The Lamia (ラミア族 Ramia-zoku?) are a reptilian liminal race with the upper body of a beautiful human woman, pointy ears and the tail of a snake that starts around the hips. A mono-sexed (female) demi-human race, Lamias are predatory carnivores that form tribal villages on the outskirts of desert oases, their serpentine tails are powerful enough to bend steel.
Culture[]
Lamia and subspecies.
Lamia are an extremly amorous and sexually deviant race. Believed to be deadly towards humans, Lamia are reputed to lure men back to their lairs and kill them after they've had their way with them. However, this is only partially true, as due to being a female-only race, Lamias would lure human men to their villages and hold them as 'Communal Husbands'. If the male is resistant, Lamia will use alchemical compounds such as incense to draw out their lust and force themselves upon them. Usually all the eligible members of the village would get involved, resulting in public mass orgies in the village streets as the lamia sexually arouse the man and each other. Following the initial orgy, the male has a choice to voluntarily stay or leave. According to Miia's mother the men usually choose to stay, due to the beauty and sexual skills of the lamias. It may also have helped that, at least in the example shown, the men are lured in with promises of a harem of beautiful women to mate with, thus they come quite willing for what is about to happen and only have to get past the reveal that the women are powerful snake liminals.
Lamia wedding between the Village Head and the Village Husband
Since the Cultural Exchange Between Species Bill, government agencies have put a stop to the Lamia practice of kidnapping and keeping 'communal husbands' against their will (due to being a federal offense). While this fortunately put an end to the abductions (and sexual assault) of human men, the results were not so positive for the Lamia, who need human men to reproduce. Because of this, the Lamia birth rate at risk of declining due to how the remaining men in their villages are spread so thinly across so many Lamia and now their means of gaining new men is no longer viable. In an attempt to compensate for this, Lamia villages have taken to sending "representatives" via the exchange program for the purpose of acquiring more communal husbands for their villages (though upon experiencing the outside world many of these representatives have ended up seeking to keep the men they get to themselves or share them with only a few friends).
According to Miia's mother, lamia are very skilled poison users and chemists which she backs when she reveals the tea she brought had been spiked with weak neurotoxin. She later used a special incense that acted as an aphrodisiac on Kimihito, though it proved ineffective, as this incense only sexually arouses men who hate Lamia.
Physiological Attributes[]
- Poikilotherms: Lamia are Poikilotherms, organisms that do not have a stable internal temperature and must rely on external sources to maintain a healthy body temperature. As such, they are extremely vulnerable to cold temperatures and will either fall into hibernation and/or die if left exposed to low temperatures for too long.
- Tail tip: The tip of a lamia's tail is an extremely sensitive erogenous zone.
- Lamias posses a sensory organ similar to pitvipers that allows them to see heat signatures. With it, they can follow the heat signature of their prey even in the dark.
- Toned Waist: As lamias twist their waists when they slither, they have a firm look even after dropping kids.
- Taste buds: As carnivores, lamia have twenty times less the number of taste buds as omnivores (e.g. humans), while omnivores generally have half as many taste buds as herbivores (e.g. Centaurs).
- Lamia will shed their skin once in awhile, just like regular snakes. Interestingly, Lamias find being seen skin shedding to be more embarrassing than being seen naked, much like most snakes finding some place private to shed, and will lash out if someone attempts to handle them, though that's mainly because when snake shed, their eyesight becomes temporarily compromised.
- Lamias have a special food preference for eggs, which can be in reference to snakes that evolved an egg-specific diet.
- Tongue: As an evolutionary fall-back to their snake-origins, a Lamia's tongue is very long in length and has a naturally "forked" tip. Like a snake, the roof of a Lamia's mouth possesses the Jacobson's organ, a sensory organ that allows a Lamia to detect smells in the air in ways their nose cannot.
- This tongue is also prehensile to a degree, just like a human's; and like snakes, Lamia may stick out their tongues as a result of delicious smells in the air.
- Melusines seem to really enjoy using their tongues during sex to lick their lovers; seemingly to enjoy the tastes and scents of their lovers' bodies as they breed with them. The scent and taste of an aroused man or woman possibly also acts as an aphrodisiac for the Melusine to arouse them further and increase the sexual experience.
