the ground below it, rotting and attracting insects, which in turn attract avians, which allow the Snare Plant to feed. While it is known that Snare Plants can grow other Snare Plants on the same tree asexually through their vines, it is currently not known how they may appear in multiple trees without a previous Snare Plant present, or how they populate multiple caldera.
Fauna
Underground studies conducted by probes across the planet have found small yet prominent deposits of coal and oil, highly indicating that the planet was, and still is, home to large amounts of multicellular carbon-based animals the likes of small insects, avian birds and fish. Soil analysis has revealed microbial life, amoebas and bacteria resembling those found on Earth and other colonised planets such as Homestead. Fungi are notably absent from the soil composition of Avalon. Microbial life is also remarkably present in the oceans of Avalon and is the primary nutrition for aquatic species such as the Basker Fish.
Avian and Terrestrial
Skydancer (Xenosaltador novumedania)
The Skydancer, known scientifically as saltador xenoavis (literally: dancing alien bird), is one of the most prominent species of avian life on Avalon. Characterized as white-feathered birds with large, hooked black beaks, a 3 metre wingspan and articulate 3-digit talons on the elbow joint. Their diet consists primarily of insects and fruits, and more rarely, fish. Much like other fauna native to Avalon, the glowfruit is a substantial part of their diet not only through direct consumption of glowfruits but also their consumption of other insects which feed on glowfruits, and as a result the Skydancer's anatomy is particularly resistant irritation from citric acid, and possesses a tolerance of acids of various pH scales. Skydancers can be seen to possess bioluminescence in their stomach after eating glowfruit.
The Skydancer is the most populous species of known avians on Avalon, typically seen flying in flocks in migrations from caldera to caldera. Since Avalon experiences extreme seasonal shifts, and seasons last for severals years at a time, Skydancer migration is not based on seasons but rather by storms. A flock of Skydancers will attempt to travel to an inhabit a caldera for as long as possible, but will quickly migrate in the event of a torrential storm that may trap them in the caldera, subjecting them to weather conditions harmful and often fatal to Skydancers. Though they are most commonly seen flying in flocks, they spend the majority of their lives within calderas, feeding on bugs and plants, creating nests and establishing social structures. The size of a flock will substantially increase each time they settle into a caldera, with Skydancers communities being capable of very quickly increasing their population. Though they spend exceptionally long periods of time flying, looking for a place to settle, their life within calderas feature very little long-distance flying and primarily gliding, rising and travelling on foot; Skydancers will glide from branch to branch scouting for food, or will otherwise travel on foot to find food, with greatly developed leg muscles and joints for running, and articulate talons on their wings that can be used to dig or grab, though Skydancers typically grab items with their beaks. Similar to avian lifeforms on Earth, Skydancers have been shown to be able to mimic sounds, including human speech.
Skydancers have been found to be particularly social animals, with clearly established roles within communities - regardless of gender, Skydancers will divide up their community into hunters, who collect food for the community, gatherers, who bring back materials for nest construction, and caretakers, who look after the young of the community. The members of these groups very rarely fluctuate or change, and some Skydancers have been observed to get angry at other Skydancers for neglecting their duties. Additionally, caretakers have been seen training young into these specific roles at a young age. Nests of skydancers take on the form of networks of nests atop of glowfruit trees, with three to four nests per tree. Skydancers are very intelligent animals and possess a comprehensive method of communication through squawks and birdsongs. Their namesake, Skydancer, comes from another observed social behaviour of multiple Skydancers partaking in coordinated flying, similar to dancing.
Divebomber (Xenoculiseta mergulus)
The divebomber mosquito, known scientifically as mergulus xenoculiseta (literally: diving alien mosquito) is a rare species of Avalonian megafauna. Insects, similar to the Avalonian Firefly, the divebomber appears to have evolved to huge sizes - around 25 centimetres in width, slightly larger than the average human hand - for reasons currently unknown. Some believe that they have evolved to their size to survive at higher altitudes, while others believe it's in order to store more energy during long periods of transit.
