Denobulan The Denobulans were a humanoid species from the planet Denobula . Culture . As of the mid - 2150s , the Denobulan inhabitants on their homeworld of Denobula numbered twelve billion , all of whom shared one continent . ( ) Consequently , living space was at a premium and Denobulan culture had come to embrace close , communal lifestyles , although this habitation arrangement was due to choice , rather than necessity . ( ) The Denobulans on their homeworld held a particular doctor among their species , Phlox , in wide recognition for his fine motor skills . ( ) As Phlox once admitted , family complications on Denobula could be extremely complicated . ( ) Unlike Klingon s , Denobulans didn ' t group themselves into Houses . ( ) They typically preferred to be among large groups and found solitude uncomfortable . However , Denobulans , at least males , were uncomfortable being touched by persons they were not intimate with . Denobulans were typically polyamorous , where a man typically had three wives , who each had three husband s . This created extremely large extended families ; Phlox had 720 familial relationships , 42 with sex ual possibilities . In addition , Denobulan marriage s were not exclusive , and married Denobulans could be intimate with anyone they chose . The females emitted powerful pheromone s during their mating season . Male Denobulans often became combative during this time , and mating could require medical supervision . Denobulan males were more sexually inhibited than the females of their species . ( ) A typical romantic overture for a female Denobulan to give would be to offer their prospective mate a rose petal bath . ( ) Doctor Jeremy Lucas once observed that , given the comparatively elaborate complexities of the Denobulans ' mating cycle , they made Human s seem " like single - organisms . " ( ) In Phlox ' s opinion , however , " " Any man would be a fool to ignore the romantic overtures of a healthy Denobulan woman . " " ( ) He also highly valued the complexity of Denobulan mating practices , being of the opinion that two people were insufficient for a " proper " Denobulan marriage , though a Denobulan woman could feasibly marry only a single Denobulan man . ( ) A traditional greeting for Denobulan lovers began with approaching each other face - to - face , so that each individual was not quite touching the other . The Denobulans then smelled the other ' s scent and finally parted . ( ) A Denobulan woman who had only a single Denobulan husband could take his name as her surname . ( ) Denobulans were typically very patient . The species was renowned for having this quality in abundance . The Denobulans ' extreme patience could reflect on their marital interactions , so that they were quite content to spend considerably long durations apart . ( ) Denobulans did not have conversations with each other while eating together , as they considered it a waste of time . ( ) Denobulans generally ate meat , including Denobulan sausage . ( ) They invested much effort in hunting Denobulan lemur s , as a Denobulan delicacy was the kidney s from such an animal . Captain Jonathan Archer , in conversation with Dr . Phlox , accused the Denobulans of being insensitive , due to them eating the lemurs , which closely resembled Terran dog s . Archer thereafter gave Phlox an apology for having accused the doctor ' s entire species , though Phlox clarified that he couldn ' t speak on behalf of the other Denobulans , despite personally accepting the apology on his own behalf . ( ) Among Denobulans , it was considered healthy for a person to hallucinate , as it was seen as a harmless way to release nervous energy . ( ) The Denobulan lullaby was a form of song . In 2154 , Phlox offered to sing one of these lullabies to Porthos , although the doctor remembered that his singing had often made his Denobulan children cry . ( ) Denobulan medical ethics considered a patient ' s will to be absolutely binding , including his denial to be cure d or live . This was noted to be pretty unlike the Hippocratic Oath followed by Humans , which compelled a physician to save a patient . ( ) By the 22nd century , the Denobulans had experiment ed with nanotechnology . ( ) Though typically embracing a full range of emotion s , Denobulans seemed to highly value optimism and cheerfulness . They could also be deceit ful and their temper was sometimes furious . ( , et al . ) The Denobulans who resided on their homeworld included neurosurgeon s and quantum theorist s of varying qualities . ( ) On Denobula , dermal art was very common until sometime before 2153 . ( ) The native Denobulans did not keep pet s . ( ) Neither did they commonly play monkey - in - the - middle . ( ) They did , however , take delight in bequeathing their belongings to far - flung relative s . ( ) Physiology . Anatomically , Denobulans were considerably less simplistic than Humans . Denobulans had prominent facial ridges running down either side of the fore head to the cheek s , an enlarged brow ridge under a high receded hair line , a vertical crevice in the center of the forehead , and a ridged chin . ( , et al . ) Additionally , Denobulans had ridges on their back , along the spine . ( ) Their toenail s were dark brown and yellow striped . ( ) Denobulans had to trim their toenails at least once a week , due to such nails having an extremely rapid growth rate . Denobulans also had very long tongue s , and they used tongue scraper s . ( ) Denobulan males had a line of hair down the middle of their chest , up to their neck . Similar brown streaks could be found running down the spine ridges on the back , as well as on the feet and on the back of both arm s . ( ) Conversely , Denobulan skin was much like that of Humans and Xindi - Primate s . ( ) Denobulan females had very potent pheromones that the males could sense , and they released them when they were romantically interested in someone , and presumably during their mating season . Denobulan males were known to become violent during the mating season . ( ) Anatomically , Denobulan males were also sexually compatible with Vulcan females . ( ) Denobulans had a unique ability to enlarge their faces . This was an instinct for when they felt threatened . ( ) They could also display an unusually wide smile for humanoid s . ( ) Denobulans seemed to change their eye color depending on their moods . ( ) Denobulans normally required very little sleep , but they did hibernate for a sleep cycle of five to six days each year . However , at a minimum , two days were sufficient . If a Denobulan was nearing a sleep cycle , they might experience bouts of dizziness as a consequence . Deep hibernation resulted in the sleeping Denobulan becoming unresponsive to noises , regardless of how loud they were , but they could be awakened via a particular drug delivered intravenous ly . If a Denobulan was awakened prematurely , the results could be somewhat unpredictable ; hibernating Denobulans , if woken , appeared extremely disoriented and confused , with oddly pitched voices , and had difficulty maintaining normal motor skills and cognitive functions . ( ) A Denobulan ' s sleep cycle could be impacted on by a type of pheromone emitted by Orion slave girl s , making the Denobulan ' s body react as if their annual sleep cycle was imminent . This could affect a Denobulan to such an extent that the person required stimulant s to keep awake . The longer the Denobulan was exposed to the pheromones , the more pronounced the reactions became . ( ) Denobulans had highly efficient natural climbing abilities similar to those of Earth lizard s , being capable of scaling vertical rock faces at a rapid speed with no equipment whatsoever . In this manner , a Denobulan could appear to scuttle up a rock face without needing to find handholds . ( ) Denobulans appeared to possess particularly powerful immune system s ; when Phlox was nearly assimilated by the Borg , his immune system was able to fight off the nanoprobe s long enough for him to find a means of destroying them , although he admitted that his immune system would not be able to hold them off indefinitely . ( ) Denobulan life span s were extremely long , though a Denobulan elder did not necessarily look particularly old . ( ) Phlox , in the 22nd century , once stated that his grandmother lived through the last of numerous wars Denobula fought with the Antaran s , a conflict which ended while Earth was in the 19th century . This indicates that at least three generations of Denobulans had existed during the three - hundred - year span between the events . ( ) The Denobulans on their homeworld practiced genetic engineering , with generally positive results . ( ) Denobulan neurophysiology was about as resilient as that of Humans but less so than that of Vulcans . Thus , disruptions throughout a Denobulan ' s neocortex would probably be lethal , though a Vulcan could withstand such disruptions , merely rendered unconscious . As a result , a Denobulan , as with a Human , could probably be killed by Oran ' taku native Rajiin telepathically causing disruptions throughout their neocortex , which was not necessarily fatal for a Vulcan . ( ) Denobulan physiology was incompatible with wisp s . No matter how much one such entity tried to invade a Denobulan ' s mind , it could not do so . Attempting such a procedure left no lasting effect on the Denobulan ' s physiology . ( ) On the other hand , Denobulans could be inhabited by Organian s , who could also alter the memories of such a Denobulan , so that they retained no memory of the incident afterwards . Although one particular Organian once reckoned that Denobulan technology had enabled Dr . Phlox to detect that a pair of Organians were inhabiting two Humans , no such technology had been used in that case . ( ) In common with such species as Humans , Vulcans , and Ferengi , Denobulans could be drugged and rendered unconscious by anesthesia gas , such as when emitted from Ferengi gas canister s . ( ) Similarly , two Denobulan males who became overly aggressive with each other during the mating season could be separated using a dose of niaxilin . ( ) Another method of rendering Denobulans unconscious was a Vulcan nerve pinch . ( ) A neural toxin delivered intravenously would terminate the Denobulan ' s synaptic functions within second s . ( ) Some indications suggest that Denobulans were particularly susceptible