- Some sexual subjects that are considered taboo and deviant in some human cultures (such as public sex, polygamy, incest and underage sex) are accepted and actively practiced in Lamia culture. As such Lamia can be openly erogenous and interested in sex from ages as young as adolescence. This is possibly due to the fact that if a Lamia desired to be impregnated they would have to immediately seize any opportunity they had once a male became available; regardless of whether the male was in public, already engaged in sex with someone else, was their father or currently copulating with their mother or sisters, or the Lamia herself was not yet of "adult age". Albeit, the fact that the communal husband of Miia's village only has sex with the older generations of Lamia there suggests they are willing to accommodate their men if they object to sex with what could be their daughters.
- It is shown in Chapter 60 that many Lamia are instinctively bisexual as in addition to pursuing heterosexual relationships with males, Lamia will also willingly and enthusiastically engage in homosexual sexual activity with each other and other women from outside their species when they are aroused enough. That said, most seem to hold a strong preference for men, a common complaint of their societies is there not being enough men to go around resulting in a lot of sexual frustration. Using each other as an outlet for their lust seems to be primarily done in the midst of orgies during portions of the orgy when the available men are not accessible due to servicing other Lamia.
- High alcohol tolerance: Lamia have a much higher alcohol tolerance than humans, to the point where Miia can drink several glasses of tequilla without getting drunk (as revealed in Monster Musume: Monster Girls on the Job!).
- A Lamia's hair and scale colour seem to correspond to each other (green scales with green hair, pink scales with pink hair, etc). Despite the wide colour varieties across the species as a whole, there are standard colour sets amongst the entire race; Standard Lamia have 4 common scale and hair colours, that being red, green, yellowish orange and pink, while those of the Echidna, Gorgon and Melusine subspecies are predominantly orangish brown, green, and purple, respectively, though across all species some individuals have more distinct scale and hair colours.
- Venom: Some Lamia subspecies, like Sea Serpents, Medusae and Echidnas, have a venom gland in their mouths, anatomically identical to many snake species, which (in most cases) has a paralytic effect.
Subspecies[]
Echidna[]
Echidna
Echidnas (エキドナ, Ekidona) are a subspecies of Lamia. Because more of their bodies are covered by scales compared to other Lamias, echidnas more closely resemble Lizardfolk. Their name means "viper women" (in Greek mythology), and true to their name, they possess venomous fangs inside their mouths. Their venom is a type of proteases (meaning that it breaks down blood vessels, not paralytic) and must be treated with caution. Their snake-like lower bodies are covered in a unique pattern reminiscent of vipers.
Developing a culture that focuses on strength, the Echidna are brutish and aggressively blunt in interactions. While they value exuding a strong and intimidating appearance, they secretly harbor feminine desires and pleasures—loving cute accessories. "Shojo-tastic" with a weakness for romantic comedies, the Echidna love cute pendants and knick-knacks, becoming greatly pleased and surprised if a human male states that he considers them cute. Even their preference for very strong men is based on how they love the feeling of being embraced by such men, rather than a preference for strength itself. An Echidna's facial tattoos are given to them when they come of age. While they insist that they are real tattoos, in actuality, the “tattoos” are washable paint markings the Echidna apply as part of their morning makeup routines. Their traditional clothes appear to be skimpy black cloth which tightly wraps around their bodies that range from two-piece to strips of cloths that give them a masochistic look.
