The aliens that I will be discussing in the following paper are called the Nano aliens, which I hypothesized to exist and named after myself. These aliens are located in the Elliptical galaxy, which has very little gas and dust. This galaxy contains little star formation and most of the stars are old and red. These aliens have psychological features that are both similar and different to humans. Even though there is no solar system in this galaxy, there is one star that gets close to the planet and releases heat for one month. The atmosphere in this planet is about 250 miles thick. Air pressure decreases with altitude. Air is warmer near the ground and gets colder higher up. There is a layer in the atmosphere called the “citosphere.” The magnetic field is strong here and it heats the atmosphere and absorbs harmful radiation from the star.

First, these aliens differ from humans in that they do not have the concept of beauty; they don’t fall in love. Parenting is nonetheless very important for the development of children and in order to raise advanced species of aliens, both parents need to invest in parenting since they have a long childhood. In the absence of love, the injection of the scent keeps the male tethered to the female. Although the father does not love the mother, he has to stay with the mother and the baby because he fears that the mother would kill the baby as a revenge for leaving the family

There tends to be some physical differences between males and females for reproduction. The Nano aliens look the same but have different body sizes. Copulation season takes place every year during the warmest month of the year. Males prefer mating with large sized females because they live in larger houses; this gives more space for more than one baby. Large females tend to build larger houses because they need to move more freely. However, it would be more costly in terms of energy for the small sized females to build large houses since they can already move freely in the medium sized ones. Furthermore, larger houses are built only in the fancy “SASA neighborhood.” Medium sized females cannot cheat and build a house in this neighborhood because they get punished by the large females in the neighborhood for cheating. This includes not allowing their children to go to SASA schools. In addition, building a larger house requires more cleaning, which is necessary for the family’s health. Doors are unlocked by putting the arm all the way in to press a pin and it requires a finger touch based on the blood flow. Otherwise, the door will always be unlocked and thieves can steal house’ equipment. Medium sized females won’t be able to lock the front door because of their arm size. Since all large houses look the same and have a standard door lock, medium-sized females can’t invent or use a different door lock because it would look different. There is a cultural pressure in this community and females who try to cheat the system will be punished. 

Also, large size is an honest signal for good health and the ability to deliver large ovaries. Large sized females who have more fat seem to be more prepared for breast feeding since it requires a huge number of calories. Also, they have larger waists which makes it easier to deliver the babies. As such, preference for mating is largely determined by the size of females. As soon as the male and female copulate and deliver a baby, the mother releases a scent that sticks to the male’s body for 15-20 years to prevent him from cheating with another female. During pregnancy, females produce more hormones than usual, such as estrogen, and inject males with these hormones. This leads to some biological changes in the male’s body and makes him release a scent, which indicates that he has a baby. This forces the male to stay with the baby and the mother. It would not be beneficial for males to evolve a defense mechanism because the baby and mother won’t be able to survive. Since females burn a lot of calories for feeding after the delivery of the baby, they tend to stay home for a few years. This forces the father of the baby to stay with the family and bring some food to the mother and the baby. Female aliens have limited eggs in their ovaries. They deliver only a few baby aliens during their lifetime. Females spend 10 months in pregnancy before they deliver the baby and they can’t move during this period. Males are forced to bring food and take care of the mother during this time. Although males have unlimited sperm, as they age the quality of their sperm decreases.  

At the age of 20, the baby alien becomes mature and leaves his/her parents’ home. Siblings of different sexes always travel far away in different directions so they don’t copulate since it would not be healthy. Alien males would either continue their education at school or find a mate to start a family and stick to the family for 15-20 years. Females look for mates until the age of 40, which is when they become infertile and go to school to teach the teens at school. Furthermore, twenty years after delivering the baby, the scent, which signaled that the parents are “married,” goes away. This allows the males to copulate with a new female or continue their education to become specialized in specific jobs. Nano adults do not return to their parents’ home. 

As Nanos age, they tend to develop some physiological changes. For example, in their mid-thirties, they shrink in size and the color of their skin changes. In their mid-thirties, Nanos skin color turns gray and then becomes increasingly paler year after year until they reach their forties. At this age, they turn completely white; as they get older, it would be hard to estimate their age. Therefore, it would be clear for males when females are infertile based on their skin color. Aged males who decide to copulate with a second female tend to choose older females since they are less selective. 

Second, the Nano aliens do cooperate like humans. In order to cooperate, these aliens have to have both short term and long term memories. Also, they are social and have a communication system to cooperate. The idea of reputation is important in their societies. For example, if a male alien develops a mechanism against the scent to cheat on his wife, there would be a social cost and their reputation is affected. Also, memory would be important to build an advanced spaceship since it requires studying several scientific fields. 

Spatial memory is important, especially for parenting. It is important for fathers to remember how to go back to their homes and where to find food since males are the ones who bring the food to the family. Furthermore, long term memory is necessary for these aliens in order to learn new skills. For example, females need long term memory to remember the skills and lessons they learn from life and school in order to teach the future generations. At school, aliens learn the importance of cooperation when they work on projects with their friends Also, alien children learn to help their parents at home because if one of the parents dies, this can have a negative impact on the rest of the family members. In particular, a baby who would need a father to bring food to the house and a mother who would need to take care of them would be the most affected. In other words, aliens have a pro-family behavior just like humans because of kin selection.    

Cooperation is important for parents who live in the same home since intelligent baby aliens require a lot of training. Mothers cannot train their babies alone. When both parents help each other in parenting, this increases the probability for the baby alien to become successful. For example, as the parents get old, the female can take care of the male when he is sick and the male can protect the female from any predators. In addition, there is a smaller cost in energy for males to stay with their mates in comparison to leaving their old mate to copulate with a new female. This way males don’t have to spend more energy on protecting, bringing food, and training a baby again.

Bibliography:

“Chapter 14, Communication and Signals.” An Introduction to Behavioral Ecology, by J. R. Krebs and N. B. Davies, Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1989.

“Elliptical Galaxies.” Elliptical Galaxies, cas.sdss.org/dr6/en/proj/basic/galaxies/ellipticals.asp.

“How Do They Determine the Age of Whales?: Whales Online.” Baleines En Direct, 6 Feb.2019, baleinesendirect.org/en/how-do-they-determine-the-age-of-whales/.

Tucker, Reed. “The Mysteries behind Women’s Body Shape.” New York Post, New York Post, 30 Nov. 2015, nypost.com/2015/11/30/the-mysteries-behind-womens-body-shape/.