The Denobulans were a humanoid species from the planet Denobula, which was located in the Alpha Quadrant.
History
The Denobulans believed they were the only intelligent species in the galaxy until the B'Saari made first contact with them. This incident thus came as quite a surprise to the Denobulans, many of whom took a while to accept the truth that they were not alone in the galaxy. Though it was a somewhat difficult process, the Denobulans were eventually forced to reevaluate their thinking.
Denobulans fought several wars against the Antaran species, the last of which occurred during the late 19th century. The Denobulans demonized the enemy, and their battle tactics killed twenty million Antarans. Both sides made faceless enemies of each other, and, although most had outgrown the past hatred, some Denobulans still held a grudge against Antarans as of the 2150s.
Denobulans had contact with Humans as of the 2130s. By that time, they were cooperating within the Interspecies Medical Exchange (IME) and jointly operated Cold Station 12, although the Denobulans maintained a medical database of their own at least until 2154.
Biology
Anatomically, Denobulans were considerably more complex than Humans. Denobulans had prominent facial ridges running down either side of the forehead to the cheeks, an enlarged brow ridge under a high receding hairline, a vertical crevice in the center of the forehead, and a ridged chin. They had ridges on their back along the spine. Their toenails were dark brown and yellow striped. Denobulans had to trim their toenails at least once a week, due to the nails' extremely rapid growth rate. Denobulans also had very long tongues, and they used tongue scrapers.
Denobulan males had a line of hair down the middle of their chest, up to their neck. Similar brown streaks could be found running down the spine ridges on the back, as well as on the feet and on the back of both arms.
Denobulan females had very potent pheromones that the males could sense, and they released them when they were romantically interested in someone, and presumably during their mating season. Denobulan males were known to become violent during the mating season. Anatomically, Denobulan males were also sexually compatible with both Vulcan and Human females.
Denobulans had a unique ability to enlarge their faces. This was an instinct for when they felt threatened. They could also display an unusually wide smile for humanoids.
Denobulans normally required very little sleep, but they did hibernate for a sleep cycle of five to six days each year, although two days were sufficient as a bare minimum. If a Denobulan was nearing a sleep cycle, they might experience bouts of dizziness as a consequence. Deep hibernation resulted in the sleeping Denobulan becoming unresponsive to noises, regardless of how loud they were, but they could be awakened via a particular drug delivered intravenously. If a Denobulan was awakened prematurely, the results could be somewhat unpredictable; hibernating Denobulans, if woken, appeared extremely disoriented and confused, with oddly pitched voices, and had difficulty maintaining normal motor skills and cognitive functions.
Denobulans had highly efficient natural climbing abilities similar to those of Earth lizards, being capable of scaling vertical rock faces at a rapid speed with no equipment whatsoever. In this manner, a Denobulan could appear to scuttle up a rock face without needing to find handholds.
Denobulan life spans were extremely long, though a Denobulan elder did not necessarily look particularly old. An average life expectency was between 170 - 280 years.
Society & Culture
As of the mid-2150s, the number of Denobulan inhabitants on their homeworld totaled twelve billion, all of whom shared one continent. Consequently, living space was at a premium, and Denobulan culture had come to embrace close, communal lifestyles, though this habitation arrangement was due to choice, rather than necessity.
Denobulans were typically polyamorous, where a man typically had three wives, who each had three husbands. This created extremely large extended families. In addition, Denobulan marriages were not exclusive, and married Denobulans could be intimate with anyone they chose.
Denobulans were renowned for having an abundance of patience. This extreme patience could reflect on their marital interactions, so that they were quite content to spend a considerable length of time apart.
