Grazestar

With the rise and abundance of rooted leafstars, a population of predestars split off to exploit them specifically. The grazestar is physically very similar to its ancestor, but it spends most of its time on the ocean floor; as a result, its arms are used less for swimming and more for walking. It has a tripodal gait, as it keeps its head close to the ground to search for and consume food, making it less efficient to attempt to use its anal arm. Still, the fingers at the ends of each arm are webbed, helping it to move when it does occasionally swim. It has developed a ring of simple eyes around its face, which let it watch for predators above and to the sides and scan for food as it moves along. It has adopted a sandy coloration to disguise itself against the sediment.

The grazestar’s mouth has rows of keratinous spines derived from its existing sensory baits; after initially sucking in a meal by turning its mouth patch inside-out, it moves these back and forth to grind up the meal for easier diffusion into its cells. As this is an excellent food resource, it no longer has much need for filter feeding and thus adults lack filter baits on their arms.

To reduce the energy cost of reproduction, the grazestar has developed primitive eggs. Developing grazestars, instead of staying inside the mother, are essentially released in packets of cells with a yolk-like substance to feed on. Hatchlings are radially symmetric and retain filter baits; as they mature, their innards develop and their anal arm differentiates from the others, turning them bilateral. Like its ancestor, the grazestar will mate with any individual it comes across with 50% success, with the two individuals linking their anal arms together using their anal fingers in order to do the deed.