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In typical fantasy novels, the dwarf civilization lives within mountains and is known for mining. But if a race of sentient people really did live largely underground in mountains, what characteristics would they likely evolve?
Let's assume this race is mammalian to narrow things down.
One important question to ask is, at what point did these creatures begin their underground lifestyle? Did they develop tools, lighting, and social structure beforehand, or have they been burrowing since before they were sapient? This may actually result in very different forms, depending on how well they were able to modify their environment to account for their lifestyle.
If they were a group of humans that moved their civilization underground, they might actually wind up shaped not especially different from your typical fantasy dwarf. Small size would allow them to save on time and energy by making smaller tunnels, and a stocky build would make them proportionally stronger, which is helpful for digging through rock. If they had artificial lighting already, they might develop better night vision and more sensitive eyesight to allow them to see better with the sparse lighting they have available. They probably would not experience the more extreme types of evolution, since they would be able to modify their environment through technology. The way their culture evolves, however, would be interesting to think about.
If they started out as underground creatures, however, they might wind up with very, very different shapes. If they lived deep underground, with no access to any light at all, they would probably lose their eyesight altogether - unless they went the opposite way, and developed bio-luminescence instead, possibly by forming a symbiotic relationship with an existing bioluminescent organism. They would probably not remain bipedal for very long, as burrowing animals typically use either their front legs or teeth to dig, and without tools the benefit of standing upright would quickly be lost in a subterranean environment. As is the case with ferrets, weasels, and burrowing lizards, they would probably end up with long, flexible bodies and stubby limbs adapted to burrowing rather than grasping. It is difficult to imagine how such creatures could develop civilization in the same manner as humans, although they may discover fire through sulfurs and pyrites. A race of intelligent mole-like creatures who developed chemistry before they learned to make tools would be very interesting to explore!
Some adaptations that could apply in either case could include thicker skulls (which could protect them from falling rocks), slower metabolism (to account for lower access to food and oxygen), and thicker, more durable fingers. Their ears may experience some very interesting adaptations; on the one hand large ears are vulnerable to damage, on the other hand good hearing is helpful in low-light environments, and they may well develop some kind of sonar ability. They may also lose color vision, which is unreliable without a great deal of light, and would probably lose most of their skin coloration within a few generations, which would both help them perceive each other better and would be less of a problem in a world without sun. If they used fire, an ability to detect explosive gases instinctively, whether through smell or sound, would be very helpful. Hair is a toss-up; on the one hand body hair can become full of dirt and dust which may make clean living in underground areas a problem, on the other hand thick body hair can offer an extra layer of protection from scrapes and bruises, and long whiskers can even double up as a sensory organ as it does in the case of cats and rodents.
It's pretty dark deep down in the mountains.[citation needed] So I decided to read about moles.
Moles . . .
References: Wikipedia, BBC, Wildscreen Arkive.
I would bet that dwarves would have some of these qualities. They might . . .
They might lose pigmentation, too.
They might have an ability to interpret passive sonar: The banging of mining would echo and reverberate, giving them a sense of the details of the passegeways and siesmic tomography of the solid rock.
Is the humidity high? It might depend on the mine. They might have trouble keeping cool, especially with activity, so maybe have low body temperature and depend on it, and find open space uncomfortable, and need physical activity to regulate their body temperature when awake. That would feed back to their work ethic.
Assuming they need some light to work, torches are problematic. Lanterns developed that run on minerals (limelight) or bioluminescence or semi-magical glowrocks.
They might be mistaken for vampires. I got an image like Nosferatu
Creatures that live underground also change in other ways.
Your Dwarves might develop sensory hairs and whiskers to augment their sense of touch and ability to sense the size and shape of the enclosure they are in. Since they are in small enclosures, they may have devolved things like collarbones, to make them more flexible and able to move through tight passageways.
Many burrowing animals have long, flexible bodies. Ferrets are a good example of this, so your Dwarves might have very odd proportions. Since they are digging in a pre mechanized age (and have been for generations), they might also have developed a body plan and musculature similar to badgers, to assist in digging. So long bodies and short, powerful limbs for digging.
Most of their body openings will also need to be protected from abrasion and the accidental ingress of dirt, so look at biology to see the wide variety of flaps, covers and protective membranes that creatures have evolved for the underground lifestyle. Your Dwarves will probably have a few of these adaptions as well.
Humans and sentient creatures from above ground might actually find Dwarves horrifying or repellent to look at or be around if the Dwarves have evolved in these ways for an underground existence.
A great question with a lot of alternate answers. There are no permanently tunneling large mammals on earth. This is mainly due to food supply, the energy it takes to burrow, and the amount of oxygen available underground (even with the moles ability to recycle a small amount of oxygen they still have to surface to stay alive). So unless the subterranean food chain of the fantasy world was more complex (contained larger species to be hunted by the dwarves) the dwarves would either have to be semi reliant on above ground foraging/farming, or have evolved unlike other species on earth. Alternately they may have discovered methods for farming underground flora and fauna.
They live underground, where by definition there is not much light, so look to animals like moles and badgers who live underground for evolution.
Both have:
Dwarves are typically a mining species, so they would also need to be strong enough to
You may also want to consider that if they use pickaxes so much, they might end up with one integrated into their body. If not a pickaxe itself then certainly something that makes them able to dig without the aid of a tool.
