The pointy-eared species are all Sephi? Yeah right

Let us look at the actual quote:

"you have a species for Valentha Farfalla in the Holocron?
Not concretely. For the longest time we've used dozens of pointy-eared characters without a species name for them. The pointed-eared species in the Jedi: Yoda comic were named Sephi. My theory is that all pointy-eared species are either Sephi or closely related to Sephi."

Many seem to take this as meaning that ALL pointy-eared characters ARE Sephi or DERIVED from them.

I think not.

First of all, lets look at the depiction of Sephi. All the Sephi in Jedi: Yoda are clearly
1) pink-skinned (REALLY pink; not within normal human skin tones)
2) white-haired (not just the elders)
3) have humanoid digits
4) long-lived
5) do not have horse-articulated legs with fur, hooves, or a tail
6) pointed-eared

Obviously, many pointed-eared humanoids (including Equine) meet one or two but not all these qualities, so it is highly unlikely they ARE Sephi. An Equine is no more a Sephi than a Melodie, a Chironian, or a Theelin. It is intriguing Leland only mentions Farfalla's pointed ears and not his hairy, horse-articulated legs, tail, and hooves; he may have accidentally or deliberately overlooked these qualities (compare Farfalla's description--or lack thereof--in Darth Bane novels).

Furthermore, Leland says "or closely related species"...this simply means that [some] pointed-eared "characters" have a common evolutionary origin with Sephi. Sephi are quite probably near-humans, so Leland is apparently saying pointy-eared humanoids are probably also near-human, and perhaps more closely related to Sephi than to OTHER near-humans. This (hopefully) does not mean all the pointy-eared humanoids are DERIVED from Sephi, merely derirved from a common ancestor (thus "closely related).

furthermore, the term "pointy-eared characters" is rather nebulous and does HAVE TO apply to all species with "pointy-eared characters." After all, if that were true, YODA himself would be a Sephi or closely related to a Sephi--he IS a "pointy-eared character." I think its rather evident Leland doesn't really mean ALL "pointy-eared characters"!

"For the longest time we've used dozens of pointy-eared characters without a species name for them."
Who is "we" in this context? Does it mean licensed products since Leland was involved? Does it mean Dark Horse comics only? Should characters from, say, the Droids cartoons be involved?

Am I the only one to think it is ludicrous to think all "pointy-eared characters" are closer akin than all "round-eared characters" or "thick-headed characters?" Is an Equine obviously more akin to a Sephi, a Chiss to a Zeltron, and an Imzig to a Taung?

This is Leland's "theory." Hopefully, if ever canonically published, it will be better articulated and narrower and more precise in scope. As it is, it strikes me as rather sloppy grab-bag, trashcan, catchall that brings up nightmares of the "Megalosaurus" genus in dinosaur taxonomy.

 

1) pink-skinned (REALLY pink; not within normal human skin tones)

I suspect that's just the art. The two padawans have the same skin tone.

2) white-haired (not just the elders)

Only the males. The females have dark hair and look far less wrinkled.

3) have humanoid digits
4) long-lived
5) do not have horse-articulated legs with fur, hooves, or a tail
6) pointed-eared

Yes to all the rest.


Valenthyne Farfalla is not a Sephi, never was.

 

I was the one who asked this question with regard to Farfalla, and I have to say, I was certainly surprised by the reply. In that case, Chee certainly seemed to overlook the goat legs, and so I've always discounted in his instance. That exception aside, this idea has actually grown on me - not taking Chee's words literally that all pointy-eared species are related to Sephi - but certainly that many individuals that appear close to the Sephi could be related.

I think it is certainly plausible that there is another group of related species floating around out there. As far as I know, the only two others are Humans and Near-Humans, and Duros and Near-Duros. I think a Sephi and Near-Sephi addition to the universe would work well.

Over on the Wookieepedia, I've got a subpage with a gallery of a number of "pointy-eared individuals" that may be of interest: see here. It also has at least two other named species that appear close to the Sephi: the Dorandean and the Morganian. I certainly think that there are a number of potential Near-Sephi among that gallery. They also seem to divide into a number of different skin tones that could relate to specific races - white, pink , and orange.

In particular, I think Fay would be a good match, seeing as both she and the Sephi are long lived. I also see some similarities between Sephi architecture and that of Lourdes' homeworld (albeit, on a less developed scale), and given that both have monarchies, I could certainly see Lourdes' world as a former Sephi colony.

In short, while I think you are right that it would need to be "better articulated and narrower and more precise in scope", I actually like the idea of Near-Sephi derivatives.

~ Eyrezer

 

Don't forget the Trandoshans and their cousins the Saurin! The Cha'a may be part of that group as well, since they share an incredibly close appearance and many traits. There's another few "_____ian and near-_____ian" groups out there I think, I just can't remember them at the moment.

 

I think there should be two subraces of Trandoshan: the traditional "Bossk types" and the ones seen in the Republic Commando game, which are different.

 

Another "near" example is the Mimbanite species. The Mimbanites are "near-Coway". EGAS says they are descended from the Coway.

Also, IIRC, the Aquala are the "baseline" Aqualish and the Quara and Ualaq are "near-Aqualish"--I believe the Quara were described as "near-Aqualish" in the old Alien Anthology.