Blumbomeniformes

Blumbomen and their relatives belong in a clade characterized
by the grotesque fusion of the first two heads into a vaguely humanoid "face,"
possession of a facial pouch connected to the genital first head, (to store
opulent genitals in males, to shelter the young in females.) and a preference
for marine littoral environments.

Most Blumbomen live like penguins or small seals on Earth;
cumbersome on land but graceful underwater. Their mouths conceal muscular,
hose-like second heads, which are used to snap up swimming prey, or to grasp
around for other organisms in sea plants, sediment or "coral" reefs. With the
exception of some species that seasonally eat marine plants, they are all
predators on small prey.

The relationships of the Blumbomeniformes have been hotly
debated, but it seems most likely that they form a sister clade to the Pescidont
Bumbos and relatives. Like Bumbos, Blumbomen also have extremely elongated
second heads, reduced tails and a stocky body form. The two groups also resemble
each other in foot morphology and certain details of the skeleton.

Species: Moronops gularis
Common Names: Blumbomen, Grey
Blumbomen.
Size: Up to 1.2 meters tall.
Habitat: Isternian shores along
the Sea of Oroland, numerous offshore islands, also present on Midland.

Moronops is perhaps the best-known “typical” Blumbomen
on Snaiad. These noisy beasts form massed communities on beaches within their
range, feeding on numerous marine organisms they catch by swimming or
“kelp-browsing;” probing underwater growth with their hose-like secondary heads.
Their stubby legs make them some of the least suitable of all true Blumbomen for
a terrestrial lifestyle, but they still retain archaic characteristics like the
claws on their fins.

Moronops is the archetypical organism that comes to
mind when one thinks of Blumbomen on Snaiad. They are thoroughly incorporated in
the planet’s popular culture, and have formed the basis for cartoon characters,
children’s toys and even a music band.

Species: Ugrops fascinatus
Common Name: Fascinating
Blumbomen.
Size: 1 meter tall.
Habitat: Present on south-eastern shores
of Aucaterra, Isla Skylla, also on Vesternian shores until the Tridaktylos.

The so-called “spectacular Blumbomen”, the genus
Ugrops contains numerous closely related species living along the
shores of Vesterna. These creatures are readily identifiable through the
extravagant fleshy growths on their “faces”. The purpose of these structures, as
unnoticeable as large warts in some species or long like streaming, fleshy
tentacles in others, is not clearly understood. They are thought to serve as
sexual displays, but both sexes have them in equal lengths. They may serve to
break up their silhouette underwater, but it is questionable whether the huge
underwater drag caused by their presence justifies their efficiency as
anti-predator devices. Despite their outlandish looks, Ugrops and
relatives are closely related to “typical” Blumbomen such as Moronops;
the skeletons of some species look virtually identical. However, Ugrops
do have longer and stronger back legs and spend more time on land. Eyewitness
accounts even exist of them hunting small animals inland, although this is
doubtlessly not a regular behavior.

The specimen illustrated here is brandishing the large and
elaborate set of male genitals common in almost all Blumbomeniformes. In many
species, the males use these impressive gonads in dazzling mating displays.

Species: Mikri anyx
Common Names: Smolblumbomen, Tiny
Blumbomen, Water Baby.
Size: No larger than 70 centimeters tall.
Habitat:
North-eastern Neomediterranean shores, limited to the area around Izmir.

This species belongs to a special group of Anychiforme
Blumbomen that are more adapted to a marine existence than the most. They have
lost terrestrial adaptations such as strong back legs and fin-claws, and have
larger fins and a thickened layer of subcutaneous body fat that insulates them
well underwater. They spend a large part of their lives in the sea, returning to
land not even to give birth, but to mate. Every summer, crowds of these tiny
Blumbomen get ashore around Izmir to mate, filling the beaches around the city
with lively genital displays and noisy mating contests. After conception, the
young are reared in the females’ genital pouches and are born in the sea. It is
thought that these creatures’ land-lubbing orgies are evolutionary remnants of
their more terrestrial ancestry.

Like most Anychiforme Blumbomen, Mikri is limited to
shallow waters that stay warm the year round and has a very limited
distribution. The city of Izmir just happens to be close to their mating sites,
putting pressure on their populations. Currently, Mikri is protected as
one of the city’s symbolic animals and Izmirnite beaches are closed to visitors
during their mating season.

