Talaxian

History

In the 15th century, the Talaxians, at that point calling themselves Talax'ilzay, were visited by the Vaadwaur on Talaxia. By the 24th century, not many records from this era had survived and the existence of the Vaadwaur race itself was forgotten, but a legacy of this contact survived in the "old tongue" dialect of the Talaxian language with the word "vaadwaur", which meant "foolish", "weak-minded", "blind" or "reckless". The word appeared in several folktales collected in Eldaxon's Collected Folklore, published in the year 5012 of the New Calendar. (VOY: "Dragon's Teeth")
The Talaxian race was embroiled in a war with the Haakonian Order in the 2340s and 2350s. The war ended in 2356 with the deployment of the metreon cascade on the Talaxian moon of Rinax, killing all of its three hundred thousand inhabitants and causing the Talaxian government to surrender unconditionally. Many Talaxians left their homeworld as the Haakonians "didn't treat [them] very well". While some, such as Neelix or Wixiban, became lone freelancers, others departed in larger numbers in entire groups of vessels, traveling for years and covering many light years in their search for a new home. (VOY: "Jetrel", "Fair Trade", "Homestead")
The Borg referred to Talaxians as Species 218. At some point prior to 2374, a small freighter was encountered by the Borg in the Dalmine sector. The crew of thirty-nine was easily assimilated. (VOY: "The Raven")
Due to their support of the USS Voyager, Talaxian emigrants came into conflict with the Kazon-Nistrim. In 2372, a Talaxian convoy took on Voyager crewmember Tom Paris, but was attacked by Nistrim forces, who abducted Paris. (VOY: "Investigations") The following year, a small fleet from the Talaxian colony on Prema II aided Tom Paris in retaking USS Voyager from the Kazon-Nistrim. They lured the captured ship into a nebula where Paris, with his shuttle, disabled critical systems, forcing the Kazon to abandon the ship. (VOY: "Basics, Part II")
Also in 2373, a group of at least five hundred Talaxians, who emigrated at some point after the Haakonians had occupied Talax, began their construction of a small colony in an asteroid tens of thousands of light years away from Talax. Five years later, Voyager encountered the Talaxian asteroid colony and found them to be wary of visitors, as the colony was harassed by miners who tried to drive them out. Neelix, the morale officer of Voyager, assisted his fellow Talaxians by putting a plan in motion to place shield generators at key points around the asteroid. This successfully repelled the miners from evicting the Talaxians from the asteroid. Neelix later returned to the colony and assumed a post as Federation ambassador to the Delta Quadrant. (VOY: "Homestead")

Physiology

Physically, the Talaxians were humanoid, with large areas of yellow to reddish-brown spotting on their heads, arms, and bodies. They had pale skin, with a protruding "Y"-shaped bone ridge across the top of their chest area with a plume of ginger hair on the top of their heads. (VOY: "Caretaker")
Males also had ginger whiskers growing on either side of their face; these developed during puberty, much like facial hair in Humans. Tugging on a Talaxian's whiskers could be considered a pleasuring act. (VOY: "Random Thoughts", "Homestead")
Talaxians were generally stocky with a dense musculature. The Borg believed that this fact made Talaxians excellent drones. (VOY: "The Raven")
Talaxians had spotted feet with long toes; the little toe was enlarged and rivaled the innermost toe in size. (VOY: "Warlord")
Talaxian blood was red. (VOY: "Alliances", "Rise")
Talaxian vocal cords were incapable of producing basic diatonic tones, which meant they had difficulty singing. However, Neelix sang on occasion, with varying degrees of success. (VOY: "Meld", "Tuvix", "Pathfinder")
The respiratory system of a Talaxian was directly linked, at various points, to their spinal cords, making them too complicated for Starfleet technology to replicate as of 2371. (VOY: "Phage", "Macrocosm")
Unlike Humans, who had one spine, Talaxians had two spinal columns. (VOY: "Scientific Method")
Talaxians apparently had a higher tolerance for spicy foods than other races, or at least than Vulcans and Ocampans. In 2371, Neelix prepared a modified plomeek soup, a mere sip of which Tuvok found to be unpalatably "piquant." Neelix, on the other hand, was able to drink the soup as a beverage. (VOY: "Faces") In 2372, Tuvix reduced the spiciness of one of Neelix's usual recipes, which Kes found rather pleasing. On the other hand, this may be a reflection of Neelix's individual tastes, and not of Talaxians as a whole. (VOY: "Tuvix")

Society and culture

Talaxians appeared to be a whimsical race with a well developed sense of humor. They were usually very friendly, helpful and were willing to offer their services to anyone who required them. (VOY: "Basics, Part II", "Fair Trade", "Investigations", "Homestead")
Regarding Talaxian exuberance, Neelix actor Ethan Phillips noted, "I think it was built into the Talaxian DNA." (Star Trek Magazine issue 179, p. 79)
Talaxians also tended to be a spiritual people, known for their enjoyment of stories and the company of others. Talaxian burial ceremonies were elaborate, involving a full week of mourning. Their mythology had a belief in an afterlife known as the Great Forest, in which a great tree stands at the center. It was said that upon death, a Talaxian went to the afterlife and met the souls of his deceased family upon arrival. Many Talaxians kept models of the Guiding Tree and other religious or ceremonial objects. (VOY: "Mortal Coil")
The Talaxians had an old expression: "When the road before you splits in two, take the third path." The meaning of this expression was to offer an individual a third option when the two they were offered are equally unappealing. (VOY: "Author, Author")
The Talaxians observed a religious holiday called Prixin, which was a celebration of family life. (VOY: "Mortal Coil")
Talaxians had a great enjoyment of food and meals. It was customary for a Talaxian to tell the story of how a meal was prepared to those eating it. (VOY: "Flashback")
Phillips described Talaxians as vegetarians in an interview for Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 4, p. 17. Talaxian proper names usually had the letter "x" in them. Exceptions included the Godo Mountain Range and the Pyrithian Gorge. (VOY: "Homestead", "Jetrel")
During the Talaxian-Haakonian War, the Talaxian government's punishment for refusing military service was the death penalty. (VOY: "Jetrel")