Cardassian

Cardassians, a spacefaring race in the fictional Star Trek universe, and the Cardassian Union were introduced in the ' episode "The Wounded". Cardassians were one of the main parts of the storyline in '. The Cardassian homeworld is Cardassia Prime in the Alpha Quadrant.

Biology

Cardassians are roughly humanoid in appearance, but have distinctive ridged arches connecting their shoulders to the top of their necks. This characteristic might be compared to the Vaadwaur. They also have ridges on either side of their forehead, ridges surrounding their eyes, and protrusions on their chin and below their nose. They also have a spoon-shaped feature starting in the center of their forehead and running down the length of their nose. This has earned them the derogatory name of "spoonheads." The spoon shape is also on their chest. This odd feature has also been described in gynecological terms and inspired a Saturday Night Live skit making the satirical point that the facial features of some Star Trek aliens resemble non-facial human body parts.

Related Topics:
Vaadwaur - Spoon - Saturday Night Live

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Their skin is tan or gray in color and hair is dark brown or black. Since scale patterns on Cardassian necks have been shown to change from appearance to appearance (Garak, for example), makeup artist Michael Westmore has theorized in a 2005 issue of Star Trek Insider that Cardassians continually shed and regrow scales. Female Cardassians' neck ridges and forehead "spoon" are tinted blue.

Related Topics:
Garak - Michael Westmore

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Compared to humans, Cardassians prefer warmer and darker climates.

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