Creature:Aurum

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Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Animals with Notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Series: Amniota (Animals possessing amniotic eggs) Class: Sauropsida (Reptiles) Subclass: Anapsida (Reptiles without fenestrae) Superorder: Chlorosauridae "Green Lizard" (Lizards with chloroplastic buds) Order: Therocoelognathus "Beast with Hollow Jaw" Family: Tentacleiosaurus "Tentacle Lizard" (Chlorosaurs possessing tentacles) Genus: Merostomavenator "Merostomata Hunter" (Tentacleiosaurs which eat Merostomatans) Species: Dryptocaudia "Wounding Tail" (Possessing scythe-like non-venomous bone stinger; last of the Merostomavenator line) Binominal Name: Merostomavenator dryptocaudia

Statistics
Species Type: Cold-blooded Terrestrial Reptilian Lifestyle: Social Predator Hunt/Forage Success Rate: 60% Hunt (80% success rate), 40% Photosynthesis (100% success rate) Armor: Aurix do not possess any natural armor, and have yet to reach sapience. Due to their lack of armor, they tend to die somewhat easily when actually attacked. 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 actually physical harm to their more aquatic opponents. They also possess weakly poisonous skin and slight poison resistance, as well as their bony skeleton. Despite these defenses being really weak, they can use their natural intelligence to escape harm. 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. They also possess a radula which usually lies within a tiny "nook" beyond their tusked trap 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 Aurix possessed their proboscis. However, this weapon has fallen into rapid disuse due wholly to their stomachs finally possessing enough acidic content to successfully digest chitin, allowing them to just swallow their armored prey. The final weapon they possess is the tusked trap mouth itself, which sports three large tusk-like teeth which close together in a sort of "trap" (hence the name) to successfully tear off chunks of meat from opponents and prey, and is filled with many smaller teeth within the confines of the mouth, for use of chewing food. 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 essentially instead of fingers it possesses smaller tentacles), designed to allow further manipulation of objects. Method of Eating: Grab prey with tentacles and inject cnidocytes into prey (or use radula if the prey has chitinous armor and too large to fit entirely in mouth). Bring hopefully incapacitated prey to tusked trap and tear off chunks of meat off of prey and push said meat further into mouth. Inner teeth (adapted from proboscis barbs they once had) then tear and chew the meat until it is in small enough chunks to fit safely down the esophagus 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 1 year. Can reproduce twice during their lifetimes -- typically these happen once at 2 years old and again at 5 years old, after which they die (much in the way a salmon does). Gestation: 3.5 weeks then lays eggs -- eggs are laid in nests dug out of sand and/or dirt and formed into a shallow bowl shape through the use of natural enzymes excreted through their cloaca, which they use like a type of glue to hold their nests together. Offspring Incubation: 4 weeks until egg hatches after being laid. Number of Offspring: 10 per litter Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity): 45% -- 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 than 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. 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 advance on the nests occassionally and rob them. Plural/Singular/Possessive: Aurum/Aurix/Aurixan

Physiology
Below in this next section, you will find information on the Aurix's physical appearance, and explanations of things from their skeleton all the way to each of their senses.

Skeleton


The Aurix possess a simple skeletal structure, capable of simple abuse without breaking. This however, is not to say that their skeletal structure is brittle.

The Aurix skeleton is typical of a regular-old creature would have. The skeleton consists of 28 vertebrae from the neck to the end of the tail/beginning of the scythe stinger, with only two vertebrae in the neck, nine making up the ribcage, and seventeen in the tail. The tentacle-arms do not possess a single bone within them, as the Aurix rely strictly on muscles to move their manipulators.

The skull however, is worth mention. It had for millennia been long, consisting of two seperate bones which had eventually fused to strengthen both, which were the skull itself and the proboscis, used in the Aurix's old hemophagic tendencies. Eventually after many many centuries of evolution, the proboscis bone melted away, leaving a gargantuan hole in the front of the skull, where a mouth formed instead. This mouth, known as a razor gullet, was full of twelve razor-sharp teeth, which had actually been adapted barbs off the proboscis, that had flanked the proboscis to help aid in battle. This too has melted away however, leading to a far more useful tusked trap mouth, which sits in roughly the same hollow spot. This large hollow remains to some extent however, leading to them still being included in the Therocoelognathus genus. Another point of interest is the eyes, which are set into eye socket bones, but curiously, these are not attached to the skull at all and instead float within the fleshy eyestalks which extend outwards, up, and forward from the skull itself.

