This specimen shares genetic similarities with the common peeper. While the shallows and the cave systems are separated by just a few meters of rock, foodstuffs and threats in each biome are completely different. It is possible a small school of peepers was once cut off in the caves, and the oculus species is how they adapted.
1. Highly Developed Night-vision: Large, complex eyeballs provide this herbivore superior vision in the dark, and an intense phobia of light.
2. Lack of Beak: While the peeper uses its beak to break down tough corals, the oculus likely feeds on the soft fungal growths of the jellyshroom caves and thus has no need of one.
3. Separated Tail Fin: The caves in which the oculus lives make it hard to escape from fast predators. The oculus has adapted by splitting its tail fin into five separate tendrils. These tendrils prevent it from swimming as fast as its shallow-water cousin, but each can be detached and regrown, enabling it to escape more easily when caught.
Assessment: Edible
