Concavenator on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/concavenator/art/Iilokan-511302173Concavenator

Deviation Actions

Concavenator's avatar

Iilokan

By
Published:
2.3K Views

Description

The ninth sapient species met by humans. They're quite small, they feed on nectar-like food and they breathe fluorine, which cause them to have an extremely fast metabolism; therefore they perceive time about five times faster than humans, and they live less than 11 terran years. They live in hive-like communities with many thousands of individuals packed in a few cubic meters.

More information at s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_E…

Long version:

The world: Apparently, the Iilokan planet was born out of a stellar cloud unusually rich in fluorine, as it contains a large concentration of this element. The crust is very rich in fluorite and cryolite; vast shallow seas of diluted hydrofluoric acid are present. The minerals are broken up by autotrophs, and biological processes analogous to photosynthesis constantly release fluorine gas in the atmosphere. Mineral fluorescence is a common phenomenon: by day, the fluorite fields absorb energy from UV light, and at night they give it back as dim blue light. Extensive rainforests are found on the tropical belt, with tangled turquoise trees and vines, and vast swarms of insect-like organisms.

The species:
--Body structure: Iilokan are about the size of a sparrow, with a round body surrounded by four equal wings and coated in velvety fur. The wings are asymmetrical, composed by a soft membrane sustained by a rod, and up to 10 cm long; they allow hovering and flight to over 50 bodylengths per second. Support is provided by thin plates of fluorapatite joined in a dermaskeleton. The head is found on a side, in the middle of the wings; it has a long four-jawed beak and the fleshy folds of a sort of ear. On the opposite side of the head, a prehensile "phallus" (see below) can be extended from an internal pouch to manipulate objects, and hang from branches or other supports.
--Metabolism: The most obvious trait of Iilokani metabolism is fluorine respiration, which produces a greater amount of energy compared to its oxygen equivalent. They feed mostly on large tube-shaped flower-like structure, drinking the nectar with the long beak and tongue. The nectar contains gametes which then combine in their stomach, as gastric juices dissolve their coating, and are expelled as seeds with the feces. With agriculture, the "flowers" are enough to sustain populations of several millions individuals. An entire life cycle lasts about 3 local years (10.5 terran years). To minimize heat loss, they spend several hours a day huddled together in their nests.
--Perception: The most important Iilokani sense is sight, despite them not having any visible eyes. The main body and the wing rods are covered in tiny plates of photosensitive crystals, connected to a diffuse web of nerves. This effectively turns the entire body surface in a compound eye: this allows a good image resolution and perception of depth despite the small size, which is useful for flying in the thick vegetation. Hearing is also well developed, and communication occurs mainly by clicking the beak at particular frequencies; sound is directed into a sort of eardrum by the folds on the neck. The brain is composed by six ganglia located at the center of the body: one connected to the jaws, one to the "phallus" and one to each wing.
--Reproduction: All Iilokan have the same kind of genitals: a long, thin prehensile appendage stored in a pouch in the abdomen. There are two mating types, indistinguishable by anatomy, each of which can fertilize and be fertilized by the other: during mating, two Iilokan insert their appendage in each other's pouches. Zygotes develop as eggs, which are glued to a branch thanks to a viscous coating and hatch in a few days. This occurs once a year, when all the individuals of a community gather together in a ritual airborne dance and then fall on the ground in a writhing mass. Each individual can require several mating in order to conceive. The whole process lasts about 2-4 minutes.

The culture: Thanks to their quick metabolism, Iilokani thought processes are believed to be up to 5 times faster than human ones. The perception of time and the rate of information exchange scale appropriately. Most Iilokani cultures value greatly skill in flight, but also memory, as young Iilokan are expected to memorize quickly a great amount of information. The communal mating, which interrupts every other activity, is generally celebrated as a holiday, either religious or secular depending upon the local culture. Iilokani communities build hive-like nests on tree canopies, traditionally using chewed leaves, though now more advanced materials are employed. An average nest is about 5 meters tall and can host up to 15 000 individuals.

How they see humans: Of course, all humans (and other sophonts) appear frustratingly slow and sluggish to Iilokan: it is advised to be as quick and efficient as possible, to avoid excessive stress to them. Being used to live in large numbers in an enclosed space, they also perceive humans as lonely and reserved; during talk, they might encourage repeatedly human mediators to partake in Iilokani communitarian activities. (Note: Iilokani eggs are very fragile, and humans should keep away from them to avoid accidental damages.)
Image size
2000x1750px 221.1 KB
© 2015 - 2024 Concavenator
Comments3
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Kingdok10's avatar
I absolutely love these creatures you've created. The Iilokan have to be my favorite of them, though. I can imagine a lot of people would adore them for their size and soft fur, not to mention you seem to have depicted them as being the most tolerably friendly of alien species you've made.