to certain types of radiation . When exposure to an exotic form of radiation caused almost the entire crew of the to exhibit irrational and obsessive behavior , Phlox was the only senior officer whose actions nearly led to the then - deliberate death of another of his crewmates , as he was adamant about using surgical methods to discover why Ensign Travis Mayweather was suffering from a headache . ( ) Furthermore , subjecting a Denobulan to a rather excessive dose of omicron radiation could be excruciatingly painful for the Denobulan . ( ) Whereas trans - dimensional disturbance s ordinarily caused disruptions in the Human neocortex , Denobulans were immune to the effects of those phenomena . The side effects of trans - dimensional disturbances that Denobulans were immune to included epidermal decay for not only Humans but Vulcans too . ( ) Denobulans could operate without food for considerably long durations . Eating not only enabled them to keep up their strength but also accelerated their cellular metabolism . ( ) A Denobulan could lose body weight by ingesting a Danaxian tapeworm . ( ) The Denobulan doctor Phlox once claimed that the Denobulans were severely afflicted by thymic sclerosis and that it was " found in all strata of Denobulan society . " This , however , was a deceit . ( ) History . The Denobulans believed they were the only intelligent species in the galaxy until the B ' Saari made first contact . This incident thus came as quite a surprise to the Denobulans , many of whom took a while to accept the truth that they were not alone in the galaxy . Though it was a somewhat difficult process , the Denobulans were eventually forced to reevaluate their thinking . ( ) Denobulans fought several wars against the Antaran species , the last of which occurred during the late 19th century . The Denobulans demonized the enemy , and their battle tactics killed twenty million Antarans . Both sides made faceless enemies of each other and , although most had outgrown the past hatred , some Denobulans still held a grudge against Antarans as of the 2150s . ( ) A few hundred years before the mid - 22nd century , the Denobulans had a form of entertainment that was similar to movie s . When they discovered their real lives were more interesting , the Denobulans abandoned this type of media , having found it had lost its appeal . ( ) The Denobulan usage of genetic engineering , yielding results which were generally positive , began in or before the mid - 20th century , and proceeded from then on . ( ) The Denobulans who resided on their homeworld never came close to using genetic engineering to destroy one another . Possible reasons for this were multiple , ranging from the Denobulans being simply fortunate to the possibility that , by the time they started using genetic engineering , their instincts were synchronized with their intellect . ( ) In 2115 or soon thereafter , a medical emergency occurred in orbit around Denobula when there was an explosion aboard a cargo ship . Various medical teams helped to deal with the aftermath , the detonation having claimed more than seventeen victims . ( ) Also during the early 22nd century , the Denobulan Infantry was deployed in at least one conflict . ( ) Denobulans had contact with Human s as of the 2130s . By that time , they were cooperating within the Interspecies Medical Exchange ( IME ) and jointly operated Cold Station 12 , although the Denobulans maintained a medical database of their own at least until 2154 . ( ) In 2151 , Denobulan doctor and IME member Phlox , who had until then been stationed in San Francisco on Earth , was assigned to be the chief medical officer of Humanity ' s first warp five starship , . ( ) In 2153 , there were no Denobulans in the city of Atlanta . ( ) As of November 2154 , there was a Denobulan ambassador assigned to Earth . ( ) In 2155 , a Denobulan ambassador participated in talks in San Francisco on forming a Coalition of Planets . ( ) Alternate realities . In an alternate timeline wherein Jonathan Archer was infected by interspatial parasite s , some of the greatest neurosurgeons and quantum theorists on Denobula were consulted by Phlox , as he was attempting to find a treatment for Archer ' s condition . They believed it was impossible to eliminate the parasite s without also killing Archer and correctly assured Phlox the technology to do what was required to eradicate the infestation did not exist . The parasites were eventually destroyed due to a suicidal sacrifice by Archer , bringing an end to the alternate timeline . ( ) In another alternate timeline , many Denobulan hybrid s were born , descended from Phlox , and went on to serve aboard " Enterprise " . ( ) In the mirror universe , Denobulans were a slave race of the Terran Empire . A manifestation of the Denobulans ' political alignment with the Empire was that the Denobulan served aboard the , as the ship ' s doctor . The Denobulans were not part of a rebellion which opposed the Empire , as it was not in their nature to rebel . In 2155 , the fact that the Denobulans of the prime universe were considered equal to the Humans and Vulcans of that reality was learned by residents of the mirror universe , including