Questions tagged [xenobiology]
Use this tag to mark questions related to creating plausible alien biologies that may be close to or far removed from Earthly biology but within the realms of hard science.
988
questions
2
votes
2answers
48 views
Why might a creature appear to exhale dust rather than gas?
Recently, I have gained an interest in silicon-based lifeforms. I heard mentions here and there that if they exhaled silicon dioxide, they would exhale a fine dust or solid rather than a gas. Now, the ...
-3
votes
2answers
122 views
Mach 3 animal adaptations [closed]
My organism is a bird like organism. It lives in an earth like world. My creature speed clocked at mach 1.what material is my organism reinforced in order to reach mach 1 just by flapping its wings ...
-1
votes
3answers
74 views
Bio chemistry to create heavy rain [duplicate]
My creature creates heavy rain simply by coming into contact with Earth’s atmosphere, its body producing several chemical compounds to produce this effect.
What are plausible bio chemicals for my ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
My creature electricity production mechanism
In my organism electricity is usually generated by absorbing free electrons in the air and using them in combination with a proton-laced electrical sack to create an electric current ,which is then ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
Hyper dense muscles
My organism has hyperdense muscles. This allows their type to generate enormous aerial force, some even able to cut things with their wings or generate G-force winds. What materials is their wings ...
3
votes
2answers
83 views
Could life on a planet under a red dwarf star be ammonia-based?
Instead of water-based, since liquid water would be very hard to come by there...or would it still be warm enough to find water?
I haven't been able to decide if the world should be tidally-locked or ...
6
votes
3answers
629 views
Could alien microorganisms "infect" our own microbiome clouds and then "pollinate" us?
I'm trying to make my idea make sense. I wanted to create an parasitic/symbiotic alien species which reproduces/breeds by air or touch, which they are unaware of. They do not understand why their ...
4
votes
3answers
171 views
Could a mammal camouflage like a cuttlefish?
Could a mammal camouflage like a cuttlefish?
The cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) camouflages itself by contracting the muscles around tiny, colored skin cells called chromatophores. The cells come in ...
1
vote
1answer
101 views
Could an organism use static electricity as a weapon or defense mechanism?
Could an organism use static electricity as a weapon or defense mechanism?
How would they generate the charge? How would they use the charge? Would it be able to kill or stun anything? What ...
1
vote
1answer
173 views
Can a symbiotic alien species reproduce like a virus through pollinated microscopic microbiomes clouds?
Working on a story of an alien body-snatcher invasion type of story. Basically this is a parasitic symbiotic species that evolved to reproduce through their own microbiome cloud by air and touch. ...
6
votes
6answers
3k views
Is it possible for a land organism to break the sound barrier via running?
Is it possible for a land organism to break the sound barrier via running?
I may make an organism that can move faster than the speed of sound, however on this planet the main components of air is ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
Is it possible for an animal to use nerve gas as a defense mechanism?
Is it possible for an animal to use nerve gas as a defense mechanism?
I'm making a book, journal thingy and I may decide to make an animal that uses nerve gas as a "defense mechanism" and by ...
17
votes
8answers
1k views
Are there any useful alternatives to muscles?
Are there any realistic tissues that could be used in place of muscles in alien carbon-based life? There are some real structures that move without muscles, but they don't seem like potential ...
1
vote
1answer
78 views
Internal polar system of my creature
My fauna has a mysterious internal polar system, which enables him to create an aura of voluminous clouds of absolute zero temperatures and summon torrential ice blizzards. What material is my ...
5
votes
5answers
170 views
What could newborn alien offspring need to consume instead of breastmilk?
My intelligent alien species doesn't have nipples at all, nor belly-buttons. I was gonna have it that their babies are very small when born (nearly marsupial-esque, but without natural pouches in the ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
Science of my creature super power
Geo-Ionikinesis: my creature is capable of generating plasmoid flames from thin air, not requiring the consumption of oxygen or combustible objects to maintain the flames. He has been seen being able ...
