Guess what; I've revised my thoughts. As thinking that I've been way too conservative. These lizard or scorpion folks are seriously big. Now folks, this could be fiction but, thanks to science, biology and of the laws of physics, it isn't fiction, at least there's nothing missing that would preclude the existence of such environment tolerant individuals.
One of many things for certain that I'm not very good at is sketching people, creatures or even plants. I do have AutoCad (mostly 2D) expertise and, within that drafting world I can create and arrange electronic circuitry, engineer and plot out hydraulics, create and accomplish relatively complex mechanical items along with making structural interference checks and insuring that servicability is taken into account (these days there must be laws against "servicability", as most every other product and/or constructed whatever either has absolutely no servicability or, their components were each intentionally made proprietary and at least 20X more costly than need be and, that's only an important issue if you're lucky enough to even having availability to those parts, luckier yet if the original company is still in business).
This page is a call for artistic expertise or just plain old weirdness, as I've been asked upon many occasion, as to how I came to determine the nature of those surviving on Venus, as obviously something survived and, these folks weren't likely humanoid, at least nowhere as pathetically arrogant and stupid as Earth humans (perhaps myself included). So, if you have the gift for whatever seems to artistically work, I'll certainly post your hand/computer crafted image in place of those above critters, as at this point there's absolutely no perceptible boundary as to what evolved and remains as inhabiting Venus. My preferences are leaning towards the guy on the right, with longer legs and arms, bigger (nocturnal) eyes and a good deal of attitude.
Some time ago, I started to visualize or perhaps hallucinate upon just what sort of thermally tuff featured individual would had to have evolve on Venus and, to what extent that evolution would have favored certain traits that would be beneficial for such a nasty and toasty hot planet. I recalled that most of my critics expressed the Venus greenhouse in terms of being at least millions of transitional years old and, some even conceded that the surface once held significant water, pretty much exactly as you and I would know it. So, I was thinking that even a thousand or so years of feeling the onset of anything greenhouse would have expedited the holy smoke of my efforts, as to either adapt, evolve or soon after die on the spot, thus I'm thinking that perhaps this planet may soon become known as the Frankenstein of genetic fabrication, motivated and/or boosted upon the rather obvious notion that you needed to either piss or get off the pot.
Regarding the too hot factor as being the prime concern of my opponents; Obviously the elevated nighttime is not nearly as toasty and, those nighttime clouds are in fact somewhat cooler as well as for being lower in altitude during their extended season of night (possibly even thinner). Being the village idiot genius that I am, I was thinking that of any creature having their nerve ends any where near the surface of their skin would have to be out of the question. In fact, skin nor even reptilian thick hide would not be such a good idea. I'm thinking, if evolution favored upon anything, it would have to become hybrid lizard like if not more fully exoskeletal beetle or scorpion like, as in armor/insulating scales and/or platelets of sufficient micro-cavity formulation as to effectively act like a good thickness of thermal insulation cells between whatever is hot and yourself.
Secondly, I've understood that their darkness as being truly dark (except for the 350 to 450 nm of nighttime spectrum getting through, up to at least 600 nm daytime) and, as such the need for nocturnal vision (along with a little bio-illumination) would certainly have come in darn handy. I've researched to realize that on Earth there are creatures capable of magnitude 5 (100X) night vision as compared to human eyesight and, there's ample numbers of creatures hosting biolumination (many that survive quite nicely at under 1% O2 as well as where it's damn hot).
Putting two, three and four together (tossing in a little LSD for good measure), discounting just about everything I otherwise thought I knew about life and, contemplating upon the size of that suspension bridge, the size of those downtown structures and of those likely rock quarries utilized for much of their township construction, of those relatively massive causeways and, then further reviewing upon the conservative 860,000 metric tonne metro airship seems to cinch the obvious; these folks are seriously big. And do remember, that my size estimates are those being extremely conservative, as my opponents are insisting upon a raw pixel size of 225 meters, of which bigger is certainly better as far as I can figure.
Actually; of any lizard folk of the exoskeletal and nocturnal sorts, through evolution and otherwise damn good motivation might have become more scorpion like, either way we're talking sort of big, as in at least 3 meter if not 5 meters in stature, along with those very large nocturnal eyes having multiple lids.
Because of the atmospheric density, the physiological attribute of hearing might have become somewhat diminished or more of a near surface sensory like membrane, as the atmospheric density (especially nighttime) below those clouds is nearly conducting like an acoustic ocean, where sound waves would carry quite a long distance, as in a liquid ocean, where sound reflects itself off the surface and nearly as efficiently reflects off those thick (highly thermal differential) clouds.
This is the jest or whim of what I would like an artist to develop an image upon:
Average height 3 meters (maximum 5 meters)
Weight (on Venus) 300 kg (maximum 500 kg)
Upright stature (possible short tail or platelet like buttock)
Over-sized elbow and knee scales and/or inter-locking exoskeletal platelets
Feet being of more exoskeletal, as in beetle, scorpion or insect like
Feet and toes including nails/claws of 0.3 to 0.5 meter
Hands offering upwards of a 0.5 meter grasp (1 meter 1/4 grasp)
Nocturnal eyes, roughly twice the size in proportions to human (say 100 mm)
Dual, possibly triple eyelids, one utilized for added heat shield, the other for daytime UV suppression
Head in proportion, relatively smooth, scale/platelet covered and small (non-protruding) ears situated under protective flaps and obviously there's no hair.
Clothing (optional unless ceramic, silica fiber or just good old asbestos, in other words this is a nudist planet, probably Cathars no less)
Self biolumination powering hundreds, perhaps thousands of micro-gap xenon emitters (I call this the Liberace affect)
Lungs (dual or triple chambered with ceramic like membranes for accommodating the biological CO2-->CO/O2 process), though providing 0.1% O2 is more than sufficient.
