#it's caz

[metamorphic-park]

OHOHO HOW D'YOU LIKE ME NOW, REX

anyway. those pharyngeal jaws haven't gone anywhere except out. with the seas getting ever shallower and rockier, our metamorph has taken to hiding among rocks and luring prey towards it, using feelers that are looking more and more like delicious seaweed. Its thick fins let it rest on the ground, unmoving.

its four smallest eyes have all but withered away uselessly, but its four main ones are getting more specialised every day. now it can see fish coming towards it in detail that would startle its ancestors (though it still wouldn't be allowed to drive).

when the weather turns cold and the smaller fish migrate, it's still perfectly capable of swimming around and using its beak to crack shellfish, and to dig out creatures hiding in the sand (think lungfish and whatnot).

[metamorphic-park]

PHEW HERE'S A THING

The metamorph has gotten used to a life of snatching shellfish and other creatures from the bottom of the shallowing sea. Its beak now pushes out and down, the better to grab things directly underneath it, my dear. Its tendrils now hang down towards its shellfish luncheon. This frees up the light-sensitive pits to look around, keeping an eye out for trouble or things to bump into.

And there is a bit of trouble evolving around it, so the metamorph has had to get a bit more agile. Its fins still let it 'hover' above its prey, cuttlefish-style, but new muscle groups in four points along its body let it control a bit more smoothly, allowing for quick turns to fwip away from anything trying to eat it.

What else? Well, it's all pink and gross and veiny and probably can't go forwards in a straight line very fast. Tune in next Tuesday to see how much grosser it can get!

[metamorphic-park]

IT'S METAMORPHIN TIME

Century 1: life has begun under the sea. The first morph is a creepy little leech thing that's carved out a niche in carving bits off larger fish. It's not yet evolved anything as fancy as eyes; instead, it senses the movement of its prey, then latches on with its two large serrated tooth-plates and goes to town.

It's slow and clumsy in movement, but that's okay, because so is everything else. It's century one. They'll compete each other into decent fins and stuff soon enough.