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Macrystis (Garden World)

Garden World in Camelopardalis, Solar Dominion

Mac5b Macrystis And Lontis
Image from Dangerous Safety and The Astronomer
A distant view of Macrystis and Lontis, taken by the first exploratory probes

Macrystis - Data Panel

OverviewName: Macrystis
Orbital characteristics:
- Semi-major axis: 508.8 Mm
- Orbital period: 3.51 days
Physical characteristics:
- Type: Videntian Macrobiotic HydroTerrestrial Lapi-Rhean Lacustrine Tundral AquaGaian Satellite
- Mass: 0.813 Earths
- Radius: 0.935 Earths
- surface acc: 0.93G
- Albedo: 0.39
- Density: 5483 kg/m3

Macrystis is a Garden world, the largest moon of Lontis, a temperate gas giant. Macrystis has about 35% ocean coverage, much of it in an ocean on the side opposite from Lontis, along with a few shallower oceans on the Lontis-facing side. Most of the habitable land is tundra, as well as significant savanna, though the polar highlands can experience winters cold enough for carbon dioxide snow. Along continental margins, life thrives in temperate areas, while there are only tiny patches of tropical climates below sea level within tectonic rifts.

Macrystis's orbital period and day length are identical at 3.51 Terran days, as it is tidally locked to Lontis. Climate is subject to significant daily temperature swings, in some areas resulting in a daily freeze-thaw cycle, and much of the world experiences highly seasonal rainfall.

Macrystian life originated over 3.1 billion years ago, and macrobiotic life first evolved about 545 million years ago. Microbial and macroscopic colonial life with a common ancestry to Macrystian life exists on Lontis as well; although abiogenesis is a rare event on gas giants, life can sometimes be transferred from a life-bearing moon to a suitable jovian or neptunian world. While it is unknown whether Macrystian life reached Lontis via natural panspermia or was placed there by ancient xenosophonts, Lontis's trojan planetoids are unusually carbonaceous, suggesting that Lontis could have been naturally enriched in carbon via impacts billions of years ago, which would have provided a route for life to get a foothold on arrival.

a basic visual overview of the organisms on Macrystis

Macrystis tree of life v2
Image from Jay the Tardupod & TSSL

Noteworthy clades on Macrystis include:

Demikaryota A domain of organisms characterized by the presence of a proto-nucleus (a simple membrane around the DNA). Demikaryotes diverged before full nucleus development. In the current period, most demikaryotes are pseudoalgae: microbial phytoplankton that produce oxygen during photosynthesis. Some minor methanogenic clades also exist, many of which are anaerobic.

Bilin Novas Bilin novas are a major clade of demikaryote flora, which create hard accretions and grow photosynthetic surfaces above them. While often found as pioneer species or in dry environments, they can exist in most biomes. Many are burgundy, but they come in various mixes of blue, red, and brown hues, such as wine, tan, and indigo.

Amplikaryota Amplikaryota is the domain equivalent to Earth's Eukaryota. They are named for amplifying parts of their genetic material via extra copies, and their reproductive method involves amitosis rather than meiosis. Their equivalents to mitochondria are mitohelices, which have a spiral shape. Most single-celled amplikaryotes are members of Paritria, which has developed paired chromosomes.

Filamentomycota
Image from Jay the Tardupod
Filamentomycota
Filamentomycota Macrystian mold can be found decomposing dead matter both on land and in water. They typically grow as long filamentous structures called hyphae. Unlike Earth's fungi, their cell walls consist of cellulose rather than chitin. Most have a distinct mold form and a smaller reproductive form. Sprinkle molds are one major variety whose reproductive form appears as a tiny sprinkle, which disperses by sticking to fauna. Tuft molds are another major clade in which the reproductive form becomes a windborne ball of fluff. Filamentomycotans come in a profusion of vivid colors which vary by species and the material they decompose.
More details here.

