#alien biology

[zineobiology]

just to clarify, when you say the deadlines for apps are 1st & 30th august, is that applications through the google doc form or is that the actual submission(s)? love this idea by the way, thank you for creating this space :)

Those are applications through the Google form! Submissions will be due on the 30th of October.

#star trek #zine #xenobiology #alien biology #zine o'biology #fake academic journal #fake ads #free zine

[claybeetles]

I have a lot to share here but we'll start with this This is my spec biology planet, basically earth on hard mode, more hostile, colder ("Warm" regions are 70 degrees F max) Most of this art is pretty old, bottom is most recent

#alien species #speculative biology #speculative evolution #alien #alien biology #alien planet #science fiction #biology

[sinisterexaggerator]

Anyway, Weequay normally only communicate by pheromones, right? Do you think they'd also do scent marking? ie rubbing against their partners or by other means?

Yes, they do! I wrote some about it here.

To quote myself:

Sriluurian, the language of the Weequay "was formed by guttural mumbles and subdued whispers." It also used hieroglyphs as a written form. It is a language used to communicate with people from other tribes, as Weequay from the same clan/tribe could communicate via their pheromones and did not need to use spoken language.

To that end, I do think so, yes! Since it is their prime way of communicating, I can imagine that those Weequay with special bonds might "communicate" that a partner is theirs by using their own scent to mark them, letting other Quay know to "back off!" he/she/they are mine!

I imagine some may be more aggressive about it, and others more subtle. Hondo would be the subtle type, if he even indulged in that kind of behavior at all. ;D I rarely see him keeping the same partner for long, anyway, unless it is someone VERRRYYYY special, and since he went off world and speaks Basic and other languages, besides perhaps gently giving them a nuzzle to imprint his pheromones, he might just give them a stern, "You are mine."

#Weequay #Headcanons #Star Wars #Hondo Ohnaka #Alien Biology

[ahamkara-apologist]

Not to be insane in your inbox but I simply MUST hear more of your Uluran specbio headcanons. They keep me sane.

Okay yeah I'm just gonna post this now- been fiddling with it for several weeks and keep getting distracted by cool reproductive biology facts (like the complexities of rhino cervixes and why it makes conservation efforts via artificial insemimation so difficult) so here ya go. Most of this is reproductive biology bc I'm studying to be an evolutionary geneticist for conservation purposes, so be aware of that- all that good stuff is under a readmore

*Note: I started using the terms ‘bulls’ for male Uluru and ‘sows’ for female Uluru midway through this bc I got tired of writing ‘male/female’ over and over again, as this doc also contains Eliksni and Hive biology musings. It helps distinguish the Uluran section from the others a bit. I also use Uluru/Uluran interchangeably, with ‘Uluru’ being the notation for individuals and ‘Uluran’ being the notation for a group/the species as a whole.

General:

-The exposed upper gumline we see in almost all Uluru faces isn't how their lips normally rest; baring the teeth and upper gum is an expression of superiority/confidence in their strength. The reason we almost always see their faces in this position is because the Uluran almost universally view humans as weaker, and even those like Caiatl (who has seen otherwise) does it on instinct because they cannot fathom how much smaller we are

-Which, to be fair, doesn't say a lot; an Uluru with a relaxed mouth typically only occurs in private, when around their mate or equals. When an expression can mean both 'I am greater than you' as well as 'I am confident in myself and my abilities', and the whole society they live in is based around being the best of your class, then it's going to be a very common facial expression

-(On a side note: their growth hormones being triggered by a sense of pride isn't actually all that outlandish. House Sparrows exhibit a similar occurrance in real life, where winning dominance battles against other males increases the size of their bib, a black patch on their chest that indicates where they are placed in their social hierarchy. The more fights they win, the bigger their bib)

-Uluran fat distribution is mostly internal, and is focused around the organs to act as shock barriers when fighting; their muscles typically layer over the fat bands. The one exception to this is around the throat/jowl area, where fat layers over the thick muscle pads to help protect the vulnerable area from being gored by tusks during fighting

