As whales and dolphins were on earth, so are sabephs in Dome 5. They live in every marine environment and even venture into and live in freshwater systems. Magnificent animals united by a similar body shape, yet exhibiting incredible diversity.
The more we study them, the more we see ourselves in them. They are intelligent and compassionate creatures. Different species may speak different languages, one species may have dialects in different regions and sometimes several species in one region may speak a common language. It has become evident they might even have an ocean-wide society that shares news from all corners of the dome. This theory arose when explorers noticed a very strange behaviour. During the first taggings, sabephs would get a treat right after being tagged. Apparently these sabephs spread the news and a couple months later when explorers would tag previously uncontacted populations, they allowed themselves to be tagged and immediately afterwards opened their mouths in expectation of a treat, as if they knew they would get one.
Yet, only a very small number of sabephs have actually been tagged. We estimate that less than 3% of all sabephs alive has been received a tag. This is mostly due to their elusive nature. Like humans, they are very smart and curious, but at the same time prefer to be left alone most of the time. To add to this, many populations are isolated from others and will never receive the news that we mean them no harm.
One of the most isolated species of sabephs is the Ailidha river sabeph (Gyracropteron flumina). Sometimes called the freshwater roundfin, it is a very close relative of the southern roundfin (Gyracropteron australis) though somewhat more basal. In fact, a genetic analysis shows that the southern roundfin might actually be the result of interbreeding with an extinct species in the genus Aommatopeton. The more rounded head and smaller chin of the southern roundfin are evidence to this claim. The Ailidha river sabephs would then be the descendants of the ancestral Gyracropteron species that did not interbreed and might have been pushed into freshwater habitats by competition from the hybrids.
The freshwater roundfin is a of the smallest species of sabephs at barely 2 meters long and feeds mostly on hard shelled food like mollusks, arthropods and armoured fish and like it’s relative, it’s chin is a sensory organ used to detect food in the sediment. It lives its entire life in the rivers and lakes of Ailidha and Kerrland, though the Kerrland subspecies might actually be a less hybridised population of the southern roundfin.
While geographically less isolated than river sabephs, the black sabeph (Dhuosnos subversor) is still one of least contacted of all sabephs. This is probably due to it being a macroraptorial predator with a taste for other sabephs. Black sabephs live in the deep open ocean where they ambush prey from below. They are very fast and their overall anatomy suggest close a relation to the longfin sabeph. They have immensely powerful jaws with large canine like pseudoteeth used to pierce the armour of its prey. Like their name suggests, they are very dark grey in colouration and exhibit little to no countershading. Due to their predatorial behaviour, they’re ranked as the 4th most dangerous sabephs to humans. While more intelligent than crocodile- and megamouth sabephs, they can be quite aggressive, have attacked ROV’s and might even see humans as a potential food source. Little is known about their social behaviour because they are so rarely seen and none have been tagged.
Then there is the species which we know is likely responsible for bringing news to other parts of the dome. While initially called Rafelman’s sabeph because captain Rafelman himself discovered it, its name has since been changed to the boar-beaked sabeph (Rhynchosabephium rafelmani) due to the long tusks in the middle of beak that vaguely resemble the tusks of wild boars. Boar-beaks are very widespread, highly social animals that usually live in open stretches of water in groups ranging in the dozens. They are the largest member of the Rhynchosabephium genus at up to 4.5 meters long and can weigh up to twice as much as their close cousins. They’re also the most pelagic and don’t often come close to shore unless they’re birthing calves. They’ve been observed hunting large schools of small fish and cephalopods and their small pointy pseudoteeth indicate that their prey is mostly composed of relatively small and soft bodied animals.
One of the first sabephs to ever be tagged is 5-R.01, commonly referred to as Roy. Roy is a large male estimated to be between 20 and 30 years old, which we think is middle age for sabephs. Thanks to Roy’s tag, we’ve been able to follow his movements for years and have gathered invaluable data. Originally tagged in the southeast of the dome near Burrland, Roy has been recorded travelling as far north as McGregor Island and as far west as the island of Trahern. Due to this and the recorded interactions between boar-beaks and other sabeph species like brown sabephs, boar-beaks are now sometimes referred to as messenger sabephs, for they are likely responsible for bringing news to all who might listen.
