Biology and Alien Lifeforms .
Please discuss as many aspects of the illustrated lifeforms as you can – include physiology, reproduction, habitat, food and predator/prey status etc. SPECULATE….in some cases you may recognize the particular alien species…if you look it up on the internet please expand on the information you find rather than just repeating it here. Due Spet. 20th by midnight, usual rules….500 words or more…and please, feel free to emulate Jamey’s last post and turn it into a creative work (story, fictional log entry, fictional encyclopedia entry etc.) if you are so inclined (although there is no penalty for not doing so).
All the bairns o' Adam 
The black insect-like creature on the top left is heavily armored by an exoskeleton, meaning it is a predator that most likely hunts other large creatures or other animals that fight back. It also could be a sign of just living in a hostile environment. Having an exoskeleton, it could be a silicon based life form, either completely or just for its exoskeleton. Being so large, it would require a lot of energy to function and most likely would have to move slowly, but strike hard. Being insect-like, and combined with the fact that it looks like basic warrior creature of larger species, like ants with specialized roles, it probably reproduces similarly via a queen.
The sarlacc monster is absolutely massive. Realistically, it would be almost impossible to supply its energy needs, in addition to maintaining its structure so far underground. It would need to feed from underground somehow since it most likely cannot meet its energy needs from waiting for creatures to fall into its mouth. This is where it’s root-like tentacles would come in handy, allowing it to pull in nutrients like a plant. It’s large enough there actually could be a temperature gradient from its bottom to its top, which would require some level of homeostasis. It may reproduce asexually, perhaps budding off of its long tentacles that are underground, with the young, smaller offspring able to move to a new location.
The yellow alien could very well be silicon based due to what appears to be a hard exterior. Its legs look designed to provide a lot of force when necessary, most likely for jumping considering the structure of the leg provides for maximum compression, which means it most likely evolved from a predator species that hunted down its prey, jumping on top of them to deliver the kill. The swords and general attire suggest a tribal civilization. The larger head means a larger brain and therefore greater intelligence. This creature is sentient. The creature is very lean, suggesting high energy expenditure and an abundance of food since there is no need to store energy on the body like with humans and most other larger creatures on Earth.
All of the creatures in the middle left picture are two-headed, with their brain, small and therefore of lower intelligence, on top and the mouth on the bottom. They are most likely herbivores in a very hostile environment, able to monitor their surroundings while they eat and having a leathery body to help protect them in case of attack. The flap between heads is very thin, most likely just used for structural support since their mouth is quite outstretched. The Zaptorhynchus urophorus is a creature that has adapted to fight back against predators, with spikes on its tail. All of creatures are from a planet with high gravity, since they are short, stocky, and low to the ground, in addition to needing additional support for their mouths.
The crab-like creature is clearly a predator, having hands with claws for both attacking and holding on to prey in addition to a large, spreading mouth to assist in swallowing prey whole or holding on to them while it eats. Its pointed appendages function both as legs, allowing it to move quickly, and as weapons, able to pierce through its prey. It has no traction when walking, suggesting a very uniform, soft landscape. It either lives in or close to the water. This is further seen by its skin, which is moist, and looks similar to many amphibians, and would need to stay hydrated.
The dune worm, despite its size, is designed to move through or across the sand thanks to the grooves on its body. Despite the picture already showing its habitat, the grooves do support a desert environment, since similar movement is seen on Earth by some snakes that live in the desert. Having teeth, it is a either a carnivore or omnivore, though the teeth most likely are for trapping or grabbing prey rather than chewing, since the worm could eat most creatures whole. Being able to move, unlike the sarlacc, this creature could certainly hunt down prey. The tendons along the mouth suggest the individual sides of the mouth are too heavy for the body to properly support and would just fall uncontrolled if not for the tendons. This is a creature at the maximum size that its design would allow. Being so large, in addition to moving, the worm must expend massive amounts of heat just by being alive. This, on top of living in the desert, could mean it has a chemical process very different from most other creatures since, internally, its cells are operating in a very hot environment.
Nice work, some really good insights.
The top left creature looks to be massive, scorpion like, living in a desert setting. It probably survives off of smaller creature it hunts, whatever it can find. It has an armored shell to protect against other predators that might attempt to likewise hunt it. Its leg appendages can be used to stab its prey and ward off those who would kill it.
The middle lifeform looks to have a very complex anatomy. This creature survived underneath the surface with root-like legs to keep it grounded with branch-like arms. This creature thrives off waiting for prey to come close enough for it to strike then feasting on whatever it catches. With two stomachs it is used to large feasts. Its size indicates that it exerts little energy to survive. Its skin is gnarled but probably easily penetrable and so it would not survive long above ground.
The yellow creature is standing erect on huff-like feet, its legs are bent with strong looking legs indicating that it can run quickly. Its hands and arms are also muscular showing its strength. The creature is wearing armor with weapons on its back showing that it is advanced in knowledge, attempting to protect its body. The loin cloth most likely means it had sexual organs outside its body. Its physiology is similar to a humanoid though with obvious differences. It is likely part of a fighting tribe.
The middle left creatures seem to be in the same family or genus even. With subtle differences in physiology but ultimately very much the same. They are dinosaur like, oversized with four or two legs. They look to have two heads, probably one dominates in thinking while the other is controlled and used for eating. Their skin looks rough and leathery, tough although the area connecting the heads is thin. Intelligence level is probably minimal survival skills and little defensive abilities as it is probably slow moving. While it is probably a herbivore.
