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Biology Of The Alien/Xenomorph

Gavin

MemberTrilobiteDecember 09, 20117027 Views33 Replies
[img]http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kp3eswjjib1qa1o5zo1_500.jpg[/img] I thought it would be interesting to open up a discussion about the biology of the Alien/Xenomorph - what has been established and what your theories are. Firstly, see them four hose-like appendages on the Aliens back, they have never been explained. Yet i have always assumed them to have two functions... 1. Breathing - essentially four long nostrils on the Aliens back. 2. Heat Venting - a clever way in which to vent body heat, as I have always assumed the Alien has a very high metabolism. What are your theories/salvaged trivia regards these four hose-like appendages.

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Guest
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Not sure but assuming it is a mechanical hint I'd say breathing/exhaust. All pipes on anything mechanical like this mean intake/exhaust. http://www.motorcycle-parts.are-us.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/yamaha-raider-exhaust-pipes.jpg My question is, the face huger doesn't appear bio-mechanical at all. Purely biological. So at what point of being inside a human does a purely biological creature become mechanical?? My only conclusion is to blend into it's surroundings it took the form we know as the Xenomorph. Facehugger http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/p1010015.jpg Some cool production shots of the Xeno... wish you could have seen its almost human skull face better in the movie.... http://www.therpf.com/f9/giger-alien-sculpt-alien-1979-pic-heavy-22623/
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Chesty Laroo
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Exhaust for sure... look at a motorcycle. Anything mechanical really.... My question is, since the facehuggers are, or at least appear, purely biological. Why when they lay a Xeno in a human do they come out looking mechanical?? My only guess is that they blend into their surroundings kind of a thing... not really mechanical but trying to imitate the ship where it hides. Some fun production shots of Xeno, wish you could have seen its face better in the movie. http://www.therpf.com/f9/giger-alien-sculpt-alien-1979-pic-heavy-22623/ Biological hugger http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/p1010015.jpg
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Spartacus
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[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/alienanatomy.jpg[/img]
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Frantz
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Since it was designed by Giger we have to assume its all for reproduction !! The alien hide under soft black coal ... and the careless miner is impregnated when he sit for the well deserved lunch . The problem rise when the miner is over 100kg ...then the alien cant rise and die ...however if the miner is over 150kg the alien explode and all the acid kill both .
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Gavin
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@ Chesty - I view it more as a bio-mechanical exoskeleton, but more towards the bio. @ Sparky - I never, ever liked that coz its all wrong (check front of skull). Funny but wrong. @ Frantz - Sexual connotations yes (Aliens head/chestburster & egg/Facehuggers underside), but not everything about the Alien is sexual. Miners???

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Chesty Laroo
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Well here is something on Earth that explains some of the practicality of our double jaw friend the Xenomorphs. Did you know moray eels have two sets of jaws? http://www.destination-scuba.com/Moray-eel.html
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Gavin
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Yes its called a pharyngeal jaw, Mantis have something similar.

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Spartacus
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it was "made in Japan" to explain the Biology of the thing and I agree completely!
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Gavin
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Okay next, does anyone have any theories regarding the triangular shaped appendage above the four hose-like dorsal appendages?

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ReeceMacoy
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Some interesting theories being tossed out there. I remember giger saying the tubes on the back were to help the alien balance its head. But that could have been a production reason to help the actor playing the alien, not a resonbig for the alien character itself. Also I thought the tubes were to help it make those nasty secretions to help build the environment around it, for example the deleted cocooned scene in alien and the hive in aliens.
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Gavin
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@RM - Secretions, I always assumed the secretions came from their mouths/maws, they are forever drooling.

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ReeceMacoy
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Snorkel I've wondered that myself, it seems like quite an excess of tubes on its backside. But sometimes when things are designed, especially creatures, there's no purpose behind the way it looks. The designer may want to make it as unique and odd looking as possible without thinking of thethe purpose forbehind each body part and appenndage.......that's left to the fanboys lol
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Thadus 12
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He added the appendages to give the alien symmetry.Im sure its in the quadrilogy
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Gavin
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That fifth triangular one at the base of the neck is perplexing as to a possible purpose.

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ReeceMacoy
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Snorkel True true on the drooling, but I think using the mouth would take forever to make those secretions, especially building those hive structures. I guess it will forever remain an unsolved mystery..........where's rober stack
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Gavin
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It could take a while unless they do it on mass. I've always imagined the hive was created like this... A brood of many aliens, regurgitating and excreting the remains of spent hosts, facehuggers and eggs which they have consumed use their hands, furiously constructing chambers, pits and reliefs, concreting together the discarded offal with the secreted resin from the maws as it hardens.

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Tec-B
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Actually what your stating is pretty close to the Darkhorse "Aliens Book 1" description, the bones and material used is often those of the xenomorphs of other hives (they really ran with the ant thing)
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Tec-B
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I remeber there was also an Alien anatomy diagram in the British reprints of american darkhorse comics, there's a box of them from issue 3 to the last one in my attic at my mums place.. not canon, but an interesting thing i remember is that the acid wasn't actually them alien blood, it was an evolved defence mechanism which ran under high pressure between 2 subdermal layers. The backstory was that dissection was achievable through a vat filled with a high alkaline ph solution which has constantly pumped through to avoid concentration getting to high
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Gavin
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I did draw my inspiration from there, but thought about it more specifically - Where are all the remains of used hosts, eggs and facehuggers and possibly other dead aliens and the skins discarded when they mature. All that "cr@p" has to go somewhere. Then, taking into account the creature is described as "the perfect organism" I thought of words associated with perfect, such as efficiency and renewable. From that stand point I think Dark Horse got it half right, so I imagined a way to fill in the other half. That said, whose to say someone else doesn't have a better theory. But the dorsal appendages, I don't think that would work.

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Tec-B
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no no, sorry, wasn't accusing you of plagarism you just jogged my memory was all

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