and Phlox . Although they helped the rebels sabotage the commandeered during ' s attempt to overthrow the Emperor , Phlox did so in the hopes that the Emperor would reward him with concubine s . ( ) In the prime universe , Denobulans were referenced in an historic holoprogram set in 2161 ; Phlox and his three wives were referred to therein as attending the Federation Founding Ceremony . ( ) Appendices . Appearances . A list of all appearances of Denobulans ( excluding Phlox ' s ENT appearances ) . Background information . Identity . Originally , the Denobulans were to have been called " Noorians " . They were named that in a series bible from circa July or August 1999 . As additionally established in the same document , some of them would have played a role in Captain Archer ' s backstory , having rescued eleven of his crew mates , in escape pods fleeing an attack by Suliban , several years beforehand , during the " warp two era . " Later in the early development of , the Denobulan species wasn ' t named . Both a subsequent draft of the ENT series bible and the script of " Enterprise " s pilot episode , , omitted any reference to the species ' moniker , the script merely describing Phlox as " an exotic - looking alien . " Furthermore , " Enterprise " s creators did not , at first , devise a detailed perception of the species . According to Phlox actor John Billingsley , the reason why was that those production staffers were " swamped . " ( ) Upon auditioning for the role of Phlox , John Billingsley reckoned that the alien character ' s species was " some kind of birdlike creature . " This impression provided a basis for the actor ' s initial performances as Phlox ; they involved him occasionally squawking . Although a subsequent discussion which John Billingsley had with Executive Producers and show creators Rick Berman and Brannon Braga concerned Phlox ' s philosophical attitude in general , it did not relate to his species . " " We didn ' t really talk at all about the background of my species or why we haven ' t encountered this species before , " " offered Billingsley . ( ) Following this conversation with the series creators , John Billingsley proceeded to formulate a personal interpretation of what Phlox ' s kind may be like . Shortly afterwards , he explained , " " My own sense is that it ' s a race of people who are hyperintellectual philosophers who have , in effect , chosen a monastic existence , and have decided to kind of hide away from the rest of the universe because they ' ve got bigger fish to fry inside themselves ! " " ( ) The actor further commented , " " I see Phlox as from a planet where everyone is a teacher and philosopher . Everybody is navel - gazing . But one of the problems with navel - gazing is that it can make one insular and withdrawn from outside events . " " ( ) Billingsley also supposed , " " I don ' t think my species tends to make what I would consider the artificial distinctions that we tend to make between disciplines [ such as anthropology , philosophy and medical sciences ] . " " ( ) John Billingsley thought the highly detached aspect of his imagined version of the species might canon ically explain why the Denobulans had never been depicted on " Star Trek " before the advent of " Enterprise " . He fully expected that the species would be explored by the series creators in such a way as to contradict his own concept of the group , an eventuality he was prepared for . With a laugh , however , he also said of his idea , " " Maybe if I say this enough times , they ' ll subscribe to it themselves . " " ( ) Moreover , Billingsley posited that his notion of the species might work well in sync with how the producers conceived of it , remarking , " " [ Brannon Braga ] ' s feeling is that the Denobulans are very advanced and very happy and very positive . One can speculate from that that they simply don ' t really have a tremendous need to be involved in the affairs of the universe . I mean , maybe it ' s so Eden - like [ on Denobula ] that it ' s like , ' Oh , what do I want to go out there for ? I ' ve got everything that I want right here . " " ( ) The name of the Denobulans was first canonically established in , the fifth episode of " Enterprise " , but a Denobulan appears in the first four episodes of the series . The only installment of those four to make reference to the group is the second one , , in which Phlox talks about " people " on his homeworld ( the reference in " Terra Nova " is much more direct , with him literally stating , " " I am a Denobulan , " " upon introducing himself to Novan s ) . During the course of the series , the writing staff of " Star Trek : Enterprise " exercised extreme caution in regards to establishing facts about the Denobulans . John Billingsley approved of this course of action , believing that the mysterious quality of the species helped make Phlox intriguing . ( ) " " I was interested in what little we did learn about the Denobulan culture [ including their polyamorous nature ] , " " Billingsley acknowledged . ( ) He conjectured , too , that the producers similarly believed there was merit in keeping information about the species to a minimum . " " I suspect that they