Ring Buffalo
In the ring system surrounding Prime, a vast ecosystem spans the planet's upper atmosphere, the rings themselves, and the many life-bearing moons. While countless species inhabit this expanse, none are more iconic than the enormous Ring Buffalo.
These creatures drift in massive herds, their clouds of green fur angled toward the sun. In many ways, each buffalo is an ecosystem unto itself: its fur is home to photosynthetic microorganisms, and dozens of other species live on or within its body - either nestled in the lower layers of fur or sheltered inside its gas-filled internal cavities. The herds of Ring Buffalo are a keystone species for the ring ecosystem, ferrying life of all kinds between Prime's atmosphere and its moons.
These herds have long been observed from the moons’ surfaces, and the animals have occasionally even crashed into one of the moons - presumably after death. Some theorize that this is how life first spread throughout the moons, and a Buffalo-fall is always a major event for the local ecosystem.
Basic Information
Anatomy
A Ring Buffalo is enormous - up to three hundred meters long and one hundred and fifty meters wide. It has a mass of several million metric tons, with a rocky core at its center that provides a faint gravitational pull for the animals that live on and within it. Surrounding this core are thick layers of flesh and blubber, encasing large pockets of Prime's atmosphere, which the Buffalo collects during its approaches to the planet.
Externally, it is covered by a vast, floating cloud of fur that hosts photosynthetic algae, giving the Buffalo its bright green color. It has a distinct head at one end, with long horns and a snout, and can extend its head on a flexible neck to reach any part of its body. It spends much of its time grazing on bits of rock and dust caught in its fur as it drifts, and it will also feed on mats of ring-moss when it encounters them.
The Ring Buffalo does not have limbs comparable to those of land-bound animals, but it possesses a series of vents along its sides, connected to the gas-filled interior cavities. It can release controlled bursts of gas through these vents to adjust its trajectory. The Ring Buffalo’s orbit does not shift quickly, but it is a patient creature, living for centuries, and these small deflections are sufficient for its needs.
Most of the Buffalo's needs are met by the algae in its fur, which converts sunlight into sugars. In turn, the algae cannot survive without the Buffalo; it provides not only a stable surface and shelter from the vacuum of the rings, but also collects the inorganic nutrients the algae requires for photosynthesis. Their relationship is deeply interdependent - neither can thrive without the other.
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