Seudians

Basic Information

Anatomy

Seudians are a bipedal warm-blooded species possessing two arms and two legs. They are of semi-aquatic origin, and thus have gills on both sides of their necks; in many species, their gills are atrophied, although there are a few with fully functioning ones. These gills are very sensitive and prone to infection when improperly protected or covered. They regularly have two pairs of antennae and although placements can vary, they are most often located near the backs of their craniums and curl forward. The antennae are used primarily for scent, but due to that nature are quite sensitive, also picking up little vibrations in the air and causing them to be very keen on their surroundings. They often have a very limited range of movement, although it depends on the species. These antennae are dark, ranging from dark grey and brown to nearly entirely black, and are lined with minuscule hairs that can detect odor molecules, but to mere touch appear to be relatively smooth. They are formed from a material similar to keratin in texture, and while not entirely firm, are quite strong and can withstand minor damage. The surface can be quite efficiently penetrated with a sharpened object, but it will often heal by itself if left untouched.
These antennae also go through a 'shedding' phase, typically annually or biennially, leaving them sensitive until the outer layers build up again. The tips are the most sensitive, possessing the densest clusters of nerves and olfactory receptors. If removed from the root, they will not grow back, but if a piece is removed and the root still intact, they will regenerate. Due to that they never stop growing and older seuds often have longer and thicker antennae, sometimes with slight hairs being obvious near the tips. Antennae sizes do vary upon hatching, though they normally grow into them nonetheless.
Their skin colours can range often depending on species, but are most commonly in the purple-blue range, leaning towards grey. Their flesh can range from being a muted blue to having more of a red tinge; the interiors of their mouths and other orifices are always blue, as well as their tongues. Their blood is red despite the blue colouring of their flesh. In cases of albinism, their skin often takes on a pink hue and their antennae are often left beige, giving them a very distinct appearance. Albinism is quite uncommon in all species and can cause vision issues and severe photosensitivity.
Their eyes are often on the bigger side, with only the iris and pupil visible and the sclera completely out of sight unless damage has occurred to the eyelid. In the corner of their eyes, part of the third eyelid is often quite visible, although this can be owed to the sheer size of their eyes; this nictitating membrane often only comes into use during swimming or running, but is fully functional.
The pupils are also large, often appearing as a darker shade of the iris's colour. Eye colour can vary quite widely, but the most commonly noted general colours are various shades of blue and red. These colours often range in intensity, but very commonly are dark, nearly "black", by the time the subject has reached full maturity. Young children most often have very vibrant colouring that gradually darkens as melanin amounts increase. In cases of slight melanin deficiencies, they are left with this colour well into adulthood and although the intensity fades, they do not grow darker. With total melanin deficiency, their eyes often appear to be pale pink or red, although this is due to the blood vessels becoming more visible and not the actual pigment of the iris. Most individuals with this condition have photophobia.
They possess six rows of teeth, three on the top and bottom each. The front row, upper and lower, have a more triangular and sharp appearance, with their cuspids being especially prominent and often jutting out of their mouths. They have significantly less teeth in their back rows, and these mostly consist of molars. The average adult’s bite is normally quite powerful due to their heritage as hunters, although this is highly dependent on the seud's size; the smaller species have a far weaker bite.
Their teeth are monophyodontic. Their back rows are not developed until the seud begins to mature, young children only possessing the sharper rows. In many cases these last rows cause issues, typically due to erupting improperly. These are often removed for ease, leaving only their front rows. Once a tooth is lost, they do not regenerate; it is not uncommon for artificial teeth to be implanted if most or all are lost or removed.
In the very backs of their mouths, near the opening of their throats, they have a sheath that their tongues retract into when not in use. Said tongues are quite long, semi-prehensile, and normally used only during the ingestion of food to assist with chewing and swallowing. They have a poor sense of taste and gain most of their feeding pleasure from the scent of food rather than the taste. Their tongues are also not necessary for vocal communication, thus the reason they can stay retracted and comfortably out of the way.
Their legs are digitigrade, meaning that they walk on their toes rather than having the heel touch the ground. These legs are normally fairly long and excel at moving over a variety of difference surfaces due to the shape of their toes. They only possess three on each foot – two primary toes, and then a rudimentary inner toe. They have two digital pads and a metacarpal pad on each foot, allowing for ease of movement and minimal discomfort when walking on rough surfaces. Their toes tend to splay out when walking or running, assisting also in traversing various terrain. They have quite thin webbing between their two primary toes, although this is not as apparent as it is in their hands.
Their legs are incredibly powerful, although this is, again, dependent on the size of the species. Species of average size can kick with two thousand pounds of pressure per square inch, and can often mortally wound or kill another seud in one to several well-placed kicks. Both their feet and hands tend to be fairly large in relation to the rest of their bodies. In common species of seud, their digits tend to vary in width but tend to be fairly thick and paw-like. Some species have far slimmer hands and fingers in comparison. They all have claws protruding from both their fingers and toes. Claws are regularly trimmed.
Their body types can range, but quite normally seuds of any species have difficulty in gaining and retaining both fat and muscle due to their high metabolisms. They eat a lot to keep up with their incredible knack for burning calories. Due to this, even with different bone structures many seuds will appear to look quite similar when it comes to their body weight, although abnormalities, while not always unhealthy, are known. Despite this lean appearance, many seuds are still quite powerful in relation to their sizes, although much of this strength is in their legs.
They are unable to sweat, making their stamina poor and overheating a very real possibility. Although they can cover a lot of ground in very few moments, it has to be done in short bursts to prevent such consequences.

