Veridian Frostgill
Evo 2FishEats plantsSurfaceResilientShaped by ☠️ toxic environment
A pale, toxin-resistant fish that hangs beneath the ice ceiling, its specialized gills filtering harmful compounds from the water while it rasps chemosynthetic frost-films from the underside.
- Size
- 12 cm
- Diet
- chemosynthetic biofilm grazer
- Habitat
- underside of the ice shell
- Moves by
- hovering swim
Why it evolved
The environmental toxicity pressure has driven the evolution of biomineralized gill filaments. These specialized structures, aided by the moon's mineral-rich waters, allow the Frostgill to actively filter and sequester heavy metals and volcanic gases, preventing them from entering its bloodstream. This adaptation comes at the cost of increased energy expenditure for gill maintenance and a slight reduction in overall oxygen uptake due to the filtering mechanism, a significant trade-off in the oxygen-poor waters of Verglas.