Europan Cow Portals

And now, a creature that has been dear to me for two years (and counting!)

The Europan Cow Portal (a misnomer, for it is neither attached to an ungulate nor an inhabitant of Europa) stands at most five meters high on its low gravity planet, Siljaan/Ozy-Mandas VI. Pale blue, transparent, and seemingly light-emitting, they stand deathly still in the black gas blanket, filtering nutrients from the fleshy ground with their feelers. A rooster's crest protrudes from the "heads" of many, possibly to feel vibrations in the air. To the human ear, the Cow Portals are inaudible, except when the wind blows through the ocarina holes in their false heads. It is unknown what they smell like, or their exact chemical composition, for that matter, except that they feed from the mineral-rich terrain.

Because the gravity of Siljaan is low, the Cow Portals are able to sustain their shape easily. When resources are abundant, they swell and open the portals in their sides to collect debris. When resources are scarce, Cow Portals shrivel up, taking the shape of large slugs, and their portals shut.

It is unknown whether the Cow Portals have genders as earthly mammals do, but larger ones are often seen being fed upon by smaller, younger individuals through the cilia-lined holes in their bodies (more a form of social interaction than actual feeding; Cow Portals "eat" through their single "foot"). They do not use technology, but radio wave signals have been recorded emanating from their false heads, proving a certain level of intelligence. These signals are their form of communication, and are complex and varied, although their exact meanings elude researchers. Basic meanings can be deduced, however; there is a signal warning of sandstorms and toxins (for the cow portals do not have natural predators). One may warn another over a long distance of watering holes or rich deposits of food.

Throughout the planet, the Cow Portals have been recorded. Some have structures closer to animal legs, and others have longer rows of ocarina holes. All of them whistle hauntingly when the atmosphere passes through their orifices. Siljaan is balmy beneath the surface, although it is distant from its sun, Ozy-Mandas. The Cow Portals migrate from place to place in search of food, although their migration patterns are not based upon the planet's rotational cycle. Instead, they make geometric patterns over time; different "tribes" make different shapes. The terrain is made of grooves, which the creatures presumably read like the needle on a gramophone. One Cow Portal may "discuss" a "song" with another individual, an analog for human gossip.

The Stellanarsi Inniri, a carbon-based cetecean species, discovered the Cow Portals when they settled a nearby planet, Jogaan and explored the surrounding area. Several recordings of Cow Portal songs have been made using their living transceiver systems, on ships kilometres above the surface. The Inniri suspect the Cow Portals have been engineered by a previous race to fit their surroundings.

Sorry, I can't make a linear description of my species.

For 's contest. [link]