Aurix walk bipedally, walking on two legs that extend straight down due to a bird-hip style pelvis, which they are balanced upon by their tentacle-arms and tail, although the tail now typically extends over their heads much like a scorpion's. These feet are very much like miniature Tyrannosaurus' feet, and possess very little climbing ability, although they are capable of weak climbing by using their tentacle-arms to wrap around tree branches or other things and then digging their toes into whatever's around and pushing themselves up with their legs while pulling themselves up with their feet. It is interesting to note that they still possess both pelvic and anal fins, which are leftover remnants from their ancient seafaring ancestors.

The tail bones are designed to allow the tail to comfortably rest while curled over the top of the head, which comes to a dangerous end found in the form of a curved and somewhat sharp extended bone stinger. This bone is not hollow as one might think, and therefore does not sport venom, but is rather used for slashing and stabbing. The tail has become rather stiff and inflexible in most directions in order to allow the tail to sting forward more powerfully, but is capable of being uncurled and held flat. This is typically held in this manner during swimming.

Musculatory System
The Aurix musculatory system is far from fancy or spectacular. Typical muscles criss-cross areas, although more muscles inhabit the mouth than your typical creature, from a time when they possessed movable teeth used to push food down into the esophagus (many of these muscles are now unused and atrophied). Muscles exist that are more powerful in the tail, and although once used for their main propulsion system through water, it is now typically all used for a powerful strike in their bone scythe stingers, which have become their main line of offense.

Circulatory System
The Aurix circulatory system is also fairly uninteresting, although it should be noted that they possess both full-fledged lungs and weaker gills, which typically remain closed, as Aurix are not often found in water. These gills however stem from their times as fish, and allow them highly extended time underwater, although they tend to need to gulp down large breaths of air anyhow due to the point that these gills have grown weak over their years as terrestrial creatures, and now do not allow enough oxygen into their system during their breathing attempts to allow them much activity, as they were last in full use when the Aurix were only cat-sized.

Brain & Nerve Center
The Aurix have become extremely intelligent over time, with the approximate intelligence of a dolphin. Although they had long spent their time in the protection of schools, and then in packs known as cetes, they have since separated into even more family-oriented pods, ruled by an alpha male and alpha female. These groups, however, are capable of becoming significantly larger than the old cetes, with the cetes only being able to contain 30 members while the batteries (the new term for a pod of Aurix) can now hold up to 50 members. Although they once held colonies, first in a porous rock in the Kelp Forest, then in the coral tethers beneath the corals of the Coral Reef, and finally upon a horse-sized Titan Ray swimming the oceans around the Coral Reef, they eventually worked their way into a large Tidal Pool area close to shore, where they hadn't possessed a colony in some time. They try to protect their young as well as other members with their lives, and are less likely to leave their old, sick, and dying behind, and instead are likely to stay as a pod and protect them by driving off the would-be predators. They have also recently begun protecting their deceased from the various brilliantly-colored Featherhead Gulls that roam the beach that makes up their home.

Digestive System
The digestive system are pretty typical of an animal, although the Aurix possess only a stomach and one set of intestines. They also possess a Blood Processor, not found in many species on other worlds, which is specifically designed to process all the nutrients out of a strictly-blood diet. This works essentially in the way an appendix does, which processes the chitin armor of arthropods. The stomach acids have grown powerful enough to properly process chitin, although are still incapable of processing metals like the Human's stomach can. The intestine works like a big intestine, and is filled with various microorganisms which help break down nutrients and absorb them into the body. The Aurix are known for feeding exclusively on only two species, although they do usually scavenge off of any dead opponents they have recently killed. These two species are: The Crawlers, a species of beach-dwelling merostomatan creatures belonging to the lesser-known Xenosura genus, which are known for possessing various traits of other types of merostomata, including traits found in horseshoe crabs and eurypterids. The Rockscales, a strange organism possessing rock-like armor plating on its upper shell. These beings wash ashore often on the beach, where they are eaten by Aurix, Clawgrips, and Skullbeaks, but it has recently been discovered that they are not as sessile as once believed, as they seem to eventually crawl up the beach into the forest, where they settle down once more. The reasons behind this are still unknown, as is the exact genus these organisms belong to.

Respiratory System
Aurix, still being spinocephalopods, possess both gills and lungs, allowing them to breathe properly in both environments, although they prefer to spend their time on land, typically only returning to the surf itself in order to re-dampen their skins so that they don't dry out. Both gills and lungs are fully developed, with the gills possessing flaps that are closed while on land in order to prevent their drying out.

