Raion Bulb

Organic

Hardened plug of an acid raion. Technically edible. Assuredly tangy.

PDA scanner notes

"Acid can be used to fabricate basic chemical batteries."
"Caution. This colony of vermiforms contains pressurized carbonic acid."
"Naming rights may be auctioned off, or reserved as a gift for that special someone in your future."
"This colony of worms in a shared membrane has no earthly analog. You have discovered a new clade."
"With appropriate tools, the bulbs could be harvested to make batteries."

Databank Entry

Acid raion (tentatively Raion carbonica). The type species of the newly discovered raions. A useful source of weak acid for chemistry. Raions are groups of worms living inside a shared membrane or sac. There is no precisely analogous Earth life—Earth sea anemones are a single polyp—but beehives and cellular slime molds may be a useful comparison. The raion produces carbonic acid, which is stored in a central reservoir and distributed in diluted form throughout the chambers. Though too weak to dissolve hard-shelled plankton, it probably helps digest softer meiofauna captured by the raion. It may also fend off predators. The acid raion may have evolved near a sulfuric acid seep or in a volcanic caldera.