Bhlemphroim

The Bhlemphroims are a sapient race of strange-looking bipeds native to the planet Saturn. They are no larger than a Human being, and their bodies are mostly humanoid, but with the curious distinction that they don't have heads, and their faces are located on their chests, much like the mythical Blemmyes.

Biology
Bhlemphroims are omnivores, and feed on cultivated fungus-like organisms and meat from large domesticated beasts. They are dark-skinned and completely hairless. Despite their somewhat humanoid appearance, they have no differentiated head, and their mouths, eyes, nostrils, ears and "certain other organs of doubtful use" are all located on their chests or abdomens.

Their reproductive methods are peculiar. Each generation selects a single female to become mother to the next one. This national mother, referred to as the Djhenquomh, is fed with a special kind of fungus and grows to mammoth proportions. Afterwards, one or more males will be selected to become her mate and, after performing their duty, are killed and eaten by the Djhenquomh.

Culture and society
Bhlemphroims are a generally agrarian culture and don't care much for religion, technology or scientific knowledge. They don't wear clothes, and their villages don't conform to the Human ideas of architectural symmetry. They cultivate fungi and domesticate large creatures that have multiple short legs and an armored hide.

Modern Bhlemphroims have evolved from Human-like ancestors that had differentiated heads, but evolution caused them to lose theirs. Interestingly, they regard their current headless form as a source of shame, and wish they could return to their primordial shape. For this reason, they tend to regard Humans with the highest admiration and respect.

They're generally friendly creatures, and appear to be rather gullible, as exemplified when they took for granted that their Human guests would desire to mate with their Djhenquomh, and didn't even bother to take measures to prevent them from leaving before the ritual could be consummated.

Besides being irreligious, they're rather unimaginative, materialistic and practical as a race, and display little to no interest in anything that isn't directly related to agriculture, livestock, or procreation. They're not much impressed by demonstrations of either magic or science, to the point that learning that their visitors came from another planet is treated as a mildly interesting fact by them, and they showcase little interest in hearing more about it. They speak of the old gods with respect, but no longer worship them like their ancestors used to.

Appearances

 * "The Door to Saturn", by Clark Ashton Smith (1932)