Thanks for watching guys! Glad to be back after 11 days lol That move took waaaaayyy longer than I thought it would so expect videos regularly now that I am back! Speaking of videos, heres this video I made over werewolf syndrome on my second channel! ruclips.net/video/qes4kEQ6Ll0/видео.html
For why they don’t suffocate it’s probably an oversight on the creators part but I’d say it could be because they are either sustained by a different gas or they don’t need to breath. Instead only needing to eat or having an internal process that sustains them.
The Antlions do have a sort of respiratory system, though. All of the forms of the antlion are capable of making distinct vocalizations, that couldn't be made without a lot of air. The normal antlion soldier, when idle, makes a sort of breathing/humming sound, and the antlion guard makes a panting noise when charging.
The largest terrestrial arthropod was the human-sized millipede Arthropleura and some evidence suggest she didn't use tracheae to breathe like insects which means that the higher oxygen content isn't really needed, also some huge sea scorpions (eurypterids) spent some time on land and also had a very well adapted respiratory system (similar to today's coconut crabs who can be pretty large and breathe just fine) for both aquatic and terrestrial repiration, on top of that even the giant insects of the Carboniferous weren't that tied to the high oxygen content since some of the largest species continued on for some time after the oxygen dropped, it wasn't until the rise of birds that these flying critters became extinct due to being less manuverable. As for the circulatory system it's much more complex that what we think, some crustaceans have what is called a partially closed circulatory system, it's essentially a mix of open and closed and was shown to be as efficient at keeping a high blood pressure as the closed one of smaller mammals. Arthropods are stuck to using an open one because it's better suited for deep aquaitc life (their origin) but ironically it's the crustaceans that developed a far more complex semi closed one. If I learned something about arthropods after so many years of obsessive research is that they are by far some of the most adaptable animals on the planet, the only reason we're not seeing the giants of past times today is because it's inefficient to try and occupy niches that other animals have already claimed, few other animals can cover all the niches that insects, chelicerates, crustaceans, myriapods etc can and will always do!
bro the decline of giant insects had everything to do with the carboniferous jungles disappearing, bringing the oxygen % from around 25 down to 18. No arthropods larger than today's standards (that we know of) continued into the Permian, and birds did not exist for a long, long time after that.
@@Hexarth en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meganeuropsis "The presence of very large Meganeuridae with wing spans rivaling those of Meganeura during the Permian, when the oxygen content of the atmosphere was already much lower than in the Carboniferous, presented a problem to the oxygen-related explanations in the case of the giant dragonflies."
@@buggyboy2849 Yes. There was an actual study on large dragonflies in the mesosoic. Arthropods could grow bigger. Could. They just don't have a need for it.
The Reality of Xen (where the Antlion's are implied to come from, like head crabs and vortigaunts) features seemingly nonsensical traits, like variable gravity, spatial irregularities, foreign matters, and an abundance of natural, and stable, wormholes. We also see that Vortigaunts can presumably function in the 4th Dimension, and maybe even further, being able to project their consciousness across reality, similar to the G-Man, and in groups can even fight him. This leads me to believe, that like the Vortigaunts, there is a lot of aspects of Xen (and beyond) that doesn't function according to Humanities perceived grasp of reality, as we are limited to solely 3 dimensions. The Vortigaunts make many references to this, stating, "There is no distance between us. No false veil of time or space may intervene." , and "Communion of the Vortessence. And that other: a deeper mystery. No deeper than the void itself." They also refer to the Vortigaunts whom Freeman killed in Black Mesa, as "having their cords cut" There is clearly something more to these creatures who exist "Between the Worlds."
Well actually nothing regularly lives in Xen. Xen universe is like a subway. It was is where portals exit. So Antlions,Vortigaunts, And Headcrabs aren’t native to Xen. This means that they all ended up there, and probably had all different dimensions. Same goes for Chumtoads, Houndeyes,Bullsquid,Icthyosaurs, Shockroaches, Barnicles, and most of the Species X creatures
@@WeedCop except halflifes creators said that headcrabs and barnacles are native to xen and that the barnacles evolved the traits they have to capture and eat headcrabs.
