Sapients

Artwork by Mnidjm

Sapients are species which have achieved intelligence and sophistication potential on par with a human. Though high intelligence has evolved a number of times on Sagan 4, only a small handful of species were allowed to develop sapience.

Sapients can only be evolved by moderators or certain contest winners, and they can only make one. It is required that if they evolve, they must go extinct immediately, usually by way of mass extinction event.

Sapient Species

Size comparison

Nomad

This section covers the sapients which have already evolved and the meta surrounding them.

Nomad

The Nomad was Sagan 4's first official sapient species, created by Somarinoa in alpha:Generation 100. It is a type of Carpozoan derived from the Roamer lineage. Notably, it appears as though Somarinoa misinterpreted the ancestor as a plent when creating it, as it has a vocal organ where a butt nostril would be located and inexplicably produces sperm from its trunk. It was created for a sapient contest, where it competed against two other entries: the Firestarter, a type of gulper created by Hydromancerx which is sometimes regarded as a prototype of the Sagon, and some type of phant, of which all information is lost.

The sapient contest which resulted in the Nomad was made as a result of members attempting to evolve sapient species. Though most information on pre-Nomad sapient attempts is lost, two attempts by Bonosaber are known.

Sagon

Sagon

The Sagon is a sapient gulper created by Hydromancerx. It was the subject of a failed "tribal game" before it was submitted in alpha:Generation 139. Notably, a sister lineage to it, the Cottoncoat and its descendants, are still extant.

Although the Sagon died of catastrophic habitat loss due to the snowball event, its description notably describes it being outcompeted by its tundra-adapted relatives instead.

Tripodician

Tripodician

The Tripodician is Sagan 4's third and latest official sapient species, created by Nergali in alpha:Generation 144. It is a type of land swarmer, more specifically a triwalker. Unlike with the other sapients, which were created by their creators' own accord, Hydromancerx asked Nergali to create the Tripodician to replace the intelligent but non-sapient Tripodian and Pygmypodian so that they would not be misinterpreted and evolved into sapients later. A non-submitted species similar to the Tripodician but with clothes was also created and submitted by Hydromancerx in case Nergali failed to submit his on time, but it was retracted when the Tripodician was submitted.

Notably, it is implied in the Tripodician's description by their religion that individuals were abducted by the Nauceans, the alien beings which watch over Sagan 4. Because of this, it's possible (but not confirmed) that descendants of Tripodicians could be alive to this day either on another world or integrated into Naucean society.

The Tripodician is notably the only sapient to have had a significant impact on other species, through the domesticated Genteel Tuskent. It is also the only sapient to leave a mark that remained after its extinction, as its domesticated pets actually survived the mass extinction event that followed and their descendants are still extant to this day.

Known Failed or Rejected Sapients

The Firestarter, a non-canon sapient created by Hydromancerx

There are a few known noncanon sapients which were either rejected or lost contests. Note that species will only be included here if they are of historical significance, were entered into an official contest, or are of especially high quality; random low-quality sapient submissions in the present timeframe will not be added to this list.

• Smart Plesioraptor, a descendant of Hiding Plesioraptor created by non-member Dinodude as his first submission. It was soon edited to be less smart before finally being rejected anyway.
• Azelangur, a sapient descendant of azelemur created by Changeling, then known as Bonosaber.
• Chimpus, a sapient shrew also created by Changeling. It was meant to be a descendant of another species which never came to be, the volcanis, which in turn was a descendant of the lemupus. It is the only failed sapient with both its art and description intact, and it has gained infamy for its use of "minecraft weapons" (though it actually predates the existence of Minecraft) and the fact that its religion is not only based on a real religion, but Christianity specifically.
• Firestarter, sometimes considered a proto-Sagon, a descendant of the tasertongue which was created by Hydromancerx for the sapient contest.
• An unknown phant submitted for the sapient contest, which is now lost.
• An unknown teuthopin relative submitted for the sapient contest, which is now lost.
• A hybrid descendant of the Tripodian and Pygmypodian which is similar to the canon sapient Tripodician, but with clothes. It was created by Hydromancerx as a backup plan if Nergali didn't submit the Tripodician.

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  Azelangur

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  Firestarter

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  Alternate tripodician

Intelligent Non-Sapient Species and Lineages

A number of lineages have developed relatively high intelligence, including self-awareness and tool use, without becoming sapient. Some of them would give rise to sapient descendants, while others would not.

• The alpha:Cantro and its descendants were created with intent to produce a sapient, and as such they have ape-like intelligence. The alpha:Lemupus in particular is comparable to the Terran Australopithecus.
• The alpha:Tripodian line, which would also produce the sapient alpha:Tripodician, had high bird-like intelligence comparable to Terran corvids.
• Non-Sagon tasertongues are probably very smart. The alpha:Boomcracker makes use of tools in the form of clubs.
• Most modern bandersnatches are capable of tool use, such as in the alpha:Dualist Bandersnatch.
• alpha:Shrogs are self-aware tool users which can be compared very loosely to beavers.
• The alpha:Pirate Waxface and its descendants are also tool users.
• alpha:Shepherd Harnessback, true to its name, notably protects herds of livestock.