The bottom left creature has eight legs as well as two hands, this is and indicator that it is probably a predator able to move quickly as well as grab whatever it is after. Its large mouth would not only allow it to eat its prey but clamp down and break the prey’s neck or otherwise disable it. It is unclear if it has eyes but more than likely it does. Its skin looks to be hard like a shellfish, there are not gills to indicate that it is water dwelling, so it must live on the land.
The bottom left creature is a sand dweller, it is snake-like and blind, thus its sense of smell and can also sense movement above ground easily. To dig tunnels through the sand it cuts the tunnel with its body, ribbing down the body as well as the creature twisting allows the creature to move swiftly through the sand and ground. The mouth is twisted with three lip openings and a series of teeth indicating that it is a mean eater and predator. Its defense is that those who would hunt this creature would have to tunnel into the ground thus entering its territory.
Some very good conjecture, you could probably have gone into more detail in a few places. Also a couple of places that could have used a second read and edit.
The following incomplete description and narrative was found in the ruins of the old city of Arnak, in the plains of Larki, on planet Aik. It is believed that the ruins belonged to an ancient temple complex with the largest data collection from the Tiaki galaxy and belonging to the Order of Ti.
The origins remain unknown. There is no knowledge of who the narrator is or where he/she came from. After intense study by linguistic specialists and archeologists, a proper translation to our language has been produced:
“In my travels throughout the cosmos, time and dimensions, I have encountered many wondrous and terrible things. Sometimes in my amazement I have forgotten that creatures lurk upon and below the surface of many planets. Some demand awe… some demand respect… some demand fear and terror… some of them all the before mentioned things. Life takes many forms, sizes and variations to accommodate creation. Said creation could be of majestic beauty and some could be considered the origins of nightmares that creep into the subconscious in the darkness of night.”
“Inhabitants of Monlark Zho, the fifth moon of Laxia, once asked me to identify some of these creatures I have seen and encountered. Some I know their names, others I never knew what they were called so I named them myself to remember them in my future travels through the vastness of space.”
“Many ions ago I came across one of the many conflicts between the two legged creatures known as “humans” from a terrestrial world called “Earth” and the creatures from a distant planet known as “Klendathu”. The humans from Earth, as deadly and fearsome as they were, were not as terrifying as the creatures from Klendathu. Those creatures were of a single mind, united to kill and destroy everything in their path as they colonized world after world. The most fearsome amongst these were the “Warrior Bug” —as the creatures from earth came to labeled them.”
“The Warrior Bug was a killing machine. It was created to feel no weakness nor emotions. Able to survive the harshest of environments—from the coldness of space to the most arid and hot waterless worlds— it was considered an formidable and terrifying opponent. Six legged for fast motion, it resembled some of Earth own’s species: Arachnids and Arthropoda . Two large frontal pincer like appendages —used to crush almost anything—and a impenetrable silica based exoskeleton made the 9 feet long and almost 15 feet tall creatures almost indestructible. They were definitely predators: top of the food chain. Humans were cut down like grass as the Warrior Bugs move defiantly forward conquering and destroying everything in their path. I was never able to see any Warrior Bug reproduce. However, just by keen observation I could deduce it was by insemination that resulted in the productions of large quantities of eggs by one and only one female of the species. Millions of eggs must have been laid at times. It seemed that no matter how many Warrior Bugs were killed by humans, many more were ready to continue the ongoing assault. The lifespan of these drones was short, just a mere 27 seasonal cycles in Monlark Zho — or 2 Earth years. But now the species is long gone and faded into abyss of time.”
“As terrifying as the Warrior Bug was, there is another creature that evokes another kind of terror: The Sarlacc. Such creature inhabits many planets across the galaxy and is able to live for millennia. What makes the Sarlacc such a terrifying creature is not his appearance nor his size. It is they way it devours its prey. Before I relate the manner on which this creature feeds I present a more detailed information about its physiology and size to set the stage for the final and cruel characteristic of such species. The never ending torment of their prey.”
“The Sarlacc is known when it has reached maturity to grow to a length of 328 feet or larger. Ninety percent of the creature resides buried underground and resembles the root systems of plants and trees found in many planets across the galaxies. Only the mouth cavity, a beak, and some tentacles — all common to animal species— are seen near the surface of whatever landscape it has chosen as its habitat.“
“Not quite an animal and not quite a plant —but a mix of both— the Sarlacc reproduces by allowing a male of the species to become a permanent attached limb to the female in a symbiotic parasitic relationship. The female is ten times larger than the male and once impregnated by the male reproduction is achieved by sporing.”
“Sarlacci (plural) are omnivorous creatures. The feed by grabbing their prey with their tentacles and inserting them into the mouth cavity. The prey is them trapped—alive— in many of the digestive cavities and slowly consumed while their consciousness is maintained. The Sarlacc can sustained this torment for thousands of years: slowing eating its prey alive and keeping them alert of such painful fate. The torment is eternal, or at least it feels like such.”
“Amongst the terrifying creatures that inhabit planets in the vast cosmos the ‘Red Death’—as it has become known amongst those who have traveled to their planet— could be considered the most vicious and horrifying creature that roams the hellish corners of many nightmares. Crustacean like in form and anatomy, this species inhabit the shallow warms waters of Aquaris VI.”
