Midas is extensively targeted by mining companies for its abundant natural resources, but it absolutely cannot be overlooked for its biodiversity. As is often the case in situations like this, habitat loss and pollution has led to huge declines in plant and animal populations across the surface. Trickster's Xenobiological Research Crew has been working around the clock to collect as many individuals as they can to build up our artificial gene pool. After years of research, we have finally compiled a partial list of species on Midas.
Midean Trudgers
One branch of the planet's two dominant groups of animal life, Trudgers are near-omnipresent on the surface of Midas, even in otherwise hostile habitats. Though they vary in appearance across the globe, phenotypically they are quite similar: bipedal plantigrade locomotion counterbalanced with a heavy tail region and an apparently oversized head. Dissection of the latter reveals that the size is due to the partial incorporation of shoulder and upper-arm bones, leading to the startling revelation that they were originally quadrupedal or - more likely - upright bipeds.
Lacking a mandible bone, the vestigial forearms and hands act as graspers directing food towards the mouth orifice. The digestive process takes place at least partially outside the body with the secretion of aqua regia from glands to either side of the mouth (these glands can be carefully extracted and returned for research or used as impromptu grenades). Aqua regia is incredibly corrosive, able to dissolve most metals and - notably - gold. Perhaps as a consequence of this ability, Trudgers have an astoundingly efficient digestive process and are able to incorporate a diversity of elements into their physical structure.
Their skin, muscles and bones are dense with nodules of metal compounds, making them extremely resilient - not to mention valuable to collectors. A standard mining tool should suffice to extract most elements, but specific ingredients will have to be shipped back manually.
- Heavy Trudger -
Mountain Trudger -
Armored Trudger -
Striding Trudger -
Pygmy Forest Trudger -
Cave Trudger -
Bog Trudger -
Celadwen -
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Midean Crabs
Obviously not true crabs- though they share several analogous features, including exoskeletons and segmented legs, they are quadrupedal and completely terrestrial, and have a very complicated birthing process.
Rather than being direct live births or eggs, crabs are instead generated in a transitional gestational sac, which is usually affixed directly to a mineral structure. This tough, fleshy sac is anchored by roots sunk deep into rock in a process more closely resembling earth's plants. The minerals leeched out of the surrounding soil strata form the basis of the exoskeletal structure, leading to markedly different adaptations for each species of crab depending on where they are localized.
A juvenile crab, fresh from the the sac, immediately begins the process of gathering and metabolizing any nearby nutrients, whether they be animal, vegetable or mineral. Their shells are soft and relatively pliable at this stage, but there is a market to be found for their succulent flesh.
The transition from juvenile to adult crab is marked by the release of a gestational sac composed of excess genetic material - this sac, though initially quite small, it rapidly balloons in size as it takes up surrounding soil chemicals. With the release of the sac, the crab undergoes rapid hormonal metamorphosis to reach their adult stage. While the adult continues to grow and eat, it is living on borrowed time - the hormonal shift starts a slow process of decay in the crab, allowing it long enough to care for the juveniles before itself passing away. The average lifespan of a Midean Crab is a scant few years.
- Aerial Crab -
Iron Crab -
Plains Crab -
Grass Crab -
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Plants
Midean plants are hugely variable and have developed a host of highly specialized seed dispersal techniques. This selection is but a small subset of the species on Midas, but its certainly given them a better chance at existence than they would have had otherwise.
- Grass -
Sticky Grass -
Armor Moss -
Shooter -
Cannon Seed -
Spinner -
Flowers -
Red Berries -
Blue Berries -
Orange Berries -
Scado Tree -
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The Xenobiological Archive can be acquired from the following co-ordinates.
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--DOWNLOAD ARCHIVE--
'ng know.). Anyways, the really dark ones. I would do it meself, but i have NO actor coding knowledge.