Southern Colony Crystal

As competition ramped up along the temperate and tropical coasts of east Glicker, the colony crystal expanded southwards into Darwin's polar region. However, they were poorly suited to their new environment, as the long, cold winters did not bode well for the photosynthetic organism. To make matters worse, food is scarce during the winter, as most species undergo hibernation or die off in massive numbers over the long night. The species first deviated from its ancestor on the border between Darwin's east temperate and polar coasts, where specimens began to develop long-lasting spores that can survive the winter. With this single adaptation, they began to penetrate deep into the polar coast. Further into their evolution, the way they grew changed significantly.

As soon as the winter ends and the water starts to warm from the emerging sun, the long-lasting spores of the southern colony crystal will germinate. However, instead of gradually growing outwards and producing both fungal and photosynthetic biomass simultaneously, it will grow at an explosive rate, making the most of the massive amounts of dead south polar photosagnia, southern leafstars, and polar colony crystals that accumulated on the sea floor over the winter. Instead of producing both crystal and fungal growth, it will initially only produce fungal growth, making the most of the decaying matter that surrounds it. Once the sea floor has been cleaned of the dead the southern colony crystal will start to grow photosynthetic crystals, starting with a central 30-centimeter tall crystal. After the primary crystal has grown, many smaller, secondary crystals will grow around it. Because of the lack of detritus at this stage of their lives, the polar colony crystal typically grows more crystals than their ancestor. These crystals cluster around the center of the mycelial network. The sea floor rapidly became covered in the interlocking mycelia of the southern colony crystal, transforming it into a labyrinth of crystal and mycelium. However, when the winter inevitably returns, the southern colony crystal's solar food source will wane, and they will slowly starve to death. It is at this time when the southern colony crystal reproduces, releasing their spores en masse in their final days. Over the winter, these spores will drift about the water column and rest on the sea floor. When the next spring comes, the cycle begins anew.