feel tidbits every now and again might keep peoples ' curiosity up , " " he hypothesized , " " as opposed to doing an entire episode about Denobulan society that perhaps by revealing too much information may actually squelch peoples ' interest . " " In ENT Season 1 , Billingsley nonetheless pitched a couple of story ideas to the writing staff about the Denobulans on their homeworld . ( ) He actually spent much of that initial season imagining what the planet ' s anthropology would be like . ( ) John Billingsley ' s suggestions of Denobulan - related plot concepts . ( ) At the time , he noted , " " Some of my own thinking has been contradicted by the scripts that have emerged , so I ' m much less prone to spout off about it now in interviews ! " " The actor elaborated after - the - fact , " " The writers were making it up as they went along , as I was [ . . . ] So I learned that it was really not valuable for me to spend a lot of time speculating about unexplored avenues since , if they did explore avenues , they did so in very different ways than I ' d imagined . " " ( ) In the first draft of season one installment , it was said that many Denobulan children had been fathered by Phlox . " " I still like to think of that as true , but it ' s not referenced in the script , " " stated John Billingsley , shortly after the making of the episode . " " Beyond that , no , you don ' t really get a sense of the [ Denobulan ] culture [ . . . ] yet . " " In the writers ' first draft script of " Dear Doctor " , Phlox stated , " " All Denobulans are quite similar . " " However , this wasn ' t widely known to Humans ( Cutler was unaware of it and Phlox supposed Doctor Lucas , only now that he was actually serving on Denobula , was finding out for himself the remarkable degree of similarity in the species ) . In eventually omitted dialogue from the final draft script of " Dear Doctor " , Phlox and Archer imagined the Denobulans facing extinction , and T ' Pol later mentioned that Vulcan medical techniques were not more advanced than those employed by the Denobulan doctor . While appearing on Comedy Central ' s " The Daily Show " on Monday , Scott Bakula described Denobulans as " some kind of bird / reptile . " Also , host Jon Stewart jokingly suggested that the typically polygamous nature of Denobulans made them similar to Mormons . By the end of " Enterprise " s first season , John Billingsley had to revise some of his notions about the Denobulans . In an interview from February 2002 , the actor reflected , " " It ' s interesting when you have to do a back - story on a whole civilization . It ' s intriguing that the thoughts I had initially on the nature of their civilisation I ' ve already had to modify a bit . " " Even though the name " Denobulan " was used fairly often in the series , the script of included the word in its pronunciation guide . Before the first Denobulan woman was portrayed in that episode ( Feezal , who was also the first Denobulan to ever appear on - screen , with the exception of Phlox ) , John Billingsley repeatedly joked that he would like his wife in reality , Bonita Friedericy , to play all Denobulan women that appeared on the series . Billingsley thought that would be " fun " , would allow his wife to feature into many episodes , and would supply the couple with more residual checks . Billingsley also wanted any Denobulan males that showed up on the series to be played by himself . " " That way , everybody on Denobula was either John Billingsley or Bonita Friedericy , " " he later related . John Billingsley ' s thoughts on the Denobulans included speculations about their sexuality . In an interview with Dreamwatch magazine , the actor referred to the Denobulans as " known bisexuals , " although that differs from how they were represented in canon . Also , Billingsley once humorously speculated to the series ' writing staff that , due to Phlox having three wives , he would likely have " three members . " Even though this idea concerning Denobulan sexual organs was not adopted by the writers , the conversation in which Billingsley suggested it led to more of the Denobulan physique being shown on - screen , in , than had ever been depicted before . ( ) A Denobulan - related line of dialogue which was not in the final draft script of but is in the final version of that installment involved Phlox shouting at Antaran patient Hudak , " " No Denobulan would want to be in the same room with you ! " " The back - story involving the Denobulans ' war with the Antarans , as established in " The Breach " , did not meet the approval of John Billingsley . He critiqued , " " I think coming up with an episode where Denobulans were once war criminals , there was still this credible anger that had not been resolved , it seemed to me at least – and maybe some of the fans too – a little too jarring , a little too difficult to jive with what we knew about Phlox . " " Billingsley added that , although there were some elements of the script for " The Breach " that he found fault with , the Denobulans ' warring had somewhat been alluded to in previous installments , such as a reference to the Denobulan Infantry in . In fact , even the existence of a Denobulan military came as a surprise to Billingsley . ( ) By the end of the second season , there was some fan speculation that the Denobulans were later to be revealed as the Cardassian s going under a different name , despite the lack of on - screen evidence to support this theory . ( " Beyond the Final Frontier " , p . 