The Bybblgorcs are a species of amphibious aehroid sophonts from the warm, humid world Mar (known in the modern day as Mar Prime). Among the oldest extant civilizations in the modern galaxy, the Bybblgorcs are an advanced culture and have a widespread interstellar presence, as well as considerable genetic radiation due to colonial engineering in the distant past.
Biology
Anatomy & Morphology
Bybblegorcs are vertical bipedal tetrapods with bilateral symmetry, typical of the aehroid body plan. Their brain is housed within the head, which is slightly elevated above the torso by the neck. Each side of the torso has one upper limb and one lower limb; the upper pair functioning as the primary manipulators, and the lower set used as the primary locomotors. Bybblgorcs have an endoskeleton primarily composed of polymer compounds that are light and mostly rigid, and their blood is copper-based.
The species displays a wide variety of dermal colors, derived from their interesting habit of forming symbiotic partnerships with various algae. Though the natural skin color of a Bybblgorc is pale grey, individuals born under dim stars tend to have reddish to black algae, while those born under brighter stars have green to purple algae.
Perception & Sensory Capabilities
Bybblgorcs possess a single pair of large, binocular focal eyes set into the front of the skull, which are able to pick up motion, definite shape, spatial orientation, and color. They are able to hear with a pair of tympani organs, one set in either side of the skull, and their olfactory sense is provided by a pair of spiracles set in the face that lead to a sensory chamber connected to the respiratory system. Their respiratory tract is also connected to an air sac just below the jaw, which can be forcibly expanded as a threat display and to amplify the individual's vocalizations.
Life Cycle
Interestingly, Bybblgorcs are one of a minority of sophont species which undergo a major metamorphosis in their life cycle, transitioning from compact, semi-serpentine "tadpoles" to the tailless aehroid adult form. They are hatched from delicate, jelly-like eggs in massive groups within mixed-brood pools and spend the majority of their nonsapient infant phase in the same pool, looked after by the communal caregivers. During pupation, the juveniles excrete mucus that thickens around them to form a chrysalis, which is removed from the spawning pool and placed in the pupa pool. After around one season, the young and newly-sapient Bybblegorc emerges in what other species would consider the infant stage of its intelligent life.
Ecology
Geographic Origin & Distribution
The Bybblgorcs were part of the first wave of contact, in the earliest age of the modern galaxy. Their presence in the known universe is quite ubiquitous, though concentrated around their homeworld Mar Prime.
Habitat & Survival Factors
Evolved from partially arboreal foragers in the tropical swamps of Mar Prime, Bybblgorcs are only truly amphibious for the first stages of their life cycle. As adults they are fully terrestrial and capable of tolerating low humidity, but must seek out moisture periodically to remain healthy. The optimal survival range in a variety of factors for Bybblgorcs is quite wide to begin with, but their advanced technology (including genetic engineering techniques) has allowed them to thrive across the galaxy.
Civilization & Culture
Major Organizations
Bybblgorc-dominated space is largely controlled by the Empire of Mars, a federated body with its governance centralized on Mar Prime. By a quirk of linguistic and cultural development "mar" is not only the name of the Bybblgorc home planet, but in fact the Bybblect word for any world on which the Bybblgorc make their home (similar to how human astronomers refer to terra-class worlds broadly as "Earths"). The political power of the Empire is consolidated in the Senate, where each major colony and its subordinate protectorates is represented by a trio of senators. These senatorial parties convene every triarc to enact decisions of import to the entire Empire. The Empire as a singular entity is represented in the Galactic Assembly of Worlds, alongside the other minor Bybblgorc asteropolitical powers that have splintered off of the Empire over its long history.
Major Language Groups & Dialects
Though Mar Prime had a wide array of languages in the distant past, tens of thousands of cycles have bred a language common to all Bybblgorc: Bybblect, an ultimate melting pot tongue with ancient roots. In fact, the name "Bybblgorc" translates to "speakers of language," in keeping with the ancient, nigh-mythologized perception that language was the key trait that set the Bybblgorc apart from other creatures.
Culture & Heritage
Thanks to their communal child-care strategy, Bybblgorc cultures overall are notorious for their hedonism and enthusiastic promiscuity. In fact, the concept of parentage and genealogy is alien to them; entire generations are functionally siblings to each other and their "parents" are the previous generations (or in the inner mars, the designated caretakers of the spawning pools). Bybblgorc are also quite comfortable with high population density, and many mars are heavily urban.
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