The Voth race is the first race the crew of Voyager has met with vastly superior technology. The Voth possess transwarp capable ships that are capable of cloaking. The Voth are humanoids but are cold-blooded unlike mammals. The Voth race shares 47 genetic markers with humans, making them distant relatives of unknown origin. Computer extrapolation done by Captain Janeway and the Doctor place the closest known relative as the Hadrosaur which was believed to have been wiped out in a mass extinction about 65 million years go (Earth history).
First contact with the race was made by Professor Gegen (Voth) and his assitant Vir, when they were detected aboard Voyager. During a brief skirmish Vir was stunned by Lieutenant Tuvok and Commander Chakotay was taken by Gegen to his Voth ship. Subsequently, the Voth city ship approached and transported Voyager to their hold to be used as a lure for Professor Gegen. Gegen was accused of heresy against doctrine, the formal set of laws that the Voth society was built on. Upon hearing that Voyager had been taken hostage by the city ship, Professor Gegen returned to the city ship to answer for the charges against him.
Following "trial" in which Commander Chakotay spoke on Gegen's behalf, Professor Gegen renounced his "Distant Origin Theory", after the First Minister threatened to destroy Voyager. The thory stated that the Voth and humans originated form the same planet, which was in direct contradiction with Doctrine which stated that the Voth race had originated in the Delta Quadrant and not the Alpha Quadrant. The Voth released the Voyager with the understanding that they would not enter Voth territory or they would face destruction.
The Voth possess the ability to shoot darts from an opening in their arms which contains a paralyzing agent. This dart is apparently a self-defense weapon developed by the race. The race also has a defense mechanism that lowers the Voths life reading to almost undetectable levels so that they appear dead.