The Tellarites were a sturdy humanoid species with distinguished snouts from the class M planet Tellar Prime, located not far from the Sol system. In 2161, they became one of the founding races of the United Federation of Planets.
Tellarites were known to be an impatient people with "stubborn pride". They had a propensity toward strong emotion. However, they enjoyed a good argument, which was even considered a sport on Tellar. Tellarites often began an interaction with a series of complaints; this was how they started arguments with someone they had recently met. If they had nothing to complain about, they simply insulted the person. Because of their passion for arguing, Tellarites made excellent politicians. Tellarites considered canines to be something of a delicacy. They sometimes took mud baths and found Human room temperature to be cold.
In November of 2154, a Tellarite delegation, lead by Ambassador Gral, was being transported to the planetoid Babel by Enterprise to resolve a long-standing trade dispute with the Andorians. The original conference agenda covered only trade regulations for the sector. A subsequent Romulan plot to destabilize the region had the opposite effect and created a temporary alliance among the Andorians, Vulcans, Humans, and Tellarites. The proceeding conference later helped bring peace to the strained Tellarite-Andorian relations.