“Known for is aggressive temperament, this poisonous carbon based creature possesses a red exoskeleton — thus the nickname— four long pointy legs for locomotion, a long bi-forked tail for balance, two arms like appendages ending in four razor sharp fingers, and an expanding mouth which when opened exposes venomous glands crowned with hundreds of small razor sharp teeth.”
“This creature is a top predator. All baby parts are made for hunting, disabling and retaining its prey. It can use his legs to burrow in the soft sand or as anchors while navigating currents. His Tail can be used for balance but also as a whip to disorient his prey before using his arms to take a hold of the prey. Finally, it expands its mouth to inject venom while if continues to hold its prey with the hundred of serrated and sharp teeth. Once the prey is paralyzed by the venom all tissue mass begins to dissolve, and it slowly digest it by sucking the dissolved tissue trough his mouth.”
“The ‘Red Death” is fast. It only takes less than 2 seconds to attack his prey and kill it. It dwells in the warms water of watering holes, coastlines, rivers, and lakes. It eats other aquatic species as well as terrestrial species. Nothing is safe. Many explorers to Aquaris VI met their ultimate fates in the claws of this true monster. Its tough exterior made it the top predator of said planet. Its reproduction cycle was never recorded. No one who came in direct contact with such creature survived to tell the tell. Legend has it that long time ago, one space traveler had come in contact with an egg said to belong to a ‘Red Death’ while doing trade in the Andromeda Galaxy. He purchased the egg and wanted to study it. He wanted to record the process but not long after he departed with the egg, an emergency message was received that his ship was in danger. By the time help arrived to the coordinates from where the message was braodcast, all left of the ship was debris and a poisonous red cloud surrounding the debris.”
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“… Alas, my friends, do not despair… not all creatures in the vastness of the universe are of such terrifying nature. Some are creatures to be admired and studied. Such are the giants of Equatis, “the emerald planet”.
“The giants of Equtis are mostly gentle herbivorous creatures of diverse heights and weights with the smallest of the species reaching a height of 30 feet and weighting 4 tons while the tallest towers over any vegetation at a height of approximately 75 feet and weighting 15 tons.”
“These creatures are carbon based. All of them possess to thick lower appendages used for locomotion, a tail used for balance, and short muscular core that supported in various cases a small head attached to a long neck-like appendage with a small mouth at its end which was use for foraging the ground. The small head and the foraging appendage were connected in manny cases by a thin almost translucent colorful membrane which it was used to attract a mate during mating season.”
“These gentle creatures lived in the forests and plains of Equatis and reproduced by producing eggs that were buried in the ground, covered in organic material until said eggs hatched after a period of 2 seasons”
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“…The Isis are resilient race. Their physical appearance resembles nothing seen before. Intelligent and able to communicate by using telepathy, this race survives in the hot deserts of Artaris Kao. They dwellings are built underground where they dig wells to reach the subterranean oceans of Artais. Carbon-based creatures, they can leap great distances on their two long and powerful legs. Their 2 upper limbs end on a tri-clawed hands. They are skillful in the art of tracking and hunting. Their mouths are covered by an armor-like plate that protects their sensitive digestion track.”
“The males of the species are responsible for producing and caring for the new generations. Males are the receptors of the embryos supplied by the females and are responsible to carry and nurture said embryos during a gestation period of 4 seasons. When gestation has come to an end, the soon to be born progeny makes its way out of the male’s body, through the Slint’ak (?), as a larvae which is then care for into the metamorphic process and maturity by both responsible mates.”
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“Time travels have taken me across the expanse of space and into the Spice domain. Here I savored the joy of the Spice —melange. I nurtured in its properties… I bathed in eternity”.
“…tThe sandworms of Arrakis are both creatures of awe and majestic beauty. No other creature has ever been worshiped as god-like manifestations. Called many names — Great Maker, The Maker, Worm who is God— is of unknown lifespan and are almost indestructible.”
“Over 1,000 feet long and 131 feet in diameter, these creatures are the masters or survival on Arrakis. The produce the precious “spice” which expands life. Without them whole empires would collapse.”
“ Such magnificent creatures feed on small creatures called ‘Sand Plankton’, which lived in the sands of Arrakis.”
“Sandworms possessed giant crystalline teeth which were used to crush and dig in the lithosphere of Arrakis.” They moved freely through rock like To’ah (?) through water. The moved like drills through the rock and blessed the Fremen with precious melange. “
“ Oh blessed be the mighty and fearsome Sandworm and its …
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End of narrative.
Dang, that was amazing.
Thank you! I just didn’t think about it and let it all flow out my head…lol
Fabulous work, great details and written with real imagination and panache…very well done. This is what I was hoping for in this class.
Sorry about the misspellings. I used “Pages” on my Mac and it continuously changed words and I wasn’t able to catch all the changes.
I’ll make sure I check things better before I post a blog again.
The creature in black located at the top left corner seems to be very well adapted to the desert type weather that is shown in the picture. It can be implied that this animal does not need great amounts of water to be able to survive in this type of weather. In case this animal would need water, he would be able to find it, let’s speculate, at a ground water reservoir located on this planet. It is suggested by the picture that this animal is a predator, since a gun is being used against it by what seems a human-like-organism. It can be said that the human-like-organism might be the pray of this creature. The size of this creature is huge, which can make it a little difficult for it to get around because of its weigh. However, his many legs could help it move a little faster.
