Gorn Anatomy
The Gorn reptilian
ancestry is obvious. However a number of stereotypes
based on this appearance began to circulate mere moments
after the Gorn where first seen in the episode, the
Arena. Lets take some time to look at what the Gorn
truly are.
As is
obvious the Gorn are of a reptilian descent. However it
is more than a cosmetic ancestry. Like Reptiles on earth
the Gorn are cold blooded and lay eggs for reproduction.
As can be
seen in the episode in which they appeared, the Gorn are
physically larger than humans. The average Gorn stands
7 3 and weighs in about 475 pounds. This makes him
about 1 4 and almost 2 times the weight of an average
human. Now on first glance the Gorn would appear
to be heavier than what the average is. This is an
illusion based on outward appearance. Gorn bones are
actually hollow, this means that while the structure is
larger the average Gorn weighs less than he would
appear. While the bones are hollow, the bones have a
unique hex cell structure that makes them incredible
strong. Hence an average Gorn bone weighs about half as
much as a human bone but has almost 10 times the
strength.
The large
Gorn eyes enable the Gorn to receive a great deal of
visual information. They have almost 20% better
peripheral vision than a human however they also have a
drawback. The Gorn home worlds are all in systems with
red stars. This has resulted in the Gorn developing
under more subdued lighting conditions than humans.
Almost a constant state of twilight for the day, as such
the Gorn eye collects a lot of light, enabling better
night vision. However they find our light, with its
whites and blues, very glaring and in some instances
actually painful. Imagine a bright sunny day on a fresh
covered snowfield and you begin to get the idea.
Gorn hearing is almost similar to human hearing, except
the Gorn can hear better than humans in the lower
frequencies. Basically what this means is that the Gorn
hear better in the bass noise ranges and not quite as
well in the higher noises.
The Gorn
physical strength advantage over humans is obvious. This
is largely due to the shear size of the Gorn. However it
also has to do with the amount of muscle mass the Gorn
possess. An average human has around 10% body fat, while
the average Gorn has less than 2% body fat. This means
that most of the Gorn mass is made up of muscle tissue.
However this tissue is of the slow-twitch variety and as
such the Gorn have impressive strength and endurance but
lack the speed of humans and most other races. The best
analogy of this would be, in a fistfight a human can hit
a Gorn 10 times before the Gorn would land his first
punch, but he would only need one.
Speaking
of fighting. The Gorn possess claws on both hands and
feet. Many have assumed that these are used during
combat. While they can and are used, the Gorn tend to
rely more on pure physical power in a fight. If they do
use a natural weapon to fight, it tends to be the
immense row of teeth they possess.
A close
examination of the Gorn dental work reveals a solid row
of incisors. These teeth are all meant to rip and tear
at food, mostly meat. However a more detailed
examination reveals an interesting fact. While the Gorn
have an excellent set of incisors, they lack any form of
molars. Basically this means that the Gorn can rip the
food apart into bite size chunks but the teeth are not
designed to effectively crunch and grind the food down
for easy passage and digestions. This leads to a
fascinating area of Gorn physiology, the Gorn throat.
As
mentioned above, when a Gorn eats, his teeth are
designed to rip the food apart. Once the bite is in his
mouth the Gorn swallows the bite whole. The Gorn throat
is able to expand to almost ½ again its full size. As
the food passes down the Gorn throat the muscles
contract on the food, crushing it and pulverizing it
before it reaches the stomach.
Another interesting aspect
of the Gorn is their taste system. This also doubles as
their sense of smell. It is so highly refined that Gorn
can taste pheromone changes in other Gorn around them.
In fact this sense of taste/smell is so accurate that in
a room full of Gorn, each one can distinguish the smells
of
the others
individually. This highly developed sense has had a
major impact of many aspects of Gorn society and even
its language. Added to this is an extreme level of
pheromone and hormone control. Gorn are actually able to
elevate and lower their level of release so that their
scent can be controlled to some extent. Further
research has shown that the Gorn are actually three
different races. While the Gorn have evolved on three
separate worlds, in truth they are the same species.
