Seaballoon Diversity

This is just a quick image showing some of the diversity that seaballoons have. Seaballoons evolved some 360 million years ago in the sunlight oceans of Asteria and still sustain a highly diversity even now. So without further ado, here’s some examples!

1. Lesser Platted Balloons: These small seaballoons only average out at a diameter of 60 cm at full inflation. Due to the fact that they float only a little above the surface, their underside is armored so that swimming predators can’t just snap on them. When they encounter a flying or floating predator, the platted balloons will rapidly deflate their sacs and dive in the water, where they’ll remain till their sacs are fully inflated yet again.

2. Whipping Fury: This is a large species of platted balloon that consumes other balloons, aquatic lifeforms, and flying organisms to sustain their algae colonies. Their balloons are at least 2.5 meters in diameter and are heavily armored. They use their whip like tendrils to spear prey and digest them alive. While taurohs are not normal prey items due to their size and geographical location, sailors have been attacked on occasion by these seaballoons.

3. Majestic Zeppelin: At 15 meters long, the majestic zeppelin is the largest species of seaballoon and spends the majority of its time above the clouds. Due to it technically being a big target, it has a symbiotic relationship with a species of bugmouse that helps protect its relative from parasites and would be predators. Even so, descending to drink is a dangerous move, as large marine predators have been known to launch out of the water and bring a zeppelin down. Some tauroh cultures also had zeppelin hunting as a respected sport.

4. Zooming Airship: In this lineage, the zooming airship and its kin have reduced air sacs that serve not to completely lift the organism, but to help them with powered flight. They are all fast and can simply outrun or outmaneuver any predators. They are also smart and inquisitive of a species, being known to swoop around lighthouses and following ships.

5. Lifesuits: These are archaic seaballoons that float right on the surface and are completely incapable of flight, whether that is lighter-than-air or heavier-than-air. They float on the surface for as long as they can to allow their algae to effectively photosynthesize, but they will deflate and dive when predators come around.

6. Atmoball: These seaballoons float up to the highest altitudes recorded of any floater at over 12 km from the surface, where they provide their algae with the best seat in the house for photosynthesis. At that altitude, there are no predators that the Atmoballs need to fear and they calmly float around. Of course, they have to lower back down to the surface to acquire water and nutrients. Their airsacs can expand up to 4 meters.

7. The Eastern Skimmer: This is a pretty generic representative of the seaballoons. They have extremely long tendrils though to suck water all the while staying a safe distance from the ocean surface. They are vulnerable to flying organisms however, to which the Eastern Skimmer will produce a toxin in its skin to discourage predation.

8. Treefloat: These small (1 meter in diameter) seaballoons have specialized their front limbs for grasping onto the branches of coastal “trees”. They tend to not move around nearly as much as some other seaballoon species and use the trees that they sit in as camouflage.