Voth

The Voth are a bipedal reptilian species who are distant kin to Humans and had evolved from the dinosaurs of their shared homeworld of Earth.

History
The ancient ancestors of the Voth were the Hadrosaur which were a species of large herbivoral reptiles that inhabited prehistoric Earth. They would evolve until they became a bipedal race and form many settlements on their homeworld. At some point in their time, they discovered that an asteroid would destroy the surface of their planet and began the task of leaving their homeworld. It had been suggested by Commander Chakotay that any settlements that the Voth had on Earth had been buried by natural disasters such as earthquakes or sank to the bottom of the sea.


 * The dialogue in the episode makes no mention of how the race left the planet. They could concievably either have left Earth in primitive sleeper ships or they could have been transplanted by the Preservers who were also responsible is saving the velociraptors which in turn evolved into the Clan Ru.

Somehow, the Voth would later find themselves in the Delta Quadrant where they began to start their life anew. Nothing is known about this period or how the race managed to 'forget' its origins on Earth. They established their new homeworld and began to believe in a new belief known as Doctrine which governed their society.

The race would eventually learn to travel through Transwarp space even though Doctrine stated that a great disaster would occur should this happen. Upon using this advanced form of propulsion, a new era of exploration began for the species.

Despite the relative calm within their race, a noted scientist, Professor Forra Gegan, believed in the theory that their race was not native to that region of space. This came after an extend analysis that showed that their race had nothing in common with the species native to their homeworld. They also discovered the remains of a Mammalian endotherm that contained genetic markers that were common with the Voth. Gegan would be on the run from his government with his assistant Tova Veer as they searched for the USS Voyager which was present in the Delta Quadrant. They managed to locate the ship and confirm the theory but were apprehended by the Ministry of Elders who journeyed to the location and captured the starship Voyager.

On board the Voth City ship it was revealed to Gegan that the Ministry knew of their true origins but continued to surpress the knowledge and forced Gegan to retract his statement or the Voyager crew would face detention and the destruction of their starship. He would later be assigned to metallurgy while the Voyager crew were warned not to encounter the Voth again. (VOY episode: Distant Origin)

Biology
The Voth evolved from the Hadrosaur, a dinosaur that existed before the extinction of the giant reptiles on the planet Earth. This evoltution resulted in a bipedal form with hands and legs present for both movement and manipulation of the environment. The Voth also developed a complex series of facial expression known as Vasodilation which is not present in Humans. This allows a greater deal of 'body language' to be expressed between the Voth. Furthermore, they have a superior sense of smell which originates from an olfactory organ known as the Dilitus lobe that allows them to enjoy the Sulfur Lagoons of Hokath.

On one occasion it was observed that the Voth are capable of entering into a Hibernative state, possibly an evolution to survive dangerous environmental conditions or predators. They were also capable of shooting small 'bio-darts' that could paralyse their prey temporarily.

Culture and Society
The Voth government appears to be led by the Ministry of Elders which serves as the administrative branch of the race and guides them. Another branch was the Circles of Science which is the scientific wing of the race and is divided into many 'sub-circles' such as the Circle of Exobiology.

The Voth religious belief is centered around Doctrine which is their governing principle that states that the Voth originate from their homeworld in the Delta Quadrant. While most believe this, a faction within the Circle of Science began to study this theory and hypothesized the Distant Origin theory. This theory, which is heretical as it opposes Doctrine, states that the race do not originate from their homeworld in the Delta Quadrant but are in fact from a planet in the Alpha Quadrant.


 * It is unknown what the fate of this theory is after the events in the episode Distant Origin though Gegan did state that eventually, someday, all Voth would know Earth as home.

The belief in Doctrine is so rigid that it prevents many developments within their society though there are the odd occasions where Doctrine is proven wrong. One such example was the statement that using Transwarp technology would bring about a great disaster but regardless of this warning, one member of their kind did succeed in this task. Despite breaking Doctrine, this was accepted and a new age of expansion began for their race while Doctrine was presumably altered to accomodate the new change in their society.

While many Voth are firm believers of Doctrine, it is known that only Heretics and the Ministry of Elders know of the truth. Heretics would be rounded up and sent to detention colonies while the Ministy would continue to surpress the knowledge as they could not bear to believe that they were a race of nomads pitifully fleeing their homeworld. (VOY episode: Distant Origin)

Technology
The Voth had developed a level of technology far above the successors of the their original homeworld. They had developed not only Transwarp drives but Phase cloak devices that could be fitted on individuals as well as starships. Another demonstration of their advanced capabilities was the fielding of a massive Voth City ship as well as the ability to transport a starship the size of the USS Voyager into the vessel without any difficulty. (VOY episode: Distant Origin)