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Jellybug Anatomy Overview

Crest. Highly variable between individuals, but almost always has two main points - one on the nose and one on the back of the head. The crest is an exposed part of the mesoskeleton. Crests are for display rather than fighting.

Eyes. Jellybug eyes are large and adapted to low-light environments. They have two centers of acuity (meaning their vision has two focal points) stacked on top of each other, leading to their pupils being shaped like an 8 or a peanut. The second diagram displays how the shape of the pupils changes in high and low light environments. For the most part just a Jellybug's iris is visible, but the yellow sclera can show with extreme eye movement.

Electroreceptors. Jellybugs have small divots on their chins that house electroreceptors.

Display fangs. While display fangs can be used to hunt or as weapons, they are less durable than the other teeth or radula (see below), and are mostly used for reproductive purposes. These fangs can vary quite a bit in length between individuals.

Mask. Formed by a stiff ridge of quills on a thin layer of skin around the face. The mask acts like a sonar dish, aiding in hearing. It also covers the ear canal, keeping it safe from debris.

Soft quills. Though still pokey, the soft quills are more flexible, but not as strong as the skeletal quills (see below). Soft quills vary in length, amount, and density between individuals, and are usually present of the mask/face, neck, chest, and haunches. These quills are hollow and quite light. They can be shed (or can be plucked) and regrow like hair or feathers.

Skeletal quills. Another exposed part of the mesoskeleton, skeletal quills are stiffer and stronger than soft quills. They can be raised and lowered like the fur of a cat. Exact placement of skeletal quills varies between individuals, but always emerge along the spine, usually behind the shoulders and at the base of the tail.

Hands. Three digits - 2 fingers and a thumb.

Front feet. Five digits - 4 toes and one sickle claw.

Back feet. Four digits - 4 toes.

Pneumostomes. A Jellybug's airways. They have 6 on the neck, 8 on the flank, and 10 on the tail - mirrored. The pneumostomes open to a long tube-like lung. They can be consciously controlled individually, and are able to make a wide array of sounds, even multiple at once.

Primordial pouch. A soft spot on the belly where fat deposits and the reproductive organs are. This is what causes that line on Jellybug’s sides. The edge of the mesoskeleton often creates a faint line in contrast to where the primordial pouch sticks out.

Retractable claws. Jellybugs have large, hooked retractable claws on their feet. The sickle claw and claws on the hands are not retractable.

Paw pad. There is a squishy, yet tough pad on the bottom of Jellybugs' feet. There are no pads on the hands or the sickle claw digit.

Blood. The blood and flesh is a dark blue-black. When concentrated (and especially when fresh) it is very dark, and when more spread out it appears bluer. It dries down dark grey-black.

Mouth

Jellybugs have few teeth. Just display fangs, canines and incisors, which are primarily used for display and catching prey, respectively. Very little chewing is done with the fangs. Instead, a snail-like radula is used to process food. It is strong enough to crush small hard-shelled creatures whole.

Fig 1. A diagram of the lower mandibular bones.

Fig 2. A diagram on the lower mandibular bones with radula and related muscles attached.

Fig 3. A diagram of the upper mandibles and skull.

Fig 4. A diagram of the upper mandibles and skull with plate attached.

Mesoskeleton

Jellybugs have quite the bizarre skeletal structure. They essentially have an exoskeleton, and then have soft flesh on top of that. This is called the mesoskeleton.

The structure is hollow and covers most of their bodies. In Jellybugs, their musculature and most of their vital organs are contained inside it. It is flexible and segmented like an arthropod’s exoskeleton, allowing for a wide range of movement.

There are a few spots on the body the mesoskeleton does not cover:

A few small patches on the face where the eyes and ears poke through (and divots where the electroreceptors on the chin poke through, but these are miniscule).

An open spot on the belly, where the primordial pouch is.

Much of the tail, which is squishy and flexible.

A lateral line running all the way down the body, with periodic fissures. This is where the oxygen captured through the pneumostomes is distributed through the body.

The claws, horns, and skeletal quills are extrusions of the mesoskeleton exposed beyond the skin. The quills formed in this way are markedly stronger than other quills - both in structure and musculature. A jellybug can lift things off of themself slightly using these quills. Though, their range of motion is less than the quills on the mane. All of the exposed sections of mesoskeleton are a dull blue-teal which can vary in color slightly between individuals.

Molting, Scarring, and Wounds

Like arthropods, Jellybugs' insides grow gradually, but the skeleton is static until molting, when a new, larger skeleton is exposed. Now, you may be asking, “Meta, how the hell does that work when they’ve got skin on top?”

This is a very good question. The answer is: as the top (older) layer of the mesoskeleton detaches from the lower (newer) layer below, it is absorbed into the skin and recycled. The sections of the skeleton that are exposed molt as bugs do, may need to be scrubbed to remove molts. The excess material can then be washed and eaten, though this is only done in some cultures (and even then, sometimes only as part of a ritual) and others view it as strange or gross.

Because the mesoskeleton regrows with every molt, doing permanent damage to the mesoskeleton is actually pretty difficult. Even a broken limb that heals improperly will typically slowly shift back into the proper place given enough molts (though it still hurts like hell and may take a decade or so, so it’s definitely best to splint that leg). So, a mesoskeleton will rarely actually scar. The damage will stay as long as it takes to re-grow, then will be gone. However, the skin above the mesoskeleton will scar. Jellybugs have a very robust immune system, and pretty swift healing, so most scars will be fairly small compared to the original wound, and typically fade with time. However, there are wounds that will fuck up a Jellybug pretty good.

