#mutant apple

Ultimately there's not a ton to say here but I want to single out the Cloud Shoyru Apple for being a Rare Item Code/Exclusive item, because there's definitely more to discuss on those that I don't want to get into here. In short, there's a chance this apple is an alien species and doesn't occur naturally in Neopia; on the other hand, it could be naturally occurring but especially rare and worth doling out as a special prize.

There's also some debate as to whether this apple is painted or designed this way, but I think without any real evidence of that we should accept this apple as a new apple species.

Dopple Dapple Apple This apple is sure to be a sweet--... HEEEY, waitaminute!!!

This apple is a reference to the Dappled Apple:

Dappled Apple This apple is sure to be a sweet treat!

I'd say these are both certifiable species and I don't have much to say there about why or how. But I still want to comment on these because look, an example of mimicry between species! Some real ecology to delve into!

Based on the naming here, the Dopple Dapple Apple is a mimic of the Dappled Apple, (or at least the Dappled Apple was identified by Neopians before the discovery of the Dopple, but if we start doubting the names of things we're losing much of the foundation of any future conjectures). What is the purpose of this mimicry? How does it benefit the Dopple Dapple Apple? Does it benefit the Dappled Apple as well?

My hypothesis here is that the Dappled Apple, a notable "sweet treat," is popular with Neopians and thus often collected to be eaten (or bobbed for). This helps spread the Dappled's seeds and offspring, but can harm the Dappled population on the whole as the apples are taken from suitable land for their seeds to grow in and very often eaten. The Dopple Dapple Apple, by contrast, is not so sweet, but has developed a similar appearance to the Dappled, causing it to be mistaken for the Dappled by Neopians and also thus harvested. However, unlike the Dappled, the Dopple Dapple's seeds thrive in various habitats — possibly even specific conditions only reachable in this way, and possibly necessitating Neopian consumption, as is true for many Earth parasites.

In this way, the mimicry is reinforced, as Dappled-like Dopple Dapple Apples are more likely to be transported by a Neopian (and eaten, if that benefits the Dopple Dapple), and Dopple Dapple–like Dappled Apples are part of a larger "basket" and less likely to be individually selected for the same transportation and consumption.

Wow! Maybe!

All that aside, the description of the Dopple Dapple Apple also falls under a theme that will be echoed more clearly in later specimens: many Neopian apples are potentially a little bit sentient? I can't help but read into this description as the writer having been fooled by an intentional being, an apple with wants and intents not normally ascribed to passive fruit. It's definitely the case with other apples; maybe there's a low-level consciousness in them all.

Mutant Apple This apple probably wouldnt keep the doctor away!

Mutant as a genre of Neopian specimen is honestly a bit of a stumbling block in this project. On one hand, any Neopian can become Mutant at any point in their life — including, possibly, reviously non-living items like scissors, if we take "Mutated" to be synonymous with "Mutant."

I think we can at least draw a distinction between Mutant as the result of a potion and Mutant as the result of a, well, mutation. One is ostensibly a Paint Brush color — can be attained at any point in a Neopet's life and is thus not a genetic change substantial enough for a distinction of species — and one is as a result of direct genetic shifts in a species that may be carried to further offspring. The fact that new species arise at all is a result of genetic mutations.

Most mutations are unremarkable or even deleterious; the offspring bearing these mutations are not significantly different from their brethren, or the mutation is harmful to the creature's chances at life and therein to its chances of bearing children that will carry on the mutation.

However in Neopia, "mutant" is a class of being that has startlingly apparent traits, often complete changes in complexion as well as extra limbs and whole new organs and other apparatuses. This is even outside of mutations as a result of transmogrification, though the overall "mutant" traits are shared with the species there. Mutants share more in common with one another than they tend to with their parent species. This may be a result of colloquial naming conventions — unimpressive mutations go unnoticed or unrecognized as "mutations" and only the clearly identifiable mutants get called "mutant." It's impossible to say, either, whether mutant Neopets may have been recognized first, leading to later species being named "mutants" in reference to them.

For our project, we have to consider whether a mutant of a species is a new species. In the case of this apple, we can observe it is apparently very common in the Haunted Woods. We don't know whether this is because it is common for large genetic changes to happen between generations of apple, whether it is uncommon but these changes have been lasting in the genetic pool after the initial mutation, or whether these apples are reproducing at all and if in fact this is a mutation occurring repeatedly many times within baseline apple populations.

Unfortunately I think my stance on this apple has changed, however — no matter the case with the origins of the mutation or mutant apples, it is unlikely that this mutation makes the Mutant Apple genetically distinct from baseline apples, or that the Mutant Apple is reproductive enough to be considered a species. We simply don't know enough to declare this a new distinct species and the evidence is leading me to believe we should declare it a duplicate until proven otherwise. I am unsure whether this holds for all "Mutant" variants across other species, though, and interested in being swayed otherwise.

Rainbow Apple These are picked fresh from the Rainbow Tree... we think.

The Rainbow Apple would be otherwise unremarkable (I mean, I guess I could choose to get into whether it was painted Rainbow or grown this way, but I don't want to do that for every Rainbow or other Paint Brush-similar item) except for its description's mention of a "Rainbow Tree."

What is the Rainbow Tree? Why is this the only mention of it anywhere? How is it so known as to be referred to as "the" Rainbow Tree, but not such a landmark in Neopia to have any other references to it? What heavy lifting is "we think" doing here? Is the Rainbow Tree fictional? Magical? Legendary? Am I just forgetting key Neopian lore? Is it a joke?

All we can say is Rainbow Apple is a specimen of the Rainbow Tree species (as all apples are mere specimens of the plants that bore them, though this fact has been glossed over thus far.)

What a huge curveball in this project. What a mystery to have such meager clues for. This project will take forever, plus the time it takes to solve the Rainbow Tree.

Speckled Apple It looks an awful lot like a normal apple.

It's not!

But worth sussing that out — sometimes this kind of note in the description makes me think twice about a "new" species. But here I have no reason to, I don't think. If it were a "normal" apple, there would be no reason to have this item with this description. Sometimes the writer on these just didn't have more to say.

This does also add some detail to what Neopians (or, TNT) consider a "normal" apple. It is red, shiny, does not have speckles. Gotcha.