#discback

[cydork]

Discbacks (also known colloquially to humans as snurtles) are a livestock “animal” kept by Karraguls for their nutritious eggs. They’re a bit like giant salmon roe.

They are also kept as pets sometimes, and kids will often carve or paint their shells with patterns (this does not hurt them).

[cydork]

@eisly​ asked what kind of patterns would be drawn on these fellows, and I got a bit carried away! Popular patterns are radial or spiral, involving glued on items such as crystals, rocks, or shells from smaller discbacks, as well as staining the shell with pigments! If decor is used, it’s more common to carve out a divot and glue it inside, so that it is flush with the shell and has less chance of being knocked off when they trundle around.

The other images are a Karragul child holding their disgruntled pet (right), and a temporary holding pen (bottom). Discbacks are pretty bad at moving over anything other than a flat surface, especially when not buoyed up by water, so even a short barrier is enough to contain them.

[cydork]

hi! limpets suction to rocks similar to snurdles, and they survive by suctioning water in with them and slowly breathing that until the tide comes back. perhaps something similar?

Yeah, limpets were a big inspo in their creation! Limpets have gills though, and unfortunately snurtles have lungs so they can’t rely on that method. Though as I said in the other post, I’m considering them being able to breathe a good amount through their skin, bc potential suffocation does seem a pretty big downside to their strategy 😔