Genre: Sci Fi
Earth Time Period: 2020(just that 1 year)
Unknown planet Time Period: Unknown
Location: Varies throughout but along a 400 light year route from earth to an unknown planet(at least unknown to humans) in a generation ship
Physical Characteristics
My aliens have reptilian and mammalian characteristics. Starting at the head there are 3 antennae. These act like ears and help the aliens hear things that we can't. The eyes are like those of a cat helping them see in the dark. They don't have a noticeable nose but they do have nostrils. Going further down they have 2 arms and 2 legs just like we do. The hands on each arm have 6 fingers, 2 of which are thumbs. The 2 thumbs are on opposite sides of the hand so each hand has a right thumb and a left thumb. They are the first and last fingers on the hand in either R->L or L->R. The females and only the females have a pouch on their abdomen to incubate the eggs and the milk supply is also in the abdomen. Their feet are the same shape as ours only with 6 toes instead of 5. All fingers and toes are functional.
Speaking of fingers, the fact that each hand has 2 thumbs allows them to get a better grip than we humans and sustain that grip for a longer period of time.
They have scaly skin all over their bodies. Even the abdomen with the milk supply and the pouch is scaly.
Development
The females ovulate on average 5-15 eggs per cycle. Unfertilized eggs get reabsorbed and fertilized eggs start developing a shell. The shell takes 2 weeks to fully form. Once all the fertilized eggs have formed shells the female goes into a state very much like our labor except she is laying eggs, not giving birth to live young. Once the eggs are laid she puts them in her pouch to incubate for 2 months. Then after 2 months have passed, the eggs hatch and the baby aliens start drinking their mom's milk Their mom eats what is left of the eggs to recuperate. There can be up to 3 aliens in an egg while still being viable though this is rare.
My momma told me that if the aliens are the same size as humans or similar that their eggs would have to be as big as an ostrich egg.
Now that's big. But their pouch can accommodate. Their pouch is both secure and super elastic. And pouch skin shedding occurs separate from shedding the rest of the skin in fully grown aliens. Each time they shed skin from the pouch, it grows in actual size and is able to better hold the eggs.
Diurnal vs Nocturnal and others
These aliens have genes that influence whether the alien will be diurnal or nocturnal. Hatching time also influences this.
Genetics:
DD - Diurnal
NN - Nocturnal
DN or ND - Unknown until hatching time
Hatching time:
Hatch during daytime - Diurnal
Hatch during nighttime - Nocturnal
Hatch during twilight - Unknown
If a baby alien has both the diurnal and nocturnal alleles and hatches during either twilight(morning twilight also known as the blue hour or evening twilight with all those rainbow colors(except green but I do see purple and pink in an evening twilight. In fact especially in the summer, I can see at just the right moment and in just the right place sunlight splitting up into separate beams of red and yellow light as it goes through the windows of my house)) then it is completely unknown if the alien will be diurnal or nocturnal. Same goes for if hatching time and genetics are opposite. If however the hatching time is in twilight but the alien has just diurnal or just nocturnal alleles or if the alien has both alleles but hatches in either the day or the night it is determined by the one that doesn't give an unknown result.
Another important characteristic is basking. These aliens will bask for up to 4 hours in the morning(or for nocturnal aliens, night). Nocturnal aliens will bask for longer than Diurnal aliens because it is colder at night.
So what would be a good species name for these aliens that humans can understand? I never go through the trouble of making an alien language and just assume that all my characters, alien or not, speak English.
Earth Time Period: 2020(just that 1 year)
Unknown planet Time Period: Unknown
Location: Varies throughout but along a 400 light year route from earth to an unknown planet(at least unknown to humans) in a generation ship
Physical Characteristics
My aliens have reptilian and mammalian characteristics. Starting at the head there are 3 antennae. These act like ears and help the aliens hear things that we can't. The eyes are like those of a cat helping them see in the dark. They don't have a noticeable nose but they do have nostrils. Going further down they have 2 arms and 2 legs just like we do. The hands on each arm have 6 fingers, 2 of which are thumbs. The 2 thumbs are on opposite sides of the hand so each hand has a right thumb and a left thumb. They are the first and last fingers on the hand in either R->L or L->R. The females and only the females have a pouch on their abdomen to incubate the eggs and the milk supply is also in the abdomen. Their feet are the same shape as ours only with 6 toes instead of 5. All fingers and toes are functional.
Speaking of fingers, the fact that each hand has 2 thumbs allows them to get a better grip than we humans and sustain that grip for a longer period of time.
They have scaly skin all over their bodies. Even the abdomen with the milk supply and the pouch is scaly.
Development
The females ovulate on average 5-15 eggs per cycle. Unfertilized eggs get reabsorbed and fertilized eggs start developing a shell. The shell takes 2 weeks to fully form. Once all the fertilized eggs have formed shells the female goes into a state very much like our labor except she is laying eggs, not giving birth to live young. Once the eggs are laid she puts them in her pouch to incubate for 2 months. Then after 2 months have passed, the eggs hatch and the baby aliens start drinking their mom's milk Their mom eats what is left of the eggs to recuperate. There can be up to 3 aliens in an egg while still being viable though this is rare.
My momma told me that if the aliens are the same size as humans or similar that their eggs would have to be as big as an ostrich egg.
Now that's big. But their pouch can accommodate. Their pouch is both secure and super elastic. And pouch skin shedding occurs separate from shedding the rest of the skin in fully grown aliens. Each time they shed skin from the pouch, it grows in actual size and is able to better hold the eggs.
Diurnal vs Nocturnal and others
These aliens have genes that influence whether the alien will be diurnal or nocturnal. Hatching time also influences this.
Genetics:
DD - Diurnal
NN - Nocturnal
DN or ND - Unknown until hatching time
Hatching time:
Hatch during daytime - Diurnal
Hatch during nighttime - Nocturnal
Hatch during twilight - Unknown
If a baby alien has both the diurnal and nocturnal alleles and hatches during either twilight(morning twilight also known as the blue hour or evening twilight with all those rainbow colors(except green but I do see purple and pink in an evening twilight. In fact especially in the summer, I can see at just the right moment and in just the right place sunlight splitting up into separate beams of red and yellow light as it goes through the windows of my house)) then it is completely unknown if the alien will be diurnal or nocturnal. Same goes for if hatching time and genetics are opposite. If however the hatching time is in twilight but the alien has just diurnal or just nocturnal alleles or if the alien has both alleles but hatches in either the day or the night it is determined by the one that doesn't give an unknown result.
Another important characteristic is basking. These aliens will bask for up to 4 hours in the morning(or for nocturnal aliens, night). Nocturnal aliens will bask for longer than Diurnal aliens because it is colder at night.
So what would be a good species name for these aliens that humans can understand? I never go through the trouble of making an alien language and just assume that all my characters, alien or not, speak English.
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