Xenomorph Queen

Queen's Bio: The Queen is the matriarch of the Aliens' Hive, serving as both the mother and leader of her brood. The Queen is usually nestled deep within the hive, birthing eggs to ensure the expansion of the hive, while her Drones and Soldiers provide protection for her and hunt preys that are brought before her. Individual Alien Queens vary in size, age, and appearance.

Queen's Biology: Unlike her offspring, the Queen is much larger, generally standing at the height of around 4.5 metres (15 ft) tall. Queens possess several attributes and characteristics that greatly differs from that of the normal castes, having two pairs of arms, one large and one small. The Queen also has high-heel-like protrusions from its feet. Rather than a cylindrical, elongated skull, the Queen's head is protected by a large, flat carapace, which somewhat resembles a crown. Unlike the other Aliens, the Queen's mouth is separately segmented from the rest of her head, allowing her to turn her mouth left and right almost to the point where it is facing perpendicular to the direction of the rest of her head. Despite these drastic differences, Queens still possess the Aliens' signature characteristics, such as the "inner jaw" and bladed tail, which they also use as impaling weapons.

Much like insects found in the real-world, Queens possess an enormous ovipositor on their lower torso to produce more eggs. Unlike insect queens, there appears to be no need for the eggs to be fertilized. While laying her eggs, both the Queen and the ovipositor are supported by the Aliens' secreted resin, forming a "biomechanical throne" that consists of a lattice of struts resembling massive insect legs. Owing to the size and weight of the ovipositor, the Queen is rendered immobile and thus is dependent on her subordinates for assistance and protection. In the event that the Queen faces imminent danger, she can detach herself from her ovipositor, though this can prove painful for her.

Queen's Intelligence: Among the Aliens' caste, Queens possess higher intelligence as there have been instances where they have been shown to be capable of operating man-made machinery. The Queen also appears to fully understand humans actions and behavior, even so far as to be capable to communicate and even "bargain" with humans. This instance is shown when the Acheron Queen ordered her Soldiers to back away from Ripley when she threatened her eggs with a flamethrower, "offering" Ripley a chance to escape her Hive without conflict.

The Queen is also shown to be capable of expressing forms of emotions, such as anger and affection beyond any purely instinctual behavior. An example of this is when the Queen showed concerns over her eggs under threat by Ripley and attempted to "negotiate" with her to leave on neutral terms. When Ripley broke their "agreement" and proceeded to incinerate most of her children, the Queen screamed in agony. The Queen then relentlessly pursued both Ripley and Newt with the intent to kill them, even going so far as to hide herself in the landing gear of their dropship and follow them back to the USS Sulaco.

Xenomorph's Biology: A Xenomorph's physical appearance can vary widely depending on its life stage, hive, caste, age, and host. Its ability to incorporate genetic material from its host, coupled with the existence of numerous mutations and deviations which have originated naturally or artificially; makes the Xenomorph one of the most phenotypically diverse organisms in the galaxy.

A typical Xenomorph begins its life cycle as an egg-like creature (known as an ovomorph or simply egg) which, when detecting the presence of a potential host, opens up to release the second stage: a small arachnid-like life form (named the facehugger) which launches itself onto the host's face and impregnates it with an endoparasitoid larva. This parasite then consumes parts of the host from within and violently emerges from the host's chest cavity as a worm-like creature (grotesquely christened as the chestburster), which will quickly scurry away to find a safe place where it can molt and complete its metamorphosis into an adult Xenomorph, which happens, surprisingly enough, over the course of mere hours.

Adult Xenomorphs tend to share some common traits: a invertebrate-like body, including a protective dark exoskeleton, a long flexible tail, an elongated domed head and a toothed mouth hiding a secondary, extendable, proboscis-like inner maw. Little is known about their biology, but it is known that they eat with their inner or secondary mouths, not their outer mouths. This mouth is somewhat similar to the pharyngeal jaw of a moray eel. They also bleed an unknown and extremely corrosive fluid. This substance is dull yellow in color and often referred to as "blood", although whether it's used to transport nutrients through the body and/or serves principally as a defensive mechanism is not clear.

