Kelpland Medusae

The Kelpland Medusae, the living kelp forests, are simple invertebrates found on Neptune. Like the kraken-whales, Kelpland Medusae can grow large enough to become unique ecosystems by themselves. Most kelplands, however, consist of several medusae drifting together.
The Kelpland Medusae are usually female or hermaphroditic, as male medusae do not grow as large. Medusae are believed to be effectively immortal, when they are protected from predators and given sufficient food, they show no signs of aging or deterioration.
Medusae do not seem to intentionally participate in the aural soundscape of the ocean. Their movement produces some noise, but they do not have phonic lips or any other instrument to communicate with. Their presence is often communicated by other creatures in and around the Kelplands.

Anatomy

Like other medusae, the Kelpland Medusae consist of a hollow crown, which contains most of their organs, and a trailing set of tentacles. The crown is the core of their body. It is a hollow bell-shaped structure which is made of a jelly-like substance. Some medusae have additional stalks that extend from the crown, to either attach to a substrate (in the case of stalked medusae), or to extend their reach (in the case of canopy medusae).
Kelpland Medusae have three kinds of tentacles. The most plentiful are the fronds which form the forest and offer safe habitation and a substrate for other creatures. In between the fronds are stingers, long thin tentacles that stun creatures. At the core of the kelplands are extended lips called oral arms. These tentacles resemble beautiful draperies, and are often a different colour to the fronds.
Medusae are carnivorous, and provide shelter in return for a population tax. When medusae catch something in their oral arms, they begin digesting them as they transport them up to the mouth. The mouth of the medusae is at the center of the crown.

There are three kinds of medusae who can grow large enough to become kelplands.

Canopy Medusae are the best known of the kelpland medusae, as well as the largest. These medusae float along the surface of Neptune. They use gas-filled bladders at the canopy of the forest to maintain buoyancy. They often comingle with algae kelplands.

Bell Medusae are found deeper in the ocean and swim by expanding and contracting their bodies to push water behind them. Often several bell medusae will get tangled into eachother and form a larger biome.

Stalked Medusae attach themselves to Falls, kraken-whales, icebergs and other large underwater structures. These medusae are often deliberately cultivated aboard the Falls.

Living Biomes

Kelpland Medusae are important ecosystems. They provide stability for nesting, protection for prey, and great hunt for predators. Several creatures are entirely adapted to life in the kelplands, blending in to the fronds, or clinging onto them to catch their next meal. People also live in the kelplands, using the fronds to moor their homes, or even weaving their homes from the fronds themselves.
Medusae are not intelligent enough to be truly domesticated or tamed, but they can be made safer. Those who live in or by the Kelplands often cut and collect the stinger tentacles both to make habitation safer, but also to create stinging nets. Removing the stingers is known as cropping, and once a medusae has been cropped they will often need to be fed.
Kelpland Medusae have, in the past, been worshipped as gods. Many kelpland traditions revolve around animal sacrifice, and there has been historical evidence of ritual human sacrifice. In the Still Seas, a region of Neptune nested in a gyre between four currents, dead are fed to the medusae as a common burial practice.

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♆ Neptune
Locations Fall ( Albino Palace ) Characters Venilia VII · Blue NM-2 · Fritz Fram · Thauma Magallana Society Humanoids ( Oceanid ) · Traditions ( Symbiosis ) · Organizations ( Sentinel )

Canopy Medusae by Annie Stein

Conservation Status

Conservation Dependent (CD)

Geographic Distribution

• Neptune

Choral Type

Non-musical