Skip to main content

star trek - What function do Xindi cheek holes serve?



All 5 of the extant sapient Xindi species have the same holes (and a line of bumps) on their cheeks, as can be seen below:


Xindi-Arboreal male, a hairy humanoid with somewhat monkey- or lemur-like features and characteristic vertical slits on either cheek.


Degra, a male Xindi-Primate, the most human-looking of the Xindi species, distinguishable only by the same vertical slits on either cheek and strange hair styling.


Commander Dolim, a male Xindi-Reptilian -- his cheek holes are harder to see due to his heavily textured (scaly and creased) skin.


An unnamed Xindi-Insectoid with what appears to be two slits on beneath its eyes lateral to its mandibles.


Two Xindi-Aquatics seen in their aquatic environment through a window. A similar vertical slit and line of bumps are seen on their cheeks.


Has it ever been explained what purpose they serve, or how such different species (which clearly diverged evolutionarily long ago) retain these cheek holes if they're purely cosmetic?



Answer



In-Universe, the common features shared by the 6 Xindi species; Xindi-Aquatics, Xindi-Arboreals, Xindi-Insectoids, Xindi-Primates, Xindi-Reptilians and Xindi-Avians are largely as a result of their shared genetic heritage. According to Wikipedia, they have over 99.5% of their DNA in common so it's hardly surprising that they'd have common physical features.


As you can see from the mask shots below, the ridges are sealed so there's little chance that they serve a physical purpose as glands or for breathing. It's more likely that the skin ridge is a function of supporting the bone ridge (and spines) below.



Xindia Mask


Out of universe, the decision to have the Xindis evolve from a common ancestor requires that they should look at least a little bit alike or fans would say "if they evolved from a common ancestor, how come they look completely different?"


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more