Dermaphos (singular and plural) are a non-sapient species native to the planet Saturn.
Biology[]
Dermaphos are large creatures which live in colonies in the scarce oxygen valleys scattered over Saturn's surface. Their movements are slow and sluggish. They physically resemble 10 ft long crested lizards with six legs and didactyl feet. Their skin is thick and warty. Their dentition indicates that they're omnivorous, although they have only been observed to graze on vegetation. They have glands behind their fangs that secrete powerful acids.
Dermaphos were discovered by the interplanetary explorer Sidney Murray, who named them for what he believed to be rows of phosphorescent lights on their skin. In reality, the lights that Murray saw in his pictures were actually the result of uranium salts in the Dermaphos' skin displaying fluorescence under UV light. The uranium, which occurs naturally in Saturnian soil, is acquired from plants eaten by the Dermaphos and is speculated to play a role in the creature's metabolism.
Appearances[]
- "Trouble on Titan", by Arthur K. Barnes (1941)