Aion - Parasites and Symbiotes

 Hello again,

I have just now finished scanning a bunch of new Aion pictures. These will feature in a series of blog posts over the next week.

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The first post is a combination of old and new images. The subject is the variety of symbiotes and parasites that have evolved on Aion.


 
This first one is a tiny, odd placoderm no more than 6 centimetres long. It converges upon Clingfish in shape, and in the presence of a pectoral sucker that can hold it in place. It is almost always found inhabiting the crowns of stalked Crinoids, in particular the larger kind.

 
This barnacle is closely related to the sea-turtle barnacles, but exclusively infests various sauropterygians and other large marine reptiles. Encrustations of these can vary depending on the health and motility of the host.

 
This chewing Philopterid bird-louse is known to infest feathered theropod-dinosaurs of various sorts, it is thought to have evolved for this purpose. However, in habitats where giant flightless birds cohabit with theropods, it will infest both.

 
 Sharing a common ancestor with Demodex mites is the Plumodex. Growing larger than its mammal-infesting relative, it exclusively infests the follicles of Dinosaur quills and feathers. It is known to suck the blood supply of the feather follicle, as well as consuming skin secretions and dead skin. These infestations sometimes lead to individual feathers dying and falling out, but usually this is not very extensive.

 
The largest fly found upon Aion is the Dinosaur Botfly. This fly seeks out a large dinosaur as its host, and its larvae burrow into and infest the areas of softer skin on the bodies of dinosaurs. Larva are commonly found beneath the skin around the soft belly or body folds of their hosts, but also sometimes the ear and nose cavities.

 
The tropical "Triassic Fern Biota" is one of the bastions of various kinds of giant Carboniferous insects such as Meganeura. This parasitic horsehair worm spends part of its life-cycle developing inside the bodies of such insects, when mature it will vacate the host and head for fresh water.

 
This oversized Roundworm may grow up to 35 centimeters long, and exclusively parasitizes the guts of large dinosaurs, its eggs are spread to new hosts via the host's dung.
 
 
This is a prodigious tapeworm that exclusively infests the guts of large carnivorous dinosaurs. Predators such as Allosaurus and T rex may host some quantities of these worms, which can grow to a greater length and girth than familiar tapeworms. 

 
This bird is a specialized stem-member of the Ornithurae, very common in any country inhabited by giant herbivorous dinosaurs. It acts as a symbiote and cleaning service, consuming dead skin and parasites from the hide of its host, as well as picking at scabs, and the mucus and food residue from around the mouth and nose.
 
 
A member of the same genus exists that has large carnivorous theropods as its host, gleaning skin parasites but also picking meat scraps from their teeth. These 2 species mainly differ by their plumage and specifics of digestion, their hosts instinctively recognize the distinctive coloration of their respective bird.

 
This tiny, spiny trilobite lodges itself inside the gill cavities of various sea-fish, sucking blood directly from the blood vessels of the gills. 

 
This Isopod is a chewing parasite found exclusively on the skin of plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and icthyosaurs. It feeds mostly by chewing holes in the skin of the host and consuming flesh and blood. An adult may reach up to 13 centimeters long, and produce holes in the skin of the host up to 2.5 centimeters deep.

 
This quick-swimming squid can reach up to 30 centimeters long, and feeds like a cookiecutter-shark. It will pursue various marine reptiles and larger fish, biting off a plug of flesh and swimming rapidly away.
 
Various other, more familiar parasites may also be found upon Aion, such as terrestrial leeches and even giant Amazonian freshwater leeches, also arthropods like ticks, dog fleas and the giant Dinosaur-flea Pseudopulex.
 
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All images, designs and writing on this blog are the property of Timothy Donald Morris (unless otherwise indicated), do not use, reproduce, or copy them without my permission.
© Timothy Donald Morris 2025

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