An Anatomical Query Concerning the 'Taur body Type

[MWBrantley]

I honestly do not wish to be insulting; I'm just intensely curious and somewhat skeptical.

I see 'taurs of various sorts (pictures, of course, I have never seen one in the flesh, and have not started hallucinating them. Yet), and I tend to wonder how they're put together internally.

it just seems to me that their internal physiology would have to differ from that of either of their pre-taur genetic sources (organs in different locations, that sort of thing), and would necessarily be rather problematic, given the proportionately massive body construction as compared to either/all of their forebears.

Thoughts? Opinions? Logical/Illogical deductions/inductions/what have you?

[Avan]

They run on nonsensolium and handwavium. 

[Landrav]

I have thought about this myself, since I'm a fan of science fiction and like to have plausible explanations for the different phenomena that authors put into their stories.  They don't have to be fully scientific explanations, but I like having an explanation all the same

Being a sci-fi fan, then, I tend to look at it from a point of view that these creatures were created to fill some niche in society.  In my universe, that niche is as a hardy colonist sent out to prepare worlds for human settlement.  As such, the taur must be strong and resilient, able to resist the harsh conditions of the frontier of space.  That suggests that a taur was created with a robust digestive system, perhaps extra organs to deal with poisons, large lungs, and a muscular build with a low center of mass (for carrying equiment--a colony might include cargo trucks, but no sense making it fully reliant on machines!).

The only part of taur anatomy which I have a hard time imagining is the joint between the two torsos.  I suppose it would have to be very muscular.  That doesn't seem to be a problem because the lower torso can hold many of the vital organs which would otherwise reside in the abdomen area of the upper torso.

I'm not sure how safe it is to put a link, but if you look up the ficticious Chakat species, the creator has put a lot of effort into thinking about their physiology.  He also put alot of effort into thinking about their sexuality, hence my reluctance to link directly from this board.  However, I still find the ideas intriguing, so that might be worth looking up.

If anyone else has done any speculation on taur physiology, I would also like to know what they came up with.

[Nicholai]

it just seems to me that their internal physiology would have to differ from that of either of their pre-taur genetic sources (organs in different locations, that sort of thing), and would necessarily be rather problematic, given the proportionately massive body construction as compared to either/all of their forebears.

I've been wondering the same thing! I mean, when you have two different torsos, where do all the internal organs go?

[MWBrantley]

I have thought about this myself, since I'm a fan of science fiction and like to have plausible explanations for the different phenomena that authors put into their stories.  They don't have to be fully scientific explanations, but I like having an explanation all the same

Being a sci-fi fan, then, I tend to look at it from a point of view that these creatures were created to fill some niche in society.  In my universe, that niche is as a hardy colonist sent out to prepare worlds for human settlement.  As such, the taur must be strong and resilient, able to resist the harsh conditions of the frontier of space.  That suggests that a taur was created with a robust digestive system, perhaps extra organs to deal with poisons, large lungs, and a muscular build with a low center of mass (for carrying equiment--a colony might include cargo trucks, but no sense making it fully reliant on machines!).

The only part of taur anatomy which I have a hard time imagining is the joint between the two torsos.  I suppose it would have to be very muscular.  That doesn't seem to be a problem because the lower torso can hold many of the vital organs which would otherwise reside in the abdomen area of the upper torso.

I'm not sure how safe it is to put a link, but if you look up the ficticious Chakat species, the creator has put a lot of effort into thinking about their physiology.  He also put alot of effort into thinking about their sexuality, hence my reluctance to link directly from this board.  However, I still find the ideas intriguing, so that might be worth looking up.

If anyone else has done any speculation on taur physiology, I would also like to know what they came up with.

Hmmm... Chakat, eh?

*sound of rusty iron and  corroded brass mental gears turning, creaking, clanking and shrieking*

Your whole post, and Nicholai's as well, have me thinking... I remember some of the paleoanthropology I took in College, and the professors' various observations and speculations abouty the shape of the human spine and its implications; it sometimes seems to me that it is almost tailor-made to link up with an equine, ungulant, or other quadripedal skeletal format, what with that sudden swerve toward the horizontal in the 'tailbone' area. Also, interesting thought,  about the musculature, Nicholai...

And Avan, LOL ... I especially like the idea of a mineral called 'Handwavium'...

No offense intended to 'taur creators, of course 

Hmmm...

Anybody have some more ideas?

[Nicholai]

Man, this thing about the internal organs is really bugging me. With that being said...I may ask my physiology teacher this Friday.  

The Chakat website that Landrav brought up states that the species has duplicates of multiple organs, spread out between the two trunks. However, the same cannon also states that the species was conceived via genetic experimentation.

[TCD]

SFW Portion of the Chakat Site, regarding internal organs: (NB: Shi and hir are not typos; it has to do with chakats dual-gendered nature, the nature of which (lol) is not necessarily SFW so I won't go into it here.)