-Unlike in human society, hitting on a married individual is not socially unacceptable, especially if the individual doing the flirting believes that the pairing is an unfit match for one another and they can do better. It's considered romantic and marriage-affirming for the partner who's being shamed in this situation to chase the other suitor off. This weighed especially heavily on the sows bc of the vulnerable mate-guarding lactation period post-pregnancy

-(However it should be noted that Uluran gender roles are less restrictive in some ways than humans bc they’re based more on the strength of the individual than their ability to perform preset social rules, and that in modern times this is more for show)

-Historically, reverse-harem groups were a common sign of status, with one particularly fit sow mating with three or four bulls and/or having ‘lesser’ males that she did not mate with (or stole from other sows) nursing her calves. In some extremely traditionalist groups/among gladiators, this still occurs, but most mating groups max out at three individuals because the posturing required to keep people interested is just…a lot. Its a lot of mutual impressing to do

Reproductive biology:

-Much like hyenas, sows have a pseudopenis that is a result of increased androgens, and big pseudopenises on sows are seen as a mark of great status/strength. Tusk size/growth rates is also sometimes correlated with pseudopenis size, since the amount of androgens in the blood stream are correlated with both tusk growth rates and penis size

-Unlike hyena pseudopenises, however, the urinary tract does run through the shaft of the clitorus, while the birth canal essentially opens halfway down the shaft, creating a pouchlike vaginal opening. Arousal is required for this pouch to unfold; if not, penetration cannot occur, and in an unaroused state, it collapses in on itself into the base of the shaft, which then folds into the sheath for total protection. This evolved to keep the genital area clean, but has been co-opted to prevent mating until the female is ready, much like hyenas

-Yes, in less civilized times the pseudopenis was also used for dominance displays. During the breeding season, sows would evert their hemipenes in a half-erect state to essentially show off their fitness, which would greatly influence male mate choice. Tusk size = general status, penis size = reproductive status

-Bulls only receive a spike in androgens after the sows actively courting them go into an estrus cycle, which triggers increased sperm production and makes their testicles swell in size to what would be normal on a mammal (inspired by how bird testicles increase in size during mating season) and skyrockets their seminal viability 200% above average, specifically for the purpose of fertilizing a female in estrus. After fertilization occurs, they have to be around a pregnant sow for an extended period of time to a.) drop them back to a normal, non-breeding state and b.) induce lactation for the arriving calves, which is typically when mate guarding begins to occur in earnest. Both hormone cycle mechanisms are pheromonally regulated, but may have a 'ghost cycle' occurrence where the hormone fluxes occur on a very minor level

-As a consequence: very humanly 'masculine' bulls are typically less traditionally attractive compared to bulls with what we might consider more 'feminine' traits. Bulls with too much testosterone will have tusks on par with sows, larger penises, and testes that are noticeably descended from the abdominal cavity. While they are typically more capable of fertilizing sows, they are incapable of producing milk or are subpar at it, which means they cannot gestate the resulting calves effectively, so that increased fertility is essentially useless

-(However, it is important to note again that Uluran gender roles do not correlate to human ones, and high-testosterone bulls will still be considered very valuable fighters, warriors, and champions. They're just not considered suitable mate material, and are laughed or scoffed at if they ever want to have a family of their own. Ghaul was an example of a high-testosterone bull)

-[OOPS I ACCIDENTALLY WROTE THIS TWICE BUT DONT WANNA DELETE IT] Fertilization is internal and requires cooperation of both parties to occur. The female vaginal opening itself is composed of erectile tissue, and directly connected to the base of the pseudopenis; when aroused, it everts from the body cavity in an unfurling motion (as the outer labia are composed of thick skin that tuck inwards for protection) and sticks out a bit for ease of penetration.

