Cardassian - Biology

Biology

Cardassians are humanoid in form, but have distinctive ridged arches connecting their shoulders to the tops of their necks. They also have ridges on either side of their foreheads, ridges surrounding their eyes, and protrusions on their chins and below their noses. Moreover, they display spoon-shaped features starting in the centers of their foreheads and running down the lengths of their noses. This has earned them the derogatory name of "spoonheads." The spoon shape also appears on their chest. The non-canon "Star Trek: DS9-Millennium" novel trilogy revealed the spoon feature served as a type of umbilical membrane before birth. Star Trek canon has revealed that ancient humanoids genetically influenced the evolution of the Cardassians, Klingons, Romulans, and Humans, but each race still evolved from earlier life forms (apes for humans, crustaceans for Klingons, etc.) (cf. The Chase). According to the Activision game Star Trek: Bridge Commander, the Cardassian race evolved from a species known as Mek'hammut, loosely translated as "sand crawlers".

Their skin is tan or gray in color and hair is dark brown or black. Their eye color is usually dark-brown. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as Gul Dukat and Elim Garak, who have blue eyes. Since scale patterns on Cardassian necks have been shown to change from appearance to appearance (Garak, for example), makeup artist Michael Westmore has theorized in a 2005 issue of Star Trek Insider that Cardassians continually shed and regrow scales. In the episode Profit and Loss, an intimate encounter between Quark and his starcrossed lover Natima Lang displayed that stroking the neck ridges of a Cardassian female produces an erogenous reaction. Whether this is true for males has not been explored. Female Cardassians have blue-tinted spots on their neck ridges and forehead.

Compared to many other humanoid Star Trek races, Cardassians prefer warmer and darker climates. The character Elim Garak once noted that Deep Space Nine's environment was very cold and very bright by Cardassian standards.

Cardassians enjoy a wide variety of food and drink:

• In the mornings, Cardassians like to drink hot fish juice, served in a mug and drunk rather than eaten with a spoon. Most other races find it a vile concoction. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
• Kanar is a popular alcoholic beverage on Cardassia. It comes in a variety of colors and textures. Among aliens the drink takes some getting used to. (TNG: "The Wounded")
• Larish pie is often eaten as a dessert. Other races (coincidentally, Bajorans are included) also enjoy it. (DS9: "The Storyteller")
• Popular food dishes include taspar eggs (always served boiled, as most races find it revolting when raw and even more so while still alive writhing inside its shell, as seen when Captain Picard forces himself to eat one after torture and starvation by a Cardassian agent), tojal, zabo meat, and sem'hal stew (often eaten with yamok sauce). (TNG: "Chain of Command")

The exact average lifespan of Cardassians has never been established. However it is believed in the Star Trek community that Cardassians are a longer-lived species. The character Gul Dukat was old enough to be prefect of Bajor in 2346 (DS9 Episode: Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night) and yet was still active as a Gul and not old in appearance during the events of Deep Space Nine some 30 years later. This indicates that a Cardassian is in the prime of life for at least 60+ years (assuming it takes some time to become a Gul, as it is a military and not hereditary title).