Kerbal

Kerbals (possible Latin name - Kerbious sapiens amplus capitatus, "wise large headed kerbal") are the native denizens of the planet Kerbin. Kerbals appear to be bipedal primates. Mature kerbals range from 0.5 - 0.75 meters in height.

Kerbals have a massive head with respect to their bodies, being nearly 50% of an adult kerbal's body mass. This massive head and relatively small body likely means that more energy is devoted to the brain, making kerbals capable of incredible feats of logic and scientific reasoning.

Biology

• Although kerbals appear mostly hairless, they have notable hair growth occurring chiefly on the top of the head. There is reason to believe that Kerbals, like other primates, have sweat glands, better enabling them to conserve energy in tropical environments.

• The construction of the kerbal lower torso differs from other primates. As a result, kerbals are markedly slower for all distances than almost all other animals, but are among the best short-distance walkers in the animal kingdom. Kerbals' thinner body hair and more productive sweat glands also help avoid heat exhaustion while walking for long distances or during an excessive bought of thinking. A trade-off for these "advantages" of the modern kerbal pelvis is that childbirth is extremely dangerous, especially given that the massive head size of kerbal babies compared to other primates. This means that kerbal babies must turn around as they pass through the birth canal which other primates do not do, and it makes kerbals the only species in which females require help from their conspecifics to reduce the risks of birthing.

• The hue of kerbal skin and hair is determined by the presence of pigments called melanins. Kerbal skin hues appear to range from light green to pale green. Kerbal hair ranges from white to brown to red to most commonly black. This depends on the amount of melanin (an effective sun blocking pigment) in the skin and hair, with hair melanin concentrations in hair fading with increased age, leading to grey or even white hair. Most researchers believe that skin darkening was an adaptation that evolved as a protection against ultraviolet solar radiation, which also helps balancing folate, which is destroyed by ultraviolet radiation, and vitamin D, which requires sunlight to form. Kerbal skin probably has a capacity to darken in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Kerbals tend to be physically weaker than other similarly sized primates.

Diet

• The greenish coloring of kerbal skin may not only be due to environmental or evolutionary factors but, also to massive amounts of green food coloring.

Culture

War

• Similar to human warfare based on limited observation of Kerbal technology. If the kerbals are making a concerted effort to "conquer" space they probably live an a united global community, thus overcoming the need for war.

Material culture and technology

• Limited observation makes this difficult to determine. Kerbal technology and architecture appears to share many similarities with the modernized nations of Earth during the 1970-2000's.