The Lyssarrians were a species in the Alpha/Beta Quadrant who had attained interstellar travel prior to 2153. The lead government of the Lyssarrians was known as the Lyssarrian Prime Conclave.

On the Lyssarrian homeworld, there was a creature called a Lyssarrian desert larvae. When it was injected with genetic material from another species, it created a mimetic simbiot, or a clone. The Lyssarrian Prime Conclave deemed doing this illegal.

A rogue group who called themselves the Velandran Circle experimented with an enzyme which would slow the aging process of such a genetic clone. As of 2153, it was still experimental. (ENT: "Similitude")