The yellow standing creature has several characteristics similar to humans. It has hands, legs, and it is standing. It looks like this creature uses certain types of tools to defend himself from whatever might be chasing him to prey him. The clothes this monster is using suggests that, like humans, it has gone through an evolutionary process. His claws might indicate that it is the mean it uses to defend himself and also the one he might use to obtain his food. This creature seems to fall into the category of predator/pray.
The creature in the left bottom corner seems to be able to move below the ground with no problem. This implies that it might have some sort of mechanism to be able to successfully open holes underground i.e. tunneling machine. It is not clear from the picture of what is used by this creature to dig holes underground. However, it can be understood that he uses the strength of his body to open the holes and move. This might indicate that his body texture has to be hard to enable him to do this. It seems that this creature does not need water to be able survive, since it is clear it surrounding is a desert. The reason why this creature is shown outside from underground, might suggest that it is the place where most of his food is located; otherwise it would be no reason for him come out to the surface.
The creature located right next to the yellow creature has a very complicated shape. There is a human like organism looking at this creature from what it seems to be a hole in the ground. Since the human-like-organism is looking at it in a very quiet manner (no fears shown), this kind of behavior must recommend that this creature is not a predator; at least of the person looking at it.
To see this creature coming out to the ground indicate that it is able to live underground and on the ground. It seems its structure (shape) allows it to move better on the surface than underground.
Good speculation, but a little thin on details.
The species in the top left evidently has a hard exoskeleton. From the picture it seems to live in a dry, rugged environment, so an exoskeleton would assist in the storage of moisture. Although it seems to be a formidable predator judging from the reactions of the humanoids in the image, the exoskeleton also suggest that the organism is not at the very top of the food chain, and there is something even larger waiting to eat it (unless deterred by a very hard and tough shell.)
The giant sandworm appears to be an endobenthic (this probably isn’t exactly the correct word, but I’m mostly relying on my background in marine biology for this post) organism, which apparently tunnels through the substrate with a spiral motion. The “head” of the sandworm sports multiple “sensory pits” similar to those of earth’s polychaete worms, but more complex and highly developed. The presence of such highly developed sensory pits, which on polychaetes are mainly used for locating food, suggest that the sandworm has a highly specific diet, unlike the other endobenthic organism (discussed below.)
The other endobenthic organism reminds me of a giant antlion, and I wonder if it is merely one stage of a complex metamorphic life cycle. It has multiple body cavities, and its stomach is optimized for maximum surface area to facilitate the digestion of anything that might happen to fall into its maw. In a harsh desert environment, there are certainly benefits to being an omnivore. There are also certainly benefits for being a sit-and-wait style predator (to limit energy expenditure) and living at least part of what could potentially be a very complex life cycle buried in the sand (insulation against the extreme temperature variations in the desert.)
The group of species in the middle left all have two heads: an upper head with eye-like sensory organs, a beak-like mouth, (presumably for vocalization) and a variety of crests and membranes used for display. The lower head lacks sensory organs and has a rather simple mouth probably used for grazing. I have to hypotheses regarding the double-headed physiology: the first hypothesis is that the upper head is the “dominate” head with a more highly-developed brain, with the display organs and more complex mouths being used for communication with others of the same species, which develop relatively complex societies, similar to corvids on earth. The lower head is used mostly for eating (possibly grazing?) and houses a secondary brain, which can generate the necessary sensory and communicative organs to replace the primary head, should something happen to it. The other hypothesis is that the lower head is actually the primary head, and the colorful “mouths” on the upper head function like the “false eyes” seen on many of earth’s moths, to encourage potential predators to attack the “false head” and ignore the primary head. Both theories would suggest that these organisms are prey animals. The thick, heavily muscled legs and the low center of gravity on these animals indicate that they inhabit a planet with relatively high gravity, and the wide, flat feet suggest that they might mostly inhabit plains and grasslands, further supporting my suggestion that they are grazing animals. I realize that I have spent much more time discussing this group of organism than I have spent on the other organisms of the assignment, but they strike me as the most plausible aliens of those presented here, with more concern for ecological credibility than for “cool factor.”
The yellow alien is obviously sentient, as is evident from the fact that it is wearing clothing. At first I thought that part of its torso was left uncovered, but it appears to be made of the same material as the pauldrons (possibly a soft leather?) indicating that the species does have vital organs in its torso. I would guess that the armor it is wearing is ceremonial rather than functional, indicating that the species has something resembling religion.
I find the arthropodal creature in the bottom left to be very intriguing, mostly because its mouth seems more suited to grinding than biting and tearing, indicating that it probably eats small invertabrates or tough, woody plants. (invertebrates seem the most likely, since it appears to be either a marine or amphibious organism.) Having established its probable diet, I am left wondering what on earth it needs such well-developed hands for. Does it force open the shells of the bivalves that it eats? Why then would it have grinding teeth? Does it climb trees? Does it use its claws to deter potential predators? Does it lack hearing and uses rudimentary sign-language to communicate with others of its species? We may never know.
Great speculation! I love the idea of the upper head being a a decoy and the speculation on why the arthropod would need both grinding teeth and well-developed hands. Nice work.
