"The Sparrow" (1996) stan blog

Thoracopoda ta'arrikensis* (commonly known as "Chest Talkers" or "Molarrens") is a sapient reptilian species from the planet Ta'arrik, representing a unique example of adaptive radiation among cursorial desert theropods like. The species is characterized by pronounced digitigrade locomotion with powerful hind limbs and a long balancing tail, while the forelimbs are completely reduced to vestigial claws on the sternum. The key evolutionary innovation of the species is a pair of flexible muscular hydrostats originating from the thoracic region, which evolved from the display skin folds of ancestral forms; these structures serve as highly specialized manipulators and the primary organ of communication. Members of the species are functionally deaf, compensating with developed visual perception, sensitivity to ground vibrations, and a complex sign language realized through micro-movements of the thoracic appendages. Social organization is based on visual hierarchy and tactile interaction, with the species' self-designation having no sound equivalent and instead being transmitted through a ritual gesture, making them one of the most biologically and culturally distinctive sapient civilizations in the known region of the galaxy.