Saiyan Biology Part 2
(Actual Info under the cut)
Teeth
Saiyan teeth are based partially on baboon teeth in that the canine teeth are notably larger than the rest of the incisors, although the rest of the incisors are also fanged, and suited for ripping and tearing. However, their molars are still similar to those of most omnivores, and are used for chewing. As a result, saiyans are classified as an omnivorous species, although they take the concept of eating everything to the extreme-for example, while a saiyan will gain little to no nutrition from eating stone or metal, they are technically capable of digesting materials commonly thought to be entirely inedible. Saiyans tend to prefer meat because it is high calorie and high protein-both necessities for their biology- but they do require plant based nutrition for a rounded diet. Their teeth are capable of cutting through bone, and their molars capable of grinding down tough woody stems. A saiyan’s digestive system is equally robust, and capable of resisting most parasites and poisons found in food. As a result, cooking is not a requirement for digestion, but most saiyans tend to have at least a couple foods they prefer cooked (or alternatively complex food items that require cooking to come together). Also, while not their primary food source, due to their incredibly large calorific requirements, saiyans on the battlefield will fall to eating the the bodies of their not-always fallen opponents (i.e. that one scene of Vegeta snacking on a random alien mook’s arm), which doesn’t help increase their intergalactic standing. Like some reptiles, saiyans are born with all their teeth and they exhibit polyphyodonty-if a tooth falls out, another will grow back in its place. Despite the large size of most of their teeth, they are fully hidden by the lips. Saiyan jaws tend to be larger and wider than those of most similarly sized mammalian species, and they have an incredibly strong bite force-although again, they are similar to crocodiles in that even a fairly small force stopping movement of the jaw will be an effective neutralizing method.
Half-saiyans retain the oversized canines, although the rest of the teeth are similar in appearance to those of a human. Half-saiyans are born with canines, and the rest of their teeth grow in sometime between three to six months. Apart from this, their teeth are similar to those are full saiyans, as are their digestive capabilities. Their jaws are larger than those of most full blooded humans, but not necessarily to the extent that their canine teeth will fit properly. As a result its fairly common for the canine teeth to project outwards and protrude slightly past the lips. This is entirely a cosmetic issue, and could theoretically be remedied by braces, although the issue of placing the braces for long enough remains an issue, particularly with the amount of facial trauma most saiyans go through, and also the problem of finding a dentist willing to stick their hand in that mouth.
Quarter saiyans, like half saiyans, retain most of the dental and digestive capabilities of a full blooded saiyan. They have oversized canines, although not to the extent of full or half blooded saiyans. Like human infants, they are born toothless; their canines grow in within the first couple of months, afterwards the rest of the teeth grow in between six to eight months. They do have a set of baby teeth, but after those grow in they retain the polyphyodontic trait.
Eyes
The pupil and iris of a saiyan have no differentiation, is ovular and elongated, and contracts and expands with the light (and, occasionally, emotion). Their visual acuity is no better than a human, although their night vision is far superior. Without the use of ki-energy, saiyan eyes possess tapetum lucidum- otherwise known as eye shine, which allows for vision in low-light activities; with ki-energy, a truer backlight is possible, allowing for some vision even in pitch-black environments. In fact, the general environment of earth tends to be a bit bright for saiyan eyes, resulting in slit-like pupil/iris’s. This is because saiyans originally evolved in a low-light environment from living under the canopy of their original forested planet (listen. listen. You do not get monkey-based species without trees. I do not know what was the saiyan origin planet in the main universe was, but I do not care, a rain forest type environment makes sense.), and later on the red sky of planet Vegeta was relatively dim compared the sky of planet earth. Additionally, because they tend to gain power with the moon, saiyans are naturally at least partly nocturnal, which also plays a part in their keen night vision. Saiyans also have sensory organs present in the inside corners of their eyes that allows them to sense heat energy of nearby organisms (i.e. that thing snakes can do? yeah kind of like that).
Half saiyan eyes are rather similar to those of a full saiyan, although the sensory organs are under-developed and unspecific. Gohan is actually tremendously, horrifically blind without glasses nearsighted, although not as a result of an incorrect blending of human and saiyan genes or entirely as a result of eyestrain from reading. Admittedly he did strain his eyesight throughout his childhood, because it didn’t get bad enough that he needed a book half an inch from his face in order to see it until high school, and he didn’t realize most people did not see the world in various states of blurry. Luckily, saiyan and half-saiyan eyes are similar enough in function to human eyes that regular glasses do work.
In quarter saiyan eyes, the thermoreceptor organ is entirely absent, and pupils are more ovular even in day-light. Otherwise they function much the same as full and half-saiyan eyes do.
Noses
A saiyan’s sense of smell is probably their most developed sense. It is very sensitive, and capable of picking up minute differences in scent. They are adept trackers by smell alone as a result. That said, saiyans aren’t particularly good at blocking out potent smells, and overwhelming scents-particularly unpleasant ones-can be debilitating much as high pitched noises can be to a Namek. Unlike humans, saiyan noses have diagonally set nostrils instead of downward facing ones, much like new world monkeys. In half and quarter bloods, the angle of the noses shifts downwards with the addition of human blood, but otherwise the function remains the same
Body and Proportions
Saiyans tend to be stockier than the average human, and very much embody the idea of being built like bricks. They’re a warrior race from a high-gravity environment, and they look it. They have long torsos and longer arms, and a prehensile tail and prehensile feet from their arboreal ancestors (who were comparatively closer to modern saiyans than humans closest tree dwelling ancestors). A saiyan tail, apart from its noted sensitivity to being yanked and containment of trigger glands for the Oozaru transformation, is also an important part of a saiyan’s balance. Ki-energy can serve as a substitute, but without actively circulating energy, a tail-less saiyan has not insignificant balance problems. As children, saiyans tend to lean more towards a quadrupedal stance, although it’s considered improper in higher echelons of Saiyan society. As they grow older and proportions shift, they tend toward bipedality. Unlike human primates, saiyans have retained claws instead of nails.
Half-saiyans have more variety in body shape, although they still trend to more solid builds (e.g. even Gohan, the person closest to being a twig of everyone with saiyan genetics, has fairly broad shoulders and a barrel chest). Typically, the length of the torso, arms, and legs are more or less equal in length to each other. Half saiyans retain the prehensile tail and feet, although they’re not quite as hairy as a full blooded saiyan would be. Their nails aren’t quite claws, but they’re still thickened and come to a natural point.
Quarter saiyans have similar body shapes as half-saiyans. Their proportions are close to human, although they’re noticeably off to a practiced eye. The tail is thinner and shorter, but still present, and while the back of the foot is fairly human in shape, the feet are still prehensile. Their nails are mostly blunt, but still thicker than a full blooded humans would be.
Due to the high gravity environment of both planet Vegeta and the original saiyan origin planet, saiyan skeletal and muscular structures are several times more dense than those of most humanoid species of comparable size. This allows saiyans to hit harder and lift more than most species, assisting in part of their infamous power. Their skin and most of their other organs are similarly tough-without energy circulation, they can still be harmed by mundane means, but it takes a considerable amount of force to result in damage (e.g regular hand guns or even a car crash wouldn’t amount to much more than mild discomfort, but something along the lines of a missile launcher would) On the flip side, the amount of energy required to maintain their dense physicality is incredibly large. Even without much activity, around twenty to thirty thousand calories are necessary for a saiyan to function. Strenuous activity and/or energy use increase the required calorie usage exponentially. As a result, a saiyan can die of starvation in a matter of days. The tough physicality and intense calorie requirements are considered dominant traits, and remain present in half and quarter saiyans.