Premise
The moon is a harsh, barren environment … at least to Earth-native life. But what might happen when xenobiological structures begin to proliferate upon its surface? Without an atmosphere, xenoflora are forced to derive energy from their surroundings in strange and exotic ways.
ATP synthase, a protein that functions similarly to a proton-dependent equivalent of the hydroelectric dam, requires a buildup of hydrogen ions to function. With a nigh-infinite supply of protons streaming from the sun, non-motile life-adjacents use the solar wind as a source of energy — collecting not EM radiation, but particle radiation.
These "plasmavorous" Perivivians, named due to their lack of a true metabolism, establish the basis on which an entire ecosphere may be formed. Animal-analogs and eukaryote-equivalents form sprawling communities along the surface of the moon, rendering it unrecognizable to the baseline Earth native.
Gravity aside, the differences do not end there. The unprocessed protons, left over after intake and explusion from the bodies of perivivians, pool on the lunar surface, posing hazards unlike anything seen on Earth. Without an atmosphere, motile organisms develop foreign morphologies and alien ambulatory methods. The laws of animal locomotion are altered, created a world abounding with oddities.
About
This project, created by the HQ14, proposes a hypothetical ecosphere established on the lunar surface. Beasts of Selene is a speculative biology project that takes place on Earth's moon, documenting xenobiological life as it proliferates upon the plasma-swept surface.
Begin Exploring
Section 1.0 - Categorizing Lunar Life
Section 1.1 - Perivivia (Clade)
Section 1.2 - Lunanimalia (Clade)
Section 1.2.1 - Procephalian Morphology (Case Study)
Section 1.2.2 - Calixid Eyesight (Case Study)
Section 1.2.3 - Sky Skimmers (Case Study)
Section 1.2.4 - Duocephalian Lineages (Case Study)
Section 1.3 - Priota (Polyphyletic Group)
Section 1.3.1 - Lunanimal-shielding Prionid (Case Study)
Section 2.0 - Lunar Environments
Section 2.2 - Harplands (Biome)
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