The Star Trek universe is famous for its imaginative and unique alien species. In the nearly six decades since the first Star Trek show premiered, the creative teams behind each series have developed over 300 species of aliens, each with their own distinct features.
The vast majority of these aliens have appeared onscreen at some point in the franchise’s history. However, there are a few species that have been mentioned, but never shown onscreen. Perhaps the most well-known among that group are the Gallamites. Despite being frequently mentioned in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), fans never got to see a Gallamite until 2024, when Star Trek: Lower Decks revealed their appearance in the episode “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel.” And the revelation was shocking, especially given what’s been said about Gallamites in the past.
Gallamite Anatomy and Culture
The Gallamites’ most prominent feature is their enormous brains, which can clearly be seen through their transparent skulls. Those enormous brains are about twice the size of a human brain, and because of this, Gallamites are extremely smart. Only slightly less noticeable than their transparent skulls are the Gallamites’ teeth. Their mouths are full of large fangs, which are especially apparent when they smile. They have gray skin and lean, powerful bodies.
Since the Gallamites were only ever mentioned in passing, not much is known about their culture. However, they were allied with the Federation during the Dominion War, supplying the fleet with duranium.
Jadzia Dax and Captain Boday
Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax, a Trill science officer serving on Deep Space Nine, had an on-again-off-again relationship with a Gallamite man named Captain Boday. Though she talked about him frequently, she never brought him with her to any social gatherings on the station.
Jadzia never outright said why, but she likely avoided bringing him around her friends on the station because they didn’t like him very much. Her best friend, Kira Nerys, the Bajoran liaison to Deep Space Nine, repeatedly stated that Captain Boday’s transparent skull freaked her out, and she didn’t like being around him. Julian Bashir, the Chief Medical Officer and another friend of Jadzia’s, said he didn’t like Boday because he was cocky and pompous, which is quite a statement coming from Bashir.
When Jadzia started dating Worf, her former relationship with Captain Boday was a frequent topic of conflict between the two of them. When they took a vacation to Risa together and the topic of non-monogamy came up, Worf accused Jadzia of cheating on him with Boday. After Jadzia’s death, Ezri Dax, the new Trill host of the Dax symbiont, went on a few dates with Boday as well. While stranded on a planet in the Goralis system with Worf, Ezri revealed in a moment of anger that Jadzia had, in fact, slept with Captain Boday, though it happened before she met Worf.
Jadzia’s relationship with Captain Boday provided an interesting commentary on interspecies dating in the Star Trek universe. Almost every time Jadzia talked about her relationship with Boday, someone mentioned that his appearance was off-putting. Though Jadzia always commented on how shallow of a perspective this was, no one ever quite took her seriously.
Their comments about Boday’s appearance were always presented as jokes, but they hint at the casual xenophobia that still existed in the Star Trek universe, mostly because it still existed in the minds of its very human writers. It was fine for Kirk to hook up with gorgeous green Orions or Riker to spend an entire weekend in bed with a Ktarian — both species that are very close in appearance to humans. But Jadzia hooking up with an alien with a transparent skull was just too much for people, because he looked too weird compared to human standards.
Finally Seeing the Gallamites in ‘Lower Decks’
Even with the multiple descriptions of Gallamites in DS9, it was hard to imagine what these aliens looked like. In the fifth season of Lower Decks, fans finally got an image to put with the species name. When Lieutenant Junior Grade Bradward Boimler, Commander Ransom, and Chief Engineer Andy Billups arrive at the Risa Bar to gather clues about an admiral who’s gone AWOL with “Vacation Fever,” two Gallamites are at the bar as well. Ransom tells Boimler to ask the Gallamites if they know anything about the AWOL admiral, but Boimler is intimidated by their appearance. He offers to talk to the Kreetassans instead, but that doesn’t go well.
Though the Gallamites were only onscreen for a moment, that moment gave fans a lot to talk about. They appeared far more insectoid or reptilian than humanoid. And for some reason, their speech, which sounded vaguely reptilian, wasn’t translated by the Universal Translators. This is odd, given how often Captain Boday communicated with the crew members on Deep Space Nine.
Now that Gallamites have made a physical appearance in the Star Trek universe, maybe fans will get to see this unique species in one of the upcoming shows on Paramount+’s roster. A live action Gallamite would be quite a sight to see!