Cardiocetes

The fantastic conclusion of the evolutionary adventure that
began with the Jetocetes and their relatives, the Cardiocetes are the masters of
aquatic jet-propulsion on Snaiad. Like their Jetocete ancestors, the Cardiocetes
have split and looped half of their second-head digestive tracts through their
first heads and have a separate, specialized tract of the gut adapted solely for
propulsion. Unlike the Jetocetes, this jet tube is supplemented by a hugely
powerful, heart-like pump in Cardiocetes, earning them their scientific name as
“heart-whales.” These organs, arranged in different species either as singular,
gigantic pumps (Monocardia,) or in bundles like engine cylinders, (Polycardia,)
need a lot of energy to work. Thus, it is not surprising that the majority of
Cardiocetes have become filter feeders, endlessly skimming food off the
plankton-rich currents of the open oceans.

Species: Xenoposeidon thalassarchos
Common Names: Big Fish,
Giant Jetwhale, Poseidon. Bahamut.
Size: More than 40 meters in some
cases.
Habitat: More common in the oceans of the Northern Hemisphere, but
encountered worldwide.

Perhaps the largest animal on Snaiad, Xenoposeidon
thalassarchos is a truly awe-inspiring beast. A member of the Monocardiac
Cardiocetes, it has a single, titanic jet-heart at the end off its propulsive
gut. While this organ helps greatly during bursts of speed,
Xenoposeidon also uses waves of its huge body to swim along. These
creatures endlessly follow the plankton-rich sea currents in Snaiadi oceans,
literally living in streams of small animals and plants. Their cavernous beaks
have a system of ingenious shunts, inlets and holes that allows them to filter
the water for nutrients with ease. The holes along their beaks expel the
filtered water, but they also perform a role in the reproductive lives of these
animals. During mating, the males release an extremely thick, ink-like substance
in great quantities from these holes. The females willingly bathe themselves in
this soupy mix of sperm, and a while later get pregnant with young. During
pregnancy, the developing young completely occupy the females’ mouths and the
mothers derive their nutrients from plankton ingested by their jet tracts and
jet-hearts, which used to be parts of their digestive system to begin with.

The name of Xenoposeidon is the same as that of a
sauropod dinosaur from Earth. However, revised nomenclature rules arranged in
the light of the planets’ separate natural histories allow for such name
overlaps. If two or more organisms from different worlds are to be mentioned
together in a scientific publication, a letter prefix before their names will
suffice, such as (S)-Xenoposeidon, (T)-Xenoposeidon,
(ש)-Xenoposeidon and (J)-Xenoposeidon from Snaiad, Earth and
two other realms respectively.

Species: Cephalorhynchus bicolor
Common Names: Puffinwhale,
Duck beast, Orange Heartwhale.
Size: 15 meters.
Habitat: Great Antipodean
Ocean.

This colorful Monocardiac Cardiocete is so similar to
Xenoposeidon species in terms of anatomy and behavior that it is
debatable whether it really needs to be classified in a separate genus. Like
Xenoposeidon, it is a passive filter-feeder with a single jet-heart.
Its striking black-and-white color scheme, as well as its brightly orange head
makes it a favorite of sea-watchers around Aviv, Alcaat and Elyat, the only
settlements along its habitat.

Species: Biogalleas pericles
Common Names: Prownose
Heartwhale, Shelf-Whale, Mutur.
Size: Up to 24 meters.
Habitat: All
southern oceans, frequently ventures into the seas of the Two Lands, Midland and
Oroland.

These large Cardiocetes are usually heard rather than seen
underwater with their throbbing jet-beats reverberating across the waves. While
they superficially look like the Monocardiac giants of the north, the
construction of their mouths, multiple jet-hearts and even their feeding
strategies set them apart as Polycardiac Cardiocetes, albeit huge and
filter-feeding ones. Their filter-feeding is more like taking bites out of the
giant plankton swarms, rather than passively swimming through them like their
Monocardiac cousins. They have also secondarily tuned down the engine-like
multiple jet-hearts of their lineage, pumping along at a leisurely pace instead
of the jet-ski-like frenzy of their smaller relatives.

This species is readily identifiable through its tapering,
ram-like snout extension, used in a variety of social activities such as
friendly snout-rubbing with members of the same pod, sexual displays for
potential mates, and outright ramming against intruders or rowdy males. There
are at least four separate species of Biogalleas in Snaiadi oceans,
with one, B. polaris, also widespread in the Northern Hemisphere.

Species: Tachynas tachyno
Common Name: Swordfish.
Size:
Up to 3 meters long including beak.
Habitat: Present in almost all oceans and
seas.

Not all Polycardiac Cardiocetes are sluggish giants like
Biogalleas. In fact, most Polycardiacs are comparatively small species, living
more like aquatic swallows to fuel their energy-hungry metabolisms. The
thirty-plus species of Tachynas are fast, pelagic predators feeding on
small swimming organisms such as Swimming Centipedes and Sea Serpents. They all
have six jet-hearts arranged along their jet tracts like engine cylinders,
pumping out water at a frenzied pace. With this propulsion mechanism, they are
among the fastest swimmers observed on almost any human-inhabited planet. They
frequently use their jets to leap clean out of water, perform amazing acrobatics
in air or under the sea, and chase their prey with an astonishing agility. All
this, however, come with a price. The huge energy expended on their jet
propulsion means they must continually battle starvation, and their
hyper-charged metabolism leaves them with life spans much shorter than aquatic
creatures of similar size.

It has recently been observed that some Tachynas
species, including T. tachyno, perform a limited form of
supercavitation, leaping out of the water and splashing back in with a moving
bubble of air projected in front of their faces. These bubbles, maintained in
place by the hydrodynamic properties of the grooves along their long beaks,
surround their faces like diving masks and enable them to move even faster
underwater.

Species: Torpedichthys vorax
Common Name: Torpedo, Torpil,
Patlatan, Blasterfish.
Size: Up to 3.5 meters long.
Habitat: Present in
oceans worldwide, but rarely enters shallow seas.

Polycardiac Cardiocetes are among the most energy-needy
swimmers of the Snaiadi oceans. Some like the giant Biogalleas, seek
out the endless plankton swarms, while others like Tachynas and
relatives chase down small swimmers. A small group within this clade has taken
the hunger game to its obvious, chilling conclusion. They have adapted to
regularly chase down, dismember and feed on swimming animals larger than
themselves. Described not-so-amusingly by one witness as “Jaws with a jet
engine,” these creatures attack and usually manage to kill the greatest of
Snaiadi swimmers. Eyewitness accounts exist of Torpedichthys taking on
Balabani Jetocetes, Blammos, Hadroblumbomeniform Blumbomen, giant Cardiocetes
and Emperor Sea Serpents. Smaller creatures are likewise not exempt from their
menu; in fact they make up the bulk of it when larger swimmers are not
around.

Although Torpedichthys regularly attack open-sea vessels, they
cannot damage them. However, swimmers exposed in the open water are in great
danger from these creatures. Fortunately they seldom enter shallow seas such as
the Neomediterranean, so attacks on people have been very rare.

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