Creature:Lizarrd

The Lizarrd (pronounced li-ZARRD, though "lizard" is acceptable) are a particularly warlike race of reptilian humanoids.

Anatomy and Physiology
A Lizarrd resembles a tall, hunched, tailed humanoid with a lizard-like head. The thick tail helps the Lizarrd keep its balance while hunched and can also serve as a third limb when the individual is at rest (contrary to popular belief Lizarrds do not drag their tails while walking). The arms of the Lizarrd have clawed, four-fingered hands but otherwise resemble those of humans, whereas the legs are somewhat more similar to a dinosaur's in having three-toed feet with the ankle carried off the ground. A Lizarrd's body is covered in tough scales, with the largest and toughest ones being on the chest, belly and underside of the tail. Lizarrd scales are dark green, with the intensity of the color varying across the body. Several display structures are present on the Lizarrd's head and neck: a tall frill resembling a mohawk, a pair of large scales at the base of the jaw below the ear and a pair of fleshy 'ear flaps.'

Lizarrds evolved from a large-eyed nocturnal ancestor and retain these large eyes, as well as a reflective layer in the eye called the tapetum lucidum which reflects light back onto the retina and enhances night vision. They can see all colors of visible light as well as part of the ultraviolet spectrum.

Lizarrds, as reptiles, have only a single bone in the inner ear, the columella, equivalent to the stapes or "stirrup" of a mammal. Lizarrd hearing cannot detect very high frequencies like mammal hearing, however Lizarrd hearing is better developed than that of most reptiles. Lizarrds are very tall and muscular. A height of six feet would be considered unusually short for a Lizarrd. Males and females are similar in size with the females occasionally being slightly larger.

The Lizarrd are an oviparous species.

Society and Culture
the Lizarrd are a particularly warlike species, priding themselves on their martial prowess and physical abilities. All Lizzards, male and female, are expected to perform military service at some point during their lives, with exceptions for injury, illness, disability, child rearing, and eventually advancing age. Lizarrds begin training at the young age of 5, when they are put into groups that will eventually form the core of a military squad. Training in martial arts, weapons and armor starts at this young age and continues through to adulthood at the age of approximately 18, with lessons in tactics and military history being taught as the young Lizarrds become more mature.

All Lizarrds are required to own weapons and armor and are expected to keep them clean and ready for combat. These arms are usually passed down through families (this tradition continues even though Lizarrds are now a space-faring race). During their cultural evolution Lizarrds developed many kinds of weapons, including spears, axes, short swords, firearms, and their signature weapon, the claw gauntlet. In a strange coincidence, the combat attire of Lizarrds is similar to that of the Ancient Greek hoplite.

Religion
Lizarrds worship a number of deities (including creator, earth-mother, sea-father, etc) but their primary deity is a war-god who resembles a well-muscled Lizarrd clad in armor.