Orange Subambali

• Very rounded body; Body very thin; Cranial armor segmented.

 

• several, small teeth going down to the whole length of the mouth; teeth very sharp.

 

• Pectoral fins reduced in size; Dorsal fin on the base of the Gill tail, half circular in shape.

 

• Anal I and II growing from the base of the Gill tail; Anal I are severely reduced in size, Anal II reduced in membrane area.

 

• Gill tail short with high Gill fan.

 

• Gill fan with very high ridges and steep caudal drop.

Hiistorically Calvatopinna cyclicus would mate in the early summer around shores where it could find small crevices and holes in which they could lay their eggs and find shelter.   Since the colonization of the planet, however, this animal suffered greatly due to human activities such as industrial complexes and harbours and ports; these structures and anthropic factors led to the gradual destruction of their historical mating sites, driving them to mate somewhere else and riskier. These new breeding grounds proved less than optimal for the species as they are more exposed to both currents and predators, leading to the drastic decline of the species.   Current breeding grounds are rocky promontories, where they have to swim deep to find places safe enough for nesting, given the strong currents at the surface and their reduced swimming abilities compared to other amphibians. Many animals each year die crushed against the rocks by the waves.   Courtship in the species is all dictated by how good a nest the male can find for the female to fit in; the tightier the nest is, the more are the chances the male will be chosen.   Once a partner is found and mating is done, the female will enter the nest and lay there for the next month, where she will concentrate all her energies into incubating the eggs; She wont feed during this whole process.   The starving female will leave the nest once she has finished laying her eggs and seek food immediately; unfortunately the new nesting sites are poorer in life than what they were used to, resulting in highier mortality rates in females.   The eggs hatch after another month from deposition and the spawn will have to fend off for themselves and reach the open ocean, where they'll start combing the sand for food.

Ontogenesis not very marked in the species.   Loss of natal aculeus after five months from hatching.

These animals can be found on the sea floor from waters 10 to 900 m deep.   They prefer sandy plains or rocky flats with plenty of vegetation and hiding spots.

Scavengers.   They comb their native flats for dead animals and plants to tear apart with their small and incredibly sharp teeth; they are also able to digest bones small enough to be broken by their teeth.   Since the colonization they have been registered eating junk they find on the ocean floor, leading to several mass poisonings.

Sexual maturity at eleven months of age.   Most adults wont survive the first mating season.   Sexual sterility at seven years old.

Social animals that live in small groups of four to seven specimens.   These animals will communicate with one another using low frequency sounds inaudible to their natural predators.   During feeding times they will often cycle through members that will act as sentries for the group.

In several public aquariums and breeding facilities for conservation purposes.

Once fished for food, The fishing of the species has now been globally forbidden as the species is critically endangered.

Tropical belt.  

Good eyesight and smell, capability to emit low frequency sounds to effectively communicate with conspecifics without bein noticed by other animals.

can be affected by Intestinal Tube Worms and skin parasites.