Katzu biology (warning for SKIENCE)
Sep. 6th, 2012 05:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiziahGeneral characteristics
Katzu stand between six and seven feet, as a general tendency. It is extremely rare for one to be smaller than five foot eight, and anything above seven foot is considered abnormally tall.
Their eyes are green, yellow, and brown, from a near colourless version of each shade to a brilliant version thereof.
The majority of clans have dark skin tones - only one clan (Alnat) has caucasian tones. Alnat has always been the rarest clan.
Katzu ears are pointed, but the point folds out from the head at a forty-five to ninety degree angle. They have excellent hearing. They have a triple sectioned eyebrow, and a great amount of body hair. Katzu do not sweat much, and their scent is that of a clean cat.
Katzu aestivate (or hibernate, depending on hemisphere) for a two-week period in late December. This period corresponds to the severe drought season in the Katzu Territories.
Katzu do not see reds and browns particularly well, their eyes are set up more like a feline's eyes than those of a human or Olia. Katzu pupils dilate and contract in a manner closer to the dual ciliary muscles - closer to those of a "Big Cat" than the slit of a house cat. Katzu see very well in low light, but lose details in exceedingly bright light. They have a tendency towards colour blindness due to the concentration of rods compared to the cones. Katzu can have the reflective eyes of a feline if hit by light at the correct angle.
Katzu mouths are also more feline than those of Olia or Humans, their teeth are sharper and remain so over the course of their lives. They have fewer grinding molars and more tearing teeth in the back of their mouths. They also have rough, flat tongues which are remnants of when their ancestors cleaned themselves by licking. This can lead to certain sounds being difficult for some Katzu to say, especially if they did not grow up speaking one of the human or Olia languages.
Due to their origin as a desert species, Katzu get cold easily and tend to cover up in bulky clothing if they need to be in chilly situations. This is a tendency, however, and not every Katzu feels the same.
Katzu, being descended from felines, have more flexible spines than they look like they "ought" to be. They make excellent athletes and dancers due to this.
The bone and muscle structure of the Katzu is denser than that of the other species, this allows them to take more physical damage before breaking limbs or tearing muscles than others. They pay for this hardiness with a resistance or outright allergy to most medications that the other species can use; medications such as aspirin can cause a Katzu to have seizures or even death. Katzu, in general, depend entirely upon healing magics or time to heal their wounds.
It is very rare for Katzu to catch illnesses, those that they catch are specific only to their species. They do not catch the common cold, the flu, or other human, olia, or both diseases. Most Katzu illnesses are treated the same way as their injuries; a combination of time and magic.
Katzu require less sleep than Olia or humans, four hours a night is more than sufficient and under times of need they can go three or four days without any sleep at all before they begin to show signs of trouble. This does not include the aestivation period, no Katzu is capable of forcing themselves awake during those two weeks.
Due to their longevity, Katzu live approximately two hundred years and are active right up until the last three or four of those, Katzu have the lowest birthrate of sentient species. Male Katzu tend to have low sperm-count, and females have a whole host of pregnancy complications from miscarriage to ectopic pregnancies. Most pregnant Katzu are confined to bed rest for the majority of their pregnancy. Multiple births are even more rare than in the other species, never consisting of more than twins, whereas the chance of humans or Olia having twins are approximately 1 in 33, the chance of a Katzu having successful delivery of twins is closer to 1 in 80.
Many Katzu have predatory hold-overs from their ancestors. These Katzu tend to instinctively break their actions into detection of prey, attack, capture and consumption. This can be disconcerting to others and cause these Katzu to find themselves awkward in social situations, especially those with other species. Katzu with this tendency avoid situations where they are put in contact with traditionally prey animals and are almost never found as herders, farmers, or pet owners.
Katzu have two major growth spurts and a more minor one where they fill out. Katzu infants are born undersized and under development compared to the other species. They are born with their eyes closed and weighing between 5.5lbs and 7.5lbs. Katzu children remain smaller than children of equal developmental stages until puberty. As children they go from toddler-sized to approximately four feet of height over the course of a month, at puberty they suffer through a hellish growth-spurt which takes them from their four-foot height to their adult height over a period of two to three weeks. Growth is very nearly visible to the naked eye, and there are no painkillers known which can ease that suffering, however most teenage Katzu black out and spend it in a near comatose state with few or no memories of this time. Muscle mass fills in over a couple of months after the bones have settled in.
This insane growth pattern can cause a range of arthritis complaints, some clans are more prone to them than others, but many Katzu have at the very least a "weather joint" which aches when the weather changes.
Diet
Katzu are obligate carnivores. They require large quantities of meats supplemented with vegetables and minimal fruits. Some Katzu require their meats to be rare or raw, very few enjoy well-done meats. The Katzu digestive system is capable of breaking down many of the contaminants which make raw meats dangerous for humans and Olia.
Katzu break down fructose in the manner which humans do sucrose, and tend to find sucrose items to be distasteful. A Katzu child will have a "sugar crash" from a handful of fruit in the same way that a human child will with a handful of candy.
