Riversticker

Split off from the Thikasticker, the Riversticker began to feed on Violetweed and, soon, Violetmellow as well. It became tolerant of freshwater environments by gaining the ability to store salt in its fat for later use. Although descended from a purely saltwater species, those living in the brackish and saltwater environments are the same as the freshwater population in terms of salt storage and make use of salt-ejecting glands to control salinity. As a result, they can theoretically travel freely between saltwater and freshwater parts of their range. It feeds on the new organisms it consumes the same way as it scavenges, by pulling them apart and moving the pieces to a stomach-like organ in its center using its locomotory baits. In the absence of much fauna upstream, it readily scavenges dead members of its own species, though it is not dependant on meat and can survive only on sunlight and flora. Like its ancestor, it is literally fat and full of lipids, it reproduces by releasing a plume of gametes from its underside when it finds a suitable mate, and it has a brief free-swimming Leafstar-like larval stage.