How is the game affected by the species you choose?

At the beginning of the game, you are nothing but an amorphous cloud of nanobots. You must interface with a crewmember and take over their body to venture out into the world. There are 9 crewmembers to choose from, from 3 different species.

Combat appears to be the same across the races; the Dropbulge doesn't have any advantage over the Palsink that I can see, they both start at level 0.

However, I did come across another Palsink who said he was 'glad to see another member of the species', and gave me something (I forget what, exactly). Are there some items you can only get as a certain species? Is it possible to get all ship parts as any species?