It's been awhile.
After a short period of silence (and experimentation), I think I'm ready to showcase something newer.
![](https://img.itch.zone/aW1nLzE2MjkyNzIucG5n/original/Q%2Fjs6u.png)
Making "bullet hell" a reality in Sipho, The Maelstrom Marksman makes its debut.
A proper long-range fighter, any siphonophore worth their salt (and nutrients) would know to stay as far away as possible from this thing's front end.
Furthermore, it appears that this this has taken measures to ensure that flankers would get a nasty surprise: its sides are lined with poison mine emitters and a rather "shocking" armament, to say the least, allowing it to escape from aggressive melee-only attackers with ease. These zooids also happen to provide the creature with the energy it needs to power its weapons, since Sniper and Flak zooids are very energy-hungry.
The most curious thing to come from this specimen has got to be its Sniper zooids, as they are a completely new type of zooid that doesn't seem to belong to any of the 4 known species that live in the current ecosystem. Some older research notes suggest that this zooid is one among a few others that may have originated from a long-extinct species, likely surfacing in today's specimens due to genetic drift.
Looks like I've found my next area of interest...
More research needs to be done...