Biology

General

Xeno’dorian biology, much like other life, was molded and shaped by their home world and its unique conditions. The average Xeno’dorian stands upright at eight feet tall and has an average lifespan of three hundred years, with some deviation seen between the sexes. The frame of any Xeno’dorian is fairly similar to that of the raptor on earth despite being lightyears apart. The two share leg and head structure, leading to the creation of talons and crest feathers. Unlike the raptor though, their agile body requires a lighter upper body. The rib cage is compressible and light, similar to a cat’s. Xeno’dorian’s also have tails. They start at the base of the spine and run to a length of about one and a half times their height. The tail terminates with a flat V shaped bone to assist with balance. Xeno’dorians also have wings, and very large ones at that. Their wingspan is four times that of their own body height, making the average Xeno’dorian easily occupy 100 square feet, and more if they try. All of this stacked together might lead those not familiar with this species into thinking that they are rather feral, an apex predator. However, rest assured that they are still very much sapient.

The bodily function of a Xeno’dorian is fairly similar to other carbon-water based life. However, the water on their homeworld is acidic. Hydrochloric acid is present across the world’s waters at a roughly 1:5 hydrochloric acid to water ratio, or more exactly nineteen present HCl . This would also bring their blood PH down, below the normal saline PH expected. This is helped along by the presence of Hemocyanin, a copper blood solution that is blue in color, as a hemoglobin replacement. Unique to the Xeno’dorians, though, is the color of their blood. With Hemocyanin and hydrochloric acid combined, it turns their blood colorless. Without the presence of hydrochloric acid, their blood becomes a cool blue. While it isn’t necessary for their survival, it's still commonplace for acid to be added into their water supplies when it normally would be absent. Thanks to a fairly radioactive homeworld, they are also naturally resistant to radiation. They have venom, their venom glands are located underneath their talons. They have Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) for Venom. This kills neurons quickly with death occurring in seconds. They had developed a dual pair of lungs. One set is larger than the other. This allows them to still be diffusing oxygen while they take a breath, or exhaling. This can be useful for when they are flying, which will take a lot of O2 for their size.

The senses of a Xeno’dorians have also evolved to help them navigate the tunnels and large caverns. They have evolved to see in both visible and infrared light. Not only does this let them see using the superheated, infrared emitting, cavern ceiling; but warm blooded prey is visible to them as if they were seeing them through a thermal camera. For hearing, the Xeno’dorian has foregone using ears and in place uses pin feathers placed along their head. These function like ears but are way more fragile, as they can be plucked and cut. However, they can easily regrow pin feathers to regain lost hearing. The process of regrowing lost pin feathers usually takes a few weeks at most.

Females

Females are smaller when compared to males. Females are slimmer, faster to think, and have more potent venom. They also have an additional venom gland in their mouth. Females also are more intelligent, able to process their surroundings, problem solve, plan, and learn more effectively than males. They reach full maturity at 31. Females stand around 7’10, and weigh 260 lb. They are colorful, they tend to stand out from their environment like a sore thumb. Their snout is a “V” shape, narrow and long. Their belly also goes inwards, giving a skinny appearance. This changes however, when a female gets fertilized the abdomen grows, giving space for the eggs to develop. The feathers on their body are pointed at the end. The flattened piece of tail at the end is also a “V” shape.

Males

Males are larger and a bit bulkier than females. They have more precise muscle movement then females, and a quicker reaction time. Their Pin feathers are longer compared to the females. They reach full maturity at 35. Males stand at 8’4, and weigh about 280 lb. They have a bit more muscle and their bodies aren’t as narrow along with their mouth which is usually between a “V” and a “U” shape. Males can be colorful just like the female. The belly doesn’t come inwards like the females.This is because it’s not necessary to carry eggs. Males have rounded feather tips. The flattened piece of tail at the end is an oval shape.

Reproduction

They have cloacal vaginas and cloacal penises for reproductive organs. There is no mating season or heat season for them. They just ovulate every 2 months. This doesn’t affect behavior for either females or males. After the female gets fertilized it takes a month until the female will lay eggs.

Halfway into the month they will get instincts to build a nest in preparation to lay her eggs. The eggs will grow in size for the first half of the pregnancy as egg white starts to accumulate in the egg glands. She will always lay 4 eggs, with at least 1 fertile egg. Eggs are also yellow in color and oval in shape. But closer to a sphere. If she did not mate, no eggs will be laid, not even unfertilized ones. If you take the average female size and weight the eggs will be 10 inches (25.4 cm) tall, from top to base weighing about 15 pounds or about 5.8% of the mothers weight, they always will be. So 15 pounds is not going to be it with every mother, nor the same height. A infertile egg is around 5 inches, and 3 pounds.

Xeno’dorian hatchlings

The young of the Xeno’dorians, or hatchlings, take around 11 months to hatch from their eggs. When a Xeno’dorian hatches they are born without sapience, or they are comparable to a wild animal. They spend their first day of life learning how to move their muscles, this usually takes less than 24 hours. They are extremely aggressive, and this will persist until they are around 7 years old. For ages 0-3, they will treat anything as a threat. They will warn any potential source of danger of their presence by thumping their tail against the ground or something hollow, hiss, and growl. If that does not work, and the threat heads towards them, they will fight back. They will attempt to get onto the back of the creature, bite it on the nape and claw at it using its venom until it dies. For ages 3-7 they will watch something, to determine if it is a threat or not instead of fighting. They might flee and seek a high place and yell out for their mother.

Hatchlings hatch with basic hunting knowledge, like how to mimic tons of animals to lure them in and aim to bite the neck or other soft spots. They can also fly at birth and use this in combination to take down threats.

When they hatch, both males and females look identical. Both will be purple. This helps to blend into their environment.

There is also no physical difference between a male and female hatchling, these similarities will remain the same until they are around 11-14

Hatchlings through ages of 0-11 will molt every month. When they reach the ages of 11-14 their true color’s start to become present in there feathers

When hatchlings reach 7-8. They basically become a toddler. They become curious and begin mimicking their parents. They also become much calmer and less aggressive. When they reach 16 years they “come into the teenage years” as you can say. This is where they become more antisocial, they will seek out to be alone and explore. At 21, they are able to reproduce, and they will begin to be social again. They will also stay in groups if there is one to be in. This is when they are most fit as well. This also means newborn born Xeno’dorians are deaf.