Divebombers have developed 103 milimetre long proboscis made of stiff chitin with a razor-sharp edge. The majority of the mass on this proboscis is only chitin - the actual proboscis which divebombers feed from is incredibly thin, while the rest is simply for durability and lacerating power, with no nerves. Divebombers travel in large swarms between calderas at high altitudes, searching for bioluminescence given off by glowfruits. Once they have found a caldera with sufficient glowfruit, they will begin to dive down towards the glowfruits as a whole swarm, with the goal of planting their proboscis through the skin of a glowfruit, where they then extract sucrose and proteins from the inside of the glowfruit, and congregate before flying off again. While they have been observed to be very accurate, not all divebombers always hit their target, and will sometimes collide with the ground and die.
Divebombers have also been observed to be omnivores, and will sometimes attack prey by divebombing into them and causing lethal lacerations as their probosces pierce their skin and muscle in multiple locations, often causing artery bursts or generally fatal bleeding. They then extract the same sugars and proteins from the targets blood, often leaving behind a dried-out husk when they are done feeding. This has made them incredibly dangerous to humans, as divebombers consider humans prey. They are rare, however, making them more of a precaution than an actual threat, with survey equipment typically predicting a swarm passing overhead and advising anyone on the surface of Avalon to stay indoors during feeding sessions. Dead divebombers - those who do not hit their target - are typically food for avian animals such as Skydancers.
Avalonian Firefly (Stella xenovolucris)
The Avalonian Firefly, known scientifically as stella xenovolucris (literally: star alien winged creature) is one of the only known species of Avalon insectoids, as limited ability to travel to other calderas has limited studies into other ecosystems and other possible insectoids, with the Avalonian Firefly being the only species of insect to inhabit the New Medan Caldera. Their namesake is due to their diet - the Avalonian Firefly's sole diet comes from glowfruits. Avalonian Fireflies nest and reproduce in glowfruits, consuming it's sucrose, citric acid and luciferin, providing them with nutrition and also causing their abdomens to glow much like the glowfruits themselves. They typically glow white as opposed to the blue glow of the glowfruit, however, being that they inhabit regions with an environment largely illuminated by glowfruit trees, they appear to glow blue as well.
The Avalonian Firefly reproduces asexually, infesting glowfruits and, as they feed, begin to lay eggs that contain their exact genetic data. These eggs grow quickly and grow from larvae to adults in a matter of hours, surrounded by plentiful nutrition. As such, a singular Avalonian Firefly can infest a glowfruit and them and their offspring can fully consume it in less than 24 hours. With how quickly Avalonian Fireflies reproduce, they serve as a plentiful supply of food for a number of avian species but also, a potential threat to the livelihood of glowfruit trees. However, it is the Avalonian Firefly which plays the largest role in allowing more glowfruit trees to grow and spread, as depleted glowfruits end up falling off their vine and on the ground, where the core of a glowfruit will eventually sprout into multiple new trees as the core is then picked apart and distributed by Avians through droppings. In short, each glowfruit infested by an Avalonian Firefly allows the glowfruit tree population to increase in similar proportions.
Blimpwhale (ferebatur xenobaleines)
The Blimpwhale, known scientifically as ferebatur xenobaleines (literally: floating alien whale) is a species of Avalonian megafauna which is, currently, considered to be a whale but it's out of the ordinary behaviour and aspects have it's animal classification in a confused state, with many unsure what to classify the blimpwhale as. It is the second largest known animal on Avalon at a length of 22 metres and believed to be the most massive. Multiple aspects of the blimpwhale have made it incredibly difficult to study; it's only habitat is within the albedo cloud layer of Avalon or slightly below it, where it's skin contributes to the overall albedo effect of Avalon, and when it is visible below the cloud layer, it is at an altitude that makes various forms of study extremely difficult. Additionally, corpses of blimpwhales fall from the sky and explode violently upon impact with the ground, limiting some of the study which can be performed on them.
