Thotheen

The Thotheen (also spelled Thothen) are a sapient species of large insectoids which hail from the planet Venus.

Biology
Thotheen are 7 ft tall (~ 2.13 meters) creatures resembling a combination of dipteran and elephantine traits. They have shining scales on the sides of their bodies, folded gossamer wings, horned eyes, antennae, and an extendable flexible proboscis on the top of their heads, which is covered in hair. It's possible that they might have evolved to feed on the nectar of the colossal flowers that cover the fields of Venus, although this is mere conjecture.

Being native to the planet, the blinding light of the Venusian sun doesn't harm their eyes as it harms Humans. Their wings are functional and allow them to fly in spite of their considerable size. Their eyes are expressive, and their mouths can produce Human speech, but they prefer to communicate by telepathy among themselves. They're described as intellectually superior to Humans. Compared to Humans, Thotheen are also more vulnerable to the effects of electricity.

Culture and society
Thotheen live in giant anthill-like structures and are considered highly developed intellectually, socially and technologically. Strangely, the only science that they haven't developed on their own is medicine, in which they are far behind mankind. When Humans from Egypt and Mexico arrived on Venus by accident circa 8,000 years ago, the Thotheen welcomed them and allowed them to live there in exchange for the Humans' services as physicians. The two species have been coexisting in relative peace ever since, although conflicts between different Thotheen nations and between Thotheen and Humans aren't unheard of.

For the most part, the Thotheen are a compassionate species which disapproves of the Human practice of experimenting on living test subjects. It's not known whether or not this is one of the reasons for the Thotheen's failure to develop their own medical knowledge.

Appearances

 * To Venus in Five Seconds: An Account of the Strange Disappearance of Thomas Plummer, Pillmaker, by Fred T. Jane (1897)