THE ARTIFACT

Log 3, The Thorsum. Moving further into the tundra the air gets noticeably colder. That doesn’t stop wildlife though. A species dubbed the thorsum was a common site in the colder areas of the tundra. The thorsum are large herbivorous creatures that average about 6.7ft in height. The thorsum have a unique way of keeping warm; inside the bulb on their back are two vents that produce heat by combusting methane found in the air. Biological combustion of methane is a trait of aerial species, meaning that the thorsum could once fly. The way the thorsum gets methane is unique to other species though; a set of openings on the tail are connected to three respiratory organs that intake air and pump it to a special set of organs, these organs filter out the methane from the air and send it to the combustion vents on the back while the rest of the gas is shot out of vents on the chest. This process is very effective at keeping the heat backs warm in some of the coldest areas. It also seems to protect them from whatever is in the mud. Mud pools that the thorsum enter have more bacteria in them indicating the removal of some kind of parasite. I’ll do more research on this.