Computantis minimis, Cleric

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylum: Crustacea

Class: Maxillopoda

Subclass: Thecostraca

Order: Cerebris

Family: Domiciliensis

Genus: Computantis

Species: C. minimis

Length: 60 - 400 cm

Phenotype Mass: median 26 kg - as low as 5 kg or as high as 3 600 kg not uncommon

Resonance: Soprano (rarely performant)

Conservation status: Least Concern

C. minimis is a common sight throughout much of the mid-to-outer-reef due to an intensive combination of intentional migrations and a well adapted reproductive cycle for accidental spread of their offspring and eggs.

However they are very difficult to visually distinguish from other Computantis species without close study of their digestive systems or evaluation of their life cycle adaptations or behavior and skill aptitudes. To casual observation or even dissection juvenile and adult C. minimis can be all but indistinguishable from other species due to the shared variability in size and anatomical traits.

As is defining of the Computantis genus they are specialized towards supporting a large proportion flexible neural tissue dedicated to abstract cognitive tasks with several species specific structures for market processing and infrastructure analysis.

However most notable for C. minimis is they have completely readapted to non-urban and early-urban niches where as other members of their genus and order have settled into much more interdependent roles in urban or high urban ecosystem niches. This flexibility and ability to sustain breeding populations under minimal infrastructure within smaller polity or even in brief feral monoculture communes of only C. minimis is the primary basis of the species success and extensive range.

Their neural anatomical proportions are significantly reduced from other Computantis, reaching a maximum of 5 kg mass in most individuals with minor variations above and below in still aware adults. This is due to the body mass dedicated to their more pronounced circulatory, musculature, immune and digestive systems.

The C. minimis has uniquely overdeveloped subdermal arteries of the respiratory system. These are adapted into a primary digestive system tailored to intravenous feeding. This adaptation is believed to have emerged while the species was transitioning to inferior life support infrastructure after a major Urban polity collapse.

The ability to survive on variable quality intravenous feeding and their selective organ and tissue reabsorption when said systems are not being strained or utilized has made the C. minimis species incredibly prolific and adaptable in many smaller polity. Their reproductive strategy of mass spawnings as resources allow further contributes in how pervasive their range is. Individual spawn settle into whatever roles a given polity or environment has available. Offspring are without technological interference released in large clouds that provide readily adaptable labor pools. Their eggs are tenacious, durable and easily cling to surfaces and wedge themselves into crannies of unrelated cargo on interstellar freight. The spawn are eager and readily and eagerly flood any labor pool demands a polity or community has.

As such in some polity they are considered invasive and either quarantined against or actively hunted for bounties. However in most polity the influx of ready labor and rapid cultural imprinting of the newly hatched spawn outweighs most concerns.

Usually the C. minimis lifecycle follows the transition from motile spawn to sedentary reproductive adults is followed by a conversion of the labor force from their relatively mediocre physical labor to computational, administrative or related clerical duties. However outliers and extraordinary conditions has caused the expression of motile reproductive adults this is usually only the case in extremely poor or small polities without the resources or means to supply dietary infrastructure for sessile stage C. minimis yet somehow have sufficient food surplus to trigger spawning.

Senescence in C. minimis is selective and environmentally based. As living conditions and metabolic strain becomes imbalanced individuals digest the less utilized organ systems leading to gradual but consistent decline in independent viability of the organism if careful exercise regimes are not followed.

This trait however does not extend to the reproductive systems, which can continue to produce eggs and sperm indefinitely if otherwise sustained with direct intravenous nutrient solution. However as one of the systems liable to atrophy before this state is the immune system great care must be taken to keep feeding lines completely sterilized.

As polity transition into urban ecosystems C. minimis’ advantages falter and they are often displaced to periphery territory by more specialized species or technologically advantaged individuals. In some cases this displacement is by the related Urban Specialist species Computantis computantis or Computantis aspectus.