380 ) The question of whether the two species were related was , according to John Billingsley , never discussed . The only performer to make appearances as multiple Denobulans was regular background actress Nikki Flux , who played members of the species ( in an uncredited capacity ) in as well as the two - parter and . Two different Denobulan characters were portrayed by her in these episodes but neither of them were named . In contrast to his satisfaction with the way in which the writing staff released scraps of information about the Denobulans every so often , John Billingsley conceded that , had he been given the chance to contribute story material for the series , it would have comprised of revealing more about the Denobulans . He expressed , speaking in a retrospective interview , that he would have liked to learn more about the Denobulans ' culture and their belief systems . Left to ponder the mystery of what finally happened to the Denobulans , Billingsley mused , " " There are no Denobulans in the future , apparently . I think we were an inbred species and I guess we eventually went the way of most inbred societies . " " If " Star Trek : Enterprise " had gone onto a ( rather than being canceled after its fourth one ) , the Denobulans would likely have been shown in greater depth than they ultimately were because , shortly before the cancellation was announced , Manny Coto voiced an interest in visiting Denobula in the fifth season . Another concept which was ultimately never established also concerned Denobulan society , as Executive Story Editor André Bormanis suggested that other Denobulans weren ' t permitted to receive medicine from Phlox nor be operated on by him , as he was actually a veterinarian on Denobula . ( audio commentary , ENT Season 3 Blu - ray special features ) Denobulans were additionally to have appeared in the film " " , but would not have played a critical role in the plot of that movie , which was ultimately abandoned . Makeup . When starting to imagine what a Denobulan ' s face might look like , Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore was guided by advice that each of the actors playing the aliens was to have only a subtle makeup job . " " The producers wanted him [ or her ] to look a little more Human than some of the characters from the past , like Odo or Neelix , " " Westmore recollected . Working out the details of this facial design took considerable effort , however . " " We really didn ' t know what we wanted [ . . . ] so I hired five other artists , all sketching away for two weeks , and I ended up filling a notebook with more than 80 sketches , " " stated Westmore . " " I ' d literally come home and [ Westmore ' s wife ] Marion would say , ' Go in the other room and draw ! ' and the other guys would be faxing me their sketches over the weekend and I ' d call them back and say , ' That ' s the direction we want to go ; keep going that way . ' It seems that everyone wanted to get more flamboyant and larger than life , and I knew that wasn ' t what Rick and Brannon wanted , but would feed me into ideas that I could show them and know what they really wanted . " " ( ) Eventually , makeup and other appliances were used to accentuate the actor ' s forehead , chin , ears and own hair with extensions and alien shaping . ( ) " " I decided to enhance the edges of his [ or her ] skin with a little Dax - like pattern , " " Michael Westmore explained . The actor also wore contact lenses that increased the brightness of his or her eyes , though their natural basic skin tone was retained for their Denobulan appearance . ( ) Whereas the actor ' s own hair was also included in their Denobulan look , the performer wore three separate prosthetic pieces , along with the contact lenses . These parts consisted of an artificial forehead , chin and ears , all of which were painted over in a variety of shades . ( ) According to Westmore , the fact that the makeup worn on the actor ' s face was mostly restrained to above their eyes was due to the producers ' decision to have the makeup be relatively minimal . Similarly , Westmore reflected that he added the small chin piece " for balance " and that the contact lenses were intended " to give us something different . " ( ) The process of applying the makeup required for the Denobulans ' alien demeanor originally took three hours but had been shortened to two hours by the time the species received its name . ( ) " " The prosthetics they can do in 15 or so minutes , " " clarified John Billingsley , " " but it ' s the actual painting and modelling that takes a while . " " ( ) John Billingsley was impressed by his first sight of the Denobulan makeup , as sported by himself . " " I thought it looked terrific . I thought I looked kinda sexy in a way ! " " the actor reminisced with a chuckle . " " I ' m not sure anyone else will echo those feelings . " " ( ) Even from the outset , the Denobulan makeup was extremely comfortable to wear . ( ) John Billingsley noted , " " It hasn ' t been a problem at all . " " He also considered himself " lucky " that , unlike certain other " Star Trek " performers , he did not have to wear a huge amount of rubber , nor dentures which might have brought him pain . ( ) To demonstrate Denobulan feet in , new foot prosthetics were donned by John Billingsley . For the female variant of the Denobulan facial makeup , Michael Westmore slightly streamlined the male version in order to make it a little bit more attractive - looking . { " Stigma " text commentary , ENT Season 1 DVD ) Reference works . The reference book " " ( pp . 