Species Traits

anatomy

1. Snout Whiskers - Labelled in Red

Whiskers and other whisker like protrusions form over the upper lip and act as feelers, sensing both physical objects and electrical currents in front of P-K in water.

2. Lower Jaw Fins / Whiskers - Labelled in Dark Orange

Similar to the snout whiskers, though usually either longer in length or more intricately formed. These whiskers or fins have the same functions, except that they feel things behind the P-K instead of in front.

3. Forehead Fins / Whiskers - Labelled in Orange

Though these fins look the same as both other sets, they are more for emotional use instead of sensory. They are the most flexible and maneuverable of all the fins, and are used in greetings or displaying changing emotions.

They can be pivoted in a wide range of motions to display different emotions to other P-K. For example, having them folded down to rest against the skin is a sign of Fear or Stress, where as having them stand upright or wiggle is a sign of Happiness, a Greeting or to show they mean no Harm to others.

4. Cranial Fins - Labelled in Mid Yellow

Main head fin, that an grow between the forehead and the base of the skull on a P-K. This Fin can be used to help breach the surface of the ocean and make sharp turns.

5. Ears - Labelled in with a Circle and x

Attached  smoothly to the back of the head, and have an extensive range of movement. They flatten completely against the side of the skull when swimming full speed to create less resistance, and have a large array of flick patterns centred around their mood or personality.
Twitchy ears equals happy Phish-Keeper!

6. Gills - Internal and External  - Labelled in Yellow

P-K are classed as Amphibious Reptiles, and primarily breathe with their Water lungs. They usually have between 2 and 5 pairs of gills on either side of their neck, which flare outwards in water to allow the biggest surface area for the Internal Gill to process air from the Ocean, and flatten skin tight when out of water.

7. Dorsal / Spinal fins - Labelled in Lime Green

The most solidly built fins on a P-K’s body, these fins can develop into standard dorsal style fins, webbed lines or a mix of different types depending on the companion animal.

8. Limb Fins - Labelled in Bright Green

Though they don’t have much functional use, these fins are common among P-K, although not every P-K seems to have them. Varies from P-K to P-K.

9. Water‘wing’ Membrane - Labelled in Mint Green

A large expanse of moderately thick, elasticated skin that stretches between both limbs and the main body / tail. When trying to slow down or turn, the P-K will extend it’s legs outwards, away from the body, and this causes the stretched out ‘wings’ to bulge behind it, creating a high amount of resistance.

Imagine a parachute filling with air after being deployed, these wings work in the same way and are used to create resistance & drag in the water when a P-K is moving at speed, allowing them to create sharp turns without much effort.

10. Companion Pouch  - Labelled in Light Blue

The companion pouch of a P-K is a - roughly - Rugby ball shaped pocket  made of elastic, stretchable skin that houses the Companions of said P-K  when they sleep or are facing something dangerous.

Each pouch  has an Upper and Lower Lip, that are usually a brighter colour than the  main Pouch, situated at the top and bottom of the pouch itself. These  are made up of a tougher, more heavily scaled skin that acts as  protection to the pouch and can cushion The bottom Lip is attached  firmly to the body of the P-K, and holds a small amount of extra skin  that can be stretched to accommodate the Companion if they want to use  the pouch as a resting spot.

The upper Lip is detached from the body, and is both the entrance and exit for the Companion.

11. Lower Spinal & Tail Fins - Labelled in Blue

12. Pre-Caudal / Rudder Fins - Labelled in Mid Blue

13. Caudal Fins - Labelled in Dark Blue

HEAD ANATOMY

SKULL:

A P-K skull is a lot more slender than their outer face may make it  look, with a smooth jaw line and slight convex curve to the top of the  cranial bone (On standard and Pygmy face types, though this skull curve  is concave on the Sloped face type). Their more curvy facial appearance  is made so by the heavily packed nerve endings and central nerve lines  connecting to their facial feelers, which takes up more room and makes  their faces look fuller and more rounded, also amplified by their scales  that layer on top of their muscle mass.

P-K’s have an average of  between 16 & 26 teeth, depending on their size, skull shape and  diet, though this number can shrink or grow depending on a P-K’s  companion type. They regularly grow new teeth if their other ones are  damaged or knocked out. These teeth come in 2 types, being the Incisors  and Canid-Molars. 

Similar to the structure of dinosaur teeth, the Incisors of a P-K are  small in the front, getting larger towards the front corners of the  mouth which jar or the largest Incisor, before tapering back down into  smaller Incisors in the middle of the upper and lower jaw bone. These  Incisors are deadly sharp, and are used to grip onto prey and can tear  through solid bone.
Behind these teeth are 2 pairs of Canid-Molars; a  flatter type of tooth with one pointed edge facing towards the sharper  teeth, allowing for both chewing and cutting motions. 