Medusa[]
Medusa
Medusae (メデューサ, Medyūsa), also known as Gorgons (ゴーゴン, Gōgon), are a subspecies of Lamia with hair divided into bunches that resemble snakes. Their gaze is said to turn creatures into stone, but in reality they possess no such ability. However, their gaze does seem to be very keen, and their glare makes living creatures unable to move, as though they indeed have been turned to stone. This is not due to any malicious intention on their part, however, but was initially said (in their introduction as a race during the end card of an anime episode) to simply be due to the fact that they have poor eyesight (they only appear to be glaring as they are trying to see more clearly). Due to this most Medusae wear glasses. In the manga proper it's explained Medusa do not actually suffer generally poor eyesight, rather Medusae wear glasses even when their eyesight is perfect as they believe adorning eyewear will help soften their "piercing visage". Medusae fangs do secrete a mild neurotoxin that will temporarily paralyse those they bite, the venom primarily being used on men to enhance sexual experiences, and distorted tales of this venom may also be a source of the "turn people to stone" myths. While their hair looks like live snakes growing out of their heads, a Medusae's "hair" is actually a mass of tentacle-like appendages that have no bones, organs, brains or capacity for pain. If one was to cut the "heads" off of one of these "snakes", the "snake" would grow back, but since it looks painful to observers, Medusae rarely cut their "hair". Due to the shape and size of these "snakes", Medusae are tragically troubled by the fact that they can't change their hairstyle.
Their culture is based on the value of knowledge, intellect and monetary value; although physical ability is a factor, they value an individual's intelligence and economic ability more highly over their physical appearance. However, the species also harbor a hidden romantic streak; favouring reading/writing poetry and sharing diary entries with their intended lovers. As professional and stoic by nature as they may be, they also still share the intense sex drives common to Lamia, and will readily show it off if the value of their husband as a mate is questioned. Their traditional clothes are business attires with headscarves.
Melusine[]
Melusine
Melusines (メリュジーヌ, Meryujīnu) are a Lamia subspecies with dragon wings on their backs. Due to this, they share characteristics with Dragonewts. Excellent swimmers, in contrast to other Lamia subspecies, who share traits with terrestrial snakes, Melusines are more similar to sea snakes and prefer to live by the shore near oceans, lakes or rivers, as the sole aquatic lamia species. A Melusine's wings are not strong enough to lift their bodies into the air and are used to aid in swimming instead of flight.
As a culture they place high value on pleasure and sensuality and have earned a reputation as having the highest libidos amongst the Lamia subspecies. Their unrepentant pursuit and knowledge of sexuality and their unabashed interest and desire in all forms and functions of sex is infamous even amongst the already sexually-free Lamia species. Their traditional clothes are skimpy camisoles.
Ena, Gina and Lucine are Melusine.
Sea Serpent[]
Sea Serpent
The Sea Serpent is a reptilian liminal race with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a sea snake.
A subspecies of the Lamia, Sea Serpents were a type of "Sea Monster" that first appeared in ancient Norse mythology, but have since appeared in one form or another in the myths of virtually every existing culture that has had interactions with the sea. This is due to the fact that, while an aquatic species, Sea Serpents are air breathers and do not possesses gills like Mermaids. As a result they must surface regularly to breathe which has resulted them being sighted by numerous seafaring vessels throughout the centuries.
Sea is a Sea Serpent.
Jormungand[]
Jormungand
The Jormungand (or Midgardsormr) is an aquatic Lamia subspecies that appears prominently in Norse-Germanic Mythology. Jormungand have the longest bodies of Lamia race as a whole, with a single line of osteoderms along their spines.
Said to be born from the giantess Angrboda and the trickster god Loki. The god Odin took Loki's three children (Fenrir, Hel, and Jormungandr) and tossed Jormungandr into the great ocean that encircled Midgard. In the depths, Jormungandr grew to gargantuan size and became embroiled in a rivalry with the god Thor. On Ragnarok (the final battle at the end of the world), Thor and Jormungandr are destined to kill each other.
Iormu is a Jormungand.
Members[]
In the Manga[]
- Miia (Lamia)
- Miia's Mother (Lamia)
- Miia's Friends (Lamia)
- Miia's Tribe (Lamia)
- Echidna Tribe
- Medusa Tribe
- Melusine Tribe
In the Game[]
- Ena (Melusine)
- Gina (Melusine)
- Lucine (Melusine)
- Media (Medusa)
- Shiana (Medusa)
- Sea (Sea Serpent)
- Iormu (Jormungand)
Gallery[]
Lamia[]
Echidnas[]
Melusine[]
Medusae[]
Other[]
Trivia[]
- The Lamia race consists of only females, thus in order to breed, they must mate with human men.
