Ortolan

Average Height: 1 meter
Average Lifespan: 81 years
 
Looking for all the world like tiny blue-grey elephants, the Ortolan are a source of much amusement to other species. But despite the unthreatening appearance of their chubby little bodies, huge eyes, droopy ears, and floppy snouts, Ortolans are surprisingly well-coordinated beings. True, their legs are short and slow-moving, their bodies prone to easy bruising, but they are coordinated to a frightening degree, and make splendid pilots and drivers.
 
They hail from the minor planet of Ordatto, which is located not far from Alderaan. According to the Ortolans, they were actually engineered into sentience by rogue Alderaanians some eight thousand years ago. The base species was the Alderaanian Pygmy Elephant.
 
Ortolans do not like each other. Their society is intensely competitive, and as a result they tend to seek validation and friendship from non-Ortolans who find their unthreatening appearance charming.
 
Ortolan reproduction is asexual, and involves a simple fission in two. Simple? Well, not exactly. They have three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter; the gender of the parent determines the gender of the child (masculine parents can only have feminine or neuter children, for example). After a fission, the "parent" Ortolan exhibits its own personality in an even more concentrated form, while the "child" Ortolan is the exact opposite (inflected by gender; feminine and neuter Ortolan would differently express their opposition to a masculine parent). All Ortolans know exactly how long they have left to live (barring accidents). No Ortolan has ever lived more than 81 standard years. Death at 81 is a genetic imperative.
Category:Species