Taxxon Evolution

[Yarin]

Just wondering what you know about their evolution.

[SuperBlue]

lol what would they evolve from? you dont get much lower than a Taxxon, they actually seem like de-evolved Hork Bajir

[Yarin]

Are they even sapient?

[MoppingBear]

yes, they are.  their evolution for the most part seems to make sense.  most likely, the predetors on their planet are relatively small, so there was a drive for them to be larger, and a large body needs to be sustained, hence the hunger, especially if food on the planet is hard to find.  eventually, selection would have favored those intelligent enough to find new sources of food. id say of all species (other than the engineered hork bajir) their evolution makes the most sense, even moreso than humans.

[Yarin]

How is it moreso than humans?

[MoppingBear]

their form is simple, they are pretty much designed for their purpose: dig to find food.  we on the other hand have to use our intelligence to offset the disadvantages evolution handed us.

[voodooqueen126]

i have been thinking about Taxxons all morning, possibly compounded by my assignment due tomorrow on polynesia.
Why did they have to morph snakes, why not pandas or blue whales or any number of critically endangered animals? or better yet given drugs or genetically engineered so they wouldn't want to eat each other all the time.

[Yarin]

Changing nature is hard changing body is easy with morphing  also they chose snakes because it's close morohologically to a taxxon form

[MoppingBear]

i have been thinking about Taxxons all morning, possibly compounded by my assignment due tomorrow on polynesia.
Why did they have to morph snakes, why not pandas or blue whales or any number of critically endangered animals? or better yet given drugs or genetically engineered so they wouldn't want to eat each other all the time.

they didnt have to morph snakes, they chose to.  probably because it was fairly close to their natural body, and as jake (or was it arbron) said they dont have much of an imagination.

[anijen21]

yes, they are.  their evolution for the most part seems to make sense.  most likely, the predetors on their planet are relatively small, so there was a drive for them to be larger, and a large body needs to be sustained, hence the hunger, especially if food on the planet is hard to find.  eventually, selection would have favored those intelligent enough to find new sources of food. id say of all species (other than the engineered hork bajir) their evolution makes the most sense, even moreso than humans.

I actually think their evolution makes little or no sense at all.

We don't get much of an indication from the Andalite Chronicles about what natural resources they have on their planet, which is just a giant dust ball, right? So what DO Taxxons eat when they're not running around eating each other?

An entirely cannibalistic species does not seem like it could sustain itself in the long run. And, as far as I can recall, there is never any indication that the Taxxons eat anything but each other. So, unless they like screwing more than they like eating, which would pretty much take up every leftover neuron in their brains, the Taxxons should have died out a long time ago.

[Adrian Malacoda]

It's quite possible that Planet Taxxon has had other lifeforms in years past. The Taxxons overhunted them and have had to resort to cannibalism since then. It's a common scenario in a food chain - the prey are hunted to extinction, forcing the predators into extinction too.

In fact, this could be why they were so willing to give themselves to the Yeerks (the Taxxon race, as you know, voluntarily entered into an agreement with the Yeerks). Their race might only have had a few years left until it ate itself.

It's things like this that make me wish the Taxxons had more of a backstory. Applegate was going to write the Taxxon Chronicles but just never got around to it.

[anijen21]

That makes a lot of sense.

Maybe Taxxons are a commentary on the current state of industrialized overindulgence and greed.

Or maybe they were just giant worms who ate each other.

[Yarin]

Lol true

[Galladerotom]

The most bizzare feature of a taxxon is their vulnerability if they are hit by any fast moving object they simply burst and are eaten by their fellow taxxons. In the andalite chronicles their is being called "the living hive" so we can conclude that at one point the taxxons did have some sort of a hive mind. Ants have been known to have extremly cannibalistic tendensies. The point of cannibulism is to conserve resources (I know this sounds rediculous) but if their was a shortage of food then they couldn't afford to waste a dead body. Mice eating some of their babies so they can feed the others etc.) . If some other event had wiped most of the other species out then the taxxons would be more likley to become cannibuls.

Actually I heard about a plane crash in the andes mountains and they were so far from any food source that the only way they could survive was to eat those who had already died (no they didn't start killing each other). Eventually they had to send scouts for help and the rations they took along were made from human meat. I know it sounds gross but they really didn't have any choice.

That may have been what happened to the taxxons just over a longer period of time.

[anijen21]

Omg Alive??? That movie is so intense.

You're right about the baby mice, but the reason it works for them is a) they eat almost anything and b) they breed like...well, like rodents. Short gestation, high-capacity litters. If anything, it proves that the only thing taxxons like doing more than eating each other is **** ing each other.

The only difference, at least that I see, is that taxxons in the books seem exclusively cannibalistic. As I said, that makes no sense from an evolutionary standpoint, so I guess this whole comment is a chance for me to reiterate that I like the idea that the taxxons consumed every last resource on their planet and literally had no other resources left except each other. Which I believe is more than enough motivation to voluntarily submit to the Yeerks.