The creature in the upper left of the collage looks like an over-grown, predatory insect. The creature is possibly a silicon-based lifeform, judging by the massive amounts of exoskeleton. The alien appears to have 6 lower legs for nimble movement and travel, two larger legs on the front of its body for striking its prey, and two more legs near its mouth for feeding itself. The creature’s blood also appears to be green, suggesting the blood cells contain something other than iron-based hemoglobin. There are other pigments that would cause the creature’s blood to be green but most would suggest the alien is invertebrate, a reasonable assumption considering the large exoskeleton. I like to speculate that the reason for the coloring of the creature is to keep him camouflaged in the dark desert at night and that the tan stripes on its underside help it lie down on its back just under the surface of the sand but be able to strike if threatened.
The family of creatures underneath the large black insect seems to be composed of lumbering herbivores. The animal connections that come to mind are prehistoric, herbivore dinosaurs, birds, and cows. These creatures each contain two heads connected by a thin layer of skin for support. The top head appears to be a standard bird head with varying sizes and features for the beaks. This is the head that the creatures most likely use to eat and make calls against enemies or for mating. The lower head, I speculate, is used more as a sensor and contains most of the brain of the creatures. Possibly helping sense magnetic pulses for travel or in helping the creature find its next food source. The animals bring to mind an image of a person wondering a field with a metal detector.
The creature in the lower left seems like a predatory crustacean with a softer skin surface. The creature does not appear to have the same kind of hard shells that most crab-like crustaceans have. This may be due to its standing in the food chain; it’s obviously more of a predator and less of a defensive scavenger. The creature definitely lives in a moist environment, most likely along shorelines. The structure and articulation of the legs express quick movement along soft surfaces. The mouth that opens in 6 directions implies an adaption to devour larger and larger prey and the 5-fingered arms near the neck probably aid in the capture of food.
After exploring the graphic of the Sarlacc, I’m much less optimistic about Boba Fett’s chances of surviving it (I know he made it out alive in the old canon… we’ll see about the new one…). The beast appears to be very-plant like in its structure. It has very large roots deep within the sand with leaf-like fans at the end. These are possibly where it absorbs most of its nutrients from as, other than Jabba’s offerings, live food at the surface probably comes very seldom. I suppose decaying material and nutrients from the sand can be absorbed by the Sarlacc and the mouth and tentacles at the surface are probably more of a defensive feature than the primary source of food. I can picture the food the Sarlacc gains at the surface and then proceeds to digest over the course of a millennium could be used to sustain the growth of the tentacles out further into the sand, gaining stronger roots to help keep the beast going until the next bounty hunter’s jetpack and knocked off.
My immediate first impression of the erect, yellow, insectoid creature is that it’s a warrior-class drone for a much larger colony of animal. Obviously with a certain level of sentience as it has aesthetically designed armor and clothing and, more than likely, the objects on its back are weapons. It’s very possibly that the alien is silicon-based, judging by its insect-like skin and leg structures. I wouldn’t be surprised if this creature had small, possibly vestigial, wings attached to its back that we can’t see as its legs suggest. This creature suggests a tribal civilization with division of labor among the drone class, with this particular drone being a member of soldier group. I wouldn’t imagine this creature being a high-ranking member as its attire suggests mass-production and minimal protection.
The last creature is from the Dune series but I’ve never seen Dune… but I have seen the incredible Tremors many times and I can see similarities there. The snake/worm creature lives underground in the sand which makes sense for it to have no visible eyes. It most likely has an incredible sense of smell and feelings to sense food on the surface and dive up for it, consuming massive amounts in its large, three-pronged jaw filled with massive rows of teeth. The structure and movement of the creature makes it a rotating drill underneath the surface of the sand that can constantly propel itself forward and seemingly swim under sand. Any other environment than huge depths of sand would be uninhabitable for this creature.
Good speculation, especially the idea of the lower head being a kind of “sensor-pack” for the two-headed species and the idea of a stratified culture for the creature with armor and weapons. Nice work.
The first life form depicted seems to be a spider like monstrosity with triangular shaped feet that narrow towards the bottom. I would assume it has a hard outer shell to protect its vital organs, seeing as the manlike figure in the picture is having to shoot a gun at it. I see what looks like a small face on the creature, and assume that is where it eats as well as sees from. It has protruding spikes from its head, most likely for feeling around. It could also be said that this creature probably burrows into the ground as a sort of sand spider, and comes out to feed or when disturbed. It is of extreme size which means it most likely eats a lot of food.
The Sarlacc creature depicted is obviously well known through Star Wars. It is of an extreme magnitude and burrows itself into the ground deep, sort of like tree roots. It waits for unsuspecting victims to fall into its mouth and travel into the stomach. I would speculate that it lays dormant most of its life until some unsuspecting creature fall into its mouth, therefore not burning any energy it may require to use for such a large being. I’m not entirely sure how the being would reproduce as it is very large and lives underground. This leads me to believe it is perhaps asexual and drops eggs.
The alien looking creature with bladed weapons on its back seem to be a humanoid like creature with lost of characteristics that resemble an ant. It has clawed hands and feet which are probably used for self defense. It has a large head, and clothing, which would lead one to believe it is very intelligent as it has some sort of culture behind it. You cannot see its mouth, but I’m assuming there are mandible like devices beneath its “lips” to eat food with. Its large feet are probably a good indicator that it can run at great speeds, as well as the way its legs are shaped with a “z” like knee.
