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Plops, as described in the link, are pretty dangerous critters. Their water predators range from Snappers to octopi, and due to Rubberizing, the Enchantment they grant to whatever kills them, not many creatures will eat them.

They also can breathe underwater as well as air, they're rather numerous, and since they ingest dirt and food particles through their skin (and Plops are smart enough to congregate in human villages because their garbage and whatnot present a large source of easy food) I believe Plops will naturally enter and adapt to water environments since the current itself will feed them once they're submerged.

While it seems likely, I know I may be wrong, so my question is simple: Will Plops Go Aquatic?

Specifically, will Plops develop aquatic subspecies despite the lethal predators awaiting them in water environments, which will likely be present anywhere they can possibly live? Yes, predators don't stop evolution, but if Plops get eaten before they can reproduce in water environments, logic dictates that they will never be able to develop aquatic subspecies except in water environments without said predators.

Specifications For Answers:

  1. The best answer will take into account the actual and potential predators of Plop to determine if they can eliminate Plops that try to go aquatic, therefore preventing them from developing aquatic subspecies. This will require one to refer to the links.
Alendyias
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  • Given your specifications, absolutely. – Otkin Apr 24 '21 at 00:27
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    If the presence of predators would prevent evolution (species do not decide to go aquatic or airborne or ground based), life would have not arisen at all – L.Dutch Apr 24 '21 at 04:08
  • @L.Dutch-ReinstateMonica: good point, but the trouble is, if predators eat Plops before they can reproduce every time they go into the water, they shouldn't develop aquatic subspecies. – Alendyias Apr 26 '21 at 13:25

1 Answers1

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Plops will probably go aquatic, at least in some sub-species.

  1. There's a plentiful source of food down in the water.

  2. Any creature that eats you, based on rubberification, will essentially be poisoned in a small way- if your teeth eventually go rubbery it's very difficult to be a predator.

  3. They can breathe in water.

Some plops will be eaten by predators and will be caught by humans for rubberization, but based on my understanding the plops are (kind of) like slime balls/jellyfish in terms of nutritional value, meaning that a creature would need a lot of rubberization to be full.

Rubberization might also accidentally waterproof gills on fish of types- up to you though.

The octopi would prove a danger, but if you have "water-plops" smaller than land-plops, there wouldn't be much of an incentive to adapt and hunt the water-plops in a dangerous amount.

The Snappers, having large teeth for eating, would eat plops.... then quickly get rubbery and useless teeth. Not a predator.

Salami-tsunami
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    Thank you, your answer is clear and thorough. I was overthinking this, wasn't I? – Alendyias Apr 26 '21 at 13:48
  • Welcome. I had to think through it for a few minutes, and I don't know the context of whatever you're making beyond the links, so I could be underthinking it. – Salami-tsunami Apr 26 '21 at 13:50
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    No, you didn't underthink it. Your answer was pretty much perfect. – Alendyias Apr 26 '21 at 13:54
  • The way I think of it, rubberization is pretty much akin to becoming poisonous to every creature but the octopi. The plops will probably have an ecological role similar to a sort of scavenger-jellyfish while the octopi are the only species equipped to deal with their poison. – Salami-tsunami Apr 26 '21 at 14:41