Democratic Socialist AssemblyBoard

My name is Dr. Esteban Julio Ricardo Montoyo de la Rosario Ramirez. I am a cryptozoologist who has been traveling around the world for years, seeking to find out the mysteries of our world.

In this report, I will not be detailing just one type of organism, but rather a whole ecosystem of organisms unlike any other that I have seen in the world. On the west end of Sdlagas Tlagáa, there is an area of the shore that contains a vast array of life that both glow and shine: bioluminate and fluoresce. During the day time, there is not much of a difference between this area and other parts of the rainforest. By night, however, things are quite different. This area is known as the Kúndlaan Adíidsii, or in DSA Basic, the Moonlight Forest. Thanks to the forest rangers of tje Moonlight Forest, i was given permission to access to the forest and study it, which is closed to the public due to the rarity of the ecosystem.

Ash Pearl Maple Tree

One of the most striking parts of the Moonlight Forest are the trees. In a reverse of the typical environment of this climate, deciduous trees are more prevalent than coniferous trees. The most prominent tree is the Ash Pearl Maple Tree, a dark leafed tree with leaves of a dark purple and black and fruit known as ash pearl fruit. An ash pearl is not meant to be eaten, for the name reflects not just the black color or pearl shape of the fruit but also the ashy taste. However, the ash pearl fruit is useful for its ability to be grounded into a deep black dye which has been used for hundreds of years by cultivators. The Ash Pearl Maple's dark leaves allow it to absorb a large amount of radiation during the day, which it uses for florescence at night. Around sunset, the Moonlight Forest does not go dim but remains illuminated by the Ash Pearl Maples that emit an indigo colored light. While not as bright as the ground is during a full moon, the Ash Pearl Maple does give off an illumination that is more comparable to a half-moon. As the night goes on, their florescence reduces down until there is little to no glow around sunrise. In the autumn, when the leaves begin to fall, their florescence is washed away into the soil as well as the water, allowing the surrounding life to develop their own florescence.

Primrose Lantern

A variety of flowers have absorbed the florescence of the Ash Pearl Maple and have even achieved bioluminescence independently. The Primrose Lantern is so common that it is hard not to step on them when you explore this area. They uses their bioluminescence to attract insects for pollination, but it also comes at a cost to insects, especially predators to the flower, who could be spotted by birds and others that eat them. While most display a yellow light, some varieties display a green light and one I have seen glow blue.

Moonlight Bladderwort

To my surprise, I also found carnivorous plants here. In some waters, there are bladderworts that make use of bioluminescence to lure prey over to them using a pulsing green light. This apparently is so successful that these moonlight bladderworts are bigger than any other bladderwort I've seen and capture larger prey like minnows and tadpoles.

The fauna of this area have been an item of amazement to locals for hundreds of years, unique and vivid bioluminescence. These creatures have been integrated into local legends and religion and referred to as Kúndlaan Sgáanuwaay (Moonlight Spirits). Most seem to be off-shoots of other local animals that developed bioluminescence overtime while some are entirely unique to this ecosystem.

Moonlight Otter

An otter species that is unique to this ecosystem is called the Moonlight Otter. They are related to the river otter and are similar in both shape, size, and build. However, the fur is the distinctive attribute of them. They have a white stripe on the front of all four of their legs, with the front two meeting behind the head to form one line along their back going to the rear and splits above the tail and wraps to the front of the back legs. In these stripes is where its bioluminescence is, with the fur glowing a whitish-blue as it swims which it uses to disorientate predators and prey.

The Torch Salmon

This fish has developed a bioluminescence that I was very surprised by. Instead of using its light to attract prey or evade predators, they use their light to find prey, like actively search for them instead of luring them in. Surrounding their eyes are a ring of bioluminescent cells sunken into the face, which gives the salmon a kind of bulging eye look. However, this is useful in that the salmon can use the narrow space to direct the light in a direction it chooses as a spotlight, shining the light on the sea floor to find prey. The light is a whitish-green color and shines on the floor in a ring shape. This particular fish is reflected in local religious belief of a whale-sized torch salmon called Kadánkya who uses his lights to find the spirits of the dead traversing to the afterlife and consume them.

K'ayhltáa Sgáanuwaa - Star Critters

There is one animal that resembles nothing else that I am aware of outside of the Moonlight Forest and that is the K'ayhltáa Sgáanuwaa, also known as Star Critters. These creatures are small, average of 7 inches in height. They are sexual dimorphic with males having a very dark purple colored fur and females having a very dark blue colored fur. They are nocturnal animals, sleeping in dens formed in bushes. They are herbivores and feed on nuts and berries, especially Ash Pearls that fall off the tree.

The most unique thing about them is their bioluminescence in forming constellations. Part of their mating ritual is activating their bioluminescence that causes their eyes to glow as well as spots along their skin to glow with lines connecting the spots. Females have fewer spots and lines than males and the females mate with the male with the most spots and lines. The spots and lines resemble constellations and so people have given them the name of Star Critters. They are a sacred species, thought to have connections to the celestial bodies.

There is a large diversity of organisms in the Moonlight Forest and it would take a long time for me to document them all. However, these were some that I found to be the most interesting.

It worked and I am now happy.