Runners, a.k.a. "Dog Aliens", are produced from a facehugger jumping onto a dog or other quadrupedal species, such as an ox. They act as scouts for the hive, likely due to their quadrupedal and fast nature. In the story Superman vs. Aliens, upon receiving a headbite, Superman humorously described it as "like I went a couple more rounds with Doomsday!"

It is heavily implied that Weyland-Yutani's original synthetic android David was the chief designer of the first Xenomorph egg and therefore the creator of the species. However, there are no solid facts as to the origins of the Xenomorph species; instead, there are many theories which cannot be confirmed. They may be an artificially created species, or they may have evolved naturally on a planet very different from Earth.

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. Giger initially designed the eggs with a much more obvious vaginal appearance, complete with an "inner and outer vulva". [34] The producers complained that Catholic countries would ban the film if the allusion was too strong, so Giger doubled the lobes to four so that, in his words, "seen from above, they would form the cross that people in Catholic countries are so fond of looking at". [34] Warriors average in size at about 8 feet tall (~ 2.4 meters) standing on hind legs, and about 14–16 feet long (~ 4.2 to 4.9 meters), tail included. In most cases, the Warrior looks the same as a Drone, except that the dome on top of the head is generally ridged. 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.

It's also been claimed that after a hive grows to around 2,000 members, the younger Queens set out to establish new hives, and that if the Empress is destroyed, it would cause the younger Queens to fight over the new hive ruler. It's most likely that an "Empress" Xenomorph is merely a Queen that has dominated the other Queens in a hive. This would make the title "Empress" just that: a title.

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The spines may be used to distribute pheromones - to distinguish one from another, and from other 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 [9], 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). I have to re-watch the movies, but my recollection is that aliens move about as if they relied on non-visual senses. First off, they live in very dark environments (there's no lighting in the xenomorph hives), and even when they leave they mostly come out to hunt at night, mostly. Within its franchise, the Xenomorph has been referred to as "Kane's son", a "creature", a "serpent", a "beast", a "dragon", a "monster", a "nasty", a "thing", a "bug", among others.

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. That said, the alien queen, at least, appears to be able to see what Ripley is doing at a distance, e.g. when she threatens the eggs with the flamethrower. It's possible she has a rudimentary optical sense combined with an IR/heat-sensing ability like pit vipers: In later films, such as Alien: Resurrection and Alien vs. Predator, they are depicted as being shorter and bulkier organisms, as well as being more quadrupedal, portrayed by either stuntmen in suits for close-ups, or computer-generated imagery for their full form. Giger's design for the Alien evoked many contradictory sexual images. As critic Ximena Gallardo notes, the creature's combination of sexually evocative physical and behavioral characteristics creates "a nightmare vision of sex and death. It subdues and opens the male body to make it pregnant, and then explodes it in birth. In its adult form, the alien strikes its victims with a rigid phallic tongue that breaks through skin and bone. More than a phallus, however, the retractable tongue has its own set of snapping, metallic teeth that connects it to the castrating vagina dentata." [7] Name [ edit ]

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. Though maintaining the basic design shown in the Aliens vs. Predator video games, numerous artistic liberties were taken in the film portrayal of the Predalien. Or rather, would have been taken. One abandoned concept was to have the Predalien reproduce by injecting victims with "DNA acid" through its tail, causing the victim to swell and explode. In Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Experiment 627 is shown to have an extendable appendage in his mouth similar to the Xenomorphs. The Xenomorph has been portrayed in noticeably different ways throughout the film series. Much of this was due to the continuing advancements made in the field of special effects, technology, and techniques used to bring it to life.