Phronima

A horrifying but thankfully little ocean parasite by the name of Phronima is thought to have served as the model for the alien queen from the film Aliens. That's a disturbing concept for any living being right away, but the phronima gets major points for being hideous in terms of both appearance and behavior.

With the exception of polar regions, the parasites are present practically everywhere on Earth in the oceans. Phrenima swim through open seas as opposed to waiting for food to locate them on the ocean floor like other, closely related species. This is due to the fact that they are looking for a ride.

Phronima seek out other creatures known as salps with their sharp yet small claws. A salp is a tunicate with a barrel-like form that resembles a little, living piece of Jell-O. A phronima will pursue a salp, use its claws to hollow out the interior, and then enter the structure.

Now that they are safe inside of their improvised living vessel, the phronima are able to travel the seven seas while consuming food, drinking, and procreating. Despite being hollowed out, the salp, which is an odd living form to begin with, manages to avoid dying completely. Since the exterior cells continue to function, the entire salp boat structure keeps its shape and safeguards the phronima inside.

The narrative appears to be entirely anecdotal as far as the connection to Alien is concerned. However, there are some convincing side-by-side images that imply the alien queen—rather than the original extraterrestrial created by HR Giger—may have drawn inspiration from the smaller monster.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Superorder: Peracarida
Order: Amphipoda
Suborder: Hyperiidea
Family: Phronimidae
Genus: Phronima