Real (possible concept) aliens.

Ok, I've noticed that alot of, f not all, of the alien races people say exist are very humanoid, and while I personally believe the grey's are real, and in some distant way related to us, it is extremely unlikely that aliens will develop to be humanoid. This belief that aliens wil be like us, is unfortunately continued by hollywood and mainstream SciFi, so I don't blame people for thinking it.

So, I thought it would be interesting, and generally a good idea, to get people to come up with a concept for an alien that's not humanoid, or based on Terran(Earth) life, that is it can be a quadroped, but it can't be recognisable as being related to a dog or lion or something.

If you feel like it you can add some info about your creation, such as evolutionary facts, size and planetary conditions.


My submission alien is called a ParaFloat.

ParaFloat are four feet in height, and about one and a half feet in diameter.
They exist on a world that has .7 gravity.
They are omniverous, eating mostly fruits, nuts and large insects, and on rare occasions small animals.
ParaFloat travel by climbing tall trees(the equivalent thereof), and jumping off the top of them and into the winds, upon which time there float membrane opens, thusly allowing them to travel short or long distances.
Technologically ParaFloat are very primitive, only at the mastery of fire stage.

So, what are your concepts?
Oh, and of course you don't need a picture, though in the absence of such you will of course have to give a good written description of your creation.

NOTE:
I could'nt figure out where to put this thread, so I put it here, since it has to do with aliens, if a staff member/mod.admin feels it belongs somewhere else, please feel free to move it to the location you think is best for it.

[edit on 7/24/2006 by iori_komei]

Nice artwork and concepts! You certainly do have an interprising mind!

However, your theory that aliens would not be humanoid is a bit flawed. I suggest reading a book called "The Science of UFOs" written by a skeptical scientist with an open mind who examines the UFO subject and give possible scientific explainations for the propulsion of UFOs to possible space travel, ect. The book is written from the point of view: "I have not seen conclusive evidence that UFOs exist, but Ill keep an open mind, and since Im here, Ill examine the UFO case files under the assumption they could be possible, and give my input as to what I believe might be involved".

He goes into alien biology, and why a humanoid body type is not only likely, but the most probably form aliens will take because the bipedal form seems to be favoroed by nature for developing intelligence and technology, and nature, when she finds a successful form, loves to repeat it elsewhere.

Its a good read!

Thanks for sharing your drawings by the way. Your alien forms look like something that might be suited for the atmosphere is a gas giant, like Jupiter or Saturn.

nice, curious now to see more...
For more inspiration, check Discovery Channel's Alien planet.

The CGI or computer animated drama/documentary takes place on Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light years from earth, with 2 suns and 60% of Earth's gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the Mothership Von Braun and three probes: Balboa, Da Vinci, and Newton. This robotic fleet is responsible for finding and assessing any life forms on Darwin IV. Initially, the expectation is to find microscopic life, but the probes soon find themselves in the middle of a developed ecosystem teeming with diversity of life of all sizes. The drama on Darwin IV is motivated by real science missions, such as the NASA Origins Program and the NASA / JPL Planet-Finder Mission, as well as the European Space Agency's Darwin Project. "Alien Planet " is a cosmic expedition along side Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Jack Horner, Craig Venter, and George Lucas, and NASA's Chief Scientist Jim Garvin. No longer just the domain of science fiction, "Alien Planet" dramatizes an exciting and possible answer to what alien life really looks like and when we'll find it.

quote from IMDb

pictures here

[edit on 25-7-2006 by mister Jones]

[edit on 25-7-2006 by mister Jones]

Ok, I've noticed that alot of, f not all, of the alien races people say exist are very humanoid, and while I personally believe the grey's are real, and in some distant way related to us, it is extremely unlikely that aliens will develop to be humanoid. This belief that aliens wil be like us, is unfortunately continued by hollywood and mainstream SciFi, so I don't blame people for thinking it.

Extremely unlikely? Think about this scenario for a moment. There are millions of animal species living on earth and ours just so happens to be the one that came out on top. In fact, all apes, including humans, possess capabilities and intelligence far beyond any other being on the planet.

Limbs with appendages give us the abilities to create motions that are neccessary for civilization. Arms and hands give us the ability to grab, reach, throw, and communicate.

communication is also essential. Exluding telepathy (which some claim aliens possess) speech is the fastest and most precise form of communication.

Walking upright allowed for evolution of the brain to create a more intelligent species as well.

I will say, however, that the planetary environment is a huge deciding factor in the appearance of an alien race. We also know that life needs certain earth-like circumstances to live. If it didn't there would be life on all planets. So if there are planets out there with a similar atmospheric and gravitational make-up in which evolution has taken place, the civilization coming out of that planet would probably not look to different from us.