Sweat glands (absolutely none, as if anything sweats it's attacked by other thirsty lizards)
B.O. (none, except for whatever CO and sulphur flatulence rejections)
Cold blooded with large internal expansion accumulator like functions in order to best deal with the 4+bar/km in atmospheric pressure differentials.
Awake stamina (100 hours, that means we'll need at least 6 human shifts in order to keep up with their pace)
Tolerance towards intruders or even visitors that don't bring along their own H2O (zero)
Smart (you bet, couldn't possibly have survived otherwise), though survival smartness doesn't have to include anything radio
For some Earthly ideas; even though this first critter isn't a lizard, if this isn't originally from Venus, then I don't know what is
http://www.insects.org/entophiles/coleoptera/cole_en008.html
http://www.eyedesignbook.com/ch3/eyech3-f.html
http://whozoo.org/herps/lizards/lizards.htm
http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/nathis/herpetol/molizard/liz2.htm
http://www.a1reptiles.com/redxgold.html
http://www.anapsid.org/mainlizards.html
http://www.anapsid.org/sight.html "Lizard (including geckos) and turtle retinas contain multicolored oil droplets in their photoreceptors, so they can perceive color. The opsin proteins in the cones in the eye are "calibrated" to detect different wavelengths. In many species, this enables them to see into the higher wavelengths beyond the scope of unaided human vision: into the UV range."
Remember, these Venus lizard/scorpion or whatever folk (Cathars perchance) can also be somewhat on the heavy side (a specific negative buoyancy -1.1), as gravity is but 91% and flotation as in any water like substance is not likely to ever become a requirement (of whatever is fluid is most likely of relatively dense petrochemical, or of 100% H2O2 and/or volcanic mudflow like). If these guys should turn out being more horizontal folks, then we can certainly expect their LOA could reach or even exceed 6 meters, although erect seems more Darwin likely than not. They certainly don't require attributes nor skills as for mowing any lawn nor does anyone do the dishes. Venus style sanitation is obviously not a problem and, I really don't foresee the need as to discovering anything towards military like defenses, unless they're having to plan upon dealing with warlord Bush, in which case they'll have to hide all their WMDs or simply make them invisible.
Take my word for it; there's absolutely nothing microbish about any big ass suspension bridge, nor of those highly complex yet nicely symmetrical gathered reservoirs, let alone of that having an aqueduct associated with another distant reservoir that obviously connected and of holding onto something that's most definitely fluid like (otherwise why in the hell bother constructing such a multi-mile long aqueduct). I hope to God that Venus microbes do not need airships, nor tarmacs or those high-rise downtown corridors accommodated by such tangent causeways, forming a multitude of uniformly geometrical and symmetrical infrastructure that's so community like because, if they do, all of Earth's humanity is in some sort of deep horsepucky. And, another word or two worth taking into account is regarding other life, even as we know it, may exist at as little as 0.1% O2, if not even lesser O2 within the pressurized environment offered by Venus. At least Venus has a sufficient cosmic and solar flare radiation shield, as well as a substantial season of nighttime in which to survive the worst that a sun can deliver.
Of all things other, I'm thinking about Venus real estate is being extremely cheap, as long as that's of what's situated below the +5 km line. Above 5 km and as for being anywhere near beneficial geological energy/element resources is worth all the water on your planet (mere saliva is valued at $1,000,000/oz, so that means everyone keeps their damn mouth shut, or else).
OK, so I've hit upon a few too many tender and sensitive nerves along my path of pushing far too many buttons, Islamic and even Pope buttons no less. Well folks, none of this testy effort would have been necessary two and a half years ago, where actually this discovery should have been picked up over 13 years ago, as certainly there's others more qualified at button pushing, in so many fields which I had no intention of ever crossing into. Besides, lo and behold, apparently the powers that be were certainly not about to let their cloak and dagger guards down. Obviously since then (2.5+ years ago) we've all had a tough "dog wagging" time of it, although apparently not nearly as tough as many less fortunate souls of 9/11, flight-800 and perhaps we'll need to go back to at least the USS LIBERTY fiasco, as I believe it's been our (not their) global domination cold-war tit for tats all along (I'm including Hitler because, you allow others to being dominated and suppressed/exterminated if that suits your agenda and, if you don't think so, just as the Pope about all those Cathars, or NASA/NSA/DoD/CIA about all those 6-Day war prisoners and, there's lots more in between).
Nowadays, as another result of our insistent arrogance and blatant need for absolute superiority (global domination), we've gotten ourselves into all sorts of carnage and aftermath to deal with, plus created some entirely new breeds of warlords pitching another round of fits, with the likes of you and myself thoroughly stuck in the middle, as well as our having to pay and pay for the multi-trillion dollar price tag, which might someday amount to nearly 10% of what our previously perpetrated cold-war against the USSR had already cost the world, of which I believe 100 trillion can be attributed to the total losses for all of humanity within just this last half century.
As just an example of our style of arrogance; God forbid, as you wouldn't want to learn another language, discover anything about truthful history and then simply make a few casual phone calls between leaderships, let alone have one another over for brunch and a round of golf or how about bowling. However, if you are the sort insisting upon WMD grudge matches, perhaps that's where "Smack Down" comes into play, where each side places their best village idiots in the ring, then everyone wagers upon the outcome. You do notice that it's only the men doing all this posturing and subsequent fighting, so perhaps this is simply another genetic human male flaw of our testosterone running amuck. Think of it this way; if all of these testosterone mutants were kept occupied in a nudy bar, at least they couldn't be making war.