@@jacobweatherford4696 This video displayed how antlions beat barnacles so it isn't very plausible to think they'd exist in an ecosystem so lacking in fauna variation despite their completely alien nature. I'd think it safe to assume that none of xen is native to itself, and the land masses could be some whacked out rock developing fungal colony which created the generic landmasses, carried in by flying fauna utilizing the portals to allow these spores to hitch-hike into xen before more and more travelers would bring unique and highly successful parasitic organisms. It's sci-fi, the rules can bend anywhere in the processes we know for how life spreads. It could also just be a badly written attempt at an ultradimensional subway which could have been fresh back in 98; but rule bending canon like this is always subject to change as time goes on.
@@lawka2699 But that's the great thing about crossing dimensions, the rules change, and suddenly you have to look at things from a new perspective. I see no reason that Xen shouldn't function on a different set of rules compared to our reality. The possibility of Freeman only seeing what humanity is capable of seeing, allows so much if Xen's terrain and ecology make sense. What if the Vortigaunts, Houndeyes, and Gonarch see a vastly different world? What if there is more there that a 3d being can't see, but a 4d creature can. The Vortigaunts can see across time and space, so what if that's what's natural in Xen?
Well since they'll demonetize him and he doesn't make money off the videos. Ya he probably is. Just like the other Content creators who are being targeted they dnt give YT more reasons to fuck with them.
@@Fillthrill I think Pyro was one of the origin points of the term "game end" with his video on those Fortnite skits. The term might be older but I have no idea.
I came to conclusion that I LOVE when games have thoroughly developed biological ecosystems. It immediately adds so much immersion, plausibility and geeky research potential. Episode 2's Hive was absolutely stunning, even despite antlions being ugly bugs, and all.
Captain Badassitude most of xen’s life are filled with highly corrosive material that would probably melt any number of things earth’s nature could throw at them.
i personally think they're from a fifth faction (the alien factions are combine, xen, race x, vortigaunt, antlions i also think vorts and antlions are from the same dimension also, vortigaunts arent native to xen. nothing is native to xen, its a border world. things you think are 'from xen' are from literally anywhere else. so yeah the reason i think vorts and leggies are from the same place are because (SPOILERS AHEAD) in episode 2 a vortigaunt takes antlion extract from a hive.
@@Zedigan race x is neither canon, nor non canon, everything in opposing force is canon to the half life universe, just not in a way that makes it directly canon to half life 2
Two things: 1 - "insect" is a form of life from Earth. Half-Life's Antlions aren't insects. They just look similar and have a larvae offspring. They may have other ways of getting and moving O2 that real insects do not posses. *IF* antlion's metabolism ever needs O2 in the first place. 2 - What movie is that with the guy punching giant worms?
You should talk about the machinery the Combine have, such as the Headcrab canisters, Dropship container guns, Combine autoguns, rollermines and many more.
The oxygenation was an interesting point. However, this is assuming that these creatures evolved the same was as insects on Earth. The feather-like structures on the backs of the really large antlions almost look like exposed gills. This would be a weird system as the very vulnerable lungs/gills are extremely exposed, but it suggests a circulatory system is present.
I have a suggestion: Could you review the creature of the Borderlands? There are plenty of creatures with interesting characteristics such as the rapid metamorphosis of the Varkids and the symbiotic relationship between the Rakks and their radically different Hive. Just a suggestion, but I would love to see your take on them.
Right.....time to get The Bug Spray again lol. Good to see you back men hope you're well and these are like a smaller version off The Arachnids off Starship Troopers 🕷 keep up the epic work 😃. Respect dude 😃👍.
Just an interesting factoid: there is an insect living on Earth called an antlion. It preys on smaller insects such as ants much like a lion would prey on other mammals.
