A water slug (Seaslug hydroclast) infected by an aggressive bacterial bloom and trapped in its own secretions.

1. Living water slug
   The slug is suffocating in a mass of sap-like resin secreted by its infected desalination organs. Probable infection vector: bacterial bloom in seawater.

2. Hardened saplike secretion
   The terpene-rich resin is produced by bacteria infecting the water slug. The process requires oxygen, which the bacteria steal from the slug or any other available source. The resin slowly hardens, but could easily be cleared by cutting and scraping. It serves no obvious adaptive function.

3. Viral anomaly
   Although the seawater in this region is saturated with a large RNA virus (generated name: Proteavirus), the bacteria infecting this sea slug carry a distinct viral strain (generated name: Proteavirus beta) that may be associated with bacterial blooms.

Assessment: evidence of ecological crisis. Slug may be freed with appropriate tools. Consider limiting water intake from infected slugs.

This chimeric organism (Viroblast gaggraina) is a feeding and reproduction site for a large RNA virus (generated name: Proteavirus beta). It is a colony of funnel-shaped cells similar to Earthly choanoflagellates.

1. Natural origin
   The canker’s cells are infected by the Proteavirus beta strain, which modifies their behavior and gene expression. The cells work together to form a slime mold.

2. Structural slime
   The slime mold uses glue borrowed from clam anchor proteins to grow a holdfast stalk and numerous sporangia (fruiting bodies) too tough to be cut with hand tools.

3. Viral crystals
   The canker stores solid crystals of Proteavirus beta virion. When the canker feeds, it releases Proteavirus beta into the seawater, then soaks up killed microorganisms. These crystals are vulnerable to high-frequency sonic resonance.

4. Network effect
   The canker grows towards other infected organisms, transferring nutrients and electrical current. If the viral bloom ecosystem is a body, these cankers are both mouth and gonad.

5. Protective shell
   Cankers grow a tough, crablike shell using genes from other Proteavirus beta-infected organisms. Pores in the shell provide excellent sonic insulation, but the canker cannot feed with its shell closed.

Assessment: primary feeding site for ecologically dubious viral bloom. Destroy when opened. Destruction may help nearby infected organisms clear the virus.