-The male penis does much the same, but is long, thin, and semiprehensile, allowing it to easily curve under the curve of the abdomen and slip into the vagina via touch alone. The head flares after ejaculation to scrape out the sperm of opposing males, but isn’t terribly effective at it, as it is composed of soft, spongy tissue to be able to exit the tighter vaginal opening. Because bulls typically pick only one sow to mate with, the effect is not terribly drastic compared to, say, the Eliksni (who are much more promiscuous)

-Vanilla sex is typically done standing, with abdomens pressed together and reciprocal stimulation occurring in a slow rocking motion until orgasm is obtained. Casually reclining is another option, but the evolutionary default was to mate while standing bc it allowed for quicker reaction timing if a threat approached

-Uluran have 5 nipples, placed under the main abdominal fat pad and covered with their pouch, which is a flap of tough hide with very elastic skin around its edges that can be torn away if a certain pattern of muscle contractions occur (much like lizard caudal autonomy). Both bulls and sows have a pouch that can be opened, but it is vastly reduced to a mere fold of skin on sows. The pouch typically only opens when stimulated by the birth of calves (triggered by the scent of newborn calves), or when stimulated from within. The skin that seals it shut has no pain receptors, and calf ejection has to be voluntarily triggered in order to occur- the default pathway is 'closed'.

-Births are a private affair, limited only to one's mate; a midwife and their apprentice may come stay on the property, but typically only come in if something is wrong. Even though Uluran calves are born underdeveloped, much like marsupials, they also suffer from the same evolutionary blows dealt to humans in that an upright stance and larger brains made birth more difficult. Pair that with the fact that they're coming out of a narrow birth canal, and yeah, first-time births are often quite painful; Uluran culture typically see birth as a battle, and first births (where tearing of the vaginal canal almost always occurs in some capacity) as a blood rite.

-If possible, the calves are born onto the bulls's abdomen as he guards/monitors his mate, which is all the help that they are traditionally allowed to get as they crawl into his pouch and latch onto a tear to complete development. Any that fail to reach the pouch are left to die

-Up to five calves can be born at a time, but 2 is typically much more common. Of a five-calf litter, only four will ever be healthy; the fifth will always be a runt, and almost never survive. Six is practically unheard of, and always leads to the litter dying because all of the other calves are too underdeveloped to have been carried to term

-Calves are roughly palm-sized when born, and are a stoutly compact, rectangular pink blob of flesh. They're essentially fetus potatos, with the only developed part of them being their crawling limbs. Their skin is transparent, thin, and heavily vascularized, especially along their bellies, as the interior of a bull's pouch is also highly vascularized, and oxygen exchange occurs through cross-current exchange across the skin. Once they find and latch to a nipple, the babies will essentially fuse belly-first to their father's pouch + teat, and will stick there until they're developed enough to leave the pouch and start breathing on their own (the thick hide on their bellies is the last thing to develop before leaving the pouch). This also means that calf ejection is almost always fatal, as it involves the tearing of that oxygen-exchange patch

-Uluru milk consists almost entirely of protein, with the remaining content being mostly fats. There's very little sugar in it, and just enough water to give it the consistancy of something slightly thinner than heavy cream. It's basically an antibody-packed protein shake, and allows the calves to grow at tremendous speeds once born. They're capable of tripling their weight in the first week alone

-(Coincidentally, how fat a baby is when they leave the pouch is deemed a way to tell how fit the male is to be a father. The fatter the baby is, the sexier the male, as that means he's fit enough to be producing very high-quality milk at very little cost to himself)

-(Yes this means that Calus was peak dilf material in Uluran terms. Deal with it)

#destiny 2 #speculative biology #alien biology #uluran #uluru #cabal #anon #reply #destiny 2 headcanons #long post #ill draw pentis and vagoo diagram later. for now. potato babies and evolution hcs #(btw i had to stop myself before I made them triploblastic like i nearly did for eliksni dhfhdj)

[knowledgevariabledarcy]

