Knucklehead Plentscraper
Named for its most noticeable feature, the Knucklehead Plentscraper has significantly modified its head and first three body segments. This has resulted in a "neck" which allows them to slide their heads back and forth across food sources without having to move their entire body as well as making them better able to feed on flora without first having to climb on it. While the second and third segments have lost their spikes and eye-spots, both features have been retained on the first segment. The first segment's eye-spots have been refined into pin-hole eyes like those on the head which allow the knucklehead plentscraper a view both in front and behind itself. This, along with their greater mobility and more active lifestyle allows them to better avoid predators like the dancerplent.
Less obvious though still significant is their development of a joint at the base of their traction spikes. Movement in these limbs is almost entirely lateral and used to grasp and release the substrate. Forward motion is powered by up and down undulation of the body. Although they are still rather slow this adaptation makes them faster then their ancestor and allows them to flee from predators if they are able to spot them in time. The flexible cuticle between exoskeleton segments is visible when the body joints are fully extended. This cuticle helps to prevent water loss and is dotted with both reproductive pores and breathing spiracles.
Unlike their ancestor, which is primarily photosynthetic knucklehead plentscrapers are primarily heterotrophic. This allows them to both grow and move faster than the plentscraper. Photosynthesis still provides them with supplemental oxygen, and in times of starvation they can enter a state of torpor where it serves as their only food source. Larva take roughly three weeks to mature and individuals can live up to two years. Temperatures below freezing trigger hibernation, though this is rare in the subtropical portion of their range.