Having both types of teeth offers a wider variety of food options to  P-K, including plant life, fruits and seeds, giving them an Omnivorous   appetite, though most P-K are natural Carnivores.

P-K have a  pair of large nasal passages at the front of their face, though the  reasons for these are not certain. It is believed to be a trait born out  of necessity, that allowed them to both intake more oxygen when moving  on land and help them seem more predatory like the bigger canids and  delicate they lived alongside when they were land bound.
With  independent sets of muscles that tightly secure the nose slits shut when  in deep water, P-K evolved to keep their oxygen lungs and nasal passage  as well as their Gills and water lungs instead of evolving out of it,  becoming an amphibious reptilian species.

EYES:

Phish-Keeper eyes are relatively  large in terms of total head size, taking up roughly 1/4 of the total  skull space, and are cushioned with a sizeable curved portion of  cheekbone that has small pockets within the bone. These pockets - a  small space at the back of the eye socket and 2 small indents underneath  the eyeball - help to protect the eyes from injury, rapidly stopped  movements and absorb shocks.  The space at the back of the eye is padded  with small muscle groups, that help to cushion the eye within the  socket in the event of a fight or attack.

The eye structure of P-K’s shares a lot of similarities with marine  mammals, with the basic shape and structure being almost identical.  However, they have a modified lens that is spherical instead of  elongated, allowing for a better range of focal points and easier  sharpening of vision that helps them see well both on land and in water.  Pupils can vary greatly in size, and are naturally large, giving  Phish-Keepers very sharp night vision and the ability to quickly assess  visual images in differing distances and focal ranges (both in and out  of water).

P-K pupils can vary in shape greatly, and are often dependant on the  companion type that they have. All P-K pupils start off round, but go  through a rapid stance of mutation when they first develop their  companion mimicking traits. Usually a P-K has 3 cones in their eyes,  meaning they have decent colour vision that covers Yellow, Green and  Blue for the most part, however some P-K have been studied to have 4  cones depending on how greatly they favour land living over water  living.

In front of the Pupil is a thicker than average Cornea, that protects  the pupil and lens from water pressure changes, and helps to lessen the  impact of vision distortion when going from Air to Water.

P-K are also adapted to seeing well in low light level conditions,  and have a special adaptive layer at the back of their eye, where their  retina resides, called a Tapetum Lucidem, which reflects light back into  the eye a second time once it has been processed, to be reprocessed  again. This is also a commonly seen trait in Felines and Canines, and is  the layer responsible for the ‘Glow in the Dark’ effect that their eyes  give off in low light level conditions.

Unusually, P-K have 2 sets of eyelids on each eye; an opaque set that  close horizontally and act as the Primary pair, merging seamlessly in  with their main body of scaled skin, and a second semi-translucent or  translucent pair in each corner that close vertically and keep the eyes  protected when entering Air territories (mainly seen in Water affinity  P-K) or in rapidly changing PH and salt waters (for almost all other  P-K).

fACIAL fINS

1. Natural feelers - Labelled 1

These are the most common facial fin type amongst P-K and look like a  short, medium or long length tendril, usually smooth in texture and  moderately versatile. They can be both thick and thin, and can appear in  singles, pairs or triplicate along the nerve line. (Indicated in light  purple on the Guide sheet, see Image 1) Have limited maneuverability and  tend to float around in the water when not being used to detect  electrical signals.

These are the most common Feeler type, and can are the basis for all  other fin types. As such, these feelers can even develop alongside other  Feeler types on a Phish-Keepers face at the same time, creating a  double up or overlap.

2. Round Fins - Labelled 2

These fins consist of a flat membrane surface, usually round or oval  in shape, with thin, whisker-like fibres pointing outwards away from the  face. Round fins are less maneuverable, but can wave back and forth to  increase oxygen intake when in water. 

Most commonly associated with round fin fish (both Tropical and Freshwater), seahorses, pufferfish and other similar species.

3. Internal Spine Fins - Labelled 3

Internal spine fins consist of straight, barb like feelers with  pointed tips and a thin membrane surface stretching between each barb  and between the first & last barb and the Phish-Keepers face. These  fins can become quite large thanks to their added support columns  between the fin membrane and the skull, and have a higher level of  movement than most other fin types, including being able to fold back  towards the body, fan in and out away from the face and lay flat against  the skull instead of standing like normal. 

Most commonly associated with Swordfish, Sailfish, Barracudas and other similar species.

