The Dead Fish of The Drear
The Dead Fish is the more commonly used term for the Mzimu Samaki (Zee-moo Sam-ah-ki) and refers to the final stage of its transformation from the Rangi Samaki. The Rangi Samaki is the only known animal that experiences metamorphosis when they die. Researchers do not yet know if its proximity to The Drear is what causes the metamorphosis, or if it is part of the fish's natural lifecycle. It is very difficult to study the process completely, not only due to its proximity to The Dear Islands but also because it most often occurs on the seabed, a place very few sapient beings are able to survive.
If the Rangi fish dies from natural causes, its density increases and it sinks to the ocean floor where a jelly like substances is excreted from the body covering it in a white goo. This is referred to as the Kukua stage and can take approximately 24 hours. During this stage the Kukua Goo will expand to roughly twice its area but half its thickness, absorbing the body of the dead Rangi Fish. Once the process has been completed, the Mzimu Samaki emerges.
For a long time it was believed that these two fish were of different species, the Mzimu Samaki are bigger, have different colouring and are more violent than their Rangi counterpart. Only the behaviour of other fish towards them gives any hint that they are the same. The mating rituals of the Rangi and Mzimu fish are the same, and the Mzimu Samaki retains some memory of its mating rituals and partners. The two fish can and do mate, and reproduce Rangi offspring, beginning the cycle again.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Rangi Samaki are born of only one colour, a dark green or blue colouration to better camouflage in its environment of The Drear islands. As it grows older but before its transformation the fish gains a secondary colour, with its fins and snout turning bright with oranges or reds, in contrast its body which keeps its dark green colouring. They can grow to be anywhere between 5-9 inches with a fin span of a similar length. During its mating season the males of the species become slightly translucent with its fins also becoming more edged and pointy.
Once the fish dies and becomes a Mzimu Samaki its colouring completely changes. It becomes an almost translucent pale green colour with none of its colourful tips on its fins or snout. The size also changes, as a Mzimu Samaki will always begin life twice as long as the Rangi Samaki that it spawned from, anywhere from 10-18 inches in length. It does reduce its width however to about 1.5 inches, meaning it can swim faster and is more hydrodynamic.
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