Gametobiota Gametobionts are organisms that produce gametes and are capable of gene curation, which is the ability of cells to control the destination of their copied chromosomes while dividing. This ensures that both daughter cells retain essential genes after amitosis. Most of Macrystis's multicellular life falls into this group.

Macryphyta Macryphytes are gametobionts that developed photosynthesis via enveloped olive algae, giving them a tawny color. The first Macryphytes were free-living plasmodia, but over time, they evolved clusters and colonies that formed mounds, bubbles, and filaments, from which tawny and black flora arose.

Tawny Flora Tawny flora are truly multicellular Macryphytes. They are nonvascular and fill a variety of aquatic and small terrestrial niches, analogous to those of seaweeds, mosses, and other Terragen bryophytes.

Umbraphyta Umbraphytes are tawny flora that are adapted to low light conditions via dark cell pigmentation. This makes them suited to the deeper end of the sunlight zone, forest understories, and subpolar latitudes. It even allows some clades on the sub-Lontis hemisphere to use light reflected from Lontis to supplement their photosynthesis. One major Umbraphyte clade evolved vascular tissue, which has allowed several of them to grow into especially tall trees. These include the trees of the mangrove taiga, which grow downward from the canopy to form a thick complex of roots throughout the understory, creating a unique regional biome.

Tumuloforms A fungus-like grade of sessile heterotrophs, including decomposers, filter feeders, parasites, and carnivores. They are extremely diverse. Network tumuloforms form webs stretched across the bodies of organisms they are decomposing. Pitcher tumuloforms are shaped like a cup with fluid in the center, which can catch small organisms. They all require water for spawning so are largely absent from arid regions. The largest colonial organism on Macrystis is an underground tumuloform.

Neurozoa Neurozoa split from Tumuloforma with the development of a nervous system and are the main clade of fauna on Macrystis, making them analogous to Terragen Animalia. They are multicellular heterotrophs and have greater mobility than other clades. Their life cycle has two forms: a gametovite and a sporovite. Gametovites produce gametes, which conjugate and form zygotes. Zygotes grow into sporovites, which asexually produce spores that grow into gametovites.

Cyclomorpha Fauna that generally form ring-shaped colonies in their main gametovite stage. While they can exist on their own, most cyclomorphs congregate and link for protection, reproduction, and feeding, living as a colony for the majority of their lives. They can be found in nearly all aquatic environments worldwide. They are generally suspension filter-feeders, though they can be parasites, scavengers, deposit feeders, or detritivores.

Tetrasporozoa These fauna originated with tetraradial symmetry in the sporovite, though in many descendant groups this has been reduced to bilateral symmetry. Its most speciose groups are Bassanizoa and Spermiculozoa.

Bassanizoa

Bassanizoans are a diverse branch of fauna that evolved a biopolymer layer on their sporovite, which precipitates a bassanite shell. Almost all of them utilize hemocyanin, which in addition to coloring their blood blue, gives them a significant advantage to surviving in cold environments. They come in a variety of body plans with exoskeletal and hydrostatic elements.

Veritalids Veritalids are vermiform bassanizoans and are usually armored. Their sporovites are variably segmented, have a four-part mouth and usually have many sets of legs, fins, and/or gills. Veritalid gametovites resemble Terragen nematodes and are usually smaller and shorter-lived than the sporovite. Alternation of generations is particularly prominent in this clade, with both life stages often being essential to the functioning of an ecosystem. A notable veritalid clade of megafaunal apex predators are lion-dragon worms. They are known for their large colorful gill extensions which they use to attract mates.

Poleworms Poleworms are veritalids that evolved mutualistic symbiosis with photosynthetic algae (usually tawny) and comprise the dominant trees and groundcover. Four branching fronds generally grow from the top, derived from their ancestors' gill-jaws, and can host different colors of algae depending on the clade. The vast majority of poleworms are tawny, but orange, yellow, avocado, and dark brown varieties exist. The first poleworms retained the bassanite armor covering of veritalids, although it was heavy and expensive to grow. Most modern terrestrial poleworms, especially large ones, either shed it or never grow one at all, although most aquatic poleworms still have them. In tall poleworms, the outer layer is a sheath of polyvinyl skin, which hardens as they grow. In some species, the polyvinyl has translucent sections so algae can live beneath it, lending their coloration to part of the trunk. Poleworms have developed multiple methods of branching. The majority of small species grow underground to expose their tufts above.

