Yunthor_HnC posted...I feel it's important to note that most of the 'gender' listings in NMS seem to be more about the reproduction process of the species in question than the actual physical gender / sex.
Rational: As in 'of a ratio', not a mentality. It means there's more than 2 parents in the mating process, thus not falling into the traditional 'male / female' aspect genders.
Vectorized: Biologically speaking, a 'vector' is a virus that transmits genetic data from one cell to another. That would suggest that 'vectorized' creatures would likely share some form of symboitic relationship with another. In other words, the scanner is picking up 2 life forms in one body.
Asymmetrical: It means that all creatures share the same gender and can perform either aspect of the mating ritual.
Asymptotic: Asymptotic would suggest that the creatures don't directly interact during the mating ritual. Something like the female lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them after the female leaves.
Did I miss any posted here?
That's actually a great explanation more than likely.
I don't think we have examples on earth of Rational, but Asymmetrical may sort of exist among a lot of hermaphroditic creatures like many mollusks, particularly snails and slugs, and maybe some frogs and fish. Asymptotic I suppose could be an example of broadcast spawners, things like most fish that lay eggs before the male fertilizes them and maybe things like scorpions, which DO directly interact in mating but don't use sex organs, the male places a spermatophore and sort of drags the female onto it, or many octopuses which have sex organs on a single arm they remove and give to the female.
I wonder how you would classify lantern fish, whose males grasp onto the females and become absorbed into her before eventually just becoming a set of genitals that fertilize on command for her. That may actually fit Vectorized?