[Content warning for the rest of this section: graphic descriptions of wounds.]

Any wound that actually exposes the mesoskeleton is bad news. It causes the mesoskeleton to molt improperly, and if left untreated can lead to degloving around the wound due to molts. This will thus cause the wound to slowly grow over time. Also, it’s just kind of bad for parts of the skeleton that aren’t supposed to be exposed, to be exposed. It may dry out, become infected or even necrotic. Generally, given enough time infection, necrosis or bloodloss will kill an individual if an exposed mesoskeleton is not treated. This is most common with amputations, explosion wounds, degloving, or other exceptionally deep or large wounds. Puncture wounds or thin lacerations that expose the mesoskeleton can usually close up over top the skeleton and do not cause these problems. To treat an exposed skeleton, you just make it not exposed with a skin transplant or in a pinch, a synthetic transplant.

Amputations are also not great because at a certain point, even with a regrowing exoskeleton, the limb will just not grow back. The wound can heal though, and an amputee should be able to live an otherwise normal life. When sections of the mask are damaged/removed though, the healing process must be carefully managed. Because the skin is so thin, the wound will often close before the mask fully regrows, leading to an exposed ear. This makes an individual much more sensitive to sounds close to their face, but also makes it harder for them to hear further away or pinpoint the direction a sound is coming from. Additionally, they are more prone to infections and debris getting in the ear canal. To combat this during healing, the wound is often very carefully re-opened periodically, to encourage more tissue to grow. This doesn't always result in a full regrowth of the mask, though. In the modern era, individuals with missing or damaged masks usually just get prosthetics to safely cover the ear canal. Sometimes these are carefully designed to recreate the individual’s original mask, sometimes they’re fairly plain and just painted, and sometimes they’re intricately or vividly decorated. In history (and rare cases in the modern era) it was most common to just wrap a bit of fabric around your head like a bonnet or a handkerchief to keep debris out. This is pretty conspicuous in the modern era, but in the past these kinds of coverings were fairly common.

Coloration

Jellybugs are generally some shade of grey. They can be warm-hued, cool-hued, light or dark - even white or black. Their markings are usually vertical stripes of some form, ex. tiger stripes, zebra stripes, banding, or even broken-up spots. Additionally, their mask (face) usually has striking high-contrast markings. Some individuals have quills that are striped or tipped with different colors, causing a ticked/agouti or variegated appearance.

However, there are certainly exceptions. Erythrism is a mutation that causes them to appear much redder than usual, which is to say, bright fucking orange. Jokes aside, erythric individuals can range from dark mahogany to so light they’re practically peach-colored. Additionally they’re usually some shade of orange, but when pigment clusters together (such as in darker markings) they can be red or even pink! Mild erythrism is much more common and causes individuals to be brown.

A leftover from an ancient ice age, jellybugs have a latent gene that causes white coloration. This can range from small white patches to most of the body being white. Often this gene will vary with the seasons, causing an individual to have less or no white markings during the warm mild season, and gain white markings every stormy season (sometimes regardless of what the weather is actually doing around them). Additionally, certain conditions can cause the gene to randomly trigger or go away later in life.

Jellybug eyes can be amber/yellow, green, or blue, of varying intensities and values. Some ambers are so dark they look red or bronzey, while some blues are so light they look silver, etc. Their scleras are usually some shade of yellow, but erythrism can cause them to be orange or pink. Erythrism doesn't always affect iris color, but if it does, it usually results in a red or pink iris.

Above: examples of color, marking, and crest variation (quills can vary as well, I was just too lazy to redraw them all here).

Reproduction

Unfortunately we have to talk about sex now. Live asexual reaction.

Jellybugs are hermaphroditic, but have something like secondary sex characteristics. Due to hormonal differences, Jellybugs generally fall into one of two groups: crowns and cradles.

Crowns typically grow larger (but there are many exceptions, which we’ll talk about later) and have larger crests, quills, and sickle claws. They will experience a rut, where when they molt the new exposed exoskeleton will be a vibrant, iridescent color. They often experience heightened aggression at this time. In ancient times, they would fight for reproductive rights, and guard the nesting site as well as their chosen cradle while their young grew. They also grow a pouch of nutrient-rich jelly after breeding, which in ancient times was used to feed their young and mates. In the modern era what it's used for, if anything, varies culture to culture.

Cradles typically stay rather small, and their crests are smaller and less intricate than crowns’. Their crests stay a dull teal throughout their lifetimes. They do not experience a rut or anything similar, and are usually not aggressive.

Now, for the fun part: exceptions. Because sex is controlled entirely by hormones, it’s very easy for things to stray out of the binary. An individual's sex can randomly change for seemingly no reason even as an adult. Multiple times in their life, even! A hormonal imbalance can cause traits from either sex to appear in one individual at the same time as well. Additionally, modern hormone treatments can quite quickly change a Jellybug’s sex, and can be just as easily reversed. Also individual variation and nature vs. nurture is a huge thing, so an individual's temperament rarely actually aligns with the expectation of their sex.

Not that there’s much expectation at all. Very few jellybug cultures really give a shit about sex. In fact, in most of them there is no concept of gender, and sex is considered private information you would keep to yourself and partners. Though, a jellybugs’ sec affects their scent, so one can typically figure that out if they really try, but most just ignore it out of politeness.

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