Femarctic Anatomy

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Art by Daniel Hurtado

ANATOMICAL BASICS

  • The Femmar are produced via mitochondrial transplantation.
  • The Femmar are engineered before birth into four castes.
  • Average height range of a typical adult is 6’5” to 7’5.
  • A Femmar has 280 bones and 52 chromosomes.
    • Their renal system is capable of processing salt water and allowing for safe digestion of saline; too much saline can be fatal.
    • The Femmar have an epigonal organ.
  • Femarctic craniums are thicker that of the helovx, and their brains larger, with greater synaptic inter-connectivity.
  • Femmar have 38 teeth; frontal teeth are lobed and cusped; back teeth are thick and flat.
  • All Femmar have off-white sclera, and gold/bronze irises.
    • The eyes contain a protein in the vitreous that breaks down abrasives and protects against lachrymators.
    • The eyes also have a layer of tissue called hizrut (tapetum lucidum), which allows them to see in the dark.
  • The Femmar have no axillary or androgenic hair. All terminal and vellus hair is black.
    • Subaki and Zaxiri have only terminal hair and it is confined to their heads.
    • Bizaki have sparse vellum on their extremities and terminal on their heads.
    • Hizaki have light vellum on their extremities, lower back, and forearms; terminal hair is confined to the head.
    • Marixi have no vellum or terminal hair.   
  • The Femmar have eight layers of counter-shaded skin (dark throughout, but light over the chest, abdomen, and pelvic girdle). Femarctic hides come in a variety of colors, from bronze and brown to various shades of gray and blue, with patterns ranging from light stripes to mottled spots; many Femmar have no patterns at all.

hidecolorchart

  • Femmar have globes of subcutaneous fat over the chest called suzsch (soosh). Running vertical over the middle of each suzsch is a sensitive seam called an uzx (ooziks).
  • Femarctic genitalia are varying shades of blue.
    • Femmar have a guzshlix (goosh-liks) (vagina), and a gurxul (gerks-ill), a genito-anal slit used to expel urine and feces. The folds of the guzshlix are called the gashcol (gash-kol), and crowning the folds is a rydok (rid-ock) (clitoris).
      • The opening of the guzshlix is centered on the pubis; the elongated folds of the gashcol run vertically between the hips. Two inches below the lower end of the gashcol is the gurxul.
  • All Femmar, except Marixi, have a makodux (mack-oh-doks) and a makzol (mack-zal).
    • The makoduxi of Bizaki and Hizaki never mature to achieve a size similar to Subaki or Zaxiri.
  • All Femmar produce a hormone called mitokerotein, a steroid not found in any other species on Ramaxicon. MitoK developed independently within the last generation of subjects engineered by the Femaki’xirpaxul.
    • Helovxi calls MitoK ‘Femarctic Testosterone’, but studies confirm no similarity to helovx testosterone.

The Femmar can remain submerged for extended periods of time.

Femarctic speed and dexterity in the water are by design; they have a low volume of bone marrow, so their dense bones make them more buoyant. Femarctic ribs are bound by loose, bendable cartilage, allowing for the rib cage to collapse in minor degrees, under high pressure that would snap helovx bones. Femarctic lungs are pliable enabling them to live in extreme depths.

Elevated levels of oxygen-carrying proteins (neuroglobin and cytoglobin) in their brain allow them to thrive in low oxygen conditions. High concentration of oxygen-carrying cells in their muscles, combined with the fact that Femmar are born with two to three times more blood than helovx, make it possible for Femmar to remain underwater for periods of 60-75 minutes on average; the ability to reduce their heart rate allows them to conserve oxygen.

Femmar have an inherent immunity to most diseases, including cancer.

Femmar have a highly developed epigonal organ; like the ocean-dwelling Chondrichthyes (sharks), they possess only one class of broad-spectrum serum antibody similar to those found in helovx infants. In helovx, this broad-spectrum class of antibody is replaced by specific antibodies as an helovx child is exposed to a greater variety of pathogens as they mature; conversely, the Femmar, like the shark, retain their non-specific immune response throughout their lives. This generalized immune system is why Femmar can detoxify potentially harmful compounds quickly, without a need to prior exposure.

  • Willing Bizaki and Marixi allowed Jungwanian scientists in Yazhou to inject them with carcinogens, coliform bacteria, and exotic fungal toxins, at concentrations that would kill helovx. Researchers found that the Femmar detoxify these pathogens in short time periods, without any ill effects. Unfortunately, these serum antibodies ceased to function outside Femarctic physiology, thus disabling helovx from harvesting these antibodies for vaccines.