When the rains finally hit Garmiwala, the environment fully transforms. Dust turns to mud, dry basins fill with water, and a hidden ecosystem kicks into motion. Filter feeders crawl out from the cracked ground and floodplains, drawn by the temporary lakes that only last a few weeks.
A most recent discovery has been the sea pancake: flat, soft, and about the size of a real pancake. It glides just beneath the surface, filtering the nutrient-heavy water through thousands of tiny pores. Its diet includes decaying organic matter and trace metals from the soil, which slowly turn its body a bright, toxic orange. That color serves as a warning to any would-be predator.
But the sea pancake carries more than just toxins.
A reddish slime mold called searup clings to its back. It uses the pancake’s movement to filter feed more efficiently. At first, it may spread in thin patches, barely noticeable. But if its growth is left unchecked, it can smother the host and slow it down.
That’s where the butterbug steps in. These small, yellow creatures actively seek out sea pancakes to feed on the accumulated searup.
The butterbug is actually the larval form of one of the various towering tree-analogs unique to Garmiwala. After a feeding phase and as the lakes dry up, it anchors itself into the ground and slowly transforms into a rooted organism. This two-stage life – mobile when young, immobile when mature – only exists on this planet. It likely evolved to survive the extremes here: flash floods and long droughts.
Once the lakes dry up, everything shuts down. The sea pancakes burrow underground. The searup dries out and releases its spores. The butterbugs vanish, some already rooted, others waiting for the next season. Then the land returns to silence and waits.
This entry was made by Artnoob100