Species: Thalassomirifex larrana
Common Name: None
Size:
Up to 10 meters long.
Habitat: Aaritic Ocean and surrounding seas, sightings
common around the Sea of Aucaterra.

There are at least two radiations within the Blumbomen lineage
that have specialized for a totally aquatic lifestyle. Thalassomirifex
and its relatives form the larger of these two groups, known as the
Hadroblumbomeniformes. These creatures have enormously-extended second heads, so
long that they cannot be retracted into their bodies anymore. This condition,
combined with their fat, cigarette-shaped bodies, makes them a look like
crossovers between the Mesoplodont whales and the extinct Elasmosaurs of Earth.
Thalassomirifex is an opportunistic open-sea hunter that feeds on
pelagic swimming organisms and also makes phenomenal dives in pursuit of unknown
prey.

The life details of this creature, other than its gigantic
size, are little-known and it might be split into more species, or lumped
together with other genera in the Hadroblumbomeniformes as studies go on. Almost
certainly, more species in this enigmatic lineage await discovery in the oceans
of Snaiad.

Species: Eumegapteros pelagicus
Common Names: Torpedocaster,
Wingfish.
Size: Up to 3 meters long.
Habitat: Southern parts of the Middle
Ocean, extending into the Sea of Beasts.

This species belongs in another purely-aquatic lineage within
the Blumbomeniformes, distinct from the Hadroblumbomeniforme swimmers discussed
earlier. It is thought that the presence of a sheltering face-pouch has made
marine lifestyles easier within the group by enabling them carry their young
underwater. Whatever the reasons for their evolution, Apodoblumbomeniformes such
as Eumegapteros are characterized by the distinct lack of rear legs,
the extensive development of the forelimbs into powerful fins and the dependence
on well-developed eyes for locating prey. On the whole these creatures resemble
terrestrial Blumbomen with no feet and a huge head with binocular-like, forward
facing eyes. They either forage among underwater growth, or actively swim after
their prey and capture them with rapid lunges of their second heads.

For mating, they have an even stranger adaptation, brought
about by the pressures of sexual selection. Male Eumegapteros viciously
chase down their female partners in the mating season. When close by, they
launch their genitals, harpoon-like, from their primary heads. Their sexual
organs, extravagant like in all Blumbomeniformes, have a very long (up to twice
their body length,) stalk, tipped by a frontal mass bearing the sperm-producing
glands and two tiny finlets. These fins steer the organ towards the females’
genitalia in a series of extremely rapid reflexes, effectively guiding them home
like smart missiles. This behavior, only observed recently with high-speed
underwater photography, has earned the nickname “Torpedocaster” for these
creatures.

Species: Moai mapagalithops
Common Names: Giant Armless
Blumbomen, Moai Landblumbomen.
Size: More than 2 meters tall.
Habitat:
Shores and interior plains in the island of Mapag.

The wildly divergent adaptive radiation of established body
plans in isolated environments is a long-observed fact. This phenomenon has
visited the Blumbomeniformes at least once with the fascinating Giant Armless
Blumbomen of the remote island of Mapag. While most members of their group are
primarily marine, the furthest these Blumbomen venture into water is to certain
swamps and secluded beaches to drink and sleep. They are completely terrestrial
and feed on a mixture of terrestrial fruits, sprog, small animals and beached
carrion. Their great size, combined with their horny head-scutes and the ability
to vomit stomach acid under stress, protects them from Mapagian predators such
as Rape Turtles. (Phobochelys molestor) While neither the Moai are
efficient browsers, or the Rape Turtles efficient predators, the absence of any
other large animal in the isolated ecosystem of Mapag ensures their continued
survival.

The genus name of these creatures refers to the gigantic Moai
statues of Earth, and was the subject of intensive debate on whether it was
right to propagate the myth of Earth on Snaiad, where no immediate return back
to home is possible. A captive colony of these adorable creatures has been
established on the island of Hania on the Neomediterranean. This picture shows a
female Moai, with a juvenile sitting safely in its bulbous, nose like
genital sac.

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associated with this project belong to Nemo Ramjet, unless otherwise stated.