While the extremely corrosive fluids and tremendous resilience displayed by the creature might suggest an exotic kind of biochemistry, the fact that the Xenomorph not only feeds on Humans, but actually develops inside them, strongly suggests that its biology is carbon-based. The ability to inherit traits from its hosts also suggests that it incorporates genetic material from them, implying that the Xenomorph either has DNA, or is able to read and convert DNA into whatever means it uses to store genetic information. There is evidence that the genetic exchange is mutual (i.e. the parasite alters the host's DNA as well), given that Ellen Ripley's clones were created in an attempt to gain access to the Xenomorph Queen's genetic material, which wouldn't be possible otherwise.

Xenomorphs operate in hives made of a resin they produce, mixed up with their saliva fluids. The Queen can be generated in more than one way: from specialized royal facehuggers, or maturing from Praetorians, which in turn can mature from Drones or Warriors; by a process referred as 'molting'. Judging from the condition that any Xenomorphs can potentially 'molt' and grow into a Praetorian and then a Queen, the Xenomorph species is likely all unisexual and reproduces asexually by a process called parthenogenesis: a reproductive method practiced by many species on Earth and other planets. Alternatively, it's also possible that the aliens are either hermaphrodites or practice sequential hermaphroditism, i.e. being able to change sexes during life, as is the case with some species of fish and amphibians.

Xenomorph's Intelligence: Most Xenomorphs appear to possess an intelligence level equivalent to that of a typical primate. It's well within their capabilities to learn relatively quickly, gathering information and making advantageous use of their environment. Although they do not demonstrate Human and Yautja-level intelligence as a species (such as abstract reasoning, introspection and technological advancement), their Queen appears to possess considerable acumen in her social behavior and manipulation of Human technology, such as cutting the power of the LV-426 colony and operating an elevator. While it may take considerable time for them to learn how to operate machinery other Xenomorphs have displayed fast reasoning and the capacity to find creative, counter-intuitive solutions to problems, as exemplified by a group which, after noticing that they were being contained, intentionally murdered the weakest so that the acid of the Xenomorph's blood would eat through the floors.

As the adult Xenomorphs are known to inherit physical characteristics from their hosts (for example, when a Yautja was infected, the parasite later developed into a "Predamorph" or "Predalien") it is possible that the intelligence level of the creature may be influenced by its host as well. Furthermore, being an eusocial species, it is possible that the intellectual capacity varies for each different caste.

Xenomorphs have demonstrated little emotion, though they are not completely devoid of fear, such as when they are in the presence of fire[6], which they are vulnerable to. They have also been shown to communicate pain through shrieks or screams when attacked.

It has been suggested that Xenomorph nests may operate under a hive mind, or a collective consciousness directed by the Queen, who can call back and give orders to her subjects, both telepathically and vocally with shrieks. In some cases, the Queen Mother Xenomorph communicates telepathically with potential hosts, inducing terrifying dreams and religious visions, which may even lead to the formation of cults with the Xenomorph as a god-like figure, not dissimilar to the cults of Cthulhu and other such entities. The most famous example of this phenomenon might have been Walter Golic, who received supposedly telepathic messages from a captured Xenomorph; which ultimately led him to release it and let it kill him. He called this Xenomorph "the Dragon", and viewed it as a god.

There is evidence that the Xenomorph hive mind also includes a collective memory that passes along even at a genetic level. Through the tests conducted on Ellen Ripley, it is revealed that the memory passed from Ripley onto the new generation of Xenomorphs allows them to read and understand different languages. Events on the LV-426 colony and the USM Auriga show that the species excels at observational learning. Another case of observational learning can be seen following a Xenomorph escaping its cell. It had learned that the consequences of attacking the observatory glass was a jet of extreme cold (possibly liquid nitrogen), triggered by a large red button on the console. When a crewman entered the now-empty cell to study the hole through which the Xenomorphs escaped, one of them entered the control room and activated the button using its inner jaw.

