They procreate with Bajorans, and that one scientist chick thought about reproducing with good ole Miles. Could a turtle or a velociraptor do that? No. No, they could not.
Do you consider Cardassians "reptilian"?
- Thread starter PR109
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But they are nearly impossible to keep up with...
Somehow they've always reminded me of the Christopher Lee creature from Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein (1956) 
JB
JB
The "Cardassian Neck Trick", though never seen, was meant to evoke some kink of 'ick' factor, as descriptions of it were of something resembling a hooded cobra at full spread. This always made me think they were at least partially reptilian, much as the lumpy Klingons were seen by some.
Well, they could try. But only O'Brien, and only in an annual f*** O'Brien episode, because it would be... unpleasant for him.
What are you basing that on? I recall no ick factor, or any physical description of the performance at all.
I'm basing it on the other characters' reaction to it. And there were at least two descriptions, one in fact of Odo replicating the appearance of it. Dukat praised him for his performance.
Odo has never replicated this on an episode of any sort I can think of on Deep Space Nine, what episode was this??? It could've happened during the war seasons but this revelation of the Cardassian neck trick was in the seasons of DS9 I loved - "Necessary Evil" a great episode.
I believe you may possibly be mistaking what the characters were saying.
The "Cardassian neck trick" was something that Odo did, (implied to be him simply imitating a Cardassian neck, but never stated as such.) which Doctor Mora made him practice on for weeks. The Cardassian neck trick is not something that Cardassians do.
Even putting aside all that, I still don't recall an "ick" factor in any of the times they spoke of it.
Cardassian females are played by Human actresses. Question is do Cardassian females have breasts? Could be it's a mammal playing a reptile.
I can't remember, did we ever see a Cardassian male with his shirt off? Were there nipples?
In the Star Trek universe? Of course they could,
They definitely have boobs.
Did I say Odo had been seen doing this in an episode? No, I did not. It was discussed during an Occupation episode. Dukat praised Odo's efforts from years earlier.
The Cardassian Neck Trick was something certain Cardassians did as a parlor trick. Dukat stated, IIRC proudly, that he never got the hang of it, but a certain Legate whose name I don't remember was skilled at it. He even described it to someone unfamiliar with it (I don't remember that one, either), making it clear it was a flaring of the shoulder scales, similar to a hooded cobra at full spread. Kira expressed disgust remembering how it looked, which would be the 'ick' factor.
Just because my memories are imperfect, and I don't have resource materials arrayed around me before coming here, doesn't mean I'm consistently wrong. You guys need a new hobby.
I don't know where you're getting these details from, but it's not from the show. Perhaps a book?
These are all the references to the Cardassian neck trick from the show itself...
DUKAT: You were very amusing that night.
ODO: Was I?
DUKAT: Yes. You did a Cardassian neck trick that brought the house down.
ODO: The Bajoran scientist who worked with me thought you might find it entertaining. He made me practice for weeks on the Cardassian neck trick.
DUKAT: Gul Hadar couldn't stop talking about it. He wanted to send you out to entertain the troops. I, on the other hand, began to wonder if you couldn't provide a more valuable service for the Cardassian Empire.
---
ODO: I'm not working for Dukat. I'm just trying to solve a murder.
QUARK: No, I've heard about you. You do some Cardassian neck trick, am I right?
ODO: Not anymore.
QUARK: That could go over big in this room.
---
INFORMANT: Still the wry observer of humanoid folly. Tell me, do you still do the Cardassian neck trick?
ODO: No, I don't.
INFORMANT: Pity. You were so good at it.
Why the defensive/insulting double punch? We’re just discussing the subject, and disagreeing and correcting facts is part of that. We’re all here to talk Trek.
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That is correct. In fact, one could say that alien lifeforms need to NOT conform to Earth taxonomy. Because evolutionary theory says that all Earth lifeforms are related to all other Earth lifeforms, and that members of any specific taxonomic groups are more closely related to each other than they are to members of all other taxonomic groups.
And obviously alien lifeforms cannot be members of any Earthly taxonomic group, no matter how much they are similar due to convergent evolution.
