FRIC — Viewing Species: Trilopede

This egg is surrounded by a thin layer of gel, and anchored to a rock by a long stalk. Something can be seen curled up inside the egg.

The egg hatched into a baby myriapod with a dull exoskeleton broken up by bright circuit board patterning. It crawls around aimlessly and eats decomposing vegetation, mold, and rusted metals. It curls up into a protective ball when startled.

Trilopedes are a slow-moving species of biomechanical myriapods. They are easy to overlook in favor of much of the larger and flashier fauna, as at first glance, they appear to be much like millipedes with decorative flanges similar to a trilobite beetle. This led to them being passed over for study at first, until a researcher observed a group of Trilopedes demonstrating problem-solving behaviour and constructing a bridge from their own bodies to retrieve food across a stream while others carried it back to share, much like an ant colony.

Trilopedes communicate via electrical signals, and while they are capable of functioning independently, their behaviour is more intelligent in groups, and some researchers have been attempting to direct groups of Trilopedes via external signals. Luckily, their passive nature and scavenging diet makes raising groups for study rather easy. They can deliver an electrical shock in self-defense, but this is unusual.