In the rare event that a Xenomorph finds itself under attack or otherwise vulnerable, it might display incredible creativity and cleverness. They are capable of moving quickly and silently in ventilation systems, despite their size, and will use such conduits for ambush, escape, or simply as an easy way to travel between areas.

Xenomorphs are conscious of the effects of their acidic blood, and will use it to their advantage - to break out of Human-constructed confinement, or as a weapon. They show some military tactics (such as retreating when overwhelmed), and can find ways to get around certain problems (such as pushing the red button to freeze a soldier in liquid nitrogen in the afore-mentioned incident). They know that the darkness is their ally, and break lights to create cover.

Xenomorph's Anatomy: A Xenomorph is equipped to be the perfect killing machine. They possess an exoskeleton much like that of a lobster, impenetrable to everything but the most powerful Human firearms (12-gauge shotguns, Pulse Rifles, and stanchion launchers are quite effective). Ash claims the creature's skin is made from "protein polysaccharides", so this would imply a substance similar to chitin. He also says the creature replaces its surface cells with polarized silicon, which is a very inert, heat resistant, and flexible polymer. This allows these creatures great environmental resistance. However, they are vulnerable to sudden, massive changes in temperature. It's been demonstrated that they can be destroyed by immersion in molten lead followed by sudden cooling with fire sprinklers, causing their silicon shells to shatter. They have a skeletal, biomechanical appearance and their skin color is usually black, gray, blue or bronze.

Attached at the ends of both of their arms are a set of long fingers and shiny, black, extremely sharp claws capable of slashing through almost anything within their grasp. Their tail is long and flexible. Some, though not all, individuals also have ridges on top, and a serrated toxic tip at the end of the tail to lacerate enemies.

They stand at around 7 feet tall (~ 2.13 m), averaging in anywhere between 140 and 180 kg; although size may vary wildly depending on the host chosen, as seen for instance with the "Jock-Xenomorph": a gigantic creature spawned from a Mala'kak host.

Xeno head: A Xenomorph's outer mouth is filled with sharp teeth, but their main killing device is the inner jaw that shoots out to penetrate directly into the victim's brain. The inner jaw (also known as an "attack tongue") is a muscular appendage on the inside of the Xenomorph's mouth. All Xenomorphs have this trait, excluding the genetically-engineered Newborn Xenomorph. It consists of a cord of muscle with a small but extremely deadly mouth-like appendage on the end. This attack tongue is able to punch through almost anything, from bone to Yautja armor.

The plasticity of the Xenomorph phenotype is one of the species' most notable features, and has resulted in physical traits that diverge from individual to individual and from hive to hive. As an example of how a host can influence the morphology and skills of the parasitoid, a Xenomorph spawned by a dog displays a distinctly canine body structure, digitigrade legs, quadrupedal movement, and greatly enhanced speed compared to those spawned by Human hosts, which are typically plantigrade and often bipedal.

Even among those spawned exclusively from Humans, different Xenomorph hives can produce highly divergent individuals. Some are taller and lankier, with an almost erect posture. Others are shorter and bulkier, and move more quadrupedally. While most have smooth craniums, others have ridges, which may be attributed to their age (i.e. those which have more time to develop may end up with ridges) and/or caste (ridges being associated with Warriors, and smooth features with Drones).

When it comes to their digits, there are at least three different patterns: Some Xenomorphs have six fingers, with the index and middle fingers conjoined into one digit, ring and little fingers also conjoined, and thumbs on both sides. Others are shown with five fingers, with the second thumb missing. A third phenotype has only four fingers, though the middle two appear to be a fusion of two digits. On at least one occasion, Human-spawned Xenomorphs were observed to have a digitigrade, as opposed to plantigrade posture. However, it should be noted that these were spawned by a Queen grown from cells derived from a clone of Ellen Ripley, making their genetic heritage muddled at best. Some Xenomorphs have tails that are roughly the same length as the rest of their bodies, equipped with a small, almost surgical stinger-like barb on the end. This stinger can be, and has been, used to perforate victims, and may turn loose from the tail and remain lodged in the victim's body, not unlike a bee stinger. Conversely, other specimens have tails that are considerably longer, and armed with a large, knife-like blade at the tip and sometimes with ridges of spikes right before the blade, which may aid in swimming.

