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The Biology and Culture of the Olfacteffor
Topic Started: Jun 15 2009, 04:22 PM (1,078 Views)
Giant Blue Anteater
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I have spent so much time and effort on this piece that it gave Flash a headache. I'm quite proud of this piece, and I want suggestions and ideas.

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This strange, two meter-long creature has its own name of which it 'speaks', but to vocal sophonts on Earth, this creature is called an Olfacteffor (Olfacteffor sapiens, Latin for "smell speaker that knows"). The reason why it is called a "smell speaker" is because it does not communicate via vocalizations, it does so via strong, complex pheromones secreted from the slits on top of its neck. They 'speak' a wide variety of unique pheromonal languages, combined with gestural communication, and writes under many unique writing systems and alphabets.

Some Information about Anatomy (more information to be covered later)
Olfacteffor are strange creatures indeed. They have six limbs, the anterior pair being the manipulators and the rest being locomotors.

Their digits are arranged radially, but the front three toes on the front legs are elongated to push upon the ground and providing thrust while moving. The back feet are more digitigrade. In both pairs of feet the back toe is atrophied. The hands are homodigital, but very dextrous and flexible.

The mouth of an Olfacteffor resembles the second head of a Snaiadi "vertebrate", but this similarity is merely superficial. The proboscis is actually like a strange lip. The actual mouth inside is rather toothy, and can chop up any meal the flexible prboscis swallows. The digestive tract follows into the corpus, and terminates in an anus located at the chest.

On its face is a pair of eyes and a central vertical slit that houses olfactory sensors and the passageway to the lungs. The trachea, however lacks a larynx.

The slits on top of the neck are pheromone secretors. They emit different pheromones during communication.

The body is primarily covered in scales, but there is hair on the rear end in males.

Diet
Oflacteffor are omnivorous, just like humans. They eat both animal and plant matter. The proboscis described earlier is extremely flexible and extensible, and can swallow anything up to the size of a football. But anything bigger than that needs to be cut up into smaller, more swallowable bits. After swallowed, the food is subsequentially chopped up, crunched, and churned in the pharynx, or the actual mouth in the sense that it prepares food for digestion. There are chemoreceptors on the proboscis and within the pharynx.

Reproduction
Olfacteffor have two genders. The reproductive system is on the most posterior region. In males, the rump is covered in hairs that attract mates. Females lack these hairs.

As you see in the illustration, this individual is a male. The penis in males come out of a sphincter protected by scale-derived pads. It does not pump with blood like in Earth mammals, but rather, it is heavily muscled. The more sexually excited a male gets, the more nerve impulses are sent to the penis, thus allowing it to be moved. But when sexual excitement is lost, the penis loses control and retracts back into the sphincter.

In females, the reproductive system consists of a short vagina and an egg-carrying uterus. Oflacteffor are oviviviparous, and retain a single egg within their uteri until the fetus has matured enough to survive in the extrauterine world. To feed their young, females have an interesting adaptation. Soft, highly nutritious scales start forming on the mother's belly. These are easy to digest, and will provide the baby with enough sustenence until it grows his pharyngeal teeth and begin consuming solid food.

Evolutionary Background
*coming soon*

Culture
*coming soon*

Language
*coming soon*

Civilizations
*coming soon*
Edited by Giant Blue Anteater, Jun 15 2009, 05:59 PM.
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There are chemoreceptors on the proboscis and within the pharynx.


I assume, then, that Olfacteffors use their proboscis to "hear" these pheromonal languages as well? Or did I miss what they actually use?
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Jun 15 2009, 06:29 PM
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There are chemoreceptors on the proboscis and within the pharynx.


I assume, then, that Olfacteffors use their proboscis to "hear" these pheromonal languages as well? Or did I miss what they actually use?
Their proboscis can only taste. To smell pheromone 'speech', they have a vertical slit on their face.
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Interesting.

So, since smell and taste are so closely connected on Earth (with humans at least), is the case the same with Olfacteffors? If "speech" is received through this slit, and both smell and taste is basically a chemoreception, then is there some inadvertent "noise" picked up through eating? Perhaps a very tasty meal is the equivalent of listening to music or looking at art? Do different spices mean different things? Or are smell and taste disassociated with these guys? If so, how?
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I'm going back to basics.

