Bioluminescence

Bioluminescence is a way of living organisms to emit light. It is employed by nearly all Pandoran animals. Even the Na'vi have patterns of glowing dots that are unique to each individual. To avoid being detected by predators or pray, animals can damp down their own light. The RDA exploited it as another resource in the form of exotic jewelry and clothing.

Complete darkness is rare on Pandora. The large moon orbits a gas giant planet that in turn orbits a star with a stellar companion. Because of this unusual arrangement, most of Pandora's nights have some illumination; fully dark nights are few and far between. Thus, there was little evolutionary pressure on Pandoran fauna to develop night vision, echolocation, infrared sensors, or other methods of "seeing" in low-light conditions.

Some scientists theorize that nature found another way for Pandoran life forms to locate and identify one another. Bioluminescence, the production of "cold light" by living organisms, is employed by  almost all Pandoran animals and plants to display their shape and location in the absence of external illumination. Even the Na'vi have patterns of glowing dots, which, like fingerprints, are unique to each individual. Anemonoid line the dense forest floors and waterways, providing the most light in the night landscape.

Bioluminescent plants

Most of Pandora's flora and fauna emits only one single color, often green, blue, indigo, or violet. There are exceptions like the Warbonnet Fern. Its leaves are illuminated by a broad band of red near their stems and by an iridescent blue near their tips. On Pandora, there is also a bioluminescent moss that is touch-sensitive. It will send out rings of blue-green light as a reaction to footsteps.

Bioluminescence is an enzymatic reaction that produces so called cold light. This reaction raises the valence electrons in the molecules of an organic compound to an orbit of higher energy. While decaying to its original state the electrons emit photons of visible light. It is a highly efficient reaction as it converts nearly all energy into light.

The reaction can occur within the metabolism of the creature or within symbiotic organisms that live inside of specialized organs, receiving food and oxygen from their host, and producing light in return.

There are several ways in which light production can be controlled:

    * Limiting the availability of the involved chemicals
    * The reaction takes place in an organ that can be moved away from the surface
    * A translucent muscle carries the light from an internal organ to the surface by expansion and contraction
    * Covering of the light producing area with dark pigment cells (melanophores)
A dark membrane that can be drawn over the light producing area

Creatures

Dire Horse

Common Name: Direhorse

Na'vi Name: Pa'li

Taxonomy: Equidirus hoplites or “feared armored horse”

Habitat: Rainforests and grasslands, but adaptable to most Pandoran environments. A grazing  animal that has been domesticated by the Na’vi as a riding animal.

Anatomy: Horse-like creature with six legs, tough skin with no fur, long necks and small head, bold stripes, flexible carbon fiber armor over shoulders and along the back of the neck and head.

Feeding Ecology: Land omnivore that uses long snout to feed on sap. some protein intake through insects trapped in sap. Favored food is direhorse pitcher plant. Effective pollinator.

Size: Over 4.25 meters long, up to four meters in height

Notes: Animal has neural interface that allows Na'vi and direhorse to move together with apparent effortlessness. A highly intelligent, calm creature that, like the Na'vi, can turn fierce in the face of battle.

Anatomy

The Direhorse is a large hexepodal (six limbed) grazing herbivore that shares characteristics of both Terran equine and ruminant animals. They eat vegetation almost exclusively, and possess a complex system of three stomachs, each specializing in the break down of specific types of biomass. Their six legs each end in a powerfully built hoof reinforced with a natural fiber weave much like the animal's skeleton. The reinforcement nearly eliminates the chances of a hoof cracking and splitting.

To fuel the muscles of their six powerful legs, the direhorse's lungs are fed directly by two rows of breathing valves located on the front of the chest, eliminating the rebreathing of air present in a windpipe when routed through the throat and mouth. The multiple valves also drastically increase the volume of air available, giving the animal impressive speed and endurance. The only drawback of this system is a direhorse cannot traverse water any deeper than its legs, as it will drown.