Head: A close-up of a Xenomorph head, revealing what might be interpreted as an eye.

The most notable feature of the Xenomorph species is the elongated, banana-shaped head. A potential explanation for this curious shape may be that the head may store muscles required to power the Xenomorph's inner mouth.

In terms of eyesight, the Xenomorph appears to be entirely eyeless. However, there are features on its head which could represent eyes, which are usually hard-to-see due to the fact that they're small and the same black color as the skin.

Other proposed conjectures include that the eyes might be similar to a desert-burrowing lizard's eyes; meaning that they lay under a thin layer of skin, yet are deep enough that they are not visible from the outside. In that case, their eyes could be hidden behind their black carapace and they see through it, similar to a one-sided mirror (except in this case no one can see in, but the Xenomorph can see out). Some species of Earth fish, such as the Barreleyes, see through a transparent layer of skin; it is possible Xenomorph vision is similar. Another idea is that their whole head might represent one big insect-like eye.

Eyeless or not, it is widely assumed that a Xenomorph identifies enemies by sensing pheromones. This has never been explicitly confirmed nor denied, but a Drone will not kill a host that's already infected, so they must have some way of detecting the presence of the unborn parasite within.

Secondary jaws: The secondary jaws (also known as the inner mouth, double jaw, or maw) are another disturbing feature of the species. It's assumed that they're powered by extremely strong muscles inside the creature's elongated head, that enable it to be quickly launched and retracted, similar to the tongue of a chameleon. The albino Xenomorph Drone has a very long inner mouth that can secrete resin that's used to build the walls of their hives.

The inner mouth is typically the Xenomorph's close-combat weapon, as opposed to its long-range tail. The Xenomorph lashes it out of its outer mouth, and it destroys anything it hits, being able to put a hole in a thickened Yautja skull and still have enough momentum to plunge another hole through the back as it escapes. Yautja take them as souvenirs of their kills.

The secondary jaw is powered by muscles, as seen when a Yautja rubs a part of the interior (resembling the gills of a crab), a feature that can be seen from the external midsection on each side of the head, ovular in shape. Muscles rub along here, letting the mouth be pushed out like a piston through the target the Xenomorph has acquired.

The Yautja-spawned Xenomorph (a.k.a. "Predalien") has the ability to use its inner mouth to implant chestburster embryos directly into a host's throat, like a facehugger. Since that particular Predalien was also on her way to developing into a Queen, it's possible that all future-Queens have this ability.

Dorsal spines: Along the back of most Xenomorphs' bodies are a series of appendages that appear to have no clearly-defined function. It's still in debate what they are used for, with theories ranging from sensory organs to communication organs, to breathing apparatus, to defensive mechanisms, to structures that dissipate heat, to storing substances their bodies need, or to provide structures to carry around the young, underdeveloped chestbursters, the eggs or the facehuggers or as a counter weight to keep them from falling over when running. None of these ideas has been confirmed or denied so far.

One theory is that the four back appendages are used as a kind of radar that the alien utilizes to see through extreme environments or detect movements. It is also said that the dorsal spines are used to secrete and possibly store the resin used to build their hives.

It is interesting to note that Xenomorph Drones have been observed to bury themselves in the ground, yet their spines are still shown just breaking the surface, implying some use when connected to the environment. This may be either biological (breathing, heat exchange, etc.) or sensorial (detecting the vibrations of marines walking on the ground above).