Shellbears Shellbears are one of the main Bassanizoa groups, defined by having mineralized bassanite cocoons, which protect growing sporovites. They generally have a mix of hydrostatic and shell features. Usually only the sporovite has a shell; ancestrally, these were conical but many variations have evolved. Most shellbear sporovites have horseshoe-shaped brains. Shellbears are extremely diverse.

Linkers One of the two shellbear types, linkers can conjoin with each other and transmit nerve impulses via a linkage organ. This linkage evolved from connected internal systems shared between ancestral gametovite colonies. This allows varying degrees of communication and nutrient exchange and is used for reproduction. The gametovite stage tends to dominate, generally swimming, crawling, or flying. Linkers tend toward highly social lifestyles due to their built-in communication, which helps coordinate and share information about food sources, learned behaviors, and implicit instinctive memory. Nonetheless, they are not sophont or sapient and lack abstract reasoning, declarative memory, and an explicit sense of self. Major groups include sneelches, which are soft-bodied swimmers with sharp teeth, and Amphidendrobia. Amphidendrobia comprises a diverse assemblage of mostly amphibious and arboreal fauna, many with chitinous exteriors, notable for life phases involving ballooning and other aerial dispersal; these include the highly social tsils and the diverse flyers, pterogams.


Pterogam_hunt_macrystis2
Image from Jay the Tardupod
A hunt between the two major pterogam varities of Pterogam, split-wing and combined wing.
Pterogams Pterogams are the only extant flyers on Macrystis. These linkers have long bodies with fuzzy chitinous exoskeletons, caterpillar-like prolegs, and small hydrostatic mouthparts and a pair of front tentacle-limbs. Their wings derive from gills and limbs. After the last mass extinction, only two of the smallest pterogram varieties survived, which have distinct wing configurations. The combined wing type has two stiff wings. The split wing type has two softer wings with separate elytra for protection. Pterogams' ancestors had flight only in one of their several sexes, which was somewhat analogous to males due to their more mobile gametes. Pterogams have lost all other sexes and are capable of genetic exchange with a single mating type. The gametovite completely dominates their life cycle, as the sporovite has been reduced to living inside its parent, effectively as an internal organ. Pterogams fill diverse niches and range from small insect to small bird sizes, though their respiratory system restricts them from getting larger.

Mergers Mergers are the other major shellbear group. In this clade, multiple gametovites enter the cocoon, where they "merge" with their sporovite offspring into a chimera that combines the main sporovite's body with tissues from its parents, often including parental tentacles. The body plan is hydrostatic, with tentacles at the mouth, and most of them retain the cocoon as a supportive shell. Aquatic mergers may swim, crawl, or be sessile, ranging from tiny to huge. Terrestrial mergers either slide on mucus or crawl with hydrostatic legs and are always small.


Cthulorax
Image from Vanga Vangog
a thin-tentacled variety of Cthuloroid peers out toward the probe in the depths of the ocean
Cthuloroids Cthuloroids are mergers that adapted to a deep sea lifestyle over 100 million years ago, although some descendants have returned to the shallows. They have stinging tentacles, and their eyes are atrophied or absent. Cthuloroids include some of Macrystis's most intelligent organisms, though none have reached or approached sapience.

Spermiculozoa

Spermiculozoa is the other largest branch of Tetrasporozoa, consisting of widely diverse organisms, most of which belong to the sessile Spongiforma or the motile Quadrilateria. Their distinguishing characteristic is that the gametovites have become attached to the sporovite and are reduced to little more than reproductive organs. The sporovite remains an independent organism that dominates their life cycles. Their reproductive cells have specialized into sperm and eggs; they are by far the largest Macrystian clade with a male/female dichotomy in their gametes.