Senses
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Evolutions
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Social Behavior
Aurix are fairly social creatures, lead by their enormous brains, comparable to that of a dolphin. Aurix live in somewhat social pods, known as a battery, with each battery controlled by an alpha male and an alpha female, which lead their group in all actions. The Alphas are typically elders, and are therefore replaced relatively often. Alphas are never challenged, leading to occassions of incredible harm to their battery, due in part on some of these occasions to the alphas' inability to lead. If and when the alphas invariably perish, no rites of passage are given to them, although the surviving members will protect the bodies from scavengers such as the Featherheads, a species of brilliantly-colored gulls, but the Aurix do not possess the intellect to do anything such as bury their dead, and they eventually rot where they fell, rather than get eaten. In the meantime the elders with the most wartime experience are chosen, one male and one female, to lead the pack. If there is not a male and female that are both elders, then the alphas will be chosen out of the typical adults instead, leading to longer reigns. Other than the rule of the alphas, little sociality tends to go on, with the Aurix tending to just do their own thing, only typically within the confines of the battery itself as well as the alphas' rulings.

Mating
Twice in their lifetime, the Aurix are capable of mating. During mating, the Aurix pair off into random pairs (in the Aurix culture, there is no such thing as "mating for life"). There is no real mating rituals in the Aurix culture. Typically, "elders" (Aurix who have already bred once in their life) are paired up with other elders, while other adults are paired up. There are only two genders, male and female, which greatly reduces the difficulties of mating. Due to the females' short birth canals, almost all mating results in impregnation. After mating, gestation occurs until the eggs are laid. Eggs are currently not cared for, and the young are left to fend for themselves for the first few months of their lives, at which point they are brought back into the fold to await maturity. After an elder has mated twice, however, their body begins to degrade, and they tend to die within two months, just as the new young are arriving into the Battery's fold.

Life Cycle
Although the Aurix are Spinocephalopods, they live lives similar to many forms of amphibians. Birthed as small clumps of eggs attached to the inside rock and coral walls of the nearby Tide Pool, they then leave their clutch unattended. From here, the litters of 10 young eventually emerge 2 weeks later to immediately find themselves in a dangerous realm. The Aurumlings swim around, resembling tiny sadistic tadpoles (with tendrils), typically latching on to small fish swimming about to feed in short bursts of parasitism. As they grow a little older, they grow their front legs, and then they upgrade to Starfish near the shoreline, using their newly acquired feet to hold themselves in place and their raspy radulas to slowly work tiny holes in the echinodermatic armor. Once this has taken its course, the Aurumlings quickly lose their tail fins to adapt a more terrestrial tail style and move onto land, where they are greeted by their elders and inducted into the battery. They continue to change once there, first their tendrils begin to grow stronger and gain basic claspers, transforming into much more powerful tentacle-arms; they also hit a dramatic increase in size which happens so fast you can almost see them growing. Finally, their chlorolomba spots bud out, allowing for greater photosynthesizing surface. From here, they reach adulthood, where they stay until their first mating (generally around 6 months, but they reach sexual maturity at around 3 months), after which point they are deemed "elders", as they can only breed one more time before dying. They generally remain elders for 8 months, having reproduced their second time around their first year of age and having their bodies degrade over the remaining two months until they just simply die. Females carry the eggs for 2 weeks inside her ovum, before heading back out to the edges of the Tide Pool, where she then lays her clutch on the inner rocks and coral walls that make up the Tide Pool.

The Offshoots
Over the many millennia of development, the Aurix gene has split several times, creating various new species, each with their own style of life; however, the Aurix themselves are considered the true offshoot of the original protista they started out as.

The Neomwa
The Neomwa were the earliest branch-off of the original protista strain. Originally known as the Neo-Protista, these creatures have evolved into speedy cephalopods, which have succeeded in stirring chaos through the ranks of the Aurix colonies for millennia. Recently, the Neomwa evolved a thin fold between one of their pairs of tentacle-arms, which they used to glide for a very brief period of time above the waves, however they have even more recently grown another fin, this one long enough to potentially provide longer air time. The Neomwa were capable of erradicating the Aurix on more than one occasion, but chose to flee instead. Are the Neomwa smarter than previously thought? One can only guess.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Mollusca (Mollusks) Class: Cephalopoda (Cephalopods) Subclass: Coleoidea (Soft-Bodied Cephalopods) Superorder: Octopodiformes (Eight-Armed Cephalopods) Order: Bitentacleida (Two Tentacled Cephalopods - Two of the 8 Arms Are Tentacles) Family: Pteropteryx "Wing Fin" (Gliding Squids) Genus: Placobrachius "Flat Arm" (Flat Armed Gliding Squids - 2 Arms are Flattened) Species: Unknown "???" (Neomwa) Binominal Name: Placobrachius ???