I guess I should have said it a different way, I'm not opposed to humanoid aliens, but I don't think all aliens will be, I figure about 30% will be humanoid.

Anyways, it's only that alot of scientists I've seen/heard dont think humanoid aliens are likely.

Originally posted by CaptainKirk

Ok, I've noticed that alot of, f not all, of the alien races people say exist are very humanoid, and while I personally believe the grey's are real, and in some distant way related to us, it is extremely unlikely that aliens will develop to be humanoid. This belief that aliens wil be like us, is unfortunately continued by hollywood and mainstream SciFi, so I don't blame people for thinking it.

Extremely unlikely? Think about this scenario for a moment. There are millions of animal species living on earth and ours just so happens to be the one that came out on top. In fact, all apes, including humans, possess capabilities and intelligence far beyond any other being on the planet.

Limbs with appendages give us the abilities to create motions that are neccessary for civilization. Arms and hands give us the ability to grab, reach, throw, and communicate.

communication is also essential. Exluding telepathy (which some claim aliens possess) speech is the fastest and most precise form of communication.

Walking upright allowed for evolution of the brain to create a more intelligent species as well.

I will say, however, that the planetary environment is a huge deciding factor in the appearance of an alien race. We also know that life needs certain earth-like circumstances to live. If it didn't there would be life on all planets. So if there are planets out there with a similar atmospheric and gravitational make-up in which evolution has taken place, the civilization coming out of that planet would probably not look to different from us.

Actually dolphins are smarter than some ape species, so apes are'nt the only smart ones.

But yes, on this palnet the humanoid form is the one thats become superior, that is the superior species.

Are limbs are, evolutionarily speaking, not the best choice, in fact tentacles are the best when it comes to limbs.

As for communication, well we've never seen alot of different communication forms, indeed I read in a SciFi story about a species that communicated by producing complex form at highspeeds on its eye.
Honestly, I think that form of communication is just as good as vocaly, also with vocal communication, it depends on how the species evolves neurologically, and the society, for instance, english is an overly complex language, with many idiosynchracies and double meanings.


The one thing I really doubt is that we'll find an alien species that's totally unrelated to us that looks just like us, that is with 5 toes, four fingers and a thumb, the same ear shape, that kind of stuff.

I have devoloped a humanoid alien as well as the non-humanoid one.
I'll post it and the info for it if anyone is interested.

Actually dolphins are smarter than some ape species, so apes are'nt the only smart ones.

But yes, on this palnet the humanoid form is the one thats become superior, that is the superior species.

Are limbs are, evolutionarily speaking, not the best choice, in fact tentacles are the best when it comes to limbs.

Dolphins are very smart, that is true. But their lack of appendages prohibits them from the use of tools. While the tentacle may be the ideal underwater form of limb, but on land the arm and leg would be much more efffective. The bones in limbs can support the weight of gravity while simple tentacles would not. But if there was a world in which gravity wasn't as strong and the need for speed wasn't as great, then their may be squid or octopus like creatures.

[edit on 26-7-2006 by CaptainKirk]

Originally posted by CaptainKirk

While the tentacle may be the ideal underwater form of limb, but on land the arm and leg would be much more efffective. The bones in limbs can support the weight of gravity while simple tentacles would not. But if there was a world in which gravity wasn't as strong and the need for speed wasn't as great, then their may be squid or octopus like creatures.

[edit on 26-7-2006 by CaptainKirk]

Not neccessarily, if a creature on an Earth type planet with tentacles as limbs, it would evolve special tentacle-limb cells, different from anything seen on earth.

Subsequently, in my thinking, a good mixture of humanoid and tentacles would be for a basic humanoid shape, but instead of one-way jointed fingers, have two long tentacle like fingers and a long, dextrous, though jointed opposable thumb.



Also, I am interested in seeing what aliens people can come up with, as long as there not to Earth like, so yeah.

[edit on 7/26/2006 by iori_komei]

interesting thread, if you read through all the alien encounter stories, whilst most aliens are huminoid there are some weird ones which are like octopusses and have tenticles and the like, some are like wolves and quadropedal, some are bird-like, maybe there is some truth in these stories?

This is what I think... the most useful limb besides legs and arms or tentacles would be a TAIL! A long whip-like tail would be useful for so many things it seems...I know I could certainly use one, especially for slapping. Although maybe if you have so many tentacles like the octopus than it wouldn't be all that necessary.
And you know what, that drawing reminds me of squids. Hmm...