Tholian

The Tholians are an intelligent, non-humanoid species, often inimical to the Federation.

Their government is known as the Tholian Assembly; in the Alpha Quadrant, this political entity is neighbor to both the and the Klingon Empire.

Of Federation members, Vulcans seem to have had the most encounters with them. In 2268, it is Spock who comments on their reknowned punctuality. 

Physiology
While encounters with individuals of the species are rare, some aspects that are common to the species as a whole are: crystalline external structure, and high body temperature (257 degrees Celsius). ("The Tholian Web"; )

An early encounter with members of the species ("In a Mirror, Darkly") showed some members to be quadrupedal with two arms, while others had eight limbs ( RPG: Aliens). Still other members of the Tholian species were crystalline humanoids ( comic: "").


 * These may be due to caste or gender dimorphism.

Individual Tholian cells are regular polyhedrons that have an electrical charge. ()

Politics
In 2381, after the Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, and the destruction of many worlds and populations, the Tholians joined with other interstellar governments to form the Typhon Pact.