A Progenitor as seen in the ST:TNG episode "The Chase"

The Progenitors were a race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe that were one of the universe's oldest sentient species. They were introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Chase". Image File history File links Progenitor. ... Image File history File links Progenitor. ... The term humanoid refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human. ... Star Trek collectively refers to a science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series (which comprise 726 episodes) and ten feature films, in addition to hundreds of novels, computer and video games, fan stories, and other works of fiction — all of which are set within the same fictional universe created... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... The Chase is the 146th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ...

About 4 billion years ago, the Progenitors explored the Milky Way galaxy, and found none like themselves. Their civilization thrived for ages -- but they knew that one day they would be gone, and nothing of them would survive. To preserve their heritage, their scientists seeded the primordial oceans of many worlds where life was in its infancy, including Earth, the lost homeworld of the Vulcans, Qo'noS, Cardassia Prime, Bajor, Betazed, etc., with encoded DNA fragments. The seed codes directed evolution toward a physical development similar to their own. Because of this, most habitable planets in the galaxy evolved with many physically similar species (e.g. fish, trees, insects), and on many of those worlds with at least one sentient species with a humanoid configuration (bilaterally symmetrical, upright posture, two arms, two legs, brain located in head). The Milky Way (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea, in turn derived from the Greek Galaxia Kuklos; or simply the Galaxy) is a barred spiral galaxy in the Local Group, and has special significance to humanity as the location of the solar system, which is located near the Orion... Earth is the third planet in the Solar system. ... Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic, with no interference from emotion. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, QonoS is the Klingon homeworld, also known as Kronos or Klinzhai. ... Damar of the Cardassian Union, prior to launching a revolution against the Dominion. ... A typical major city on Bajor In the fictional Star Trek universe, Bajor is the homeworld of the Bajorans. ... Betazed is a planet in the fictional television, movie, and book series Star Trek. ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. ... A speculative phylogenetic tree of all living things, based on rRNA gene data, showing the separation of the three domains, bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. ... NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ... The term humanoid refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human. ...

Anatomically, a significant percentage of those lifeforms are outwardly indistinguishable from humans, right down to such minutiae as racial subtypes, hair patterns, fingernails and cartilaginous foldings of the nose and ears. The reason they are so astonishingly similar to the human race is because the human form represents the basic way that evolution most likely takes for the dominant mammalian race on an average Earth-like planet under the influence of the seed codes and the other humanoid races (e.g. Klingons, Cardassians, Vulcans) developed under very specific and usually unique environmental conditions. Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Earth is the third planet in the Solar system. ... Klingons (tlhIngan in the Klingon language) are a race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Damar of the Cardassian Union, prior to launching a revolution against the Dominion. ... Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic, with no interference from emotion. ...

These beings were never referred to as Progenitors in any Star Trek series; it is simply a name commonly used by most of the fans to refer to them. There is some speculation among fans that the Progenitor species evolved into the Changelings that founded the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant. (In response to a question from Odo, the Female Changeling admits that the Changelings had indeed been solids "eons ago." Indeed, the Progenitor seen in "The Chase" resembled a Changeling taking humanoid form, and both the Progenitor and the Female Changeling were portrayed by actress Salome Jens.) Changelings are an alien race from the Star Trek universe. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Dominion is a ruthless and militaristic Gamma Quadrant state, consisting of many different races, with ultimate power held by the xenophobic Changelings. ... In the fictional Star Trek series, the Milky Way Galaxy is divided into four quadrants, which are further subdivided into sectors. ... Odo is a shapeshifter played by Rene Auberjonois on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ... The Female Shapeshifter is a fictional character in the Star Trek: DS9 universe, one of a race of shapeshifting aliens. ... Salome Jens (born May 8, 1935 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an actress best-known for portraying the Female Shapeshifter on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ...

See also

• Panspermia (Exogenesis)
• Preservers