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- "Hey, Bishop! Find a new pet?"
- ―Apone to Bishop regarding a dead scorpion (from Aliens: Desert Storm)
The Tanaka 5 Scorpion is a relatively large species of arthropod-like aliens native to the planet Tanaka 5. They bear quite a striking resemblance to the scorpions of Earth.
Traits[]
- "Their brittle carapaces resemble those of this planet's indigenous scorpion life-forms."
- ―Bishop to Hicks regarding the Scorpion Aliens (from Aliens: Operation: Rescue)
These large scorpion-like creatures possess a distinctive bright reddish-orange carapace that made them stick out in the more yellow deserts of their homeworld. They seem to possess more than ten legs, the exact amount of which is unknown due to the only known scorpion being injured.
As their name would suggest, they are quite similar in appearance to scorpions, possessing a long stinger-tipped tail and a pair of claws. However, these features differ from those of an actual scorpion. Their tails are quite articulate compared to that of actual scorpions, the stinger also appears to point down instead of up.
The fact that the tail and stinger are quite thin and small, along with the large claws (chelae) that they possess, suggests the scorpions possess weak venom and instead rely on their claws to crush prey, rarely using their stinger. The pedipalps that the claws are attached to appear to have some form of armor on the "shoulder".
They possess yellowish blood. It is unknown what their mouth looks like or how many eyes they possess.
Habitat[]
The scorpions are, as their name suggests, native to the desert world of Tanaka 5. Their reddish coloration suggests that they might be more commonly found in the rocky mountains of the planet and not in the deserts where they would stand out to any potential predators or prey, though no known predators exist.
The expansive deserts possess little to no vegetation or water, meaning that the scorpions must be adapted to going long times without water. Being a desert world, Tanaka 5 presumably has quite the hot climate and thus the scorpions would also have to find ways to deal with the heat since there is very little shade on the planet.
Diet[]
As the scorpions are the only known native lifeform of Tanaka 5, it is unknown what exactly they feed on.
Trivia[]
- It is unknown how Facehuggers were capable of impregnating the scorpions to create the Scorpion Aliens, as the scorpions lack traditional mouthparts and are around the same size as a Facehugger.
- True scorpions have blue blood due to the presence of the copper-based hemocyanin as an oxygen-transporting protein, instead of the red pigment caused by the iron-based hemoglobin. Since the blood of this animal is yellow, it can be assumed that they are not true scorpions.
- A creature based on these scorpions is detailed in the Alien: The Roleplaying Game rulebook, the Tanakan Scorpionids.
Appearances[]
- Aliens: Desert Storm
- Aliens: Operation: Rescue (mentioned only)