The Shatras are a bipedal, reptilian species hailing from Trascor. They are, on average, slightly taller than most humans, and dispite their relatively gaunt build, are a strong species. Their narrow hands are clawed and their talon-like feet are powerful; their bites are savagely painful. The Shatras' skin is smooth and skin-covered. Only around the joints and down the back do small scales reveal their reptilian heritage. The Shatras has a very long and flexable snake-like neck that possesses amazing dexterity and enables him to rotate his head nearly 720 degrees. The flattened head has four elongated bulbous eyes, two located on each side.
There are five distinct races of Shatras, though only the Shatras or those heavily educated in their physiology can distinguish the differences between them. The races which have the greatest numbers are the Y'tras and the Hy'tras. Of the two, the Y'tras is the most often encountered. The Y'tras travel the space lanes and can be found inhabiting planets in thousands of star systems. They are estimated at approximately 87 percent of the Shatras population.
The second-most common race, which constitutes approximately 10 percent of the Shatras population, is the Hy'tras. They are only found on the large island continent of Klypash on the Shatras homeworld. They are believed to have once been as technologically advanced as the Y'tras, but after the vast race wars amongst the Shatras, they rejected their technological ways and reverted to a simpler lifestyle. The Y'tras agreed to leave them alone in return for all the Hy'tras' wealth. When the Hy'tras submitting to this demand, the Y'tras held up their end of the bargain and have since left them alone. The other three races live on other portions of the planet.
As a species, the Shatras are deeply loyal to one another, regardless of past wars. If ever a Shatras is persecuted by a non-Shatras, his kind - no matter what race - will come to his or her defense. There are no exceptions to this loyalty. | 
