Palindromes

Triplostoma katharsis

Overview

Palindromes are a ubiquitous presence on Confibula, and formerly one of the most prolific niches of large animals before phonies appeared. Since then, they've become less populous and more receded in terms of niches.

Range

Palindromes are nearly cosmopolitan across Confibula. They are known to go to great lengths to migrate, similarly to phonies. They are most common in open areas due to their subpar mobility in tight spaces.

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Diet

Palindromes are scavenging animals who will eat anything they can put in their mouths. They aren't efficient hunters and don't digest autotrophs easily so much of their diet goes towards dead animal matter or reproductive structures of autotrophs (i.e. fruit analogues) or decomposers (i.e. fungi analogues). They partake in geophagy to reinforce their bones and can be found in large congregations consuming dirt or sand.

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Anatomy

Palindromes, like most other Confibulan fauna, use hemocyanin in their blood and have bones made of silica microcrystals. They have a poor oxygen affinity, but their world has a low oxygen content anyways so it ended up being the most efficient oxygen transport pigment. Their innards, thus, are blue. They are trilaterally symmetrical as well as mirrored from front to back. Food can enter through the heads on each end, and exits through cloacas on each side of the body. They have twelve hearts-- six for transporting deoxygenated blood to the gills, and six for transporting reoxygenated blood from each gill to the rest of the body.

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Reproduction

PPalindromes can reproduce sexually or asexually depending on circumstance. They are simultaneous hermaphrodites with three possible loci for gonads. The distribution of gonads is variable. Some are entirely one sex but most are an imbalanced mix of the two. Some may even be none. Each gonad may have an ovary, a testis, both or none. As a result, they may have anywhere from 0 to 6 gonads. When palindromes mate, both partners will deposit their genetic material into a nest and a palindrome will grow from a gooey egg. They don't have elaborate mating displays like phonies do.

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Behavior

Palindromes are semi social species who occasionally form small foraging groups of 2-3. Depending on the region, the members may disband after a short amount of time or stay together for life. Members of bands may reproduce with one another or be exclusively collegial. Young palindromes often join bands or form them with older palindromes, even if they are not related. They are known to partake in stone-exchanging behavior with phonies who have a simple economy built upon it.

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