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Old 02-14-2014, 02:43 PM   #2
Arawaen
 
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: One of my alien designs

Chibi (CHEE-BEE)

PHYSIOLOGY

They are warm-blooded but have many ‘amphibian’ qualities. They have black colored blood.

Body

The vast majority of the Chibi are female. These female Chibi are bipedal humanoids that average 4.5' in height, and 60 pounds in weight. Variation in size exists, but not to the extent that it does in humans. 4' to 5' is probably the maximum range for adult females.

Smooth seal-like skin with a golden-brown coloration with an olive tint. They can have pigmentation markings such as stripes or spots but these are generally localized and not widespread.

They are not mammals so they have no breasts, nipples or belly buttons. Otherwise their skeleton and musculature is very similar to that of humans.

Female Chibi have a pouch in their abdomen that will house the male Chibi if they are ever bonded to one. Most females are never bonded to a male, as they are exceedingly rare.

The rare male Chibi is a large tadpole, about twelve to eighteen inches in length, with tail. All Chibi begin as tadpoles, but females develop into the humanoid form.

Head

Head is slightly larger in relation to the body than a human's. Body is about 5.75 heads tall. It is a tad longer both in front and back.

The face is rounder, especially the jaw, mouth and cheeks. The eye sockets are about 50% larger than a human's relative to their head, the sclera is green in color, but the iris is very human looking, though the colors tend to be bright.

No visible nose or lips. This area of the face extends forward in a rounded fashion. Mouth has no visible teeth, but the Chibi have sharp, pointed teeth that are normally retracted. The bony plate, with the teeth retracted, is used to grind food; the sharp teeth are extended when they want to cut.

They have two 'fronds' on each side of their head. These fleshy stalks start just about where human ears would be, but split into multiple tiny branches that each end in a tiny black sphere. The spheres are similar in size to one another. These 'fronds' are the Chibi's olfactory organs and one of the ways they take in oxygen. Humans tend to mistake them for ears.
The actual ear is located behind the fleshy stalk and is nearly invisible as it is simply a hole in the skull, covered by a sensitive membrane. Most humans would miss it unless specifically looking.

Towards the back third of the top of the skull are a dozen fleshy tendrils that hang off the back of the skull down to the middle of the shoulders. These tendrils are flat and wide on one side, narrow and rounded on the other. These tendrils are pigmented darker than the rest of the skin. The principle use is a threat display when the Chibi is angry or fearful. A Chibi can also get some auditory information from these tendrils, supplementing the ears. These tendrils are roughly arranged in a circular cluster and vaguely resemble a topknot.

Hands

Three fingers and an opposable thumb are found on each hand. Fingers are webbed. Fingers have one additional knuckle than a human hand.

Feet

Feet have a similar arrangement to the hand, but the 'thumb' on the foot is vestigial and not flexible. Feet are very hand like in terms of toe length, like the fingers they have one additional knuckle. Front toes are webbed.

Reproduction

The male tadpole enters into a symbiotic relationship with a single Chibi female, he will spend most of his life inside the abdominal pouch of his mate (technically series of mates - see Longevity). The male is not dependent on being in the pouch, it can and does leave for brief periods whenever the female goes swimming or when she lays eggs. If something happens to his mate, he can survive in the pool just like he did prior to being paired.

A human's first reaction upon seeing a Chibi Mother is to assume that she is pregnant, due to the bump in her abdomen.

During the reproductive cycle, the Mother lays 24 to 48 eggs into the spawning pool, the male will swim over them and fertilize them. The eggs will hatch in the pool as tadpoles, the female ones will slowly develop into the humanoid form over the course of the first year of life. The males will never leave the tadpole form, but males are exceedingly rare.

Longevity

Females without a bonded male partner are short lived, rarely living past 45 years of age.

Females bonded to a male gain some of the male’s longevity and can live to be more than 360 years of age, but only as long as they are bonded (if the male dies, they lose this extra longevity).

Males are very long lived; they can live well past 1440 years of age. A male will outlive his female partner, but will be paired with one of her daughters when she passes, maintaining the integrity of the household.
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