4. Barbs - Labelled 4

Barbs are thin, elongated strands of electrical sensing fibres  without any kin or muscle encasing like other Feeler types. These are  the thinnest fin type most commonly found on the inside of Phish-Keeper  ears, and facial fins of this type don’t have much use outside of their  electrical sensing. Barbs tend to float around in the water and don’t  move much on their own. 

Most commonly associated with Catfish, Loaches, Bottom feeders and other small-sized similar species.

5. Fringed Fins - Labelled 5

These fins are more decorative than most, with a colorful fringe  adorning the tips, sides and/or base of Standard feelers that flow with  the current. These feelers have the same level of manoeuvrability and  electro sensing as the Standard type.

Most commonly associated with smaller Tropical fish, Butterflyfish, Angelfish, Sea Slugs and other similar species.

6. External Spine Fins - Labelled 6

These fins are almost identical to Internal Spine fins, however then  can only fan up and down against the skull. Have significant maneuverability and electro-sensing.

Most commonly associated with bigger Tropical Fish, Flyingfish, Lionfish, Sunfish, Tuna and other large-sized similar species.

Tongues / Eyes

Tongue Types:

• A. Round, most common type - See image labelled A
• B. Forked - See image labelled B
• C. Split - See image labelled C
• D. Pointed - See image labelled D
• E. Long - See image labelled E

Eye Types:

Phish-Keeper can have any colour of Iris, Sclera (the white part of  the eye) and Dark colour pupils. They can also commonly have patterns of  multiple colours throughout the Sclera and Iris, commonly stripes or  spots.

• Standard Pupil types can include:
  • Round pupils
  • Slit pupils (Cat-like)
  • Star/Pointed pupils
  • Rounded horizontal slit pupils (Goat like)
  • Diamond pupils
  • Round faded pupils
  • Octopus pupils (Wavy middle line with Rounded ends)

Other shapes may exist, but are not detailed on this Guide.

Various other natural mutation types may occur in the wild, and  variations have a 50/50 chance of generating naturally when first  morphing to their companions colours and features. 

Companion

Companions are the animal a Phish-Keeper usually houses in their stomach pouch.

Companions are most commonly water dwelling creatures, such as fish, sharks, crustaceans, turtles, water mammals etc. Though the exact reasoning behind their unique symbiotic relationship is unknown, some believe that Phish-Keepers consider themselves as species preservationists as their presence can help to balance and sustain water-based ecosystems thanks to their relationship with their chosen Companion.

Companions fall into 3 types: Pouch dwelling, Semi-pouch dwelling, & Non-pouch dwelling.

Usually, if the animal is small enough to still fit into the pouch at full size, they are considered Pouch dwelling. If they are about the same size as the pouch, they are Semi-pouch dwelling, as they can still fit into the pouch if necessary though it is not the most comfortable for them or their P-K. The third type, Non-pouch dwelling, exists for larger creatures that do not stay at a small enough size to use the P-K’s pouch anymore, most commonly associated with species like sharks, dolphins, whales, some larger fish species etc.

Rarity types for Companion

Standard = Common:

• Most fish types
• Sharks
• Eels
• Crustaceans - Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimp

Special = Uncommon: 

• Dolphins / Whales
• Beluga’s / Manatee
• Sea slugs / Flatworms
• Stingrays / Manta Rays
• Sea Snakes
• Crocodilians
• Turtles

Ultra = Rare: 

• Sea snails
• Frogs / Newts
• Prehistoric Marine Creatures
• Marine Mammals
  • Otters / Beavers / Penguins / Seals / Sea-lions / Walrus / etc.

Limited = Legendary: 

• Fantasy Marine Creatures
  • Sea-dragons, Mythical creatures, Folklore creatures, etc.
• Undead creatures
• Fandom related creatures
  • Pokemon, Flight Rising, Game animals, etc.

All species commonly found in the Ocean, Rivers & streams of the world can become a companion for a P-K, without exception. The Companion  of any Phish-Keeper directly influences their appearance, scale growth  and colours.

accessories

In the wild, Phish-Keepers can pick up & use an abundance of natural materials & washed up items to personalize themselves, similar to how Landwalkers often wear different coloured cloth to make themselves look different! (And because they like to)

These accessories come in 3 different categories!

Manmade Items: 

• Cloth (small scarves, bandana’s, handkerchiefs & other fabric items)
• Fishing gear (Hooks, rope, twine, fishing lures)
• Charms (bracelets, necklaces & other jewellery)

Natural Items: 

• Shells
• Pearls
• Barnacles
• Seaglass
• Stones
• Coral

Plants: 

• Seaweed