| Mahars | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | Rhamphorynchus (possibly) | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Pterosaurian | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | High | ||
| Language | Non-Verbal | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Earth | ||
| Habitat | Pellucidar | ||
| Diet | Carnivorous | ||
| Locomotion | Flight | ||
| Status | Data Deficient | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | At the Earth's Core | ||
| Created by | Edgar Rice Burroughs | ||
The Mahars are a sapient race of pterosaurs which lack the ability to hear. They are the supreme rulers of the Earth's inner world of Pellucidar, and known to enslave the native human races of that world. The ape-like Sagoths are their loyal servants, and the non-sapient dragon-like pterosaurs known as Thipdars are domesticated by them, being used as pets and guard animals.
Biology
The Mahars are somewhat similar in appearance to the ancient Rhamphorynchus - although many times larger - and might actually have descended from it. They are great swimmers as well as fliers, and often dive deeply in order to feed on fish and reptiles. For some reason, they consider it a taboo to feed on mammalian meat, but many practice this as an occult ritual, feasting on freshly killed human slaves.
Despite living in a world of perpetual noonday, they have eyes well suited for seeing in darkness. The entire race lacks the ability to hear, or to even comprehend the idea of sound. Instead, they communicate through some strange mean which is just as incomprehensible to humans as sound is to them. Abner Perry has denied that this form of communication should be labelled as telepathy, since it isn't useful over long distances and doesn't allow them to communicate with other species (they have instead developed a gesture-based language to speak with their Sagoth servants). Perry speculates that the Mahars are able to project and detect information over a fourth dimension, using a sixth sense unique to them, and that forms the basis of their language. Although they may not be regarded as telepaths in the traditional sense, they at least have some influence over the human mind, being able to hypnotize victims into a zombie-like state in which they might be consumed without resistance.
The entire Mahar race is female. As they have discovered a formula that allowed them to reproduce without males, this allowed the extermination of their male population.
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