Spongiforms Spongiforms are sessile organisms with quadrilateral symmetry. Aside from sponge flora, they are aquatic filter-feeders. Most have simple sensory organs such as eye cups and chemosensors.

Sponge Flora Sponge flora are spongiforms that took orange algae as endosymbionts within their cells. They can be found throughout the shallows and on land. The most basal mixotrophs retain some faunal characteristics, such as hydraulic muscles and eyes, but most of them are purely photosynthetic and have lost those traits in favor of more floral tissues. Many terrestrial variants resemble succulents but have sponge-like flesh. Their water retention makes them particularly common in arid regions, though in some isolated microbiomes, they form forests of their own.

Quads Quads are a diverse group within Spermiculozoa, in which the sporo became mobile. Ancestrally, they display four-way radial symmetry, walking on four limbs. Most have calcite ossicles for internal support and protection. They run the gamut from mite-sized detritivores to whale-sized filter-feeders and can be found in any habitable oxygenated environment. Basally, they have compound eyes and a blind gut. Bilateral symmetry evolved thrice independently; by far the most prominent bilateral clade is Tardupoda.

Papercutters A family of mite-sized quads often gengineered to be biobots post-colonization.
More information.

Crucipedes Crucipedes are highly diverse quads that walk on their four limbs. Basally amphibious, many have specialized to aquatic and terrestrial environments. Due to their radial symmetry, they tend toward slow paces or intermittent mobility. Such niches include trapping or ambush predation and grazing. Most are small, on the scale of centimeters or below, breathing through their skin or spiracles. Common defensive strategies among crucipedes include heavy armor, hiding, poison or venom, spines, and claws.

Tardupods Tardupods are quads in which one of their limbs specialized as a front end, which made them bilaterally symmetrical. In the largest tardupod group, the front limb has become a head with a mouth connected to the rest of the digestive system in a through gut terminating on the chest. The side limbs are often legs or fins, while the rear limb may be an additional leg or serve as a tail. Their ossicles have evolved into a full endoskeleton. Lungs evolved twice in Tardupoda, first in megafaunal tripods who breathed through spiracles. These tripods went extinct in the last slushball but left Nautanima, cetacean-like swimmers. They evolved a second time in Podicia, which breathe through an opening near their anus, and have produced the largest extant terrestrial fauna on Macrystis. Talpids are podicates with external jaws and are the most adapted to arid regions; they include burrowers, ambush predators, serpentine undulators, upright runners, and more. Dorystoma consists of liquivorous podicates, usually found in wetter regions but including carnisperms with their long-ranging migrations. Many other smaller tardupod clades exist.



 
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Appears in Topics
Caretaker GodsMiddle Regions/Hinter-regionsSolar Dominion
Systems & Worlds M - NXenobiology
 
Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers as a short article on 07 December 2011
based on the original stub article by Anders Sandberg (2001). Expanded 2020-present (2025) By Banelord, Salty, TSSL, Jay the Tardupod, Schwefel Kamm, Worldtree, DocViviLeandra, Dangerous Safety, Destructules, AstroChara, Everything4404, Nomad, MiyuwiAuthor, Cube67, Andonis, Oofles, MajGenrelativity, Teris, Dinomaster337, Cynognathus823, Nikolai- Prince of Denmark, Not Applicable, A Human. For additional credits see below
Initially published on 01 January 2024.

updates to noteworthy clades added March 20, 2025
updates to noteworthy clades added April 8, 2025
updates to noteworthy clades added December 9, 2025

pterogam hunt image image added february 25, 2026
Cthulorax image by Vanga Vangog made july 2023, added february 25, 2026
 
Additional Information
You can download a printable 3d model of a Tardupod liquivore HERE, model by Andrew P
 
 
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