Comments on: From Space/Science, the T-Rex debate… https://habitablezone.com/2017/08/06/from-spacescience-the-t-rex-debate/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:18:10 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: hank https://habitablezone.com/2017/08/06/from-spacescience-the-t-rex-debate/#comment-39888 hank Sun, 06 Aug 2017 19:07:10 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=66090#comment-39888 The alien xenomorph is bipedal for the same reason most BEMs are bipedal: it makes it easier for the costume and casting departments. With CG, our aliens will be more imaginatively designed. What would a real alien looklike? There's no way to answer that, of course, for obvious reasons. But my guess is it will be totally strange and unexpected, although parallel evolution will provide it with several creepily familiar structures. Consider, a critter that looks like a cross between a tarantula and a jellyfish, with eerily human-looking feet. The alien xenomorph is bipedal for the same reason most BEMs are bipedal: it makes it easier for the costume and casting departments.

With CG, our aliens will be more imaginatively designed.

What would a real alien looklike? There’s no way to answer that, of course, for obvious reasons. But my guess is it will be totally strange and unexpected, although parallel evolution will provide it with several creepily familiar structures.

Consider, a critter that looks like a cross between a tarantula and a jellyfish, with eerily human-looking feet.

]]> By: Robert https://habitablezone.com/2017/08/06/from-spacescience-the-t-rex-debate/#comment-39887 Robert Sun, 06 Aug 2017 18:56:59 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=66090#comment-39887 Not that I would stoop to citing Hollywood for my authority, but it's uncanny how often they depicted T Rex bursting out of the foliage to snack on red shirts. I'm not the only one to look at T Rex's body plan and say yep, that there's a vegetation battering-ram. The Alien Xenomorph owes a lot to T Rex, too, in terms of a bipedal body plan built for bursting out of piping and machinery to gobble up crew members. Thank you very much. Not that I would stoop to citing Hollywood for my authority, but it’s uncanny how often they depicted T Rex bursting out of the foliage to snack on red shirts. I’m not the only one to look at T Rex’s body plan and say yep, that there’s a vegetation battering-ram.

The Alien Xenomorph owes a lot to T Rex, too, in terms of a bipedal body plan built for bursting out of piping and machinery to gobble up crew members.

Thank you very much.

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