Chakats have a dual stomach system which enables them to digest just about anything. They have a high tolerance for poisonous substances (including alcohol). This enables them to live off the land, whether on Earth or some alien world. The first stomach is in the upper torso, the secondary in the lower. The dual stomachs give an extra amount of time to process foods, and special enzymes in the second stomach break down a lot of materials that don't break down in the first, which isn't too different from a human stomach. After the second stomach, intestinal fauna may attack what remains undigested. However, the amount of "tough" foods that a chakat can eat depends on a degree of acclimatisation. For example, if a chakat was stranded somewhere, whether it was a jungle on Earth or a strange planet, shi could start eating just about any growing thing immediately, but the amount of nutrition that shi could get out of it, while still a lot more than a human, would nevertheless start relatively low until hir system adjusts to the new diet and, if necessary, for the intestinal bacteria to multiply to an efficient level. A lot of a chakat's body mechanisms (not just the digestive) are in a stand-by mode until called upon to be used.

They also have a dual lung system. The upper pair are smaller than those in the lower torso and are called the "speaking lungs" as the air supply necessary for speech is controlled from there, whereas the large main lungs in the lower torso are almost purely an air exchange system and lack the fine voluntary control needed for clear speech. However, it does enable them to give a very loud shout or roar, and because they have a crude set of vocal cords in the lower air passage, they can also have two voices. Chakats can also purr.

The first generation of Chakats had only one heart, large enough to cope with the needs of a centauroid body, positioned in the upper torso. This reduced the size of the upper lungs slightly, but as the development team had yet to solve the problems of synchronising two hearts, they decided to leave that until later. By the time that the first generation had reached their teens though, the first of the second generation Chakats were born. They had two hearts, one in the upper torso specialising in supplying blood to the brain and essential organs, while the lower did the hard work of supplying oxygen rich blood to hard-working muscles throughout the body. Both systems are linked through a clever series of valves which, in times of emergency (e.g. trauma to one heart), allows one heart take up the work of the other. In this condition though, shi cannot exert hirself excessively as the capacity of the single heart would be exceeded. However, it does enable them to survive otherwise fatal injuries until such time as the other heart can be healed. The second generation was given a genetic dominance factor which meant that any subsequent children would have two hearts, and the single-hearted Chakats started disappearing from the population as they crossbred with the dual-hearted ones.

The waist is nearly solid muscle so as to cope with the strains imposed by the juncture of the vertical upper torso and the horizontal lower torso. This also helps enable them to lift heavy objects.

Apart from the organs associated with the first stomach, the rest of the organs are located in the lower torso. They are efficient and are all paired so as to give back-up in case one fails due to injury or illness. Because there are no organs located in the waist area, this enhances their ability to bend and twist without imposing strains internally. They have a slightly greater resistance to disease due to the benefits of hybrid vigor and have a limited ability to regenerate injuries and limbs. A lost finger can be replaced in a matter of weeks. A whole arm might strain that ability, but in conjunction with modern healing tools, perhaps combined with cloning, that too can be regenerated. Their constantly growing tail is evidence of this ability slowly operating in the background. The brain was developed from the most smartest and most even-tempered animals and humans, and all Chakats are quite intelligent. True geniuses though occur only a little more frequently than the general population. It wasn't the intention of their creators to make others inferior by comparison, but maximising the chakats' potential.

I pretty much go with "A wizard did it." or this  sort of set-up if I'm writing about taurs.

[MWBrantley]

Thanks for the detailed info, TCD!

Sorry about being nonresponsive for five days, folks, my computer died, and refused the process of resurrection. I just got back on tonight, after retrying the 'lost password' thing. Three days ago, I tried to do that through some kind of (apparently) mirror site (or whatever it was) that seemd to be trying to take over this computer. (Bleaagghh!) I was too paranoid from then 'til tonight to try it again. But now it looks like I might be back...

[Hayaikawa]

yeah, i've spent a good amount of time thinking about taur physiology, and the chekat style is one of the best.

[Landrav]

yeah, i've spent a good amount of time thinking about taur physiology, and the chekat style is one of the best.

Well, he's certainly put the most thought into it, from what I've seen.  He sure is intense about the backup systems, but if we had the ability to engineer a genome on that scale, hey why not?

[Stigandr]

They are all made of pie on the inside. Sweet, sweet pie.
At least I'd like to think so, if it's made of pie it HAS to be good.

[Landrav]

They are all made of pie on the inside.

Shh! Don't reveal the secret of of our irresistible nature! 

[MWBrantley]

They are all made of pie on the inside.

Shh! Don't reveal the secret of of our irresistible nature! 

Hmmmm...

[Stigandr]

They are all made of pie on the inside.

Shh! Don't reveal the secret of of our irresistible nature! 

Oops, sorry, did I say pie? I meant...something that's not pie...

[Avan]

Just hope that hiiro doesn't see this thread.