Edenic Grazer

Edenic Grazers are an unnamed species of fungivorous quadrupeds which live in the forests of Eden, a planet orbiting a binary star system.

Biology
Grazers are small quadrupeds, superficially similar to an Earth rabbit with insectoid mouthparts and moth-like antennae. They're covered in silky white fur and have proportionally large yellow eyes. Their rear legs are longer than their front legs, and they can move around by leaping. Their diet consists of fungi which grow over the forest floor. They're preyed by arboreal predators.

Grazers reproduce in summer. Their life cycle involves a worm-like haploid larval stage, generated asexually by adult Grazers. When two of these worm-like larvae meet, they merge together to form a diploid embryo, which transforms into a cocoon to survive throughout winter, during which time the adult Grazers die from lack of food. Once winter's over, the new generation emerges from their cocoons and the cycle starts anew.

Some Grazers fall victim to parasitic spores produced by the fungi they feed upon. After summer, the fungi produce orange fruits which attract Grazers, only to release clouds of spores that infect them and alter their behaviour, making them lose all their fear. This leaves Grazers vulnerable to being preyed by their predators, which in turn infects them with the spores. After this, the fungi kill the predators and use them as food for new fungi to grow.

Appearances

 * Alien Worlds, s01e03, "Eden" (2020)