# Xenomorph Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796 "2017-08-16T14:23:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/1 "2017-08-16T14:23:11Z")
Do Aliens have…eyes? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/2 "2017-08-16T14:48:23Z")
If you mean the aliens from the Alien movies, then no, they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/3 "2017-08-16T15:17:04Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Do Aliens have…eyes? They have eye sockets in their skulls, but have a smooth covering over their heads. Maybe they have eyes that look through a transparent carapace. Who knows? > **[alien xenomorph skull - Bing](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=alien%2Bxenomorph%2Bskull&id=BF8E163FFF3F8344134CA3C0F35C8A4FF54865DE&FORM=IQFRBA)** > > Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you. I’ll bet they haven’t thought it out. In any event, (apparently) eyeless creatures that can tell where you are can be incredibly creepy, and show up in horror novels and movies a lot. see Alan Garner’s _The Weirdstone of Brisingamen_, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/4 "2017-08-16T18:11:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > …In any event, (apparently) eyeless creatures that can tell where you are can be incredibly creepy, and show up in horror novels and movies a lot. see Alan Garner’s _The Weirdstone of Brisingamen_, for instance. Lots of 'em out there: [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EyelessFace](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EyelessFace) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/5 "2017-08-16T20:08:34Z")
The graboids from Tremors. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/6 "2017-08-16T23:15:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > They have eye sockets in their skulls, but have a smooth covering over their heads. Maybe they have eyes that look through a transparent carapace. Who knows? > [alien xenomorph skull - Search Images](https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=alien+xenomorph+skull&id=BF8E163FFF3F8344134CA3C0F35C8A4FF54865DE&FORM=IQFRBA) > I’ll bet they haven’t thought it out. > In any event, (apparently) eyeless creatures that can tell where you are can be incredibly creepy, and show up in horror novels and movies a lot. see Alan Garner’s _The Weirdstone of Brisingamen_, for instance. Composite eye that blends with the carapace, sensitive to the infrared spectrum? ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/7 "2017-08-16T23:24:08Z")
Simple: it [relies on directions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ah2oALAk0Y#t=3m18s) ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/8 "2017-08-17T00:57:50Z")
Alien 3 had several scenes shown through the creature’s eyes. [https://youtu.be/kPfEEJ5aG10?t=15s](https://youtu.be/kPfEEJ5aG10?t=15s) ---
**Author:** ![TYphoonSignal8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@TYphoonSignal8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TYphoonSignal8)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/9 "2017-08-17T02:08:42Z")
Good list of Earth animals with odd eye functions and eye appearances here. [10 Animals With Incredible Eyes - Listverse](http://listverse.com/2010/12/12/10-animals-with-incredible-eyes/) Assume that a xenomorph’s eyes are like a trilobite’s or spook fish’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/10 "2017-08-17T04:20:03Z")
H.R. Giger used a human skull to make the prototype of the alien head, but deliberately designed not to have visible eyes. His thinking was that it appeared more menacing that way. [Aliens Wikia cite](http://aliens.wikia.com/wiki/Xenomorph#Physical_Abilities) ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/11 "2017-08-17T17:36:05Z")
I thought it was to make it more closely resemble a penis ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/12 "2017-08-17T20:04:17Z")
Perhaps it’s kinda like the [barreleye fish](http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/transparent-fish-video-vin), which has huge, upward-looking tubular eyes inside a transparent dome-like head, only that the carapace isn’t transparent in the (human) visual range. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenomorph-question/793796/13 "2017-08-18T08:09:33Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Perhaps it’s kinda like the [barreleye fish](http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/transparent-fish-video-vin), which has huge, upward-looking tubular eyes inside a transparent dome-like head, only that the carapace isn’t transparent in the (human) visual range. At least one[Xenomorph skull that we’ve seen](https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&biw=1284&bih=690&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=xenomorph+skull+predator&oq=xenomorph+skull+predator&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.303.2054.0.2155.10.9.1.0.0.0.181.828.6j2.8.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.6.550.M3IYINPiP7M), however, appears to to have solid bone over the frontal “dome” of the carapace. Vagaries of the canon, the creatures’ anatomy and genetic traits (they are known to adapt at least some of their host-species’ biology into their own adult forms, and there might be many thousands of years of genetic separation between Xenomorph strains), and even the effects of Predator trophy-preservation techniques might not make this a definitive answer. The [Colonial Marines Technical Manual](https://www.amazon.com/Aliens-Colonial-Marines-Technical-Manual/dp/1781161313) has a neat section transcribing some Weyland-Yutani scientist/executives puzzling over the fragmentary information they’d recovered from LV-426, trying to figure out Xenomorph anatomy, including their sensory systems. There’s speculation at one point, IIRC, that the Xenomorphs’ elongated heads were part of a complex auditory system, if not true echolocation, that they used instead of actual vision.