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Description
"Thou art to be honored, oh Liontree - sigil of our Sacred state, emblem of a home righteously defended! May our own marriages, oh Christ, be as happy and lasting as those of this kindred."

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One of the most well-known members of the Quadrilobe superphylum, the Liontrees are the only known manifestation of a time-honored trope in fiction - that of the sessile, terrestrial and megafaunal carnivore.

As expected from its unique bodyplan and upright orientation, it is believed that the Liontree's lineage split off from that of the more familiar Quadrilobes - such as the Bluedeer - before life first came onto land on Haven's shores. This is evidenced by the proliferation of Liontree-like filter-feeders and sessile carnivores found in Haven's oceans, in addition to fossil evidence found by the Order of Saint Helen.

Based on those fossils, it is hypothesized by scholars that the Liontree's first forefathers came into land in pursuit of their motile prey, wherein they rapidly developed the adaptations required for terrestrial life.

In accordance with its sessile lifestyle, a Liontree is both ectothermic and possessed of an extremely slow metabolism, living in a state of functional torpor when it is not actively consuming prey. It is further presumed that the species' specialization into megafaunal prey is a further adaptation to immobility, as smaller animals would not be worth the energy expended to consume them. Additionally, the Liontree's senses aside from sight and touch have atrophied to an extreme extent, being functionally nonexistent to conserve energy. Touch is used to sense the vibrations of approaching prey, while atrophied eyes judge the worthiness of the possible meal once awakened.

Anatomically, the Liontree has evolved to mimic a dead tree, often situating themselves near bodies of water to increase chances of prey coming near. The illusion is imperfect, but apparently is close enough to fool the brains of our world's Permian-equivalent beasts. Above ground, its thick hide is coated in spines akin to those of the Terran starfish, a defense against parasites and smaller organisms that might try to feed on the Liontree during its slumber. Below ground, the organism's hide thins dramatically, while its limbs grow to stretch into the water table to enable it to drink via osmosis. Also present below ground is the "mating tentacle," an elongated gonopore-surface allowing the species to quite literally reach out to their partners in a manner similar to that of the now-dead Terran Barnacles.

Although 'true' hermaphrodites, Liontrees typically live in mated pairs, twining their mating tentacles around each other for gamete transfer. Due to resource limitations, each member of the pair alternates being the mother to their offspring, birthing a surprisingly well-developed live young into a small cavity dug into the soil beneath the mother after a full local year of gestation. After a month spent living off of the "food-skin" produced by the mother's lower limbs, the young Liontree digs its way to the surface, where it moves off on its lower limbs to find a place where it can dig into the soil. Surprisingly for such a simple-brained creature, both parents seem to show some recognition of their young, and will even move to defend it during the short time it remains within their reach.

For all its charisma, however, the Liontree perhaps best serves as an example of why the niche of sessile megafaunal predator is typically left unfilled on land. Its sessile, ectothermic lifestyle demands that energy be conserved for the choicest, largest prey. Larger prey in turn demand a larger predator to be able to quickly subdue and swallow them without risking injury. A larger body then requires in turn an even slower metabolism to avoid starvation, an evolutionary feedback loop of adaptations that work well together until suddenly they do not, akin to that of humanity's bottleneck of increasing infant head size and decreasing maternal hip size prior to the advent of widespread genetic engineering. Researchers from the Order of Saint Mendel are already reporting instances of Liontrees that are so locked into torpor that even the largest Blueelk cannot awaken them in time to catch their prey.

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Another glorious artpiece from the ever-honorable Sheather888(www.deviantart.com/sheather888 ), depicting the species in my ongoing science-fiction setting that inspired the emblem of the 'Devouring Cross.' Enjoy.

Description
"Thou art to be honored, oh Liontree - sigil of our Sacred state, emblem of a home righteously defended! May our own marriages, oh Christ, be as happy and lasting as those of this kindred."

-----------------------------------------------

One of the most well-known members of the Quadrilobe superphylum, the Liontrees are the only known manifestation of a time-honored trope in fiction - that of the sessile, terrestrial and megafaunal carnivore.

As expected from its unique bodyplan and upright orientation, it is believed that the Liontree's lineage split off from that of the more familiar Quadrilobes - such as the Bluedeer - before life first came onto land on Haven's shores. This is evidenced by the proliferation of Liontree-like filter-feeders and sessile carnivores found in Haven's oceans, in addition to fossil evidence found by the Order of Saint Helen.

Based on those fossils, it is hypothesized by scholars that the Liontree's first forefathers came into land in pursuit of their motile prey, wherein they rapidly developed the adaptations required for terrestrial life.

In accordance with its sessile lifestyle, a Liontree is both ectothermic and possessed of an extremely slow metabolism, living in a state of functional torpor when it is not actively consuming prey. It is further presumed that the species' specialization into megafaunal prey is a further adaptation to immobility, as smaller animals would not be worth the energy expended to consume them. Additionally, the Liontree's senses aside from sight and touch have atrophied to an extreme extent, being functionally nonexistent to conserve energy. Touch is used to sense the vibrations of approaching prey, while atrophied eyes judge the worthiness of the possible meal once awakened.

Anatomically, the Liontree has evolved to mimic a dead tree, often situating themselves near bodies of water to increase chances of prey coming near. The illusion is imperfect, but apparently is close enough to fool the brains of our world's Permian-equivalent beasts. Above ground, its thick hide is coated in spines akin to those of the Terran starfish, a defense against parasites and smaller organisms that might try to feed on the Liontree during its slumber. Below ground, the organism's hide thins dramatically, while its limbs grow to stretch into the water table to enable it to drink via osmosis. Also present below ground is the "mating tentacle," an elongated gonopore-surface allowing the species to quite literally reach out to their partners in a manner similar to that of the now-dead Terran Barnacles.

Although 'true' hermaphrodites, Liontrees typically live in mated pairs, twining their mating tentacles around each other for gamete transfer. Due to resource limitations, each member of the pair alternates being the mother to their offspring, birthing a surprisingly well-developed live young into a small cavity dug into the soil beneath the mother after a full local year of gestation. After a month spent living off of the "food-skin" produced by the mother's lower limbs, the young Liontree digs its way to the surface, where it moves off on its lower limbs to find a place where it can dig into the soil. Surprisingly for such a simple-brained creature, both parents seem to show some recognition of their young, and will even move to defend it during the short time it remains within their reach.

For all its charisma, however, the Liontree perhaps best serves as an example of why the niche of sessile megafaunal predator is typically left unfilled on land. Its sessile, ectothermic lifestyle demands that energy be conserved for the choicest, largest prey. Larger prey in turn demand a larger predator to be able to quickly subdue and swallow them without risking injury. A larger body then requires in turn an even slower metabolism to avoid starvation, an evolutionary feedback loop of adaptations that work well together until suddenly they do not, akin to that of humanity's bottleneck of increasing infant head size and decreasing maternal hip size prior to the advent of widespread genetic engineering. Researchers from the Order of Saint Mendel are already reporting instances of Liontrees that are so locked into torpor that even the largest Blueelk cannot awaken them in time to catch their prey.

-----------------------------------------------

Another glorious artpiece from the ever-honorable Sheather888(www.deviantart.com/sheather888 ), depicting the species in my ongoing science-fiction setting that inspired the emblem of the 'Devouring Cross.' Enjoy.