Flora:Kkui Plant

Information
The Kkui Plant is a species of cycad that roam the dangerous, ancient, tropical lava tubes of  Vuunega. They are mobile, and are actually quite swift and agile. Their roots are adapted into leg-like extensions, while their poisonous thorn-covered leaves are at their "head" end. Eventually, their posteriors bloom into a sweet-smelling flower, as well. They are carnivorous, and are vicious hunters.

Evolutionary Path & Life Cycle
The Kkui Plant has become heavily adapted to growing and surviving in the dark lava tubes. Long ago, seeds of the Kkui's ancestors fell into old lava tubes, and from here, they slowly evolved into an entirely new specimen.

There is little light in these lava tubes, and the Kkuis begin life as seedlings near an entrance into the lava pool. They quickly germinate, and grow into small sprouts. These sprouts already have the leg-like mobile roots required to get them further into the cave, where they are safe from various predators who would see them in the light. They scurry deeper into the dark caverns.

Their ultimate destination is down at an underground river, lake, or pool, deep in these caverns, where no light exists. With no light, the Kkui is required to get its nutrients in some other way -- and they choose to get it through catching live prey. Using their thorn-covered leaves, they can quickly snatch prey, piercing its skin with their thorns, which contain powerful toxins to kill their prey instantly. Two of their main prey animals are the Vateg and the Omfrafa.

The Kkui choose these areas near the underground water sources not only for easiness of finding food (as they are blind, and have to use hair-like extensions off of their main stalk-body to sense vibrations), but they also stand within the calmer pools in order to absorb water to keep alive.

Once they reach full maturity, they begin the trek back to the first entrance into the caverns that they can find. Like other plants, they can feel the rays of the light on their leaves, and once they sense this, they begin to crawl up to the rim. Depending on the deepness of the cavern, this can take several hours. However, once they reach the rim, they will root themselves permanently to the area, and then curl themselves into a U-shape, and let both their leaves and flower extend towards the sky. From here, local pollenators can pollenate the plants. The plants are hermaphroditic, possessing both sex organs; however, they are incapable of pollinating themselves, and this is the job of the pollenators.

Once pollenated, the flower withers and dies, using its energy instead to generate a number of seeds, which when grown enough, become two heavy for their stalks, and snap off, falling back into the caverns to start anew. The adults' will remain on the rim for up to 7 years, before finally withering and dying.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Unranked: (Plastids surrounded by two membranes) Kingdom: Plantae (Plants) Subkingdom: Embryophyta (Land Plants) Infrakingdom: Embryophytes (Possess specialized tissues for conducting water) Superdivision: Spermatophyta (Seed-Producing Plants) Division: Cycadophyta (Cycads) Class: Cycadopsida (Cycads) Order: Cycadales (Cycads) Family: Zamiaceae (Superficially Fern or Palm-like Cycads) Subfamily: Unspecified (Mobile Cycads) Infrafamily: Unspecified (Carnivorous Cycads) Genus: Unspecified (Kkui Plants & their closest relatives) Species: Unspecified (Kkui Plant) Binominal Name: --

Statistics
Species Type:

Cold-blooded Amphibious Reptilian

Lifestyle:

Social Predator

Hunt/Forage Success Rate:

60% Hunt (80% success rate), 40% Photosynthesis (99.7% success rate during day, 5% success rate during night)

Armor:

Aurix possess very little natural armor, namely consisting of a leathery neck plate across the top of their neck (but not the lower section), and shark-like dermal denticles which cover their entire body as a type of scaling. These dermal denticles are also strengthened in order to support and anchor more powerful swimming muscles throughout the body, and thereby serve a dual purpose in this fashion. Besides this, the Aurix have yet to truly reach sapience. Due to their lower amounts of armor, they can die moderately easy when an attack gets through their offenses and defenses.

Defenses:

Aurix possess electroplaques stored in their tails, which produce a low amp voltage capable of causing both dizzying discomfort and weak migraines able to cause incapacitation to terrestrial foes as well as being capable of dealing actual physical harm to their more aquatic opponents. They also possess weak poisonous skin and decent poison resistance, as well as their bony skeleton, which has been strengthened by thicker bones, chiefly in the ribs and legs. They also possess both a leathery neck plate and dermal denticles, which are described above. They also possess a skin coloring to help them blend in with the murky swamp waters. Despite these defenses being relatively weak, they can use their natural intelligence to escape harm, as well as their amphibious habits.

