Semi-OT "Ask The Alien", Background Development.

[HP Delron]

rdouglass said:
Interesting thread. As to your statement:

Is there some environmental or evolutionary reason for this? Virtually all advanced animals on this planet Earth are more or less symetrical (plants no, but animals yes). Why is your species not? (Or has just one of your fingers evolved into a thumb?)

What about "left-handedness"? Are they considered handicapped, lower class citizens, slaves, or anything like that? IOW are they social outcasts?

(Remember the 3rd arm in The Mote In God's Eye?)

Well evolultionarly, as far as we can tell at points along the line we came from a creature that had more claw like structers on it's appendages. They tended have an extra point on one side, probably used for intimidating others. Sort of a less sever version of what appears in the fiddler crab on your planet, only in both genders. Over time as hands were developing tool development, that extra digit became another opposable "thumb" of sorts.

We have dominate hand like humans. All of our motor functions are grouped rather tightly in one area of our brain and so the dexterity and control is reasonbly uniform.