LogFAQs > #956415724

Notti posted...

Someone explain the point of those long... things... long bones... on the back of the Xenomorph.

And why it has such a ridiculously long head.

And why it even needs that tiny little almost useless retracto-mouth. (even the Queen's couldnt get Ripley)

Quite simply. Its art. Judging from HRs progressive concept of the monster (in collaboration with Scott) ~ Theyre supposed to be rudimentary wings or perhaps some kind of vent, or phallic symbol. Or just alien *shrugs* The mouth is probably to create fear, and is definitely a phallic symbol. It may have been for impregnation. Think of it like a snake, so perhaps that is how it administers some toxin. Something like that. Theyre a lot like spiders or cockroaches!

Bear in mind this is a creature drawn from an abstract piece of artwork & they didnt offer or I imagine really even conjure a concrete explanation for many of these things in the original. In that way, you could say it can be whatever you want.



Maybe its another baby (Queen) and the current Xeno is just a host for that creature, and the things on its back help form the carapace pod when it dies.



or they may be vestigial arms of the Queen DNA. Queens have more than 2 arms.

another possibility is that it uses it to penetrate armored surfaces in such a way the jaw cannot, like a piston.