Star Trek species scientific classification

[BohandiAnsoid]

I wonder, how do different species are classified in Star Trek? Especially by the Federation. Does the Federation use human classification and is it still the same as current one, just expanded? How? Or is it completely different? How would Vulcans, Trill, Ocampa, Klingons (and their animals/plants) be classified as a species?

 

[merinidrostarr]

Star Trek still uses comparative anatomy to group alien species by characteristic, like the "reptillian" Gorn, or the "ornithoid" Aurelians.

I suppose that species like Vulcans, Betazoids, Tellurites and others would still be classified as "mammalian"?

Maybe there's a species homeworld prefex that gets added to the scientific names.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Humanoid, Felinoid, Vulcanoid.

Tribbles have a couple of scientific names.

 

[at Quark's]

There even seems to be a Ferenginoid group (the Dopterians would be a member of that group). Probably lot more groups than that.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

According to the Memory α Article on "Species", there seems to be several types of Classifications.

One Set of Classification is by the "Type of Life-Form":
- Corporeal Life-Forms
- Non-Corporeal Life-Forms
- Artificial Life-Forms
- Trans-Dimensional Life-Forms

The other Set of Classification is by "Location":
- Alpha Quadrant Species
- Beta Quadrant Species
- Gamma Quadrant Species
- Delta Quadrant Species
- Extra-Galactic Species
- SpaceBorne Species

The other Set of Classification is by "Evolution"
- Anthropomorphic Species
- Humanoid Species
- Non-humanoid Species
- OmniCordial LifeForm
- InterSpecific Species.

The other Set of Classification is by "Association"
- Borg species
- Dominion species
- UFP species

If you go into the article on "LifeForms", there are ALOT more categorizations you can go with.
- 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

The end result seems to be based on how high level do you want to categorize by along with what factors matter to your categorization.

 

[Finn]

I'm gonna say I'd ignore how dialogue imply how taxonomic nomenclature work in the future, after how Enterprise compared the genetic relationship between a Xindi-Primate and a Xindi-Reptilian to that of a Neanderthal with Modern Humans.

 

[C.E. Evans]

IMO, the term "human" is something of a catch-all phrase to describe a large number of physically identical life-forms throughout the Galaxy, but "Terran" is used specifically to describe humans that come from Earth or are descendant from there. In such a scenario, Betazoids and Deltans could have fit under the larger human classifications, but they had attributes that set them apart from average humans. As such, they join Vulcans, Andorians, and Klingons under the "humanoid" classification.

Just my way of looking at it...

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

IMO, the term "human" is something of a catch-all phrase to describe a large number of physically identical life-forms throughout the Galaxy, but "Terran" is used specifically to describe humans that come from Earth or are descendant from there. In such a scenario, Betazoids and Deltans could have fit under the larger human classifications, but they had attributes that set them apart from average humans. As such, they join Vulcans, Andorians, and Klingons under the "humanoid" classification.

Just my way of looking at it...

I try to avoid using the terms: Humanoid, Klingonoid, Vulcanoid, <Insert Species Name Here>-noid.
That's more "Species-Specific" wording that I don't want to use.

I tried to create a Species Agnostic Term.

So I created a new term called "BiPaB".
Which is short for: BiPaB(s) {Bi-(Pedal & Brachial)-oid(s)}
Here are original Latin Roots:
- Bi- meaning "Two of"
- Pedal pertains to Feet; so a "BiPed" is a creature with 2x Feet
- Brachial pertains to the Arm; so a "BiBrachial" is a creature with 2x Arms
- Combine the two, you have: BiPaB(s) {Bi-(Pedal & Brachial)-oid(s)} = BiPedaloid + BiBrachialoid
- Ergo a creature with 2x Feet & 2x Arms
- The implicit assumption is that goes along with the word are there is a Central Torso that connects to the:
\-> 2x Arms which implicitly have Hands with some amount of Fingers on the end
\-> 2x Feet which are attached to legs, that also has some amount of Toes on the end
\-> 1x Neck with Head Attached
\-> 1x Optional Tail (Evolution might've made it unnecssary, or the species might've retained it)
\-> Generally expected to walk up-right, although it's not a requirement
- -oid means "Resembling"

 

[NCC-73515]

From the Medical Reference Manual:

Human: Homo sol
Vulcan: H. eridani
Andorian: H. indi
Tellarite: H. cygni
Klingon: H. sagittarii
Gorn: H. lacertae
Excalbian: Excalbia hominida
Horta: Janus hominida
Ornithoid: Vita xenos
Slime devil: Denebia carnivora
Bloodworm: Regulani vermis
Tribble: Polygeminus grex (canonized)
Gertrude: Terrestrius manus
Mugato: Pongidae theropoda

The first few are all Homo since they can breed and have fertile kids, apparently.

 

[Victoria]

From the Medical Reference Manual:
<snip>

Excalbian: Excalbia hominida
Horta: Janus hominida

<snip>
The first few are all Homo since they can breed and have fertile kids, apparently.

Horta are hominida? That puts them in with the great apes and primates. That seems a highly unlikely classification!

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I will note that the binomial given for "Gertrude"/"Beauregarde" is a fairly obvious joke referencing the creature being a hand puppet.

And given that the Medical Reference (I have both the original fan edition and the officially licensed one) doesn't give a full binomial for blastoneurons, and that the earliest known infestation was inferred from archaeological findings in the Beta Portolan system, I came up with B. portolanii.