Avianoid

An Avianoid is a flying creature that exhibits characteristics similar to Terran avians.

• It is a type of lifeform.
• It is generally – though not always – a flyer.

Description (Specifications)

An avianoid creature is distinguished by a number of characteristics:

• It is endothermic (it produces heat within its body).
• It possesses feathers, down, fur, hair or some other structural layer as part of its body that helps to insulate it and retain heat.
• It possesses a fairly rigid internal support structure such as a skeleton.
• It has wings, gas sacs or some other mechanism enabling it to fly within its native atmosphere.
• It has a beak or a bill, typically formed from substances such as bone or keratin.
• It lays eggs.

History & Background (Dossier)

Most biologists agree that a creature should exhibit at least two of the characteristics associated with avians to qualify as a avianoid, though others set the limit at three, in keeping with other animal classifications. The term is necessarily generic.

It is possible for a creature to meet sufficient criteria to qualify as more than one classification of animal.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science