(no subject)

I tend to agree. Over and over the Inhumi are described as reptilian. Then they end up mimicking a mammalian mating ritual but reproducing like amphibians in the water. What gives? I know Wolfe's zoology is not so deficient. Marc, I mentioned an Eden connection to Green via Quetzal's story in the thread Claw = Fang?. Then there is the "GREEN is Urth!". How does this origin myth relate to the Inhumi being "vestigal parasites"? Which came first, humans or inhumi?

Then they end up mimicking a mammalian mating ritual but reproducing like amphibians in the water. What gives? I know Wolfe's zoology is not so deficient. If I remember correctly, the Inhumi are sort of snake-like, with bones that can rearrange (some snakes have bones that can detach when swallowing large prey, and others have freely moving ribs that aid with gliding)? This gives them (in part) their shape-shifting abilities. They also change their appearance through the use of cosmetics. Anyways, there are a few species of snake that give the appearance of blurring the line between the mammalian and the reptilian ... garter snakes, for example, give birth to live young (they are ovoviviparous, meaning their eggs hatch while still inside the mother). <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovoviviparity> This doesn't mean anything in regards to Wolfe, necessarily, it just popped into my head when you mentioned the strange reproductive behavior of the Inhumi and their pseudo-reptilian nature.