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I love you guys. I also refuse to proof-read still, apparently. The bar only goes up!
I plan on trying to let to you know what is what anatomically, yet I plan also on using words like "head" instead of "cephalon." Feedback would be "impeccably timed" (lol admiral Urun) here, to really help me understand what is bad about my posts, what is great about my posts and what I can post pictures of to help you guys understand how to educate you better, as this is a passion of mine.
Seriously, if you think I'm a full retard then please let me know. If I'm wrong, let me know. If I'm the best thing you've ever read, let me know. If you are a thin girl (18+ ) that is sexually available but has emotional or daddy issues, let me know. Let me know my friends, let me know.
<3
PS Roach incoming followed by Infestor and then drone, unless I get the random urge to do swarm host in there. Roach is assured to be the next though!!! Post observations/comments about the roaches in game attack, upgrades and especially dynamic anatomy here! I will use any resources I am not too lazy to use.
Edit: I assume it's not just me but are the Ultra's eyes in a sub-downward orientation???
![[image loading]](http://images.wikia.com/starcraft/images/b/b8/Ultralisk_SC2_Head2.jpg)
Nope, not just me, they are angled down with lovely accentuated overhangs called eye sockets. Clearly borrowed from the eye turrets of Chameleons, but in this case with an imposed downward gaze from all kinds of fun upper eyelid tissue. Makes so much sense! Ask me if you care to know more. I am also sour about the spike coming from the neck-chin, don't worry about it. It is useless....and then they doubled it.
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Great read, waiting for more 
Some thoughts for your next topic:
The roach obviously has two attacks. One with their (top ?) claws in melee and some acid spitting.
For the acid I can think of two possible originations. A gland in their mouth which enriches their salvia with acidic substances when in stressfull situations (fight or flight etc) or just simply stomach acid.
The stomach acid would be a one time attack just before the engagement to blind the enemy and overall decrease their combat capacity through pain etc. Spitting could be more constant, as shown in the game.
Evolutionary the spitting gland could have developed from something that helped the roach to dissolve hard plant parts or bones before they reach the stomach.
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the acid gland isn't in the mouth or stomach. Given the anatomy, I would think it is located in the carapace surrounding the head. If you generate acid outside of a stomach it becomes more of a volatile/last ditch defense mechanism (bombardier beetle) or a powerful offensive tool (hymenoptera.)
I am leaning towards a case of 1 to 3 acid glands that spray around the head using the carapace to direct it, etc, I have some special surprises for the elaborate roach biology coming up.
I really love youre idea, please keep me up to date on how you develop it. I will develop my idea more in the upcoming roach anatomy post! (coming soon) This is a great post, by the way. You really are thinking and putting effort into your response. While I may not use your ideas, I want you to develop them. Make your own science/anatomy concepts and then double them.
Remember, fledgling anatomists:You don't make a mistake, you just aren't perfect the first (or in my case, 600th) time!
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It always makes me happy to see passionate nerds engaging in something analytical and fun instead of flaming and so on. Even for a non-biologist, this thread is a great read. Thanks for the nerdfest!
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Passionate nerds are at high risk for slap fights.
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When I look at the ultralisk pictures, I would say that there are either multiple polymorphisms of this species or the two pics you posted are male (probably the one with the 3 giant teeth in the lower jaw) and female (the upper picture).
What's really bothering me with the detailed ultralisk depiction is that the way the muscles are mounted points towards an exoskeleton like it's found in crustacean with the muscles fixed to the hard outer shell. The arthropod nature is also suggested by the upgrade chitinous plating as chitin is usually the material used for arthropod shells.
Yet lore wise, the ultralisk is probably derived from vertebrates, especially as the arthropod respiratory system shouldn't support a creature of that size if it isn't in an environment with an extremely high oxygen atmosphere.
So I maybe the fusion process between the insectoid zerg origin species and the ultralisk ancestor isn't complete yet. That would account for the high variability in appearance as well as for the seemingly random sprouting of horns or horn plating, that appears more like a hyperkeratosis that properly evolved and grown protective plates.