#alien baby #alien boyfriend #alien biology #alien baltan #alien books #Youtube

[honeysucklethornsandalligtrhorns]

was thinking about how weird alien sex seems to me, then imagined how weird human sex must seem from an alien perspective. then wondered why every 'alien au' fic i read gives the alien some sort of tentacle or monster dick and thought "what if aliens didnt have the classic 'stick a thing into a hole' method for pleasure? what if they got pleasure from some sort of osmosis (i think thats the right word) or from another part of their body, like their ha-"

it was at that point that i realized i was just rewriting vulcans and put that train of thought to rest

#THE UNDEAD STAR TREK HYPERFIX STRIKES AGAIN #star trek #alien biology #idekkkk #my post #ig??

[ultimatefangirl-exe]

I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE SPACE BUGS POST FROM 7 YEARS AGO AND I NEED TO FIND IT! I NEED TO REBLIG IT!!!!!!!

#space bugs #alien #alien biology #i heard it read in an r/tumblr video and now I need to read it with my own eyes

[tomblrmartian]

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TRANSLATION: Fun fact: Martianz are bazically made out of what you humanz would call [] ! We are very zquizhy and flexible and gooey, but uzually have a zlightly humanoid form (bezides having four armz, being tranzluzcent orange, having no mouth, and having five eyez.)

#martian #alien biology #celestial same picverse

[pastelpenguins]

Here me out, extraterrestrials that look look and mostly evolved like us. (Pretty sure that would be convergent evolution?) But the have an exoskeleton instead of soft skin and you know how wings can make a fake face to ward off predators.

That but it's the face, so they have a similar way to how the wings move apart and underneath is their actual face that matched the wing design but they can emote and do what humans do with their faces. It's just covered normally unless with whoever they wanna be intimate or friendly with.

So to them, showing emotions is the height of trust and maybe they would be weirded out by us for showing emotions like we do? Because why are some of us so trusting if they know that some humans are stoic all the time.

Also there would probably be alot of HR complaints about us smiling at them too, if they weren't used to it.

#extra terrestrial #aliens #humans are space oddities #humans are weird #alien biology

[zineobiology]

Just a small question (if you want to share it) how many ad summitions has the zine gotten?

No problem. So far we have 4 ad submissions!

#star trek #zine #zine o'biology #xenobiology #alien biology #fake ads #fake academic journal #free zine #fanart #fanfic #star trek zine #fanzine

[sinisterexaggerator]

Trying to come up with scientific names for Star Wars species. The Fiction Taxonomy wiki lists Duros as Roswellius duros. They don’t have an entry for Weequays, so I’m trying to think of one for them. I think Weequays are pachyderms. “Pachyderm” isn’t a valid taxonomical category though, so order and family are still up for debate

Whoa! There is a Fiction Taxonomy wiki? I had no idea. So fans just create / contribute to this? That’s wild!

“Roswellius.” HAH. Currently, I am living in Roswell, home to the 1947 UFO crash, so this amuses me.

Personally, I see Duros more like skinks, and Weequay more like bearded dragons. I sort of just come up with my own ideas in relation to alien biology and taxonomy, but this is super cool!

For example, I’d stick Weequay in the Squamata order and the Agamidae family. If it was up to me, that is.

#weequay #duros #taxonomy #alien biology #Star Wars

[raitou-otcha]

What if, (Alien) Pitch is immortal, like his spieces can do that, they also get 'recycled' into new bodies and thus are new people (?)

Pitch can die, he just dies repeatedly, his body stays dead momentarily so it can recover and then it starts moving again. Maybe when he gets defeated by the Guardians he actually dies and they've got no clue unless they went out looking for him and end up finding his current corpse.

I guess you can imagine makima in the train scene where she dies yet doesn't. Imagine that mechanic but species.

Some injuries are more time costing to heal, than others.