Weapons:

Aurix possess a row of cnidocytes on either side of all four of their tentacle-arms which possess weak neurotoxin to incapacitate smaller prey or creatures with thin skin. They also possess a radula which usually lies within a tiny "nook" deep within their split jaw mouths; when used, it sticks out this tongue and whips it around, trying to saw against chitinous armors, although with less success as it did when the species possessed their ancient proboscis. However, this weapon has fallen into rapid disuse due wholly to their stomachs now possessing enough acidic content to successfully digest chitin, allowing them to just swallow their armored prey (however, they also no longer feed on any species of arthropods, and therefore do not need this evolution, and may soon lose it). As mentioned earlier, they can also use their electroplaques to stun or even kill some prey. Another weapon they possess a large bone scythe at the tip of their tails, which possesses a hollow center in order to release venom by way of a venom sac located at its base. Another weapon they possess is a spitting organ, which they use to fire a projectile venom attack from their mouths at foes, sometimes from the safety of their watery homes, like some kind of poisonous archer fish. The more recent addition to the Aurum's arsenal is elongated claws on its second pair of tentacle-arms; these are used to rake at prey (generally, Grendons, but also the occasional Quirlax) during hunts, or even at foes during fights. The final weapon they possess is the split jaw mouth itself, which is actually separated into four jaws, which can open wider than a regular mouth to bite huge chunks of meat from foes and prey. This mouth is filled with a large complement of very sharp teeth, which are used for tearing rather than chewing; this means the Aurix, when feeding, typically tear large chunks off of prey, and then set this down, and tear it into smaller chunks that will successfully glide down their esophagus.

Tools:

Two pairs of tentacle-arms, capable of simple manipulation of objects, or for wrapping around prey. The first pair of these tentacle-arms possess a split tentacle style of hand (which is formed when the tentacle-arm splits into four or five shorter tentacles, which are used like makeshift, yet far more flexible, fingers), designed to allow further manipulation of objects. The second pair possesses hunter's claws, which are long and slender; they are used for raking against foes and prey alike. However, they are also capable of a little manipulation.

Method of Eating:

Grab prey with tentacles, using split-tentacles, if needed, hunter's claws to hold on. Certain prey is incapacitated by injecting them with cnidocytes that line the arms. Other prey that possess hard chiton shells incapable of either fitting the mouth entirely around or too tough to crack, use of radula to wear through armor is not uncommon. Bring prey to split jaw mouth and tear off large chunks of meat off of prey. If chunk is too large to immediately swallow, can either set food down and tear smaller chunks off until entire thing will fit down the esophagus, or use smaller, inner teeth (adapted from proboscis barbs they once had) to tear and chew the meat until it is in small enough chunks to fit safely down the esophagus and into the stomach, where digestion begins. After being processed within the acids of the stomach, it descends into the intestine, where nutrients are partially digested by the body, with wasted remnants excreted out the anus on the opposite end.

Reproductive Rate:

Sexual maturity is reached after 5 years. Can reproduce any amount of times during their lifetime.

Gestation:

3.5 weeks then lays eggs -- eggs are laid in nests dug out of sand, dirt, and/or mud and formed into a shallow bowl shape through the use of natural enzymes excreted through their cloaca, combined with the processes of their ptchocyst nematocysts, which when combined work like a type of glue to hold their nests together (the ptchocyst works as a waterproofing seal). These nests are built within the shallows of their swampy home, as the eggs still need the air to breathe, as an Aurix cannot breathe underwater forever, and therefore the eggs still need to remain above the surface of the stagnant lake.

Offspring Incubation:

4 weeks until egg hatches after being laid.

Number of Offspring: 20 seeds per cluster

Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity):

48% -- the Aurix are a very intelligent species, and have learned to take care of their young by laying the eggs in nests, which the mother then lays on, only leaving the nests during the incubation period in order to defecate (as they do not want the smell of their fecal matter to lead possible predators back to the nest). The males spend their time during incubation periods hunting for food, bringing typically a little over half of the food back for their mate awaiting on the nest (Aurix mate for life). After hatching, the young remain in the nest for 2 weeks before learning how to walk, at which point they follow their parents around and play with each other. After 3 weeks they learn how to swim. Most deaths occur before this stage, and typically in first-time mothers or when they leave the nests to release waste elsewhere, during which times egg thieves may advance on the nests occassionally and rob them.

Singular/Plural/Possessive: Aurum/Aurix/Aurixan