Speculative physiology

When designing an organism living on another planet, on Earth in a distant future or in an alternative timeline, it's important that each of its characteristics is well-adapted to the environment it lives in, without resorting to simply remake a living analogue, or throw in unlikely features for the sake of esthetics. Still, the ways real life forms survive, move, process energy and reproduce do offer excellent starting points: let's see, function by function, how an imaginary organism might work.

Biomechanics
See main article: Speculative biomechanics

This article concerns the shape of speculative organisms, their body structure and organization, the way they mantain them and the way they move.

Bioenergetics
See main article: Speculative bioenergetics

This article concerns how organisms extract energy from the environment and how they store and use this energy.

Perception
See main article: Perception

This article concerns how organisms perceive the environment around them.

Offense and defense
See main article: Offense and defense

This article concerns how organisms can attack and kill other organisms or prevent being attacked and killed by them.

Reproduction
See main article: Reproduction

This article concerns the means by which organisms produce copies of themselves, perpetuating their genes.

Behaviour
See main article: Behaviour

Also see: Intelligence

This article concerns how organisms behave, react to the environment or work together to survive.