#pitch black #rotg #rise of the guardians #guardians of childhood #alien biology #immortality

[legionofmyth]

Aliens Unlimited: Aliens

Curious about the alien races in Aliens Unlimited? Our latest video gives you the lowdown on the most popular species! #AlienRaces #TabletopRPG #AliensUnlimited

Aliens Unlimited Heroes Unlimited 2E Embark on a thrilling adventure with our introduction to Aliens Unlimited by Palladium Books, Inc. This video will guide you through the game’s universe, where humans and aliens coexist in a complex galaxy of conflict and camaraderie. Learn about the innovative character creation system, the dynamic powers, and the rich lore that makes Aliens Unlimited a…

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#alien abilities #alien biology #alien species #Aliens Unlimited #Character Creation #character design #cosmic beings #creature feature #exotic aliens #galactic diversity #gaming community #imaginative worlds #immersive characters #legion of myth #Palladium Books #popular alien races #roleplaying games #rpg monsters #sci fi roleplay #sci-fi creatures #sci-fi lore #space opera #superhero rpg #tabletop gaming

[cucuxumusu]

Omega Bruce who wants a pup (duh!), so he goes to a sperm bank to get an anonymous donation. Everything goes well, until he goes to his first checkup and finds out the pup is developing weirdly, and just as he is freaking out, an alpha (Clark) enters the examination room saying "I can smell my pup".

#alien biology #strangers to lovers #superbat #superman #bruce wayne #clark kent #batman

[downy-roses]

Another worldbuilding idea:

Chimera: one of two main branches of animal -like life on my speculative evolution project for an alien planet. *I believe I’ve talked about them before like a year or more ago.* anyways, they exist as bilaterally symmetrical adult forms, but each adult is actually two genetic individuals, one forming each half of the organism. They then are capable of reproducing with their other half. This is because early on finding a partner was so dangerous, it was easiest to literally stick with one once found. Then some went neotnic and maintained mobility in adulthood.

The young are trilaterally symatrical. As young they come in two “sexes” left and right. They will find a partner, join with them, and metamorphose into an adult.

More “basil” forms, like the scaled worms, have two distinct brains and separate systems of hearts, though a single digestive tract and skin.

While the “Vertebrates” have completely fused nervous and cardiovascular systems. They also have bones formed from ossified blood vessels, repurposing reactivated calcified shell making genes of their sessile ancestors. (Their bones are also partially copper based).

Anyways, shared one idea, so couldn’t not share this one. They come from Tirna. A planet pretty visually based on fae and other folkloric creatures, with most of the species meant to at least superficially resemble mythological creatures.

#aliens #alien biology #worldbuilding #worldbuilding ideas #tir na nog #folklore

[monstersandmaw]

Oooh that post about the implications of an "Evil Sapient Fantasy Race" has some interesting ideas. Especially on what humans would see as "evil".

I remember an old concept I had for some science-fiction themed writing that I wasn't really able to get anywhere but it was about one alien species that reproduces parasitically and thus the other races, humans included, hated and reviled them and branded them as "evil" because the idea of parasitism is an inherently unappealing notion that we find horrific and disgusting.

But the twist was, the parasitic race was actually a benevolent people. They told stories, had families, had a rich cultural tradition of art and literature and were technologically advanced and willing to meet and befriend other races to teach them new things and learn from them in turn. It just so happens that their biology, that they had no choice over, requires them to lay eggs inside living hosts to reproduce, and even though they now used non-sapient livestock animals for the purpose which were humanely euthanized before the larvae hatched and burst out of them, the other races still found them "disgusting" and were outright hostile to them, with only a few of the main protagonists seeing beyond their parasitic reproduction to the true nature within.

Idk where I was going with that concept but the post of depicting a whole sapient species as good or evil reminded me of that old idea. Perhaps some others can add on their ideas to this as well :)

Ooh, yeah, I can see why a parasitic species would cause tension and difficulties like that

#parasitic reproduction #alien biology #mention of parasite #parasite #aliens #anon ask #body horror #egg laying