Twilight Ferrumcarcer

With the lack of favorable growing sites in Wright, the ferrumcarcer's population has been proven to be sparse and hard to find. This, however, changed when some ferrumcarcer spread into deeper waters. Some individuals came across manganese nodules, which served as an oxide-rich oasis in a metal-poor environment. Populations around these nodules exploded as these deepwater ferrumcarcers evolved to become the twilight ferrumcarcer.

While seemingly identical to the ferrumcarcer, the twilight ferrumcarcer's behavior is far different from that of its ancestor. Firstly, they now can metabolize manganese oxides, allowing them to make the most out of the manganese nodules they inhabit. Because no nutrition can be derived from consuming oxides, the twilight ferrumcarcer will feed on any nonliving organic matter it comes in contact with. Another adaptation stems from the sparse distribution of potential growing locations. When a manganese nodule or ore patch is depleted of oxides, the twilight ferrumcarcer will reproduce sexually instead of asexually. This is achieved by two individuals producing male and female gametes, which will swim through the water. When two gametes of the opposite sex come across each other, they will fuse and form an auxospore. This auxospore will remain dormant as it drifts through the dark depths of the twilight zone. Once it comes into contact with a suitable growing location, the auxospore will germinate into a new twilight ferrumcarcer, where it will begin to reproduce asexually as it feasts on the oxides that make up its new home.