The Zrrmzasha
The Zrrmzasha are open sea-dwelling human-sized ichthyosaurs who have given up the parasitic life of its ancestors for one of a more hunting-oriented style, feeding on fish, cephalopods, and spinocephalopods with their long snapping jaws filled with outward-pointing needle-like teeth. Zrrmzasha are reptilians, and therefore need to breathe air, which they do through a pair of nostrils on the tips of their beak-like mouths, which they extend above the surface of the water when they go for air. A Zrrmzasha can hold its breath for up to a half hour at a time.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Animals with Notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Class: Sauropsida (Reptiles) Subclass: Diapsida "Two Arches" (2 holes on each side of the skull, one above and below the eye, allowing jaws to open wider) Superorder: Icthyopterygia "Fish Flippers" (Icthyosaurs) Infraorder: Euichthyosauria (True Ichthyosaurs) Order: Ichthyosauria "Fish Lizard" (Ichthyosaurs) Family: Ichthyosauridae "x" (x) Genus: Zrrmzashidae (Zrrmzashan Ichthyosaurs) Species: Unknown "???" (Zrrmzasha) Binominal Name: Zrrmzashidae ???

The Vrennum
The Vrenna are seemingly peaceful Bipods who continue the parasitic lifestyle of their ancestors in shallow tidal pools, where they bury themselves in the sandy seafloor and quickly lunge to catch prey off-guard. They are the only offshoot to have lost their ancient Chlorolomba symbiotes, and therefore must rely completely on their hemophagic tendencies.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Animals with Notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Class: Spinocephalopoda (Cephalopods with Vertebrae) Subclass: Spinoidea (Cephalopods with Vertebrae) Superorder: Bidiformes (Spinocephalopods with two tentacle-arms) Order: Bipoda (Bipods - Spinocephalopods with two tentacle-arms flanking the face) Family: Orthoceras "Straight Horn" (Bipods with streamlined shells) Genus: Cryptohemovenator "Hidden Blood Hunter" (Parasitic Bottom-hiding Orthocerases) Species: Vrenni "Vrennum" (Vrennum) Binominal Name: Crytohemovenator vrenni

The Grendon
The Grendon are a race still closely related to the Aurix, only having split off a short while ago. They arrived on land ever-so-slightly before the Aurix themselves, having fled the Tidal Pool only a few months before the Aurix themselves did so. Even with such a short span between the Aurix and Grendon's arrivals on land, the Grendon have already developed into a completely seperate species. The Grendon possess far stronger muscles in their tentacle-arms, choosing to use them to lift themselves off the ground, with their faces pointing downwards. Because their heads always point towards the ground, they have developed eyestalks farther up their bodies which face backwards to watch for potential predators or opponent races (such as the Aurix).

They feed almost exclusively upon another offshoot, the far gentler herd-grazer Quirlax, and are always found within the same general vicinity, high on the beach close to the surrounding forest.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Animals with Notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Class: Spinocephalopoda (Cephalopods with Vertebrae) Subclass: Spinoidea (Cephalopods with Vertebrae) Superorder: Hexidiformes (Spinocephalopods with 4 tentacle-arms and 1 pair of feet) Order: Terrapoda (Terrapods - Spinocephalopods adapted to land) Family: Pachytentaclei "Thick Tentacles" (Terrapods which walk on their tentacles) Genus: Grendoni "Grendon" (Grendons) Species: ??? Binominal Name: Grendoni ???

The Quirlax
The Quirlaxi (Quirlax being the singular form) split off immediately from the Grendon as soon as they moved onto land. They, however, had developed a stomach and then a short snout-like mouth rather than continuing their hemophagic lifestyle, instead choosing to feed on plants. This lifestyle has made them far gentler than other offshoots (namely the Neomwa, Zrrmzasha, and Grendon), and they enjoy spending all of their time grazing the low-lying scrub grass at the higher elevations of the beach, close to the surrounding forest. They dislike the Grendon feeding upon them, but have been unable to stop them so far, and so they deal with it as best as they can.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Animals with Notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Superclass: Tetrapoda (Tetrapods) Unranked: Amniota (Amniotes) Class: Sauropsida (Reptiles) Subclass: Synapsida (Synapsids) Superorder: Tentacleireptilia (Tentacled Reptiles) Order: Tetraopsida "Four Eyes" (Four-Eyed Herbivorous Reptiles) Family: Andeireus "Without Neck" ("No-necked" Tetraopsids) Genus: Quirlaxius "Quirlax" ("No-necked" Quirlaxi Reptiles) Species: ??? Binominal Name: Quirlaxius ???