The blimpwhale's primary form of locomotion is based in two incredibly large air sacs along it's lower side, filled to capacity with methane gas, a lighter-than-air gas, which allow blimpwhales to suspend themselves in the air not unlike hot air balloons. They adjust their altitude by emitting this methane and waste gases from orifices located along the blimpwhale's body, which also allows for forward propulsion and navigation. This method of navigational gas emission has been related by some to directional thrusters used on starships. It is believed that blimpwhales procure this methane by either inhaling it from the gas content of the atmosphere, as methane is emitted from the oceans and volcanic activity of Avalon, or by organic synthesis. It is currently not known, but they do clearly produce extremely high amounts of methane.
Based on observation, the diet of the blimpwhale appears to consist of other high-altitude insects and creatures, namely the most populous Divebombers. Blimpwhales are similar to basking fish in their method of eating - they possess a constantly open mouth with a net of adhesive substance used to bask prey and then trap them, where digestive enzymes can then break down the trapped prey and convert it into nutrition for the blimpwhale. For this reason, blimpwhales are seen slowly tailing swarms of divebomber mosquitos for days at a time before they are able to catch up with them. The adhesive net, on top of a layer of thick fat appears to be an evolutionary trait obtained in order to be able to feed on divebomber mosquitos without suffering from lacerations caused by their proboscis.
Aquatic
Basker Fish (Apricis xenopiscis)
The Basker Fish, known scientifically as apricis xenpiscis (literally: basking alien fish) is a prominent species of Avalon aquatic life, being one of the more widespread populations of fish in Avalon. Named for their method of feeding, separate niches of Basker Fish can be found in both calderas and in the toxic oceans of Avalon. Basking Fish are reasonably large at 16 cm long, slightly larger than the Earth catfish, and are characterized by gaping mouths ribbed with flaps and held open by a skeletal structure, extremely similar to Basking Sharks on Earth. Basker Fish are particularly appealing to scientists for their ability to not only survive, but also thrive, spawn and feed in toxic environments. The entire anatomy of the Basking Fish is exceptionally resistant to toxic substances and acids, with Basking Fish possessing an extremely thick hide and a protective membrane over their mouths.
Basker Fish feed by collecting large amounts of water in two major sacs near their stomach, lined with the same acid-resistant film as their mouth. As they bask, taking in large amounts of water containing small bacteria and plankton, a complex filtration system present in their sacs separate toxic water and otherwise harmful bacteria from edible bacteria and plankton. The toxic waste byproduct is then flushed back out of the Basker Fish. The filtration system present in Basker Fish is being studied by scientists who are looking to find ways to apply it in human water filtration and purification. While most animals on Avalon have been found to be comprised of the same elemental and chemical compounds found on Earth and other planets, the membrane is comprised of a heretofore unknown organic material which is being studied and may contain new elements to add to the periodic table.
Basker Fish are said to taste similar to sharks with a very gummy texture.
Subterranean
Tunnelworm (Xenocuniculus gigalucumbris)
The Tunnelworm, known scientifically as xenocuniculus gigalucumbris (literally: alien tunnelling giant worm) is a species of Avalonian megafauna, with a suspected average length of about two kilometres long, the largest known animal on Avalon in length alone, though the full length of an adult Avalon tunnelworm is unknown as tunnelworms have proven incredibly difficult to detect and study outside of skeletal remains - a largely inconclusive method - and being that tunnelworm length is likely dependant on age. tunnelworms are one of the only megafauna to inhabit the barren intercaldera regions of Avalon, believed to have evolved into it as a niche. Being incredibly large and durable and living in a sparsely populated niche, tunnelworms are believed to have no natural predators. Tunnelworms are named for their ability to burrow into surface sedimentary rock with large mandibles, where they spent the majority of their time.
Though they appear similarly to worms, observation of what are believed to be the skeletal remains of tunnelworms reveals that they have an internal skeletal structure of a long spinal column and ribs, and are therefore, not invertebrates, and are in fact more similar to snakes despite their nomenclature. Tunnelworms are not necessarily as wide as they are long, observed to be only two and a half metres in diameter, and therefore the majority of the tunnels they dig end up collapsing in on themselves.