Regarding the angle of the legs, I would liken it to turtles that have similarly mounted legs to lower their center of gravity and gain stability. At that height, with feet mounted straight down, it could be prone to being knocked on the side. I agree, that it's a nightmare to carry energy wise, but the ultralisk could be usually living partly submerged in rivers and swamps, where the distribution of weight over a larger area would also help with the softer ground.
The primary scythes actually don't make that much sense. At that size they won't be sharp nor fast enough to really cut and they aren't aligned to crush. You could only imagine that their tips would puncture. Also the second pair is aligned even worse and probably of even less use as the lower pair is in the way. As major forms of attack I would actually suggest the nasal horn (it looks nasty and functional) and - most important - trampling.
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On September 08 2012 18:57 Ponera wrote:
I really love youre idea, please keep me up to date on how you develop it. I will develop my idea more in the upcoming roach anatomy post! (coming soon) This is a great post, by the way. You really are thinking and putting effort into your response. While I may not use your ideas, I want you to develop them. Make your own science/anatomy concepts and then double them.
Remember, fledgling anatomists:You don't make a mistake, you just aren't perfect the first (or in my case, 600th) time!
Thanks.
I'm not really schooled in biology. I just had my palaeontology lecture for some basic biological taxonomy and terms - that's it. So all I can do is basicly try to find some links to existing animals I know of.
What makes your posts interesting is that they go a bit deeper than common knowledge even if it's just some nerdy food for thought
I personaly prefer objects that don't run away when you try to hit them with a hammer. 
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On September 08 2012 20:26 Thrombozyt wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
When I look at the ultralisk pictures, I would say that there are either multiple polymorphisms of this species or the two pics you posted are male (probably the one with the 3 giant teeth in the lower jaw) and female (the upper picture).
What's really bothering me with the detailed ultralisk depiction is that the way the muscles are mounted points towards an exoskeleton like it's found in crustacean with the muscles fixed to the hard outer shell. The arthropod nature is also suggested by the upgrade chitinous plating as chitin is usually the material used for arthropod shells.
Yet lore wise, the ultralisk is probably derived from vertebrates, especially as the arthropod respiratory system shouldn't support a creature of that size if it isn't in an environment with an extremely high oxygen atmosphere.
So I maybe the fusion process between the insectoid zerg origin species and the ultralisk ancestor isn't complete yet. That would account for the high variability in appearance as well as for the seemingly random sprouting of horns or horn plating, that appears more like a hyperkeratosis that properly evolved and grown protective plates.
Another hypothesis is to think that the Ultralisk (as probably any of the hyper-mutating, non-mating, short-lived zerg organisms) is very prone to cancer, and the random horns are really cancerous horns, something like keratinous skin tumors. This would explain their variance and lack of functionality.
On September 08 2012 20:26 Thrombozyt wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
Regarding the angle of the legs, I would liken it to turtles that have similarly mounted legs to lower their center of gravity and gain stability. At that height, with feet mounted straight down, it could be prone to being knocked on the side. I agree, that it's a nightmare to carry energy wise, but the ultralisk could be usually living partly submerged in rivers and swamps, where the distribution of weight over a larger area would also help with the softer ground.
The primary scythes actually don't make that much sense. At that size they won't be sharp nor fast enough to really cut and they aren't aligned to crush. You could only imagine that their tips would puncture. Also the second pair is aligned even worse and probably of even less use as the lower pair is in the way. As major forms of attack I would actually suggest the nasal horn (it looks nasty and functional) and - most important - trampling.
Wouldn't the scythes with that much size be able to ram? As long as the muscle structure is strong enough to withstand impact, they could be similar to an elephants tusks which do not need to be sharp as they can be used as cudgels or like a ram's horns for ramming.
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Very good read.
Note that it may be worth reading the Starcraft 1 manual as it has some lore-related things.
All zerg units were creatures twisted by the overmind to perform different tasks.
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I never knew how interested I was in this sort of thing until I startedreading this thread, I look forward to future updates.
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Wow, great reads guys! Never thought i could find biology so interesting while all i do in my biology lessons is try to stave off sleep...
