Question about Navi design

[Snowju]

After thinking about the design of the animals on Pandora, I realized many of the species had extra arms/legs. The hyena like hounds had 6 legs, the flying animals all had 2 sets of wings, even the horses had 6 legs. So, I wondered why the Navi don't have 4 arms or 4 legs. Same thing with the position of the nostrils being on their face instead of their chest/neck. Sure we, the viewer, can feel more comfortable with the humanoid that we were presented with, but compared to everything else on the planet, besides their USB hair, they seemed just as alien to the planet as the sky people.

[Toruk Makto]

Interesting observations.

As far as the Na'vi not being hexapods like the rest of the creatures, if you look at the list you gave, all of those animals walk on all... well all sixes. The Na'vi, on the other hand, walk upright. Additional legs aren't necessary. and might even complicate that. Additional arms could potentially throw them off balance since they are already so tall - could make them top heavy.

As far as the nostrils, who knows. Not all of the creatures have them like that.

[Snowju]

Well, like everything else on the planet, the Navi evolved from something and since all that was shown to the audience were animals with similar features (even the swinging monkeys during the first mission) one would assume it is a theme amongst the creatures of Pandora. So, either the Navi have long since evolved from this skeletal system that is common on Pandora, or there is a whole other group of animals that the viewer isn't shown, or Cameron chose a design that didn't appear as alien as the Navi should have appeared. Anyways, just something to think about.

[Toruk]

As JC said in one of his interviews he was talking to his designers he wanted it that if this bone or musxle was here then where would the next one be but then I would come back and tell them its a made up world with a made up language. I'm paraphrasing but that was the jist and sorry no link on a itouch. But somewhere on the forums.

[LiquidBlue]

what i think is the reason for the huminoied figures of the Na'vi, is that this allows us to connect and relate to the charactors more easily, than if they were to have 4 arms and breath off their chests. but also you would have to think that the evolutionary tree on Pandora wouldnt necessarily follow the evolutionary tree that we have here on earth.

Yet the Na'vi are evolved from cats, and the reason why they might not have other animals that have some of the same features are because they died off once the current Na'vi came to be, hence the need for their current evolved state. If you look around now, we don't have any Neanderthals walking around with us, and this is the same reason i would be lead to believe is why don't see any form of evolution for the Na'vi on Pandora.

this is all just my theory/ playing devils advocate/ giving something else to think about.

[Palulukan]

Yeah I remember hearing that JC decided not to make the the Na'vi hexapods because it would be to alien to us. He wanted the audience to relate to the Na'vi and thought it wouldn't be possible if they had six limbs like all the other animals.

[Carborundum]

It seems likely the prolemuris is the evolutionary link between hexapodal creatures and the Na'vi. If you look closely at them, you will see that their arms are actually joined at the elbows rather that the shoulders. Furthermore, they only have two digits per hand, which would explain why the Na'vi have four.

[LiquidBlue]

It seems likely the prolemuris is the evolutionary link between hexapodal creatures and the Na'vi. If you look closely at them, you will see that their arms are actually joined at the elbows rather that the shoulders. Furthermore, they only have two digits per hand, which would explain why the Na'vi have four.

i thought about that. But Grace was the one who named them Prolemurs, so i figured that she called them lemurs because they are more related to the lemurs on earth. Being a lemur i think takes it away from the "cat" family that the Na'vi seem to be from.

[Toruk]

Yes but the Na'vi are also cat like in some aspects so the whole cat theme would then work out.

[Carborundum]

i thought about that. But Grace was the one who named them Prolemurs, so i figured that she called them lemurs because they are more related to the lemurs on earth. Being a lemur i think takes it away from the "cat" family that the Na'vi seem to be from.

They do appear distinctively feline, but we have seen no evidence suggesting even the existence of felines on Pandora, so I think the resemblance could quite possibly be coincidental. The prolemuris' facial structure is not entirely dissimilar from the Na'vi's, so until JC says otherwise I'm gonna go with my theory.

Edit: also note that it has a single(!) queue, attached to the back of its head.
Pic: http://james-camerons-avatar.wikia.c...paceMonkey.jpg