Biology
It was learned at the end of Speaker for the Dead that the pequeninos exhibit an extreme case of sexual dimorphism, a form of paedogenesis, and the unique plant/animal symbiosis that characterizes all life on their native planet of Lusitania. Taking this symbiosis to the extreme, pequeninos actually metamorphize from animal to plant. This interesting combination evolved in response to the virus known as the descolada.
It is important to note that the pequeninos have their own language and that the terms used below to describe their social and reproductive structures are thus bastardizations of human terms. Because the human terms (i.e. wife, brother, etc.) pertain specifically to the human reproductive structure, applying them to a different structure, such as that of the pequeninos, strains them somewhat.
Read more about this topic: Pequeninos
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