The creatures in left that resemble some sort of dinosaur like animal seem to have two different heads, perhaps to ward off or trick predators. It has strange colors that may be used to attract mates during season. One of them has spikes on its tale which are used for defense. They are very large and most likely eat a lot. Their bone structure and size/shape lead me to believe they do not move very fast and most likely eat plants.
The crablike creature resembles a lot of similarities with the first one discussed. The only difference is that it seems to be a bit smaller, and has a head that opens up with multiple teeth and mouths. It looks as if it can move very fast given its legs. It perhaps lives in both aquatic environments and land. Most likely an apex predator in both regions
The dune worm is a super-massive creature that burrows into the ground with its auger like head filled with many teeth. It probably twists to generate itself through the ground thus creating a lot friction, meaning its skin would need to be very tough. It seems to have a very interesting intestinal composition as if there is energy coming out of it given the light emanating from its mouth in the depiction. I believe there are people that live on it seeing there is people holding a flag which resembles a small tribe living on the creature. They perhaps control it through some methods technology.
Good ideas and some interesting speculation, although you could have included more detail on mating, food, predator/prey relationships.
blog post 2
The Alien in the top left corner is in a desert setting and appears to look similar to a scorpion. It has an exoskeleton which probably means that it is hunted by predators. It has long pointed legs which seem as though they could also be used as weapons. Its vicious looking features indicate that it is definitely a predator whom prays on smaller creatures.
The one below is short and stocky. It seems more docile than the others and is most likely a herbivore based on lack of sharp teeth and smaller mouth. This creature has two heads: one used for eating while the other is able to watch for predators while it feeds. The head appears to be smaller meaning a small brain indicating a lower level of intelligence. It’s thick leathery skin and spikes on its tail is used for protection while the webbing between the two necks is used to support the heads.
The creature in the bottom left looks very similar to a crab or some other shell fish. It has long, sharp legs which most likely allows it to move fast. The large claws help grab and attack prey and its big mouth allows it to eat large bodies whole or potentially assist in holding the creature while feeding on it. Its legs look like they could also be used as weapons for stabbing and impaling their prey. All of these features indicate that it is a predator. The photo seems to be set underwater but does not show any gills, more than likely meaning that it lives on land but hunts underwater.
The large root monster is an enormous creature that thrives underground. Its limbs are very much like tree roots, so its mobilization is minimal. Because of these features, the creature sits and waits for prey to come along as opposed to a hunting and stalking method. This indicates that it absorbs enough sustenance for survival through the root-like limbs. With two stomachs, it probably takes a long time for digesting its food. It more than likely reproduces asexually because it appears to lack any sort of sexual reproductive organs.
The dune monster is massive and lives underground in the desert. With grooves along its body, it is able to burrow in the sand by twisting, making it an incredibly fast monster. The many sharp rows of teeth show that it is a carnivorous predator and can eat large bodies because the mouth opens three separate ways.
The yellow alien has a lean, fit and muscular body, meaning it is fast, agile and a predator. The shape its of legs indicate that it is able to jump very far and high and could impale its prey by pouncing on them. There are many indications that these creatures are highly intelligent lifeforms. It has a large, developed brain because of the size if its head as well as wearing armor and weapons meaning it is more advanced. The clothing leads me to believethat they have sexual reproductive organs.
Good discussion, some interesting points especially regarding the red crab and the yellow alien. A few more details would have been useful.
Where to begin? I have been given the assignment to help the British Interspatial Museum verify and categorize a number of non-Earth lifeforms. Sometime I just can’t believe the shit they pay me for. Some of these lifeforms I have seen myself but I just can’t believe the others even exist. The sand worms on Dune are hard to believe in until you have seen one of these monsters rise up out of the sand. We took the whole family on one of those DisneyCorp galactic tours and Dune was the highlight of the whole trip. They really are huge and somehow they are actually able to move around under the sand. I really do not think they can go as deep as claimed unless there is water or something under the surface that allows them to move through the sand. The do burrow and the old one they use for rides does get moving pretty fast on the surface. Can they actually break rocks with their head? The flesh is covered in scales but I doubt they are hard enough to smash rocks. I do believe that they emit spice though, they just smell of it. There is so much spice coming of them that you are forced to go through a decontamination before you can get back on the ship.
The second one I have to verify is the Sarlacc. I have personal knowledge of this monster from back in my trooper days. If you ever need to get rid of a body the Sarlacc is the way to go. In fact this thing is so large you could stick a couple dozen people down its gullet with room to spare. I am not sure what else it survives on in such a dry environment but it will never starve with the number of beings the Hutts force into it. Well I guess I will be spending a lot of time traveling through wormholes this year.
The third species is definitely the Arachnid for back in the Bug wars. I thought we had wiped them out. The files from the war have been mostly declassified and now some fool scientist wants me to go and verify the existence of such a creature. I have protested severely but to no avail. I am going to need a platoon of mercs in order to even land on the planet let alone collect data. Of course they exist, enough reports made it back to civilian media to argue otherwise. What the reports don’t say though is that the bugs would never survive on earth. Their body is just too large to function in an Earth normal gravity. If the carapace did not crush the bug would die from lack of blood to the brain. I heard they are mean as hell though on a low gravity planet. Somehow they recycle part of their respiration or have just evolved with a limited need for air. The boss says there is a huge bonus in it if I bring back a whole sample. I think he is crazy.
