Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-76.29.116.250-20150428003529

The Lilmothiit are said to be vulpine (foxlike) and the Khajiit are catfolk. Now, while this precludes nothing, considering the wacky hijinks of genetics in the Elder Scrolls series, I find it highly unlikely that they are related. Felines and vulpines are not very closely related in real life. The Lilmothiit are also said to have been natives of the Black Swamp, the realm of Argonians. I don't believe that Khajiit could have survived long enough to adapt a new form suitable to the Black Swamp, as many forms of Khajiit born under certain signs of the Lunar Lattice would be highly impractical for living there, such as the Senche-raht. In addition, no ruins of the Lilmothiit, nor any of the few remaining records of their existence, make any mention of the Lunar Lattice or anything that is of importance to the Khajiit, although this could be attributed to lack of resources.

Please note that while this is highly damning evidence, it does not rule out that the Khajiit are descended from the Lilmothiit rather than the other way around, or that they both came from an unknown ancestor. The resemblance of the Lilmothiit to foxes rather than cats could be entirely superficial, something not uncommon in real life. The only thing that would make the scenario of Lilmothiit-to-Khajiit or ancestor-to-Lilmothiit/Khajiit unlikely is that as far as I am aware, there is no record from the Khajiits mentioning either of them. A small support for this theory, however, is that both races end in the suffix 'iit' and that the 'th/j' sound difference is not very great.

I would very much love to hear any and all thoughts on the subject! 