Resurrection Observation

I think I read somewhere they are used to secret some resin to build the nest.

Don't know what Giger thought of it.

BigDave might know better.

If the tubes were for breathing, all the xenos should have them, but it's not the case.

@daliens

That is probably the best scene in the entire film.

The tubes could be many things. They may be used to filter things out to make many different conditions breathable. They may be for communications, sending out signals to sense things further out in the environment. They could be also being used to make food for the alien. This is a Bio-Mechanical machine and it most likely can convert light into energy like a plant but faster and more efficent.

The tubes could also store liquids to drink or chill the air to provide condensation to get water and then break the bonds of water into hydrogen to make energy from the hydrogen.

The tubes could be used to excrete poisons convert it. It may be how the Alien goes to the bathroom....but when it does it processes so many different things that has to eliminate them through different tubes rapidly...chemistry produces reactions that happen fast but they might be able to use that energy in the reaction to convert materials in the environment into the hives we see them secrete.

The tubes could make many different chemicals from other things collected in the environment. 

The tubes could also be some type of storage for power.

The tubes could also be for some other type of field that gets controlled through them...I see these Xenos scale walls and crawl on the ceiling upside down....the tubes may affect gravity some how making the Xeno very light weight but then when it attacks it has a lot of weight.....

You come up with some ideas now too!

my first thought was when I saw these tubes, they were chimneys for discharging by-products of metabolism, metabolism of the nuclear reactor. the creation seemed to have some sort of energy production system. the stranger from Prometheus had fewer cables on his body. in the original alien he already had a biomechanical body as if David had further modified it or somehow connected himself to this creature and then he could have been able to survive in space and the poisonous environment and became a perfect being able to survive in all conditions. Ash said "His perfection in construction matches his innate savage"  or something like that

The tubes are a bimechanical air jetpack. Xeno draws air in them. Then it pumps internal pressure and warms up. After all shoots out of them with compressed air at high speed. This allows xeno to make giant leaps and move quickly.

If xeno picks up air in advance, and then finds itself in a vacuum in space, it will be able to maneuver, releasing air in portions.

In my opinion the dorsal tubes have no physiological function, they just add some weight to the skinny silhouette, make it look more impressive, like the crown for a king.

We try sooooo hard to give you people good ideas and then....we get this back!

Maybe they are giant blenders where they make margaritas for a big dance party!!!! 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NEaWfRxyd4

Or hidden liquor tubes!!!!

!Special Bonus!

PLAY THESE SONGS - WARNING EXTREMELY ADDICTING MUSIC PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IaTNhUcXY0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NArhMqWkhDU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6S4jV77q7M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXLXervt954

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii-8I1vtSm8

They emit that Elephant sound from Aliens. Trunks like an Elephant. 

Yeah that must be it! You solved it! EUREKA!

We must a have a failure in communication here.

Well i think its STILL one of the Mysteries with the Xenomorph.  There are some Interesting Explanations on here and some FAR OUT wild ones lol

But at the END of the Day they are just Carried over from the HR Giger Necronom 4 Art and so maybe ONLY he had the Real Purpose and this could merely be to look Aesthetically Alien and Different with NO Purpose.

If we are trying to Logically come up with a Reason for them, we have to maybe consider what would Conflict what we think about them.

Do they release Pheromones, Particles that Effect the Environment?  Do they regulate Temperature, do they play a Role in the Xenomorphs Metabolism or Digestive System (Xenomorph Fart Flutes) who knows!

I think we have to look at WHO/WHAT does-not have them...

The Queen lacks them so Unless the Queen is much Different from a Biological Standpoint then for each Reason we can think of for them we have to look at the Queen.. Breathing Pipes?  Then WHY does the Queen not have them etc.

Then you have to look at WHY the Runner in Alien 3 does-not have them? Although it was Intended to have them but then Fincher at Shooting said NAH! leave them OFF.

When looking at the Movies then i think the Most Logical Explanations is they have something to do with the Cocooning/Hive Wall Construction.   But if you IGNORE the Deleted Scene in ALIEN we cant tell if the Drone can encase a Host in that Residue etc.

The Queen does-not have them because its the JOB of the None Queens to establish the Hive.

The ONLY Problem with this is SHOULD the Runner had NOT also had the Dorsal Pipes?  It was Intended but we have to look at WHAT we got.

So THEN we have to maybe look at it being something that is in Relation to the Human or Humanoid Genome.

Biologically there is NOT a lot of Difference between Land Mammals...  Bone Structure is somewhat different, we lack a Full Tail, Intelligence wise we are Superior, our Hands and Feet are different to Paws... but NONE of these should explain WHY the Dorsal Tubes are NOT on the Runner.

So then we are MAYBE left with ONLY a single Answer.

They are a Engineered/Encoded Mutation that is Programed to ONLY appear in Humans or other Humanoids.

Then we are back to Square ONE as to ask WHY?

Is it something to AID with the Procreation of the Species, do the Creators NOT want other Organisms gain the Tubes for some Specific Reason?

But if its a Designed Creature intended to KILL and Procreate to KILL more and the Dorsal Tubes are a Necessary to allow for a Hive/Cocoon Hosts, then would NOT a Infection of other Organisms to make Deadly Morphs be just as Efficient to go and KILL?

So we really have to ASK to WHY only Human Born Morphs have those Dorsal Tubes... (for Example the Predator Born Morph has only the Spines) but we see its Procreation is Rapid and so No Need for a Host to be Cocooned) and so maybe this Points to the Purpose of it being to Cocoon a Host.

But then WHY does the Runner not have this and so we have to ASK as to IF and HOW does a Runner Procreate?

Maybe as it Detected a Queen then it does-not NEED to play a role in Procreation, but then surely would it NOT have the Dorsal Tubes so it can Cocoon Hosts for the Queens Eggs?

So YES this could be a MYSTERY.

There used to be a really wonderful blog that explained these things in depth,sadly I can't find it anymore. I also can't find the old post I made about the tubes way back when based on what this blog said. (There were Giger images to support the theory).

Anyways, the dorsal tubes were used to secrete the resin that made the hive walls/coocoons. Like a spider's spinnerets. The Alien was positioned upside down while spinning the resin. 

Here is another source that talks about it: Xeno Dorsal Spines

Svanya Thank you. Considering only the Quadrilogy, it seems that the tubes could function as both "spinnerets" for creating resin as well as a way to breathe. That would be consistent with Alien, Aliens and sort of Resurrection. The Runner in A3 didn't require those attributes for that movie and so it makes sense they were left out. It is difficult to say for Resurrection since there was a hive with resin, Xenomorphs effortlessly functioning underwater and apparent exhalation observed in the OP video. I suppose I would let it ride with the idea that they were genetically engineered/mutant Xenomorphs.