There are three more species that we will have to look at. Yes, I said we. I want you and the rest of the team to come with. The pay will be huge and you know you want to get away from your husbands for a while. Besides you are way better with explosives and weapons in general than I am.
So, the next on the list a set of creatures on some forsaken high gravity watery world. This is a guess on my part. What I have so far is a set of sketches with scientific names that an edge explorer sent back to central before they disappeared. I shows five impossibly large two legged beings with a huge proboscis. Each one seems to be specialized in some way. One looks like a filter feeder (why I think it is a wet world). Another has a large membrane like a seagull from Earth but it is almost upside down. All in all the legs are massive (heavy gravity) but the joint to the body seems too high like the weight of the body hangs. This can be right unless they are wading a lot of the time. If you did not know the credentials of the edger, you would think it was just an enormous dick joke sent off to command right before the letter of resignation.
The next one is a large crab like thing that has to be made up. I have not been given a scale of the image but if this thing is longer than your foot, I will buy the drinks. It appears to be in a skin instead of a shell. Four, count them four legs, two tails, and one of the most complicated mouth structures I have ever seen. I looks like it hunts by surprise and I think it must be poisonous to its victims because there are almost no teeth visible.
The last one is easy. Do you remember GLnk? He was that crazy bounty hunter form Solaris. Well he is the assignment. Well it does not have to be him exactly but the Brits want us to locate and explore the home world of this undocumented species. How someone like him and his people have gone unnoticed is beyond me. I see by the picture they provided that he still dresses the same and I would not be surprised if he still has females with him when we find him. How can someone survive when your claws are so big you can’t really use your fingers?
Meet me at the Betelgeuse station and bring the crew. You owe me and I will pay well, with some of it up front.
You’ll be glad to know I’m enjoying reading your log reports just as much as you seem to enjoy writing them. Although, I’m going to take over the official report writing on this job, don’t want that huge pay-off to evaporate because you inadvertently made a dick-joke to the museum bosses. Will get the team together and meet you on Puck’s Icebox in a week or so. Depends how long it takes to get authorization for that much firepower. Will advise when you can expect to see us. Nice job getting us the extra work, we could all use the credit now that the Colonial Administration has shut down exploration in the Tyche Expanse.
Bottom-left: The male forest crab in mating-colour, putting on a display of ferocity is a fearsome sight. To any potential female, this display shows how capable the male is of defending his would-be mate from attack while her attention is focused on caring for the eggs and subsequent hatchlings which will delicately cling to her belly. In normal hunting mode, the colours of the male shift to a mottled green and brown to blend in with the giant, temperate rainforest tree trunks and foliage.
Middle-left: Some of these swamp-dwelling creatures use a flap of skin to moderate body temperature in the often sweltering environment. The lower heads search for crustaceans along the swamp bottom with the top head oriented more towards flora. The baropus a typical eater of roots and bank-growing plants, while the others orient more towards consumption of the large, copiously flowering plant vines thriving along any muddy bank in the swamp.
Top-left: The gigantic sand crabs—-which thankfully cannot survive on most other planets’ gravity—-live in low gravity and prey on the burrowing worms which surface during the binary system’s night-time. These crabs are not typically active during the day but, being attuned to the slightest vibrations in order to sense the location of rising worms, awake quickly at most movement and are particularly aroused into feeding frenzies by loud sounds. It is best not to aggravate them as their exoskeleton is thick and resistant to several types of energy-based weaponry and only certain projectiles will pierce the layer. It is better to run away from these creatures and it is fairly easy to do so as the same low-gravity which allowed them to adapt into large organisms gives most surface organisms—-including a quick-witted human—-the ability to escape quite efficiently, provided one doesn’t yell and scream while leaping away like superman, as they will follow sound when possible.
Top-right: These muscular, exoskeleton creatures are as intelligent as humans and quite adept at leaping around in their lower-than-earth gravity. While not completely covered in exoskeleton—-it is a remnant of their evolution—-there have an internal, bone-like skeleton along which their muscles form giving them extreme lower body strength. Their upper forearms are not as jointed as a humans, however it should be noted that their claws seem to have emplaced the concept of ‘detail’ into a very important part of their culture. The weapons which they use—-metal-forged swords—-indicate their stage of warrior-based society.
Bottom-right: Though thought to be a spice worm, the worm depicted is actually an original inhabitant of a drier, desert plant with a denser atmosphere. This may explain why it chooses to bury itself on Dune, encasing its body in a manner that feels—-to its body—-similar to a dense atmosphere. These worms are not asexual. The females—-no males have yet been discovered—-reproduce by laying eggs coated in a noxious, gel-covered nodule in a tunnel near the surface. Their long life-span yet female-only reproductive system seems at odds with one another and may be the result of a genetic adaptation to circumstances leading towards an unfortunate end. Many species find it hard to evolve past further environmental changes once they hit a single-sex reproductive schema. It may be that transplantation of the species will be the only way to ensure it survives for some longer amount of time, though how much outside interference can do remains to be seen.