Biologists on Earth believe the evidence indicates a strong probability that all present lifeforms on Earth are descended from early lifeforms which existed on Earth billions of years ago, and thus that all lifeforms on Earth are related.
In "Return to Tomorrow":
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/51.htm
Which indicates in that Star Trek as in real life, the lifeforms native to Earth are all related, and and are probably totally unrelated to lifeforms on planets in other star systems.
A reptile is defined as an Earthly lifeform that is a member of the taxonomic class Reptilia. Thus all reptiles are descended from primitive single celled lifeforms existing on Earth billions of years ago and related to all other lifeforms on Earth.
It is considered scientifically impossible for a lifeform that evolved naturally on another planet in another star system to be related to any Earthly lifeforms. Therefor if a lifeform native to an extrasolar planet seems to belong to a species that evolved on Earth, there would be a paradox. A paradox which can only resolved by either proving that lifeform actually belongs to that Earth species and was introduced to that planet sometime previously by space travelers, or by proving that lifeform has differences from the Earthly lifeform it seems identical to.
It seems totally impossible for any extrasolar lifeform to belong to the same species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, or kingdom as any lifeform native to Earth. Therefore, any similarities between lifeforms on Earth and lifeforms in other solar systems must be due to accidental convergent evolution producing similar lifeforms on different planets.
Therefore no Star Trek lifeforms on other planets can be members of the same species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, or kingdom as any Earthly lifeforms star. Which means that neither Gorn, nor Voth, nor Cardassians can be reptiles, no matter how similar they are to Earthly reptiles due to convergent evolution providing similar developments in similar situations.
Of course in Star Trek there have been advanced civilizations that traveled interstellar space thousands and millions and maybe even billions of years ago. Thus lifeforms from various planets could have been taken to other planets and spread on those other planets and evolved into new species related to the lifeforms on the planets there ancestors came from.
But in Star Trek there seems to be no evidence that this happened on Earth. And so, unless for some reason Earth is very, very, very special in this regard, there must be many other planets in the Star Trek universe without any evidence that any life from other planets and star systems was ever seeded on them. So even if some reptile-like alien lifeforms actually are reptiles descended from Earth reptiles, there should be many other reptile-like alien lifeforms which are not reptiles descended from Earth reptiles, but which have developed separately by convergent evolution to resemble Earth reptiles.
Therefore, it seems inaccurate to describe alien plants, animals, and people as being rodents, or dolphins, or reptiles, or starfish, or elephants, or clovers, or sponges, or viruses, or as members of any other Earthly group of organisms, no matter how much they resemble them.
Well, they have scales which is why people think they are reptilian, but a lot of other creatures on Earth have scales such as fish and certain mammals. I don't recall them going too much into Cardassian physiology, but one of the main traits of reptiles is that they are cold-blooded. Cardassians do love the heat so it's implied that they might be.
The only on-screen references to the "Cardassian neck trick" refer to it as something Odo used to do.
As @JirinPanthosa noted, species from an alien world might not easily fall into Earth classification systems. But if they did, there's a lot more evidence for them being mammalian -- they have hair; we never see scales; they prefer warmer temperatures than humans but we never see a reptilian-style physiological response to cooler temperatures; and Seska gives birth to a live child rather than an egg (although there are a few reptiles that reproduce through live birth).
As @JirinPanthosa noted, species from an alien world might not easily fall into Earth classification systems. But if they did, there's a lot more evidence for them being mammalian -- they have hair; we never see scales; they prefer warmer temperatures than humans but we never see a reptilian-style physiological response to cooler temperatures; and Seska gives birth to a live child rather than an egg (although there are a few reptiles that reproduce through live birth).
The milk production is the best argument for them having mammalian characteristics (Cardassian females have breasts), since reptiles have been known for having all of the other traits. Reminds of me of the time when my junior high biology teacher's rosy boa gave live birth one morning and there were all these cute little babies everywhere. I wanted one of them but my parents hated snakes and vehemently refused to let me keep one.
That's it right there, people.