How does communication work during a strong wind? How developed is their sense of hearing? (For hearing other things, like danger).
Something is upsetting the ostriches.

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I would do the same question about the wind lol

Another question is, what the speed of the speech? how many time take to one individual make a question an revived the answer?

By the way just few mammal orders have hydraulic erection, as I remember, primates, Perissodactyls (horses, rhinos, tapirs) have, Carnivores, Chiropters (bats) have the bacullum and Artiodactyls(cows giraffes, hippos, etc), Cetaceans have retractile muscles, Sirenies (manatees ) and elephants think that are muscular too but not sure :P
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Do they have a "normal" sense of hearing? If so, how developed is it?

Unique creature, indeed. The forthcoming "Language" section will be fun. Will our screens turn into digital Scratch n'Sniffs?
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Jun 16 2009, 02:08 AM
I would do the same question about the wind lol

Another question is, what the speed of the speech? how many time take to one individual make a question an revived the answer?

By the way just few mammal orders have hydraulic erection, as I remember, primates, Perissodactyls (horses, rhinos, tapirs) have, Carnivores, Chiropters (bats) have the bacullum and Artiodactyls(cows giraffes, hippos, etc), Cetaceans have retractile muscles, Sirenies (manatees ) and elephants think that are muscular too but not sure :P
Elephants do have flexible penises as a matter of fact.

Also, thanks for letting me know.

About the wind thing, I have decided that using pheromones as the primary means of communication may not work after a discussion with Rayn Hammer on DeviantART becuase he says that for simple messages, it could work, but for complex 'speech', it is difficult, because the same messages could be floating in air and get mixed with others.

So my solution is going to be that they primarily communicate via gestures, but secondarily communicate via pheromones to convey simple messages. Is that better?
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The use of pheromones for communication is an interesting idea. They must be great scientists and philosophers, as they could build forums in which all the pheromones become trapped and all the speech can be heard by everyone.

And it doesn't necessarily have to become mingled with all the other pheromones. They could have a smaller second brain devoted entirely to separating the pheromones out into their originally intended form, like filtering a radio signal out of white noise. But your best bet would be to not have the pheromone language be their primary means of communication.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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^Agreed.


Do the Olfacteffors have a "normal" sense of hearing?
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Jun 29 2009, 04:16 PM
The use of pheromones for communication is an interesting idea. They must be great scientists and philosophers, as they could build forums in which all the pheromones become trapped and all the speech can be heard by everyone.

And it doesn't necessarily have to become mingled with all the other pheromones. They could have a smaller second brain devoted entirely to separating the pheromones out into their originally intended form, like filtering a radio signal out of white noise. But your best bet would be to not have the pheromone language be their primary means of communication.
I have a better idea for a main method of communication. How about modified scales that act as a xylophone? The hammer scale hits the anvil scale, thus creating noise. These are arranged in a mane. Their language could go like "Clickity click!", and combined with unique pheromones, allows for a totally unique language. Is this better, or is there still problems?

A redesign shall follow up soon.
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I like that one too, like a whole language based on "music." Speaking of which in that case their music would be very interesting, with the lyrics and music indistinguishable from each other. I'm not even sure we can comprehend what that means.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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I like it. Xylophone-like language is certainly distinct enough, and if properly amplified it can be broadcast over great distances. Pheromonal broadcast would provide an excellent supplement, ideal for expressing overall emotions or overtones. Imagine: "Clickity-clakittle" = "What are you doing here?" and differing aromas could signify anything from, "Oh, what a pleasant surprise," to, "I'm very upset, to the point of violence!"

I think that "lyrics" and accompanying music would actually be distinguishable enough, even to human ears; at least as easy to isolate as a xylophone in an orchestra. A sufficiently trained ear can pick it out, and perhaps even readily understand the lyrical meaning. My question is how is the olfactory component of speech transmitted in song? Do the musical tones suggest or substitute cues for specific smells?
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Ànraich
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Olfactic symphonies preformed by an olfacestra (like olfactory + orchestra).

I bet incense and forms of smoking would be very popular on that planet, given their increased awareness of scents.
We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar.

"The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming

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I bet incense and forms of smoking would be very popular on that planet, given their increased awareness of scents.


Or their ability to mask other odors. If you wish to conceal inadvertent emanations, the best way to do it would be with some sort of artificial perfume.
Take a look at my exobiology subforum of the planet Nereus!

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