Nice work, the speculation on the sand crabs and the not-Dune worms is particularly well thought out. Good job.
In looking at this collection of images, there are some animals that I recognize and some that I do not. The insect creature being fired upon by what is undoubtedly a luckless starship trooper is one of the Arachnids, and the creature to the right is the infamous Sarlaac. I have no idea what the golden birdlike being seems to be to the right of the Sarlaac, and the creatures underneath the Arachnid are equally unknown to me. The red thing with pointy feet in the bottom left seems to resemble the predator on the ice planet in the new Star Trek movie that almost ate Kirk before future-Spock saved his bacon, and the sand worm of Dune fame is rather distinctive.
In terms of speculation as to the nature of these animals, I am most interested in the alien creature in the top right, which seems to be much more advanced than the more primitive life forms elsewhere depicted. The backwards jointed legs and the claw hands, alongside what may be vestigial feathers emerging from under its pauldrons lead me to very much suspect an avian evolutionary history, although in the absence of wings it seems that they may have evolved beyond the need to fly. Perhaps they were more avian in the sense of velociraptor mongoliensis or in the sense of one of earth’s many land bound avian species such ostrich-which possess feathers but not the ability to fly. On the other hand, the slight build of the alien leads me to suspect that they may in fact have once had the ability to fly- a suspicion unlikely to be shared if someone were to glance at a kiwi bird or an ostrich. The facial structure of the alien does not seem to have any noticeable teeth or anything that seems to contribute towards an ability to bring down large prey, and the claws, while dangerous looking in and of themselves, are supported on such wispy fragile limbs that I feel that their use as proactive hunting implements would be limited, and that they are more likely to be used towards the purpose of self-defense or picking apart food. I feel that such a species, having obviously achieved some relatively advanced level of intelligence, given the sophisticated crafted clothing, etc. is likely to be carnivorous (as discussed in class) and is thus potentially an eater of insects and smaller animals-a trait shared by many avian species and one facilitated by the possession of large claws with which one can pull apart exoskeletons, grab small prey, etc. At the same time, however, the problem with my proposal of this creature being of avian descent lies in what could be the presence of a chitinous exoskeletal structure instead of skin, which along with a curious and potentially insectile facial structure could also indicate evolutionary bases tending towards that of insectoid roots.
The other creature I am most interested in analyzing is the large Star Trek beast in the bottom left. Assuming this is in fact the same creature from the movie, the question arises-how the heck does this giant carnivore find enough food to eat on the barren icy surface of what very well may be Hoth 2.0? Well, I have a few theories as to this, for which I will utilize the assistance of this marvelous clip in which Kirk runs screaming from the native wildlife. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ECsW0x8svw I feel that the creature initially chasing Kirk is carnivorous and adapted to surface life-given its shaggy fur and obvious interest in chasing Kirk down and eating him. The giant red thing, however, which I will refer to from now on as Big Red, has a few noteworthy characteristics worth mentioning. First, at 0:15, it can be noted that it comes out of the ground, indicating the potential of a preferred subsurface habitat. I will further postulate that this is in fact at the very least an amphibious organism which in fact lives underwater and is also potentially not even carnivorous in the sense that he eats large animals like the initial predator. I question its carnivorous nature because, after obviously disabling the first creature we see (which I shall now refer to as Fluffy), Big Red does not go and eat this tasty carnivore meal, but instead turns to Kirk, who it must be noted is obviously very much not as good of a source of calories and nutrients as Fluffy. Also he does not eat Kirk at this time, which seems eminently possible, and instead participates in a series of what I will postulate are territorial threat displays, starting at 0:25, with the intent of getting Kirk to leave its territory. Perhaps it does not react as violently to Kirk as it did to Fluffy because while Big Red is familiar with Fluffy’s species’ aggression and its large size poses more of a threat to its territory-it is less concerned with Kirks frozen and unfamiliar self wandering its icy home. I will now segue into what I feel is strong supporting evidence that Big Red is in fact primarily aquatic. First, after chasing Kirk out of its territory, Big Red stops chasing him (0:45), which supports my hypothesis of him not being interested in eating Kirk to begin with. Further threat displays are seen here, but I am primarily interested in how utterly klutzy Big Red is in falling down the snow cliff. One would think that a creature whose habitat lies on the surface of a frozen world would be aware that he would fall down a cliff if he stood his multi-ton bulk on a snowbank-an aquatic creature, however, could be unaware. Also, at 1:00 Kirk seems to land on what seems to be ice frozen over the top of water, which may indicate subsurface oceans-a potential habitat for a primarily oceanic dwelling territorial creature like Big Red. After this Big Red is in my opinion too mad to conform to typical behavior for members of his species and the interference of Spock prevents further analysis. That being said, in summary in regard to Big Red, I would argue that he is primarily dwelling in some sort of subsurface aquatic environment where he lives close enough to the surface to be able to breach the ice barrier and enforce his territorial claims on passerby for reasons unknown. I would also argue that he eats primarily smaller sea life, perhaps as an ambush predator, and that he swallows his food instead of eating it, given the lack of even a squid like beak in his “face”, which admittedly seems very optimized towards swallowing. In the end, however, I wish that Spock would not have intervened so that both this plot line would have died alongside Kirk and I could have discerned more of the true nature of Big Red and his species.
Good discussion of the Kirk-chasing red crab…a little brief on the others.
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