Scientific name: Hastulingua pestilentia Alias: Mosquitofish Niche: Parasite+Predator Evolved from: Hastalingua cheimarroi Description: Mosquitofish are parasitic and predatory whipologs, they latch onto larger hosts with their hooked tri-jaws and six legs (which are actually parts of an extended ribcage-adjacent structure that was first developed to simply allow them to reach the sizes they do without collapsing in on themselves), and bleed them, collecting the nutrient rich blood with an extended part of their digested track that comes out of their mouth. This siphon also doubles as a tongue, and is very flexible. Mosquitofish can also very effectively communicate with others of their kind using hyper-developed receptors capable of vibration-sense and echolocation, as well as internal parts of their jaw that click together to send out messages to pack-mates. If the pack encounters creatures smaller than themselves, they will simply kill and eat them instead of bleeding them. Packs of mosquitofish are very cooperative, even if members are from different families. The size of the pack depends on the amount of food available, and a pack will split up and go separate ways if food is too scarce. In very food abundant areas, packs can reach up to 25-35 individuals. As you can see, these whipologs are very widespread across the planet, but in areas of open ocean they are very vulnerable and prefer to stay in areas where they can hide from predators, which they have many.