The Screek
The Screek are the most recent offshoot of the Aurix, having split off only a few thousand years ago. These creatures have since moved on past the beach into the forests, where they have yet to be encountered again. However, it is known that they have developed dark-colored skin, apparently to survive as nocturnal creatures. What they feed on is unknown, although they have kept their proboscis, and therefore continue to drink blood like their ancestors. They have recently also adapted tiny external ears, apparently used to hear their high-pitched shrieks, which they use to echolocate their prey in the dark of night.

Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukaryota (Complex Organisms) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Animals with Notochords) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Superclass: Tetrapoda (Tetrapods) Unranked: Amniota (Amniotes) Class: Sauropsida (Reptiles) Subclass: Anapsida (Anapsids) Superorder: Hemosauridae "Blood Lizard" (Hemophagic Lizards) Order: Macrohemosaurus "Large Blood Lizard" (Dog-sized Hemosaurs) Family: Echoididae "Echo" (Hemosaurs that locate prey through echos) Genus: Screeka "Screek" (Land-dwelling Screek Lizards) Species: ??? Binominal Name: Screeka ???

History
Only a few million years had past since the planet's devastating encounter with a comet, totally obliterating most life on the surface, including the Zomm, a race of sapient beings that had once held dominance upon the lush sphere. But, as with all things in nature, life began anew from the few remaining organisms that had survived the catastrophe. What was once barren expanses of desert had once again begun to return to the sight of flora and fauna that once had inhabited every nook and cranny. Even so, however, the species were still few and far between.

Most races that had survived however had been microscopic, but the comet had left large traces of sulfur everywhere due to frequent eruptions as the planet's complaint against the agony of destruction, and just enough collected everywhere to stunt the evolutionary process in all living matter -- evolution was at a standstill. However, as the aeons progressed, the sulfuric levels in many areas, especially that saturating the water, ever so slowly began to diminish. And as the sulfur levels reached near their original neutral zone, the miracle of evolution began once more.

One of these organisms to start anew happened to be a group of single-celled Protists that had survived the disaster, as many other races had, by learning to adapt to allow their sulfuric tolerance to peak. Now, however, the Protists were faced with a choice. The sun had opened up more recently, allowing for more light. The diatoms had yet to really increase or decrease in population, but the amoebas had slightly increased theirs. Nematodic worm sightings had been rare lately, but they did occur. The Protists' current diet was the Diatoms, although if they didn't increase in population, there was the possibility of starving.

And thus the history of the Aurix unfolded.

Symbiosis with the Chlorolomba & The Origin of the Neomwa
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Evolutionary History: Tide Pool
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Evolutionary History: The Sea
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Evolutionary History: The Land
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Evolutionary History: The Stone Age
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Solar System
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The Planets
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Aurixan Homeworld
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Known Marine Biomes
Tidal Pools: There is only one known tidal pool in existance, a large tidal pool just on the outskirts of the coral reef, lying in tropical waters. These waters typically were known for their peaceful living (at least by Aurixan standards), although the Aurix, the top predator of the zone, was soon driven out by three events taking place in unison: The small but potent jellyfish that were sometimes seen in the pools had begun to multiply without challenge, creating a large smack of the jellyfish floating around the top of the water. The Neomwa arrived, feasting on many of the fish abound as well as hunting the Aurix. One of the species of small fish began to starve, and became frenzied. After a short bout of cannibalism, they began a ravenous hunt for any creatures that they could possibly kill...which, in their numbers, was all species located therin. Coral Reefs: The vast coral reefs cover much of the tropical waters just beyond the warmer continents, and are filled with a huge array of lifeforms. They are home to some of the more dangerous species, although are known to be safe from the King of Swimmers, the aquatic top-of-the-food-chain, due to them being far too large to enter these shallow areas. Over half of the species known to exist in the oceans exist within the various coral reefs around the world. Open Sea: The open sea is populated with creatures and is nearly completely absent of plant life, making most dwellers here carnivorous. Many beings out here can grow to large sizes, and this area is notorious for harboring the King of Swimmers and Zrrmzasha (although King of Swimmers can be found in most marine biomes around the world). The Great Rift: Only witnessed and never travelled, the Aurix had been swimming above this area when they first came into direct contact with the massive King of Swimmers, which proved to be a deadly experience; in fact the most dangerous moment in the Aurix history. Kelp Forest: The Kelp Forests lie in the areas between 30-120ft, and are dotted with two types of kelp, noted only by their colors - green and red. These kelps apparently evolved from the various saltwater algaes in the areas, which in turn were evolved from microscopic diatoms. It is interesting to note that usually, green and red kelp grow in seperate "forests", but these forests tend to grow very close together, and it is not uncommon for these forests to meld into one another. Approximately 1 in every 400 kelp strands will be of the different species (ie, in Green Kelp forests there are the occasional Red Kelps, and vice versa). These areas have not been witnessed in a long time, and when last seen, had been decimated. If they and any lifeform therein still exist, it is currently a mystery. The Shelf: Only witnessed and never travelled, the shelf was witnessed by the distant ancestors of Aurix when they still lived within the Kelp Forests. This area was significantly darker than the still-bright Kelp Forests and was not travelled to. As such, very little is known about this area.

