Weblike Creature

The Symbiotic Lifeform is an unusual sapient organism whose outside appearance is that of a semi-amorphous, pale-colored tissue web covered by a gel-like liquid and possessing several long grasping tentacles. This creature covers the entire surface of its homeworld, forming a massive jungle-like structure. It is also able to survive in the vacuum of outer space.

When a portion of the Symbiotic Lifeform is removed from the rest, it can live independently and retain its sapience, but will soon seek out other organisms to associate with, in a desperate attempt to return to what it was before. The Symbiotic Lifeform produces screeching sounds when threatened, especially when one of its tentacles is damaged. It communicates with complex neural signals more reminiscent of mathematical calculus than of traditional languages.

In 2152, a Kreetassan vessel visited the Lifeform's homeworld shortly before paying a visit to the Earth starship Enterprise. Unknown to the Kreetassans, a portion of the lifeform had grasped upon their ship and was separated from the rest. This creature then invaded the Enterprise and started to snatch crewmembers, wrapping them with its web-like body and trying to assimilate them to become a single organism. A small tendril of the creature was cut off and sent to Dr. Phlox, who discovered that the creature was sapient. Ensign Hoshi Sato, with the help of Vulcan officer T'Pol, was able to decode the lifeform's language and convince it to release the crewmembers by telling it that they were going back to the Symbiote's homeworld. Once there, both the Symbiotic Lifeform and its severed tendril were linked back to the planet-wide superorganism they belonged and the Enterprise left undamaged.