Chantecuicihitli

Chantecuihitli are large lumbering crab-like creatures that absorb light from the undersun and convert it into energy. They prefer to stay immobile for extended periods of time, staying rooted into the rock suspended from the roof of the Underworld. A byproducts of their photosynthetic process is crystals that grow on their shells. When the crystals have grown big, they travel deeper into the caves to breed and hibernate for an extended period of time, usually around 200 years. The Chantecuihitli are arguably the most important part of the bizzare ecosystem of The Underworld.
 Weighed down by the crystals that accumulate on their shell, the Cantecuihitli rely on the nocturnal lithophagic creatures of the caves to feast on these crystals, wittling them down. These creautres migrate through the caves crisscrossing The Underworld whenever a region has depleted of crystals, at which point the Chantecuihitli in that region would awaken and return to the surface to replenish their crystals. The lithophagic creatures appear to be too fragile to travel in the light of the undersun, burning away quickly despite the undersun's curiously low luminosity which has allowed for wyndelkyndian colonisation. The metabolic processes of these lithotrophic creatures emit a variety of gases, mostly oxygen and nitrogen, mimicking an atmosphere much like that on the surface. There is also most importantly, a natural prescence of Aklaerosine in the underworld's atmostphere, which has only appeared in the upper atmoshphere as a result of wyndelkyndian aerynostry. 
The Chantecuihitli are the first step in an ecological chain designed by Faeriel 30000 years ago during the terraformation of Harritanzincizinccan. The Aklaerosine in the atmosphere floats toward the detritus and serves as fuel for the aeryno-technology hidden within which holds the crust away from the core, preventing the collapse of our hollow world among many other functions including thermoregulation of the planet's crusts.
This species as well as much of the surrounding ecosystem is heavily protected, as archaeological inquiry into the detritus layer of Wyndelkynd increased, it became clear that this species played a key role in the transmission of energy from The Undersun to The Detritus, and without this constant flow of energy the entire planet would collapse in on itself. Initial disruptions caused by the scramble for The Underworld when it was discovered in the 5th Metza have been slowly mended as we have gained a greater understanding of just how important this system is to our planet's structural integrity.

Geographic Distribution

• The Underworld

Discovered by

Kyndi Emickir