The Tellarites were a warp-capable pig-like humanoid species from the planet Tellar Prime in the Alpha Quadrant. In 2161, their homeworld became a founding member of the United Federation of Planets.
History
The Tellarites had achieved interstellar civilization by the 20th century. In 1957, a Tellarite freighter picked up the distress call of a Vulcan ship that had crash landed on Earth, near Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. They passed this information on to the Vulcan High Command.
In the early 22nd century, the Tellarites engaged in conflict with the Andorians. In 2154, Ambassador Gral recalled being aboard a cruiser as they drove "those blue demons" back into their territory by force however a peace was brokered and by 2161, the Tellar, along with Earth, Andoria, and Vulcan, founded the United Federation of Planets in San Francisco on Earth and established a joint Starfleet.
As of the late 24th century, Tellarite dignitaries were present at the Federation Council and Tellarites were serving in Starfleet. During the Dominion War, after the fall of Betazed the Federation believed that Tellar would be the next target however thankfully the war ended before the war came to Tellar.
Physiology
Tellarites were a stout humanoid species with an average body height shorter than that of Humans, although some individuals could also be taller than average humans. They had distinctive snouts, often wore beards, and their hands were sometimes hoof-like in appearance. Their lower jaw usually possessed a pair of tusks of varying sizes.
Tellarite blood was purple in color as it contained hemerythrins, in common with some marine invertebrates on Earth and they found Human room temperatures to be cold, indicative of a higher body temperature.
Tellarite legs ended in two-toed feet with hooves, and their femur was notable for its missing the third tochanter, and that their fibula was vestigial. Their digestive system was designed for plants, and as such they had two stomachs which utilized bacteria to break down the food before entering their single intestine. They had since evolved to be omnivorous and while their diet was still mostly composed of plant matter they typically introduced small amounts of meat as a delicacy into their cuisine.
The Tellarite sense of smell and hearing was advanced for a humanoid, while their eyesight was sub par. Their poor vision was due to evolving on a world with soft, seasonless mists. (TOS novel: Prime Directive)
Tellarites were almost always born in groups of six, as they approach puberty they developed a bristly yellow mane of hair. They reach adulthood by the age of twelve Earth years. Virtually all are ambidextrous.
Society & Culture
Tellarites were known to be an impatient people and for their "stubborn pride." Tellarites often began an interaction with a series of complaints; this was how they started arguments with someone they had recently met. If they had nothing to complain about, they would simply insult the person. Because of their ability to argue, Tellarites made excellent politicians. On their homeworld arguing was considered a sport.
Tellarites were well known for their engineering skills with their talent being renowned throughout the Federation. The basis for this trait was due to the necessity that their ancestors had in finding sources of fresh water and thus involved the use of deep drilling. This allowed them to construct large scale irrigation projects that increased the amount of agricultural land available to them which further allowed for the construction of massive hydroponic farms in order to support their large settlements. These traits made them skilled miners and builders with them being able to find not only industrial minerals but even precious metals in locations that other engineers were incapable of conceiving.
Their argumentative skills even encompassed their politics and surprisingly provided for a peaceful government. The planetary ruling body consisted of a congress of delegates which represented the various traditionally based nation states. There was no executive branch within the Tellarite government which meant that all important matters were resolved by simple majority vote amongst the delegates. However, such votes often involved extensive debates even before the process began which consisted of loud, though never violent, arguments. Once the matter was settled, the arguments were quickly forgotten and business continued within the government.