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@Ghanburighan
Yes, the hyperkeratosis would be a form of skin tumor. I agree, that the ultralisk may be a short lived form only breed shortly before battle, while the zerglings would be a stable species as they perform patrol and sentry duty.
For the ramming - it is a possibility, thought he orientation and form is unsuited for it. Also the movement is rather bad for ramming. But the scythe might be used as a cudgel to knock them to the center path to be trampled.
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Cant believe you actually did this. but it was never the less very cool and interesting to read.
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United Kingdom14103 Posts
Wow, such a brilliant read, I'm not surprised that they didn't try to make zerg units the most realistic way they could be though as in the end the unit models are just there to look cool.
Thinking about it though the zerg are meant to be the 'ultimate' race having rapidly evolved through examining other species they have processed so they should have perfect design! :D
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I think, perhaps, there might be a different function to the Zergling "wings" than propulsion or any kind of flight. My thought process on this is based on both the name of the upgrade path (Metabolic Boost, Adrenal Glands) and the mechanics of the unit as shown in game. The short version is, zerglings don't fly or leave the ground - they just move faster. If the wings were for any kind of functional flight, even short range gliding, then zerglings would be capable of some form of cliff walk - either one way (down) in the case of gliding or full cliffwalk via powered flight. While the zerg fliers don't seem to utilize wings much for flight (corruptors and overlords come to mind, as well as your thoughts on mutalisk wing usage) it seems, the zergling "wings" could be used for another purpose, which I'll go into now.
The design of the zergling wings seems to be a large support truss with smaller trusses supporting dragonfly-like membranous material or possibly thin, translucent skin flaps. There of course are blood vessels running through the wings. This makes the wings more effective heat exchangers, allowing the dissipation of heat into the atmosphere more optimal than a mechanism like sweat. The increased speed granted to zerglings may be a result of being better able to control their core body heat - by using blood pumped through the wings as a heat transfer mechanism. This enables a higher degree of metabolic conversion in the body, allowing the zergling to more efficiently utilize energy while keeping the working muscles cooler and preventing fatigue. Additionally, the wings may allow greater oxygenation of the blood. This could help to reduce any muscle exhaustion due to anaerobic metabolic periods, reduce lactic acid build up, and generally sustained and increased muscle performance. Adrenal glands would then push this entire system into overdrive, increasing the ability of the zergling to utilize its muscles at performance levels that would otherwise rapidly tire and overheat the zergling.
In that scenario, the wings do not really need to have a great degree of flexibility and the apparent stiffness of the wings is easier to accept. Also, if such is their function, the wings' placement makes more sense, radiating heat away from the core of the zergling and to the atmosphere more efficiently when moving rapidly (ie, there's more and less restricted airflow across the wings).
Of course, I am not a biologist in any sense but that strikes me as a possible explanation for an alternate function of the zergling wings.
Also, great thread. I may have to point a friend of mine at it, as he's currently doing his PhD in kinesthiology (or something similar - not sure exactly what his degree is but that's what he works on) and enjoys investigating the mechanical workings of organisms. (He has undergraduate degress in both biology and aeronautical engineering, and has published papers on the biomechanics of snake movement as well as the mechanism of how bullfrogs jump.)
Edit: Also, this could be why zerglings are really bad against hellions. They burn really easy, having a high metabolic rate and likely therefore an already very elevated body temperature. They are already "burning" up so much that just a quick application of flame causes them to combust.
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Heat dissipation is really a good reason for the wings... though the running animation of the speedling shows the wings beating... but that may very well be secondary.
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Great read. Thanks!
Would love to see an analysis of some Protoss units. Templar perhaps?
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EPT
![[image loading]](http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo355/ArcherofAiur/hydraliskback.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo355/ArcherofAiur/Jimshoulder.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo355/ArcherofAiur/ZealotTransverse.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo355/ArcherofAiur/zealotcoranolplane2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo355/ArcherofAiur/ZealotSagittal.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo355/ArcherofAiur/brachialplexus3.jpg)
