Drought-Dweller
Evo 2GrazerEats plantsShallows / ShoreResilientShaped by 🏜️ drought
A smaller, more resilient grazer that can survive brief periods out of water by burrowing into damp mud.
semi-aquaticcan retain waterlowered metabolismmucus coatingreduced size
- Size
- 6 cm
- Diet
- algae grazer
- Habitat
- mudflats and lagoons
- Moves by
- slow crawling/paddling
Why it evolved
The prolonged drought pressure on Tethys Shallows forces the Reed-Grazer to adapt to unreliable water levels. Individuals with even a slight ability to retain water or survive short periods on damp mud, perhaps aided by a mucus coating, are more likely to survive. Selection favors smaller body size (6 cm) as it reduces water loss and energy requirements, allowing them to persist in the scarce conditions. The trade-off is a reduced size and a slower metabolism, making them more vulnerable to predation by the larger Mud-Stalker and less efficient at grazing.