Rain-Vein Ribbon Flatworm
The broad, unsegmented body lies close to wet bark. Two low head lobes sense the flow; fine cilia underneath carry bacterial film and detritus toward the digestive groove. When inverted rain lifts mist above the branch, the animals turn together against the water film. At Rain-Vein Branch Channel, their turn runs opposite the rising droplets. At Rising-Mist Drop Vent, their cilia continue working in one direction beside fresh bacterial film and a withdrawn waterline. Once the First Overflow Leaf Gate is opened a little from afar, the film runs downhill again and the flatworms spread along the natural recharge line. None has a leech's sucker, shell, or legs.
Observation TypeField observation
First SeenDay 01 · Day 01 · Rain-Vein Branch Channel
HabitatThe giant-tree canopy buffer southeast of Guiana Canopy Cloudport. Natural branch forks hold suspended pools; overflow channels run toward the outer edge of the automated seed bank. The flatworms travel on wet bark and branch channels, away from the old rocket field.
VariantsFinger-joint-length juveniles, matte dark-teal adults about twenty centimeters long, and thin bands of individuals dispersed along wet branch channels. Their shared turns are a response to the water film, not evidence of a single coordinated animal.
Habitat and Mechanism
The giant-tree canopy buffer southeast of Guiana Canopy Cloudport. Natural branch forks hold suspended pools; overflow channels run toward the outer edge of the automated seed bank. The flatworms travel on wet bark and branch channels, away from the old rocket field.. A seasonal Inverted-Rain Belt briefly lifts mist droplets. Branch shade, leaf channels, and intermittent overflow normally maintain three water levels in the Suspended Canopy Reservoir. Continuous pumping for the seed bank draws down the upper level, while the inverted-rain sensor mistakes natural recharge for a leak and closes overflow gates. A branch water film can therefore run against its former course or dry out even as droplets rise. The flatworm's turning line distinguishes the pump-made reverse flow from natural recharge and points to the first sealed outlet.
Enter Inverted-Rain Suspended Reservoir Forest ↗Behavior and Ecological Role
The broad, unsegmented body lies close to wet bark. Two low head lobes sense the flow; fine cilia underneath carry bacterial film and detritus toward the digestive groove. When inverted rain lifts mist above the branch, the animals turn together against the water film. At Rain-Vein Branch Channel, their turn runs opposite the rising droplets. At Rising-Mist Drop Vent, their cilia continue working in one direction beside fresh bacterial film and a withdrawn waterline. Once the First Overflow Leaf Gate is opened a little from afar, the film runs downhill again and the flatworms spread along the natural recharge line. None has a leech's sucker, shell, or legs.
By clearing bacterial film from branch channels, these flatworms help keep the narrow water paths legible. Their direction of travel reveals where human pumping has interrupted natural overflow. Their response is evidence about the habitat; Fang and K do not move or direct them.
Form and Identification
Finger-joint-length juveniles, matte dark-teal adults about twenty centimeters long, and thin bands of individuals dispersed along wet branch channels. Their shared turns are a response to the water film, not evidence of a single coordinated animal.
- Broad, flat, unsegmented ribbon body, matte dark teal in adults about twenty centimeters long
- Two low flow-sensing lobes at the head, with fine cilia on the underside
- Glides on wet bark and takes bacterial film and detritus toward a digestive groove
- Turns against the branch water film while mist droplets rise above it
- No leech suckers, shell, or legs
Observation Rule
Fang measures water, wind, and the animals' response without touching them. K stays on the bridge side with a clear retreat, uses passive evidence, and changes only pumping and gate settings. They do not chase flatworms or claim the forest is repaired after one response; they preserve observations for the next wind window.
At Rain-Vein Branch Channel, K stopped active tracking and watched a flatworm turn on wet bark while mist droplets rose. The Cloudport warning board called every upward droplet an inverted-rain anomaly, but the animal's line went the other way. Fang recorded its turning point and compared it with the waterline in a leaf channel from a safe bridge. An ordinary wind window could not explain why the whole wet branch had dried at once.