Genetics and Reproduction

Seudians, as a whole species, are monomorphic. They have no differentiation between sexes besides their sexual organs. This leads to there being little to no societal segregation and sexism is nearly nonexistent, although bias can exist in very rare cases. Due to this, transsexualism is almost unheard of, and homo-romantic couples are common and accepted without question. Despite having no outwardly different traits, such as voice pitch, strength, and so on, they can still differentiate between either sex using smell, as they do hold distinctively different scents; separate pronouns do also exist alongside this, although male oriented ones are often the default.
Many species of seudians formerly reproduced through facultative parthenogenesis, but eventually this was reduced to complete asexuality in a few of them, Tescent and Anesian seuds both being prime examples of this. Sexual reproduction is no longer viable much to the disadvantage of certain species, as females have an incredibly low chance of ever producing children in the first place. This is one of the reasons for the dwindling population in many nations and the cause of hurried and desperate scientific advancements. Despite some having incredibly low to nonexistent libidos, they are still social and possess affectionate and romantic behaviors; matrimony accompanies this.
All species of seudian possess cloacae, a single orifice in which they will use for defecation, urination, and typically reproduction, although not all males of each species sexually reproduce using them and instead have a penis. Even so, phalluses are not visible outside of copulation and are normally retracted into sheathes; they do not urinate out of them. In the asexually reproducing variants, there is never any need or drive for their external reproductive organs to be used, thus making telling males and females apart still difficult even if nude.
They are primarily oviparous, and most commonly lay one to two eggs at a time, which occurs only several times in a year with a very low rate of any developing a fetus if occurring in an asexual species. Sex is determined by the temperature an egg is kept at, although this is currently only held to theory, as it is not fully understood yet. This is why they are not considered to reproduce through “true” parthenogenesis, as in that case they would have developed into being an all-female species. Offspring are typically genetically identical to their mothers, although this changes during the course of their lifespan as they are subjected to somatic mutation. Very rarely, in very few species, do they give birth to live young.

Growth Rate & Stages

Infants are hatched with fully formed teeth and antennae, although claws may still be growing at this stage and tend to be softer. They can walk and move from a very early age, but seem to run nearly entirely on instinct as their minds are still developing and struggle to process much beyond the innate urge to drink, eat, and sleep. Hyperactivity and insatiable curiosity can often be hard to deal with at these young ages, although they mellow out considerably as they age. They start being able to learn language properly in their fourth or fifth years, although their larynxes often do not fully develop until adolescence, leaving clear speech as a quite late development on average.
Hatchlings grow rapidly, and reach maturity at year fifteen, which is when their growth slows or halts completely. However, their brains stop developing far later, ranging from year twenty to thirty. It is common for a young seud to stay with their parent(s) well into adulthood. General education begins at age eight, when they can start comprehending things more clearly and efficiently, and carries into young adulthood in most cases.

Dietary Needs and Habits

They are omnivorous, but a majority have a heightened preference for meat-based products, likely due to their heritage as predators. They have monogastric digestive systems, and can consume most food items ranging from plants to animals. Substances such as theobromine can be fatally toxic, and most seuds are lactose intolerant, albeit it is not an item commonly available on their homeworld in the first place. Fruit is not ingested or sold much at all due to much of it also carrying potentially fatal toxins and due to that it has to be grown under extremely artificial conditions as the climate of their planet is hardly fit for it.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Seuds of all species perceive and understand things in the same way; none of the general population are, on average, more intelligent than others, although stereotypes do exist within society and some may be categorized as “dumb” merely based off of their species.
This being said, brute strength is often a trait that is admired, whether subconsciously or not. Due to their physiological heritage of being hunters moreso than the prey, it is still a valued trait, whether spoken aloud or not. When one or two species of seud are integrated into another’s society, differences can be spoken of when it comes to work. Pressure is put onto those that are larger to pursue more physical-based tasks while the smaller are discouraged. This often leads to a social hierarchy being developed based on physical wellbeing and strength; the weak and the disabled are looked down upon by those that are better off. This carries into the workforce, those of more bodily capability will nearly always shadow those of less. This discrimination can be and is repressed when it comes to one considered ‘weak’ holding a well-valued career, most often limited to those within medical and technological fields.
Physical appearance, apart from size, has little bearing on opinion; they do not possess comprehension of physical beauty. The only things that may be considered to be flaws in appearance are severe scars, notably asymmetrical faces, and other deformation (I.e, missing limbs, eyes, etcetera). This is still often overruled if the person in question works in a field of high significance or holds a position of power. Much interaction does not involve facial expressions, rather small subtle movements of the body and eyes. Eye contact is only to be made if the person in question is considered to be an equal or inferior. This is normally only reserved for strangers and is more of a professional boundary than much else. It can be viewed as an aggressive or rebellious motion, especially in tense situations.
Their antennae, while they do not have a great range of motion in the slightest, will quiver and flick depending on the seud’s current state. They are normally kept still, although do unconsciously curl tighter at times, and are often an easy way to ascertain the mood of another.

Civilization and Culture

Beauty Ideals

Attraction on any level is based upon scent, not physical appearance. That is not to say that physical appearance is entirely overlooked, as visible asymmetry will certainly be noticed, as will strange birthmarks, patches of lacking colouration, and physical deformities.

Scientific Name

Lamellaedus

Lifespan

80 to 120 years

Average Height

6'0" to 8'0"

Average Weight

160lbs up to 800lbs, depending on the species and size