#combining human traits with aquatic creature traits is tricky but like

[biorust-art]

As promised! some quick n messy redesigns of Nautuli -- as brought to you by a Marine Scientist! There’s a lot here so uhh lets get started! (If I’ve spelled anything wrong just leave it alone fam also i have never read up on nautuli so pth)

- First and foremost the wraps are based off of traditional Kenyan garb and the mother with her three babs are vaugly based off of clownfish - everything else is basically from my brain which could mean anything

Nautuli of the Photic Zone (the light zone aka ~200 m below surface) are very colorful! They can range from being multicolored to blend in with the corals, or simply blue counter-coloring (dark on back, light on belly -- helps hide from predators) etc it can depend on many factors and may change as they grow older. Also the Ocean is Cold!! fat helps with body temperature regulation, buoyancy and orang protection as well as good food storage incase of loss of food etc.

The Tendrils/ tentacles whatever they’re called are multipurpose and one of the reasons why Nautuli are so successful - the underside of each one are covered in cilia (think starfish) that 1) help gather planktonic/ small food for more efficient energy intake 2) help camouflaged within the corals 3) protect the sensitive primary / dorsal mouth 4) give babies a place to grab onto when swimming (more useful in the twilight/aphotic zones) 5) provide a home for cleaners and other lifeforms and 5) help maintain body moister on land.  The amount of tendrils, how thin or thick they are and how long they eventually get varies, but generally, the longer they are, the older the nautolan (and thus fatter and sexier thus thus -- more successful)  

Nautuli have two mouths - a frontal and a dorsal/ primary mouth. The primary mouth is meant for smaller foods and only leads to the stomach, while the frontal is meant for bigger foods-- but the main purpose is breathing and speech. the pathway from frontal to stomach can be sealed and compressed to aid with diving and while they can ‘breathe’ through their skin, taking a breath of air is better incase if the water is anoxic (no oxygen)  

Photic courting is usually done by gift giving, dancing, and just overall being attractive. They are by no means monogamous and traditionally speaking it is the receiver of the gifts that finally chooses the partner(s) for that season. children are born in groups of 1 - 8 usually and are pretty self sufficient when freshly born -- though they are small and thus kept close. in the Aphotic Zone, babies are kept with the matriarch until they are ready to find their own mate (aphotic nautuli tend to bond for life)

Finally - The land sucks. Its dry, its hot, its windy, dusty, bright and has way too much O2 all the time. And theres like, no food in the air. But thats ok cus mucous solves pm all those problems (except for brightness - sunglasses will solve that problem though). Keeps them moist, well protected from dust/disease/etc, cool and lessens the O2 intake. However it is also very slippery which can be a good and bad thing depending on the situation. 

 Thats a lot! but! if yall have any questions let me know! I’ve also done some Mon Calamari and Quarren stuff-- ill post those soon