Coral Cish

Over millions of years, a lineage of the Carpotesta Devoratori split off, becoming the Coral Cish. Coral Cishes are more closely related to the Siluro, another descendant of the Carpotesta Devoratori, than the Protodevorati, though still incapable of breeding with them. The Coral Cish have succeeded in conquering an environment that none of its relatives have traveled to: the surface of the LadyM ocean and the coasts, albeit only at night. Coral Cish have many adaptations that help them in their new environment. First, they have evolved gill slits from their ancestor's simple nostrils. These new orifices are lined with hair-like structures derived from Carpotesta bait cells which are used to catch particles, such as viruses or food. Second, their fins have adjusted for life in the shallows, having different proportions than their scavenging ancestors. Third, they have adapted to be generalist feeders by stiffening their four tentacles with cartilage, turning them into four "jaws" used for feeding. Along with this, the Coral Cish has separated its digestive tract into three parts: its "mouth", its stomach, and a throat connecting the two. Cish have two methods of feeding: Gulp Feeding, where the Cish gulps down water and filters out food using its gills, and Nipping, where the Cish uses pressure to break up food. The Coral Cish's bright colors indicate the invisible fourth adaptation: Coral Cish have evolved actual brains and pinhole eyes, leading to the first social behavior on Sagan 4. Cish school together, nipping at the same food over and over again in turns until the food is gone. Some primitive play has also been observed in Coral Cish, which may indicate some greater intelligence in this otherwise simple-looking creature.

During the day, Coral Cish live in the twilight zone, albeit not feeding much. At night, however, Coral Cish rise with other residents of the deep. They are stealthy, well-hidden fauna, which usually only show up in the epipelagic zone at night, and even then mostly the lower reaches. Exact movement patterns vary so much among individuals that it's impossible to predict the depth of Coral Cish on a population level. They may sporadically show up at one depth, rapidly gulp in food, and then disappear to the lower reaches, largely evading predators. Once the sun rises, however, most Coral Cish return to the deep, waiting for the sun to set again. However, a small population of Cish remains in the deeper parts of the sunlight zone, even venturing to tropical coasts or the surface of the ocean on some occasions. Because of their constant shifting between different depths, Coral Cish do not have bioluminescence like their ancestors.