Colony Grappler

As the grappler’s range continued to expand towards the surface, they came across more colony crystal stands. This led to a species that specializes in living within the caustic enzyme soup that surrounds colony crystal stands. The colony grappler spends much of its life within colony crystal stands, feeding on pathogens and cells killed by its caustic surroundings. Like its ancestor, it can only eat small cells due to its hunting method. An acquisition of photosynthetic genes from adoralgae DNA via horizontal gene transfer from its prey has resulted in the reemergence of a green, photosynthetic pigment. However, this pigment only provides a minor boost to surface-dwelling populations, as the colony grappler’s black cell wall blocks most light entering the organism.