The direhorse has two prehensile neural interfaces that emerge from either side of the animal's skull. These appendages have feathery tips loaded with neurons and remain in constant motion as the animal explores its surroundings. In addition to their function as a link between herd members and their Na'vi riders, the interfaces also seem to possess a sensory function, much like the antennae of Terran insects. Xenobiologists believe that the touch of interfaces is for pleasure and affection, but also a means of transferring information about food sources and potential dangers; herds often move in unison shortly after touching antennae.

The animals are easily startled and can reach ninety-five kilometers per hour. The direhorse is larger by a third than the largest Terran draft horses such as the Clydesdale or the Percheron, and substantially larger than the biggest horse ever recorded on Earth. The Na'vi are excellent riders and the direhorse is a swift, nimble mount that is well-adapted to the rugged Pandoran terrain.

The Direhorse is a land herbivore found throughout most of Pandora's different environs. It is believed that it originated from the grassland regions, where herds of a few dozen to a few hundred animals range over territories of five hundred square kilometers or more. The direhorse's introduction to the planet's tropical regions probably coincided with its domesticated by the Na'vi.

On the plains, an adult direhorse had few natural predators that would risk challenging a herd. However in the jungle, the Thanator and Great Leonopteryx have both been observed isolating lost individuals and bringing them down with relative ease. Even a pack of Viperwolves have a fair chance to predate an adult direhorse cut off from the rest of the herd.

It grazes using its long snout and dexterous giraffe-like tongue, to feed on a wide variety of Pandoran flora, including grasses, ferns, and low lying leaves. In rain-forest environments, direhorses seek out beds of flowers for a quick caloric boost of sweet nectar, making the direhorse an important pollinator.

Many direhorses are tamed to aid their riders in the hunt and in battle. To bond with (or, in human terms, to “break”) a direhorse, a Na'vi must mount the animal and connect their neural queue to the animal's antennae (or neural whip). Once queue and antenna touch, the feathery tendrils automatically intertwine, almost as if possessed of free will. Although the exact motive force remains unknown, it is believed that the antennae may secrete a pheromone that evokes the unique intertwining.

Once intertwined, the Na'vi rider can communicate motor commands instantly through the neural interface. The apparent lack of effort makes it seem as if the direhorse is an extension of the rider's own body. This frees up the Na'vi to use a bow and arrow during a hunt or battle.

Unlike the Mountain Banshee, however, the neural link made between rider and direhorse does not lead to a life-long, exclusive bond between Na'vi and animal; although Na'vi have their favorite mounts, it is possible and permissible to ride another clan member's direhorse. The direhorse is a perfect mount to ride in the obstacle-strewn close quarters of a Pandoran forest; direhorses have excellent reaction times and can leap large distances.

Direhorses are the perfect war-fareing mount for the Na'vi, and played a crucial part in the showdown between Na'vis and humans. Direhorses are an important part of many Clans, such as the Horse Clan of the Plains (known as the Omatipa'li).

more after the Jump...

Banshees

Bonding with a banshee is a dangerous and required rite of passage for all would-be Na'vi warriors. Like the direhorse, a Na'vi can connect to a banshee through a neural interface that allows animal and rider to move with apparent effortlessness through the skies. Unlike the direhorse, however, the banshee will only bond with one Na'vi in its lifetime.

The mountain banshee rookery is high in the Hallelujah Mountains. The largest rookery, which features the biggest specimens (and therefore the best to tame for riding), is in grottoes and outcrops on a sheer cliff face of Mons Veritatis, one of the largest of the floating mountains. It is here that the Na'vi come to select (and be selected by) a banshee for domestication. The bonded mountain banshees nest in the highest branches of Hometree, where they can be close at hand for their Na'vi rider.

more after the Jump

Documentary on Pandora

Ever wish that the Science channel would do a special on Pandora? Well, this is the closest thing to it. This little snippet narrated by Sigorney Weaver gives a 5 minute documentary style run-down of the nature and environment of Pandora. James Cameron calls Pandora a "garden of Eden with teeth and claws." It's a MUST-WATCH. Wish it were an hour long....

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