Voth The Voth were an ancient saurian Delta Quadrant species . They were originally native to Earth , with the dinosaur genus " hadrosaur s " fingered as a likely ancestor . A significantly advanced species , the Voth were cold - blood ed creature s , had a superior sense of smell , and skin pigmentation which altered according to moods . ( ) History . Although this was not corroborated with archeological evidence , genetic evidence strongly suggested that the Voth originated on Earth – a concept later referred to as " Distant Origin Theory " . It was speculated that they evolved from the " hadrosaur " genus , which might have survived the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous 65 million years ago . The surviving dinosaurs continued to develop , likely on a secluded , by now destroyed landmass and became an interstellar species , possibly the first in the galaxy , when they left Earth . The species ultimately ended up in the Delta Quadrant , where they claimed a domain , laid the foundation of what became the great Voth culture , and forgot their origins . The recorded history and identity of the Voth began about 20 million years ago , at which point they already considered themselves a race indigenous to the Delta Quadrant . ( ) By the 24th century , they had in fact believed for millions of years to be the first intelligent race to evolve in their region of space . By this period , Earth and Humanity were beyond their known space . Ancient Doctrine predicted that transwarp would cause terrible disasters if it were even attempted , causing their civilization to be held back for millennia . However , eventually someone took a chance and Voth society entered a new chapter of exploration . During the 24th century , the Distant Origin Theory started gaining traction among the Circles of Science and Philosophy , as well as common people . However , the Ministry of Elders saw it as a threat to doctrine and therefore their authority . Forra Gegen found conclusive evidence in 2373 , causing the Ministry of Elders to arrest him for heresy . Scientists were brought in , sometimes under pressure , to offer the alternative analysis that although Gegen ' s data was generally sound , his conclusions were wrong . Odala , as a representative of the Elders , was reluctant to punish Gegen as such , but were more concerned about getting him to retract his claims . Odala went as far as to declare that if she accepted this theory , she would be admitting her race had fled in terror from Earth , scratching and clawing their way to the part of space where the Voth now lived on a city ship , that her race had no birthright , no legacy – the concept appalled and disgusted her . Commander Chakotay attempted to persuade her that surviving among some of the fiercest creatures in Earth ' s history , creating a culture , language and technology , leaving Earth when it faced peril and going into space , and journeying to the Delta Quadrant to start a new life was the definition of the Voth ancestors , the struggle that made the race who they were – was their heritage , and to dismiss the sacrifice their ancestors made to save themselves and future generations would be to dishonor them . It was not enough ; the Ministry of Elders convicted Gegen of heresy , and threatened to imprison him and the crew of the " Voyager " on a prison colony . Gegen could not live with that on his conscience , and retracted his claims to save the crew . ( ) Physiology . Adult Voth were slightly taller than adult Human s and had three clawed , manipulatory digit s on each hand . Their eye s were protected by heavy , bony brow ridges , which had a central crest rising to a conical protrusion on the back of the skull . They breathed . Their coloration varied from green to brown to a brownish orange , even between close relatives . Infatuation might be indicated by a change in the tint of the scales . Their language appeared click - like . Cranial capacity of a typical Voth was twenty - two percent more than that of a Human . A long tongue allowed the feeding on airborne insect s . Most importantly , they had forty - seven genetic markers that were identical to Humans and many Terran creatures throughout Earth ' s history . The Voth were capable of entering into hibernative states to protect themselves from harm . Their superior sense of smell was achieved through the dilitus lobe , which allowed them to enjoy the sulfur lagoon s of Hokath . The Voth were also able to fire spine s , from an area on the lower arm , which had a paralytic effect . ( ) Society and philosophy . The Voth were governed by a Ministry of Elders . They lived in family structures , which might be bound to always mate with another family by tradition . Scientists and philosophers were organized in academic circle s , which were entered into in a process which involved the giving out of honors . They had very poor relations with non - saurian races , and mammal s in particular were considered to be lower life forms . At the heart of their society lay their Doctrine , their guiding principles . Despite intuition and passion being valued , doctrine loomed heavy . They specified that the Voth had been the first intelligent beings to evolve in their region of space , and had an " ancient and rightful claim " over it . In addition , it declared that non - indigenous beings had no rights . Interrogation surgeon s might be employed against them . Heresy against Doctrine was an arrest able and serious offense . Detention colonies were also employed by the Voth government . An expression in their language talked about someone ' s " true scales " being shown . Technology . As a society many millions of years old , the Voth were technologically advanced , possessed transwarp capabilities , as well as an even more advanced space travel technology called spatial displacement , which functionally doubled as a highly advanced cloak ing device as it moved their starships or even individuals slightly out of phase with the space - time continuum . Their personal spatial displacement system could be disrupted by altering a phaser to a dispersion frequency of approximately 1 . 85 GHz . They were able to scan from a distance of over ninety light year s with significant accuracy , even down to the individual lifeform readings . The Voth were also able to take command of a ship ' s computer , shut the majority of systems down , and take primary power offline . What appeared to be a dampening field was capable of rendering tricorder s , communicator s , and phaser s useless . The Voth city ship was massive and extremely powerful in comparison with Starfleet spacecraft . They could beam a mass as big as 700 , 000 metric tons into a large internal chamber big enough for many starships . A ship might be transported in this way even if their shields were raised . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The Voth resemble , both conceptually and visually , the race from Doctor Who , in which the Silurians , like the Voth , are an advanced reptile species who have evolved on Earth before Humanity and have subsequently disappeared . In addition , both and " Distant Origin " use a small , hand - held globe of prehistoric Earth as a plot point . There is also a strong physical resemblance between the costumes and make - up used for the two alien races . The idea of a humanoid evolving from a dinosaur has occasionally been discussed in scientific circles from the seventies onward , most famously with Dale Russell ' s dinosauroid . Carl Sagan also speculated on the possibility . See the external links below for more info . Apocrypha . The Voth made a brief appearance in the short story " Brief Candle " in the " Distant Shores " anthology , as well as mentioned in the " " novels as a possible candidate to combat the Borg by the Q . A similar storyline was found in the " First Frontier " novel , which has a race known as Clan Ru , who are evolved from Troodons . The Voth appear in two novels of the series by Pocket Books : " Protectors " and " Acts of Contrition " . In those stories , they ally themselves with the Devore , Turei , and Vaadwaur . They are opposed to the Confederacy of the Worlds of the First Quadrant , a Delta Quadrant counterpart to the Federation . The Voth appear in the " Star Trek Online " video game as an antagonist faction , fighting for control of a Dyson sphere located in the Delta Quadrant , and against the allied forces of the Federation , Klingon Empire , and Romulan Republic . The Voth are attempting to obtain Omega particle s , which the sphere produces , as a weapon against the Borg , whom they are battling in their home space . The allied forces , who entered the sphere via an Iconian gateway near Jouret IV , are attempting to enforce the Omega Directive and prevent the Voth from making off with Omega and potentially threatening spacefaring civilizations in the Delta Quadrant and beyond . The Voth who appear in the game are part of an aggressive , militaristic circle of Voth society , and use city ships in their combat fleets . Mechanized combat exosuits and bio - engineered dinosaurs also make up part of their ground forces . In " STO " s 2014 " Delta Rising " expansion , the Voth are allies of the Turei and fight to defend them against a Vaadwaur invasion in the mission " Revelations " , allying with the player in a ground battle . However , they remain aloof from subsequently joining the Delta Alliance .