- Lamia mating can take around 6-10 hours on average. Due to this, a Lamia's partner seldom has the stamina to keep up with them. If a man lingers or hesitates once sexual intercourse is finished, he is considered engaged to that Lamia.
- The first of The Eight Brothers is dating a Lamia.
- As Miia reveals in Chapter 19, Lamia and Lizardfolk are closely related, although the Lamia subspecies of the Echidnas are apparently more closely related to Lizardfolks than other Lamia.
- This statement is probably based on the fact that snakes (Serpentes) and lizards (Lacertilia) form the suborders of scaled reptiles (Squamata) in zoological systematics, and are therefore more closely related to each other than to other reptile genera.
- The Lamia, much like the Arachne, are inspired by Greek mythology via a godly-cursed individual. Lamia was the queen of Libya who was also a mistress of Zeus. This automatically earned her the ire of Hera, Zeus' wife, who killed Lamia's children and then transformed her into a child-eating demon. Her name is supposedly derived from the Greek word for "gullet" (λαιμός, laimos), which is a reference to her habit of eating children. The depiction of Lamia with a snake's tail is from a 1819 poem by English poet John Keats and has since become the common depiction of Lamia in other forms of media, though the imagery often clashes with the Gorgons, hence why they (Gorgon) are considered in Monster Musume as a lamia subspecies.
- It's revealed in Chapter 27 that Lamia tribes used to kidnap and trick human men into becoming communal husbands for the entire tribe. After this practice was ended, Miia was entered into the Exchange Program in order to find a new husband for her tribe (it's later revealed her tribe still has a communal husband but he only mates with the older generations of lamia, leaving the rest in need of husbands), until she fell for Kurusu and wanted him for herself.
- It's also revealed that other tribes have sent their daughters for the same reason.
- Their original tradition likens Lamia to Common garter snakes, although it's more of the opposite. While some male garter snakes lure other males away from the females so that they can mate with as many females he can, Lamia on the other hand, lure human men into their homes so that much of the tribe can mate with him and maintain their numbers.
- This implies that many Lamia tribes are made up of just a few biological families, consisting of mothers, daughters, half-sisters and likely aunts as well. It's noted that ideally lamias would have more men and thus more biological families, but that after the Interspecies Exchange Laws came into effect it became not unheard of for tribes to have only one man per hundred lamia (the medusa trying at one point to sell a new strategy for acquiring men that would improve the ratio to one man per five lamia, presumably an ideal for them).
- A Lamia's undergarments consist of a silicon decorative triangle that they place over their genitals to serve in the aspect as panties.
- Some can interpret a nightmare Miia had as evidence lamias sometimes kill their men through exhaustion during sex. However, no actual mention of this is ever made (even in the nightmare Kimihito was not killed, just drained comedically, and this was just a dream). For instance the lamia tribes were threatened with charges of kidnapping, not murder.
- They are about 7m long, between Yurlunggur and Gigantophis in length.
- A short story in Monster Musume I ♥ Monster Girls Volume 3 alludes that Lamia are capable of unhinging their jaw to swallow prey whole like typical snakes. Miia states that Lamia sometimes also "vore" their lovers whole if they want to keep them to themselves or if "they are so cute they could eat them up". However This could also be seen as a simple blowjob joke, or a more low-key "I want to just eat you up" affectionate threat. Plus the nature of the spinoff may render this story entirely non-canon.
- The Melusine subspecies is modelled after Melusine which might explain why they are the only ones with wings, although sometimes she is portrayed as a mermaid and without any wings.
- They are also the only lamia subspecies with an extra pair of limbs due to this.
- Despite their snake-like biology, Lamias do not consider themselves as snakes and thus have no problem eating snake meat as revealed in Chapter 60, or purchasing items made of snakeskin as revealed in Monster Musume: Monster Girls on the Job!, as Miia gave Kimihito a wallet made of snakeskin.
- In chapter 60, Miia reveals that the standard Lamia have the highest population of any Serpentine Liminals, to the point that at the time of the Extraspecies Exchange Program vote, the total population number of Echidnas, Melusines and Medusae combined was less than the number of the Lamia.
- Unlike other tribe members, the Medusae are the only ones who aren't scantily clad in their traditional attire.