Gorn from each of the three home worlds can freely
procreate, transfuse blood, and even provide organ
donations. Most of the differences between the three
races are purely cosmetic. This commonality between the
three Gorn races has led to a lot of research.
Genetically the Gorn are almost a perfect match, also
the fossil records of all three worlds do not support
the Gorn as having evolved there. As such major
speculation has begun in support of the Gorn being a
transplanted race.
As
mentioned, the differences between the races are largely
cosmetic. Such things as the size of the nose, the shape
of the head, all of these vary in minor detail and even
vary within each race. The most common difference seems
to be seen in the coloration of the scales. The Gorn
from Ghdar tend toward gray and off white edging on
their scales. The Geydar tend toward shades of brown and
tan. The Gorn from Gihdahr have little in the way of
edge coloration, they do tend to have a wider variance
in the overall scale color, ranging from a dark, almost
black green to much paler shades of green.
Of
interesting note with this, is the nature of the worlds
that each race lives on. Ghdar is a temperate planet
with a great deal of rocky terrain; most of the stone
has a gray coloration. The planet Geydar is mostly a
desert world, with limited pockets of vegetation.
Gihdahr is largely a forested world, with temperate and
tropical forests throughout. This would seem to indicate
that the Gorn possess some level of chameleon ability
hidden within their genetic makeup. However further
evidence can be found, a small, less than 1 in
10,000,000, percentage of the Gorn population are born
with the chameleon gene active. These Gorn are recruited
at an early age for special duties.
There are
other color variations, ranging the full spectrum of
color. The most rare is the blue/yellow edged scales.
Over time these have come to denote royalty and are thus
greatly revered and sought after.
What is
even of more interest is that the differences between
the Gorn sexes are even less pronounced that those
between the Gorn races. The Gorn male reproductive
organs are carried inside the male and only extrude
during mating. Sine the female lays eggs; there are not
noticeable changes in the female anatomy to provide a
way to feed the young. The only differences between male
and female tend to be in the size and aggression level.
In this case things will seem backward to a human. Gorn
females tend to be 15% larger on the average than Gorn
males; they are stronger and tend to be more aggressive.
This has led to a large percentage of Gorn Marines and
Security Guards being female. Now that we have the basic
facts on the anatomy of the Gorn lets take a look at
their life cycle. Gorn females have a limited fertility
period, being able to lay eggs only twice per solar
year. The period that the female may become pregnant is
also limited usually only for a 48 hour cycle. This
results in very few Gorn females being pregnant at any
one time. As an example, a poll done in the old USA
during the late 20th century showed that approximately
37% of the female human population was pregnant at any
one time, in the case of the Gorn this percentage is
much lower, closer to 2%. When a female does lay eggs,
she will typically lay 5-8 eggs per clutch.
The eggs
will lay the hatchery for about 180 days before
hatching. When first laid the eggs have a leathery
texture and are actually quite soft to the touch. During
the incubation period the eggs grow, usually to almost 3
times their birth size. The shell hardens as the egg
grows and is quite brittle when it is hatched. The baby
Gorn that are produced stand about 2 1/2 tall and are
fully capable of walking and eating solid food. They are
born will a full set of teeth, claws and a tail.
Gorn childhood is very short by human standards, with a
Gorn reaching puberty by the age of 10 solar years. At
this age the Gorn is typically 80% of his full size and
has undergone an intensive education system. At this age
the Gorn is considered an adult.
At this
point the Gorn aging process slows a great deal. The
middle of the Gorn life (for a human this stage is from
age 20 to age 40) is from age 11 to roughly age 80.
During this time no signs of age appear to slow down,
weaken or in any way limit the activity of the Gorn. The
next stage of the Gorn life (the equivalent of Human
41-60) lasts until the age of 120. This stage is
signified by the loss of the ability to reproduce as
well as a gradual decline in size and strength. From 120
to the end of the Gorn's life, usually around age 160,
the Gorn will gradually grow weaker and less active.
However unlike many races the Gorn mind does not
deteriorate with age. All the wisdom and knowledge the
Gorn has accumulated over his life remains in tact.
Contact the web master at
sfaret@msn.com
