The wide range of sizes and forms that humanoid bionts can take in the Terragen Sphere
Any organic life form, Terragen or otherwise, whether natural or engineered. Most often this term is used exclusively for organic beings of sophont-grade intelligence, since the root of the word is "biological sophont". Among Terragens, many bionts are of humanoid form derived from the original human baseline shape, either by descent or imitation, although there are many other body-plans.
Biomod - Text by M. Alan Kazlev A biotech or bioborg augment or mod, especially one that can be easily or relatively easily applied to any biont, bioborg, cyborg, biovec.
Biontogenics - Text by M. Alan Kazlev The science and art of creating biont clades, usually from scratch. Such bionts do not necessarily have to look unusual, they may be typical nearbaseline in appearance for example.
Biontogenist - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Term given to sophonts - usually transapients but may be superbright/superturing - who create for business, pleasure, or other motives entire biont clades. Biontogenists may be biological ((nano/synano-)bioborg), cyborg, ai, or even virtuals (assuming the latter have the appropriate physical interfaces).
Homo sapiens - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Large-brained hominid species that emerged perhaps 400,000 years ago (Heidelberg Man, etc.). Homo sapiens evolved from Homo erectus and eventually replaced Homo neanderthalensis to become the sole hominid species and subspecies. Includes thousands of subspecies, almost all of which date from post-Interplanetary period.
Homo sapiens species group - Text by M. Alan Kazlev A large and diverse group of hominid species that include Homo sapiens and many similar forms. See also Near-Baseline.
Homorph, Alien - Text by Steve Bowers Xenosophonts who deliberately adopt human (or general terragen hominid) form, morphology, or biochemistry. While homomorphism is fairly popular among some alien races and clades, many alien societies are under embargo to avoid cross-cultural pollution, so the homorph is often illegal. See also Toulhuman.
Phenotype - Text by M. Alan Kazlev The appearance of an organism with respect to a particular group of physical, biochemical, and physiologic characteristics, as a result of the interaction of its genotype and its environment.
Phenotypic Augmentation - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Biological or genetic modification or augmentation that effects the phenotype only. It alters the characteristics of the user, and sometimes also that of clones from the user's somatic cells, but it does not modify the user's offspring. Contrast with genotypic augmentation.
Space People - Text by M. Alan Kazlev [1] (archaic) A common early term for Space Adapted Humans, still used by some descendants of the original clade. [2] (Second Federation Era) A term for vacuum adapted tweaks, now rarely used.
Space Spiders - Text by Steve Bowers Vacuum and zero gee adapted, sentient or semisentient spidersplices, from micro-scale to giant; usually capable of producing buckyfibre silk. Contribute to many megascale building projects, sometimes controlled directly by transcended postspiders.
Subsophont - Text by M. Alan Kazlev A being - whether biological or aioidal, that may be sentient but has not developed true sophonce.
To'ul'human - Text by Steve Bowers Homorph To'ul'h who have been given or adopted human shape by advanced biotech. They also can take To'ul'h form in earthlike environments or adapted human form in toulovenusian environments.
Ungulate - Text by M. Alan Kazlev General term for terragen hoofed, herbivorous, placental mammals. The hoof is made of the protein keratin. Representative baseline ungulates include horses, sheep, pigs, deer, camels, bovids, and many other species. Many ungulate species have been provolved, others have been raised to presophonce, or geneered or adapted in various ways.
Zooplankton - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Animals that float passively in the water as part of the plankton. Zooplankton feed on other plankton (phytoplankton, bacterioplankton or other zooplankton) and are in turn food for larger aquatic organisms. An important part of the aquatic ecology of any terragen and terragen-type ecosystem.
Zoosplice - Text by M. Alan Kazlev Gengineered Terragenanimal neospecies made from integration of two or more animal species. See splice for the more general case.