Katzu stand between six and seven feet, as a general tendency. It is extremely rare for one to be smaller than five foot eight, and anything above seven foot is considered abnormally tall.
Their eyes are green, yellow, and brown, from a near colourless version of each shade to a brilliant version thereof.
The majority of clans have dark skin tones - only one clan (Alnat) has caucasian tones. Alnat has always been the rarest clan.
Katzu ears are pointed, but the point folds out from the head at a forty-five to ninety degree angle. They have excellent hearing. They have a triple sectioned eyebrow, and a great amount of body hair. Katzu do not sweat much, and their scent is that of a clean cat.
Katzu aestivate (or hibernate, depending on hemisphere) for a two-week period in late December. This period corresponds to the severe drought season in the Katzu Territories.
Katzu do not see reds and browns particularly well, their eyes are set up more like a feline's eyes than those of a human or Olia. Katzu pupils dilate and contract in a manner closer to the dual ciliary muscles - closer to those of a "Big Cat" than the slit of a house cat. Katzu see very well in low light, but lose details in exceedingly bright light. They have a tendency towards colour blindness due to the concentration of rods compared to the cones. Katzu can have the reflective eyes of a feline if hit by light at the correct angle.
Katzu mouths are also more feline than those of Olia or Humans, their teeth are sharper and remain so over the course of their lives. They have fewer grinding molars and more tearing teeth in the back of their mouths. They also have rough, flat tongues which are remnants of when their ancestors cleaned themselves by licking. This can lead to certain sounds being difficult for some Katzu to say, especially if they did not grow up speaking one of the human or Olia languages.
Due to their origin as a desert species, Katzu get cold easily and tend to cover up in bulky clothing if they need to be in chilly situations. This is a tendency, however, and not every Katzu feels the same.
Katzu, being descended from felines, have more flexible spines than they look like they "ought" to be. They make excellent athletes and dancers due to this.
The bone and muscle structure of the Katzu is denser than that of the other species, this allows them to take more physical damage before breaking limbs or tearing muscles than others. They pay for this hardiness with a resistance or outright allergy to most medications that the other species can use; medications such as aspirin can cause a Katzu to have seizures or even death. Katzu, in general, depend entirely upon healing magics or time to heal their wounds.
It is very rare for Katzu to catch illnesses, those that they catch are specific only to their species. They do not catch the common cold, the flu, or other human, olia, or both diseases. Most Katzu illnesses are treated the same way as their injuries; a combination of time and magic.
Katzu require less sleep than Olia or humans, four hours a night is more than sufficient and under times of need they can go three or four days without any sleep at all before they begin to show signs of trouble. This does not include the aestivation period, no Katzu is capable of forcing themselves awake during those two weeks.
Due to their longevity, Katzu live approximately two hundred years and are active right up until the last three or four of those, Katzu have the lowest birthrate of sentient species. Male Katzu tend to have low sperm-count, and females have a whole host of pregnancy complications from miscarriage to ectopic pregnancies. Most pregnant Katzu are confined to bed rest for the majority of their pregnancy. Multiple births are even more rare than in the other species, never consisting of more than twins, whereas the chance of humans or Olia having twins are approximately 1 in 33, the chance of a Katzu having successful delivery of twins is closer to 1 in 80.
Many Katzu have predatory hold-overs from their ancestors. These Katzu tend to instinctively break their actions into detection of prey, attack, capture and consumption. This can be disconcerting to others and cause these Katzu to find themselves awkward in social situations, especially those with other species. Katzu with this tendency avoid situations where they are put in contact with traditionally prey animals and are almost never found as herders, farmers, or pet owners.
Katzu have two major growth spurts and a more minor one where they fill out. Katzu infants are born undersized and under development compared to the other species. They are born with their eyes closed and weighing between 5.5lbs and 7.5lbs. Katzu children remain smaller than children of equal developmental stages until puberty. As children they go from toddler-sized to approximately four feet of height over the course of a month, at puberty they suffer through a hellish growth-spurt which takes them from their four-foot height to their adult height over a period of two to three weeks. Growth is very nearly visible to the naked eye, and there are no painkillers known which can ease that suffering, however most teenage Katzu black out and spend it in a near comatose state with few or no memories of this time. Muscle mass fills in over a couple of months after the bones have settled in.
This insane growth pattern can cause a range of arthritis complaints, some clans are more prone to them than others, but many Katzu have at the very least a "weather joint" which aches when the weather changes.
Diet
Katzu are obligate carnivores. They require large quantities of meats supplemented with vegetables and minimal fruits. Some Katzu require their meats to be rare or raw, very few enjoy well-done meats. The Katzu digestive system is capable of breaking down many of the contaminants which make raw meats dangerous for humans and Olia.
Katzu break down fructose in the manner which humans do sucrose, and tend to find sucrose items to be distasteful. A Katzu child will have a "sugar crash" from a handful of fruit in the same way that a human child will with a handful of candy.