Tunnelworm tunnels, that have persisted and not collapsed, have been observed to always pass through aquifers, where tunnelworm larvae have also been observed to spawn - revealing the reason that tunnelworms dig into the ground is to, firstly, feed off of microorganisms and trace minerals in both the rock walls and in aquifers, but also to lay eggs in said underground aquifers. Tunnelworm skin appears to be various plates of chitin, likely to protect themselves from rock walls while tunnelling. A leading theory on tunnelworm feeding methods is the separation of these chitin plates, revealing a thin membrane underneath that soaks up microorganisms and trace minerals and absorbs them into the tunnelworm's digestive system through a method of biological diffusion similar to Basker Fish. This theory is backed by a biological trace material found in tunnelworm tunnels, believed to be secreted from tunnelworms.
Despite their absence of natural predators, tunnelworms have been seen - and are most frequently seen - engaging in combat above ground, emerging from the ground and leaping through their air, attempting to clamp down on their opponent with their mandibles and constrict them until they die. Though they have never expressed hostility towards humans, their extreme midair manoeuvrability and incredibly powerful mandibles lead many to believe it would not be difficult for a tunnelworm to kill a human. A separate threat tunnelworms may pose to humans is burrowing through caldera cavern systems. Tunnelworms will typically avoid the area around a caldera, but at certain depths the cavern systems connected to a caldera are still frequented. Seismic detectors are often used to locate a nearby tunnelworm and predict whether or not it will be passing through a cave system. In these events, it is not uncommon for caves or tunnels to cave in as they pass.
Cavebug (absconditus xenolimax)
Cavebugs, known scientifically as absconditus xenolimax (literally: hidden alien slug) is a species of Avalonian gastropod, inhabiting the walls of caldera subterranean cavern systems. They are very large gastropods, at about 10 centimetres in width and 15 centimetres in length. They are most commonly found on the walls of upper cave systems, where they are able to support themselves on walls or ceilings by wrapping numerous long tendrils into crevasses in the caves or around rocks, which also causes them to be extremely slow. As a form of both camouflage and defence, cavebugs wear two layers of thick chitin which takes on the appearance of the surrounding rocks. Though their more rotund body shape makes them far more indicative to humans, it appears to be an effective form of camouflage against other fauna - what little there are in the caves.
Cavebugs, through their tendrils and underbelly, feed on trace minerals and silicates along the cave walls as their main and only diet through chemosynthesis. The cavebugs themselves do not chemosynthesize the trace materials. A colony of small bacterium, hydrogenothermaceae xenobacterium conducts most the mineral chemosynthesis and shares the nutrition, energy and biomass with their host cavebug in return for a warm, moist and safe environment in their body, the two in a symbiotic relationship. Asexual reproduction by cavebugs also involve the transport of hydrogenothermaceae xenobacterium from the initial host to it's offspring.
Being that it is not the most efficient diet, cavebugs have an incredibly slow metabolism connected to their similarly slow movement. They expend very little energy doing anything other than moving or eating, so their slow metabolism combined with a lack of general activity counteracts their somewhat scarce diet. Aside from that, cavebugs also feed on minerals and silicates to produce hydroflouric acid as it's secondary method of self-defence after camouflage. Storing hydroflouric acid in large glands for long periods without use, cavebugs will separate their chitin pieces and spray the acid out of small orifices along their body in all directions. This causes severe burns to tissue while also acting as a contact poison. This makes getting too close to cavebugs very dangerous to humans but is not much of an issue to expeditionary teams wearing hardsuits.
Cavebugs having both a method of camouflage and a method of potent self-defence, many researchers wonder why the cavebug has evolved for these methods of self-defence when there have been observed to be very few fauna native to the subterranean niche, and even fewer that could possibly pose a threat to cavebugs. A leading belief is that whatever the primary predator of the cavebug was, the cavebug's methods of self-defence were effective to the point where it drove the species, at least in the New Medan Caldera niche, to local extinction. This is under the assumption that the cavebug was the predator's primary target for nutrition, but hydroflouric acid burns and the ingestion of the acid during feeding killed off the entire local population.