Rainbowica Plaeticus
The Hidden Species
The Rainbow Plate
The Rainbowica Plaeticus, more commonly know as The Rainbow Plate, live in the mosaic environment. The Rainbow plate lives for around three years. At birth, they are about the size of a quarter. The first eight weeks of life is a crucial stage in development, they will grow to their adult size of a 9 inch wide plate. The colorful squares form in the first 2 days and continue to expand as they get larger. The rainbow plate species reproduce sexually, the offsprings have traits similar to their parents. These animals have adapted so well to their environment that, at times, it is nearly impossible to find them. The Rainbow Plate sleep for more than 16 hours a day. While sleeping, the heart rate and breathing slow down to almost nothing, but their eyes stay open to alert them from any oncoming dangers. Although the animal is always alert, they are very docile creatures and never attack eachother except when there is a shortage of food.
Habitat
The Rainbow Plate species live in the mosaic environment. The mosaic environment is covered in colorful clay tiles, and the terrain is very difficult to manuver through because of the bumpy surface. Between the clay tiles is a cement filling that erodes easily. Besides the bumpy edges of the tiles, the environment is very flat.
Feeding Habits
The Rainbow Plate feeds off of the dust and broken pieces of the ceramic tiles in their environment. Their mouth is underneath their body making eating very easy. The Plates do not have teeth but suck up the dust and pieces of tile into their mouth. Once the large pieces are in their mouth, there is a poisonous chemical that shoots from the back of their throats and quickly melts the pieces. The Rainbow plates eat constantly when they are awake. The amount of energy they get from their food is very little and is spent moving around eating more food.
Camouflage
The Rainbow Plate has adapted to their environment by looking alike. In the first two days of life the Rainbow Plate starts to show the colorful squares forming on the top part of their body. When looking at the mosaic environment the Plate blends in by creating the illusion that the squares continue onto their body and it is diffcult to tell where that animal is actually located. Sometimes in the beginning stages of their lives when the squares are small and slightly faded, they are easier to spot and more noticable when moving.
Niche
The Rainbow plate plays an important role in its environment by taking the dust and broken pieces of the Mosaic off.
Wide Eyes
The eyes on the Rainbow Plate are set very wide giving them visibility all the way around their body.
Mouth on the bottom
The mouth of the Plate is underneath the body. This makes eating easy, because f the short distance from mouth to ground.
Sticky Feet
The Rainbow Plate species has a sticky layer on the bottom of their feet to prevent them from falling off of the surface they live on.