A very peculiar sabeph lives near the northwestern coasts of Thule and the eastern coasts of the Angia’s. With its large size and big protruding chin, it at first glance looks like an axejaw sabeph. A closer look at its jaws however reveals that it’s a very different animal. While axejaws have many serrations like a circular saw, this species has few but large knobs and serrations on its jaws and a more robust chin. This indicates a less meat-based and more invertebrate-based diet. When observing its feeding method, it becomes clear where this creature got its name from. Plowing and shovelling through the sediment with its large chin led to getting the obvious name of shovelchin sabeph (Sucellos pugnax). It’s uses the chin for far more than just shovel in though. The scrape marks on both their chins and many rocks suggests they use their chins to wedge mollusks off of rocks.
Recently, a horrifying encounter on near a river mouth in notherwestern Thule revealed that shovelchins also use their weapons to brutally kill large animals. A team of explorers was travelling in a canoe when they were attacked by a crocodile sabeph. They did not expect this because those sabephs are usually only found further inland. Their troubles were quickly solved however when a duo of male shovelchins “came to the rescue”. They launched themselves at the crocodile sabeph with incredible speed and impaled the beast with their chins. They then proceeded to maul it and shred it to pieces before finally eating only the flippers and tongue. On their way out they even tried to attack the canoe but were deterred by the loud sound of sonar.
This encounter was the first evidence of the highly aggressive nature of shovelchin sabephs. While they hunt for food, they have also been recorded hunting and killing for sport. They seem to have a particular vendetta with crocodile- and megamouth sabephs. Both hypercarnivores slightly larger than shovelchins, it’s possible shovelchins kill them on sight as a way to remove the competition or to remove threats to their young. Shovelchins are much more intelligent and social than either of these carnivores and so hold the advantage despite being physically less powerful.
While they’ve been observed being very aggressive to creatures larger than themselves and vertebrate hunting carnivores, they can often be seen with an entourage of dufa’s. Dufa’s are Thriae which have adapted to life in the oceans of Dome 5. While small for secondarily aquatic vertebrates, they are absolute titans compared to other thriae. Interestingly, it seems that certain populations of shovelchins have “domesticated” dufa’s, which follow them around to catch small animals that flee the shovelchin’s plowing and warn them when they detect threats. In return, the shovelchins will passionately defend their dufa companions against any all possible threats and these different species can often be seen interacting in ways reminiscent of how humans treat their dogs and cats.
Living exclusive near the coasts of Nütsov Island is the aptly named Nütsov sabeph (Sabephium nutsovensis). A very close, slightly smaller and more grey colored relative of the brown sabeph (Sabephium tridens), it feeds on mostly the same prey and occupies virtually the same niche.
The two species are so similar in fact that at one point it was thought that the Nütsov sabeph was just a subspecies of the brown sabeph. However, an encounter with what might possibly be the most unique sabeph alive changed that view forever.
It all started when the member of Haraldsson-vessel found a female Nütsov sabeph with injured flipper. Somehow, human trash had already made its way into the ocean and had snared around her fin. They removed the wire and she was tagged and dubbed 5-H.17. They treated her wounds and released her back into the water.
Surprisingly, a few days later she returned with her mate, as if to say thanks and show that humans mean no harm. Her mate however, was not an ordinary Nütsov sabeph. He was larger and more robustly built than any other recorded male. His most striking feature however, were his colours. Unlike the dull grey and white countershading that is typical of Nütsov sabephs, he had distorted black, white, grey and golden stripes. While classified as 5-H.21, he is almost always referred to as Tiger.
The news of Tiger’s discovery quickly spread around the explorers and none could think of why he was so interestingly coloured. Was it a skin-disease? Was it a genetic defect? Was it inbreeding?
Turns out, it’s none of those. A tissue sample from Tiger revealed that he is actually a hybrid. To be exact, he is the offspring of a male brown- and a female Nütsov sabeph (S. tridens x nutsovensis). Apparently some 20 years ago a vagrant male brown sabeph made its way to Nütsov Island and mated with a native female. Since the two species are so similar, this male was likely accepted by the natives as one of them without much fuss.
But how does Tiger being a hybrid explain his stripes? Well as we now know, the calves of many sabeph species are born with disruptive camouflage and brown- and Nütsov sabephs are no exception. It appears that hybridisation in sabephs often leads to neotenous traits being retained, such as skin colour. Tiger’s distorted camouflage is thus the result of the imperfect mixing of genes, since brown- and Nütsov sabephs are born with different camouflage patterns.
Tiger’s stripes are at the same time an advantage and a disadvantage for him. While they help him hide from prey and predators in seaweed forests and reefs, they also make him more visible out in the open. For sabephs however which are eyeless, his stripes are unimportant. To his mother’s kind, he looks like a very large and strong male and to macroraptorial sabephs he is no less or more noticeable than any other.
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