Known Terrestrial Biomes
Sand Beach: Although many beaches all over the world exist, the only beach style experienced by the Aurix are ones comprised of miniscule grains of sand, typically formed by tan-colored bits of rock and small pieces of coral which have broken off from the coral reef beyond and washed ashore after hundreds to thousands of years, then worn down to tiny fragmental sand bits. This sand is more soft than it is rough, allowing the weak-skinned Aurix to safely crawl and now walk along the beaches without tearing up their stomachs. Arthropods seem to inhabit much of this area, with only a few species of bird in sight, although with the Aurix's arrival, spinocephalopods and reptiles have also taken a firm hold of the area. "Palm" Forest: Only witnessed and never travelled, the "palm" forests surround much of the sandy beaches of the Aurix's home. They typically lie within 100-200ft from the shoreline, depending on the area.

Known Freshwater Biomes
Wide River: Only witnessed and never travelled, the wide river mouth was all the Aurix ever witnessed of freshwater.

Unique Genera
Many unique genera of species exist here on the Aurix's homeworld that are not known to exist anywhere on Earth. A small compliment of these genera is listed below.

Cnidomecia
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Spinocephalopods
Spinocephalopods (Backboned Head-Foot) are named literally; they are essentially regular cephalopods (octopus, squid, nautiloids, et cetera), but instead of the typical hydrostatic skeleton, they possess a calcium bone structure. This weighs them down, making them less capable of speed and making the typical cephalopod movement by water jets less useable. Spinocephalopods show far more complexity than regular cephalopods, with the more complex species possessing legs and moving much like certain species of lizards. Typically, the Orders of Spinocephalopods are determined by their amount of tentacle-arms and the amount of legs, or lack thereof. Currently, only three known Orders of Spinocephalopods exist. These are:

Bipods
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Quadripods
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Terrapods
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Sextopods
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Sidetails
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Trivia
A group of Aurix is called a Battery.

The Aurix were not the first sentient species on their planet. A mysterious race calling themselves the Zomm once lived here before a collision with a comet wiped out 99.9% of the planet's lifeforms in a huge cataclysmic event, billions of years ago.

Aurix lead a Symbiotic life. They carry a chloroplast symbiote from early on in the Tide Pool Stage, which could give their hosts energy in the form of photosynthesis. These symbiotes now reside in "cluster organ buds" which reside for the most part just below the surface of the skin, although a certain amount of this sticks slightly out in a "bud" shape, allowing greater cluster organ surface area. The skin above these cluster organs is semi-transparent and thinner than the rest of the skin, allowing light in. The Aurix themselves feed exclusively on blood, which they currently tend to obtain from the various species of creatures either roaming around the Tidal Pools or the Beaches. They are entirely capable of killing their prey (when it comes to smaller prey, at least) by sucking too much blood out of their victims, however they tend not to do this, although they have in the past. They also have a weak neurotoxin in their cnidocytes (released by will rather than automatically), and they are also poisonous to a slight extent.

The Aurix Interactive Spore FanFic Game was started on the GameFaqs Spore Message Board on Saturday, March 25, 2006. Since then, the Aurix have gone through 81 rounds of evolution.