2
votes
1answer
92 views
Tough creature abilities skin
My creature has the natural ability to cause thunderstorms and heavy rain simply by coming into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, its body producing several chemical compounds and unstable ...
3
votes
2answers
67 views
What would a nectarivorous animal do with waste it can't expel?
I'm reading about these species of aliens that survive solely off of nectar, honey, sugar, and sugar-based products. It's not mentioned whether or not they drink water, but it is mentioned they ...
3
votes
4answers
335 views
The best shape for a piezoelectric tree that harvests energy from rain?
This question is the second part of my previous question about piezoelectric plants. In summary: The plants on my world generate electricity from kinetic energy (piezoelectricity) instead of or paired ...
3
votes
3answers
149 views
Motility as Sexual Dimorphism
I was playing around with my planimal idea when it occurred to me that my world could reinvent fish if I simply tweaked the starting point then applied neoteny (i.e., if they grew to maturity while ...
5
votes
2answers
161 views
Foamy scar formation
Imagine a world, a world several hundreds of light-years away which humans have promptly colonised. These interstellar pioneers land on the mysterious planet which they call home, only for them to see ...
0
votes
3answers
94 views
Science of attack mechanics [closed]
My alien creature has ability to manipulate oceans enmasse without any magic ,no technology but only a biological method like powerful magnetic field how could it work? what materials is it ...
-2
votes
1answer
117 views
Creature design help - biological chemical ways for creatures to generate blizzards [closed]
My organism has power to generate blizzards. It lives in a planet full of methane and insulating gases.
My question is as to how it could generate a blizzard biologically. What compounds would be ...
0
votes
3answers
108 views
Extremely powerful jaws
How my alien creature jaws crush toughest metal alloys in our world with ease ? what structure could it need to produce such bite? and what materials is it possible reinforced that allows it to bite ...
2
votes
3answers
120 views
Plausibility of super powers - conversion of kinetic energy to chemical energy in a body of a creature
My character has ability to absorb and convert kinetic energy of punches ,or anything but only kinetic energy absorbing and convert that into chemical energy .Is this possible in this real world ? ...
5
votes
4answers
420 views
What adaptations would herbivores have if plants had soft cells without walls?
The plants are organisms with soft cells that don't have walls. Their flesh is soft, with a gelatinous-seeming texture (rather than the fibre-based texture common to vegetables and herbs). Most ...
1
vote
4answers
580 views
What would stop megafauna from evolving in low gravity planets?
On planets with lower gravity than earth what might make carbon bases megafaun rarer than in our own planet?
The planets have a source of geothermic energy, solar energy, winds and oceans.
Sometimes ...
1
vote
0answers
70 views
Supercooling biology
I want a chemical reaction that could take place in an organism that can super cool the air within that organism. In nature, there are exothermic reactions that release heat. What is a chemical ...
2
votes
2answers
86 views
Biological furnace
My organism evolved to burn anything .But it is basically a biological furnace .IT works by incinerating anymatter within it .It could vent emit smoke from its vents like openings .But what could ...
3
votes
1answer
64 views
Alternatives to taxonomy [closed]
Are there alternarive methods to taxonomy for defining creatures and their relations with living and extinct relatives?
1
vote
1answer
104 views
Attack mechanism [closed]
My creature attack was basically generated by releasing a stream of super-cooled and super-heated air at the same time which, when they interact with the addition of a strong gust of wind, generates a ...
3
votes
2answers
187 views
Infrared photosynthesis - how make it to work biologically and chemistry and composition of the process?
My creature is capable of obtaining energy from infrared radiation, especially the heat emitted directly by fire (essentially, the closest thing we have to a true "fire-eating" organism). ...
4
votes
1answer
65 views
How could my animal claws work realistically?
My animals can use its claws to crush hull of modern ships. It evolved on an earth like planet. It uses a chemosynthetic metabolism. My question is that what is the chemical composition of the claws ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
Could a plant have soft cells?
Are there any issues with a plant (specifically a multicellular organism that gains energy solely through photosynthesis) having soft cells with no cell walls, similar to animal cells?
