Lifeform

A lifeform, organism, or life-energy force was a disctinct entity generally considered to exhibit signs of "life". 
Not all criteria for life are universally applicable in defining lifeforms, as organic, inorganic, artificial, and non-corporeal entities have all been considered lifeforms. (; ) 
In 2267, Spock noted that "life as we know it is universally based on some combination of carbon compounds, but what if life exists based on another element? For instance, silicon." This while theorizing what would eventually be determined to be the Mother Horta. ()
Later, when the Organians revealed their true form, the same year, Spock observed: "Fascinating. Pure energy. Pure thought. Totally incorporeal. Not life as we know it at all." ()
In 2269, Spock noted, in addition to the crew of the and their Klingon guests that "[t]here appear to be more life-energy units on board than can be accounted for by the presence of [both crews]," something he considered to be "a considerable discrepancy", and in fact was the first indication of the non-corporeal Beta XII-A entity aboard the ship. ()
Most spacefaring civilizations built devices to remotely detect and locate known lifeforms. Starship sensors and tricorders were the primary instruments used, as they could identify or localize blood type, heart rate, or metabolic setup. Typically, only organic lifeforms were detected. ()
According to Captain Jonathan Archer, over seventy percent of the organisms on Earth are bacteria. ()
== Types ==
*Artificial lifeform
*Biomimetic lifeform
*Carbon-based lifeform
**Animal
**Bacterium 
**Fungus
**Plant
**Protozoan
*Cyborg
*Dark matter lifeform
*Metallic lifeform
*Non-corporeal lifeform
**Cloud creature
**Photonic lifeform
*Silicon-based lifeform
*Solanogen-based lifeform
*Spaceborne species
*Sporocystian lifeform
*Virus
*Xenon-based lifeform
== Starfleet lifeform classification ==
* Classification R-3 lifeforms (Sheliak)
* Class-5 lifeforms (Vhnori)
* Order 480-G anthropoids (Taurus II natives)
== See also ==
* Anatomy
* Lifeform identification
== External links ==
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