Other hypotheses include: Perhaps the spines separate the dominant Xenomorphs from the weaker ones, for example, the smaller the spines, the weaker the Xenomorph. The creatures might come from a mainly amphibious planet, and perhaps the spines are a mechanism to swim underwater faster to catch prey. They do not seem all that hydrodynamic, but it's possible to suppose the spines might be used for stability, like the dorsal fins of a dolphin (not that their shape seems very much efficient at that either). The spines might be spiracles that take in and filter the air around them, while waste is expelled through the mouth. It is widely accepted that they do not have lungs, so this is possible, and yet implausible because Runners (a.k.a. dog-spawned Xenomorphs), don't have them. But it may be that the Runners have lungs. The spines might be used as a defense mechanism, to repel enemies that try to sneak up on them from behind or above. They might also be traits that the alien acquires by chance when developing inside the facehugger, putting the legs of the facehugger on the back. The chestburster does not develop directly from the facehugger (instead, the facehugger plants the egg/larva that will become the chestburster inside a host), but it's not impossible that it acquires genetic traits from it. They might be used to blend in with the hive web when under attack. The spines may be for chestbursters to latch onto, allowing the adult to bring them to a safer location. If the alien uses echolocation to see its prey, these may be what they feel the vibrations from. They may be used to carry unhatched eggs to a new location when the Queen dies, allowing them to still climb walls while on the move. The spines may be used to distribute pheromones - to distinguish one from another, and from other hives. The spines may allow a facehugger to hook their spider-like legs until a victim is near. The facehugger will let go of its crude form of transportation, find the victim, and proceed with the process of laying eggs. The spines may also act as a counter balance, much like a cat's tail, so that the Xenomorph does not fall forward when running. Though in truth, a cat does not require a tail to balance properly while running, it more so helps to balance upon thin surfaces like fences and the backs of chairs, and since the Xenomorph already has a long tail, this idea has little credence. They may be used for breathing, as it's possible that the inner jaws serve only offensive purposes. This also makes sense if one considers that they may have come from a swamp-like planet, where they would lay in wait for prey to wander by. This would also explain the 'dome' over their eyes (assuming they have eyes), which may have functioned similarly to a camel's second eyelids: allowing the alien to see, while preventing stuff from getting in its eyes. The "Runner", a Xenomorph born from a dog or other quadrupedal host, is notable in that it doesn't have dorsal spines. This could be an adaptation to make its body more aerodynamic and thus more efficient for running.

Tail: It is accepted that the tail is an offensive weapon and little more. Though the creature can and will run on all four appendages, it often stands on its two hind legs so it can reach for its prey with its arms. While standing, it has also been seen to impale its victim with its tail, even to the point where it can raise a creature heavier than itself to eye level, possibly in preparation for a face-bite using the secondary jaws. This would clearly be impossible if the tail was needed for balance, as the already-shifting weight would be too awkward, causing the monster to fall.

As a weapon, the tail is extremely efficient, as it is long enough to attack from great distance and can be used in a variety of ways; for example, a Xenomorph has been observed to use its tail to knock the legs out from under a Yautja before trying to stab it.

The tail can be used in stealth attacks, since it is flexible enough to attack from a variety of positions, and is hard to notice if it is behind the enemy, or if the area is rather dark. Even when the sharp point is cut off, the tail is still deadly, as the Xenomorph can use the damaged tail to spray its acid blood from the severed tip over a wide area. Xenomorphs are also capable of using their tails as blunt-force weapons, clubbing their enemies with the vicious tail spikes.

The Yautja are often seen harvesting the tail bones of the Xenomorph to make acid-proof weapons.

Xenomorph's Vulnerabilities: Xenomorphs, in all stages of their life cycles, have been said to have vulnerabilities to heat. The use of molotov cocktails and flamethrowers constitutes an effective technique to drive them off. The only Xenomorph not vulnerable to fire is the Predalien, which can secrete a layer over its body that cannot be ignited, although they are still visibly pained by temperature extremes, such as liquid nitrogen.

A rapid succession of extremes in both high and low temperatures apparently causes a thermal shock effect on a Xenomorph's exoskeleton. Xenomorphs are capable of adapting themselves to cold environments with little discomfort. However, the alien Queen is particularly vulnerable to fire, for unknown reasons.

DNA Adaptation: The host's characteristics determine the chestburster's features. For example, quadrupedal hosts produce chestbursters that are nearly the size of their host and have forelimbs, whereas chestbursters spawned from humans are small and larvae-like and have no forelimbs.

Another highly aberrant form is the Infectoid facehugger, which doesn't implant an embryo, but rather fuses itself to the host's body, transforming the host into an undead zombie-like being, linked to the aliens's hive mind.