73 , 75 , 81 , 85 & 103 ) affirms that Denobulans were one of the first species to visit Earth after Vulcans had . The publication also states that the Denobulans were of strategic importance to the Romulan Star Empire during planning of the Earth - Romulan War in 2156 , as the Denobulan system provided a potential staging area from which the Romulans could launch an attack against Earth . Since the Denobulans were not at war with Romulans nor officially allied with Earth , Praetor Gileus and his military advisers expected that the species would be unprepared for an ambush and easily defeated . On October 1st 2158 , all Denobulans aboard an orbiting spaceport which the species had been maintaining were killed by officers who boarded the facility from a fleet of ten newly arrived Romulan battle cruisers . The Denobulans who resided on the species ' homeworld were cautioned not to interfere by Romulan naval chief of staff Admiral Mindar , who led the invasion and was aware that the Denobulans were reputed to become fierce fighters when they needed to . Under his orders , over three million Denobulans were subsequently killed in a devastating strike against their planet ' s sole continent ; Mindar hoped to not only demonstrate the superiority of the Romulans ' military power to the Denobulans but to also use the catastrophe to busy the Denobulans , further minimizing the chances of them retaliating during the onslaught against Earth . Though this proved effective , the Denobulans , owing to the attack on their homeworld , were persuaded by Human politician Nathan Samuels into joining the war effort . Thus , several Denobulan warships were deployed as reinforcements when Starfleet retaliated against the Romulans . Joining the Warp - 5 Starfleet ship " Lexington " , the Denobulan vessels entered Romulan space and , as the Battle of Cheron raged , headed for Romulus . The combined approach towards the Romulan homeworld panicked Gileus into surrendering , bringing an end to the war . After the Federation was founded , Denobula considered , for many years , joining the organization . However , an act of hostility , wherein a Klingon warship attacked and destroyed a Denobulan freighter that the Klingons claimed was violating their territory , led the Denobulans , still recovering from the Romulan War , to withdraw from galactic affairs . Apocrypha . The novel " What Price Honor ? " includes Phlox referring to the Denobulans as " relative newcomers to space [ . . . ] – at least compared to the Vulcans . " In accordance with the script for , the novel " Surak ' s Soul " establishes that Denobulans are more susceptible to radiation sickness than Humans . The same book also indicates that Denobulans have their own standard form of radiation treatment , despite also having a very similar skeletal structure to members of the Human species . In the novelization of " " , T ' Pol is said to have studied Denobulans but never met any other member of the species , apart from Phlox , by the time of the story ' s setting in 2153 . The novel " Daedalus ' s Children " establishes that a male Denobulan named Parnikee was an esteemed and highly accomplished scientist . He invented the matter / antimatter engine on the planet , led the first Denobulan exploratory vessel , and predicted the existence of parallel universe s . Parnikee also provided at least the namesake for Parnikee ' s Theorem – a Denobulan theory that set forth the rate of the universe ' s expansion , an equivalent of the – though it is unclear whether he was personally involved in devising that theory . The novel " Rosetta " includes Phlox relating , to several of his crewmates aboard " Enterprise " , an unfortunate story that concerned a delayed shipment of antibiotics to a Denobulan colony , with the Thelasian Trading Confederacy at fault . The TOS novel " The Case of the Colonist ' s Corpse " refers to Denobulan caviar . Several " Star Trek " novels set in the 24th century have Denobulans in them . Some references include the " " novel " The Sundered " , which has a Denobulan engineer on the . A dead Denobulan is featured in the second novel of the " " series , " Summon the Thunder " . One of the ' s doctors , Tropp , is a Denobulan in the " " series . In the game " " , several Denobulans are among the crew of the USS " Enterprise " - E . The tutorial level for Federation characters in " Star Trek Online " features player characters going on a training cruise under Denobulan Captain Masc Taggart .