3
votes
2answers
89 views
Could an animal have cell walls?
Are there any issues with an animal (specifically a multicellular organism with nerves and muscles) having cells with rigid walls, like a plant or fungus?
3
votes
1answer
82 views
Designing the most plausible space "dwelling" planimals
I'm a scientist of a colonised alien world in the far far future, on a planet which plant-derived insects and meat trees are keystone species in their biospheres. Let's say, I wanted to genetically ...
1
vote
2answers
96 views
Could an organism exist in a vacuum just by temporarily “shutting off” and storing heat?
I’ve heard repeatedly that life in deep space is incredibly unrealistic, but I’ve had a (certainly scientifically stretched) idea for a race of ant-like creatures who live deep under the lunar surface ...
8
votes
2answers
446 views
At what size would a Fairy be biologically viable?
Assume that an external force nudged along the evolution of a mammal and/or insect species towards an appearance mimicking as much of humanity as possible - skin, mouth, language, fingers and thumb, ...
4
votes
1answer
57 views
Can electrosynthetic aliens function in this way?
Ok, so I've been running this idea for an alien biosphere through my head for a while now, but i'm debating how plasuable I can make this.
Starting from the base, these are sedentary autotrophs living ...
6
votes
1answer
184 views
How can an animal get "upgrades" at different stages of its life?
I want an animal that gets harder to kill as it grows older, biologically immortal.
Every time the animal passes different stages of its potentially endless life, it can choose to "upgrade" ...
3
votes
1answer
90 views
What benefits could a creature gain by developing claws on its digits?
I have an alien creature which I am currently designing, but I am hesitant in deciding whether or not it should have claws on its digits.
The creature in question is a bipedal cursorial hunter with ...
0
votes
0answers
46 views
Biosolvents for Life
What biosolvents could, in theory, permit the emergence of life on other worlds? I have been recently looking through possible biosolvents and I have found a good number, but I am specifically looking ...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
Traits of an intelligent & civilized species that lives under a red dwarf star?
More details -- their planet is very bigger than Earth, has stronger gravity than Earth's, it has 2 moons, it's not tidally locked, and they're supposed to have evolved from social obligate carnivore ...
1
vote
1answer
223 views
An alien species that doesn't need to drink liquids?
Nearly all life on Earth needs to drink water to survive. But what if my alien species only needs to eat to get by?
2
votes
1answer
45 views
How to keep An Apex Predator Nocturnal: Or, Keeping Whitespikes Nocturnal with Giant Ants
For my story about 12,000 Americans being dropped into an alien planet's desert, I have massive pack predators (Think the Withespikes from The Tomorrow War, but not as hungry, big, or with ranged ...
2
votes
2answers
122 views
Biological spacesuits for humans?
Suppose that alien nanobots can alter human bodies by mutation and gene editing, such as recreating their digestive system to allow them to eat synthetics and plastics in order to produce natural body ...
6
votes
4answers
205 views
Would pleopod swimming scale?
Would pleopod-based swimming locomotion seen in animals like giant isopods work at much larger sizes, or would drag (or something else?) be too much of a problem?
The pleopods, also known as ...
2
votes
0answers
67 views
Ammonia-based Nitrogenic Photosynthesis [duplicate]
How would photosynthesis work if it used ammonia as a solvent and was nitrogenic as opposed to water-based oxygenic photosynthesis? Ammonia is a basic solution so it might need some other kind of ...
3
votes
2answers
272 views
If Gastropods Were the Size of Dogs, What Sound Would Their Mouths Make?
Inspired by If Spiders Were the Size of Horses, What Sound Would They Make? but relevant to my own world.
I'm thinking of a terrestrial slug or snail, the size of a large dog (Great dane or Irish ...
16
votes
6answers
6k views
If Spiders Were the Size of Horses, What Sound Would They Make?
I'm worldbuilding an alternate earth which has less gravity and the high oxygen levels of the late carboniferous. Thus, resulting in very large invertebrate life. In one scene, the main character is ...