The reason that half life ant lions are called that is because they have similar hunting styles. Earth antlions wait in the sand for ants to pass and then knock them into their traps before attacking them. Half life antlions similarly wait in the sand for creatures to approach before rising up and attacking.
They have lungs?! I wouldn't have expected that from insect based creatures. Surely the antlion guard is as large and firm as an elephant, and charges at people with it's enormous weight, therefore it needs a circulatory system and lungs to support the oxygen demand. But the regular antlions respirate like locusts, they have small openings on their bodies for a good airflow, just like a pile of thin wood sticks can burn better than a dense wood log.
Tacking on Half-Life: Alyx after the fact, Gary's mural near the start of the game in-fact shows Vortigaunts and Antlions co-existing even before they were driven to Xen by the Combine.
I think they came from Xen and, before that, they maybe lived on the same planet as Vortigaunts do. On Xen they can fly very well, because of the weaker gravity, and they caves will be much smaller but easily defendable (and will not have to much water). They also are not insects (the taxonomy does not match), so probably they have a circulatory sistem. Also, they adapted very well to earth because ALL the creatures from Xen have evolved to be capable of living on a much larger pool of ecosystems and planets than the creatures from Earth (because, you know, Xen is the borderworld of probably various universes).
Pretty sure Antlions breathe legitimately, Guards and Guardians bark and growl like a dog or some other kind of mammal. As for the weaker stem, Grubs could easily function like this too, especially since they chirp and gurgle, implying they have some sort of respiratory system like the Guard stem. No need for lots of oxy to be big here with these two. (On a brief tangent here, the Grubs' medicinal substance could be some sort of hypernutrient, so once it's put to use it starts to develop the adult Antlion at an alarming rate, and when injected into humans as seen in Half Life Alyx and Episode 2, it speeds up the natural healing process, to the point where enough of the substance could close any wound) Back on topic of the non-boss antlions, the Soldiers are noted to have a keen sense of smell alongside their touch, clearly indicating they can somehow breathe to track down scents and, if the Soldier is built right, could run entirely on the air around them if they can say, filter feed. This means they'd probably survive *by* just breathing and running around to keep their blood flowing. The Workers on the last hand, clearly are of a similar brood to Antlion Soldiers, making the same noises and having an almost identical system of movement, only instead use their mouths to spew acid, meaning they could possibly feed off dissolving rocks to speed up colony-forming processes, thus they may not *need* to breathe, but if they do, it's probably in the same manner as Soldiers. If this all checks out, then the Antlions can be big and not suffocate first thing, meaning Earth is freaking screwed!
Nah, you need a oxidizer like Oxygen or Chlorine to justify their speed and strength. Best solution is to have a Human like or similar Respiratory system. That ok, since though they look like bugs they don't have to be like bugs on the inside. Because Aliens! Or they had a similar Atmosphere on their Homeworld.
Major Payne well I’ve never played the game tbh, but it looks like a portal opened up so possibly an alternate dimension with different physics. Or maybe their biology is completely different to where they don’t need an oxidizer to generate energy, but I know nothing about biology so.
What always struck me the saddest in Half Life was never the combine and their horrible treatment of humanity, but rather about just how fucking destroyed earths ecosystems are. Be it the sea or land, basically all of earths animals save for humans, birds, and a few others are extinct.
I have never thought about that, let alone realized until now that almost all animals were extinct in the half life universe, and this is gruesome. If the combine would be defeated one day and the humans are free, not only human civilization will chsnge, but we would have lost so many unique miracles of nature. Lions, sharks, deer, crocodiles, you name it, all those animals that took billions of years to evolve are lost without traces. Our ecosystem would be screwed, not only of combine bombardement, vut because of invasive alien animals like antlions, who have rotten out our animals. We humans might be the most successful species on earth by our technological and social progress, but we contribute the least to earth's ecosystem, we are like highly intelligent aliens on earth, but we fit into it's ecosystem. Now that we have eveolved our technology, we have discovered quantum physics and managed to open a portal. After an invasion of aliens, the more evolved combine enslaved us and have broken humanity while the antlion swarm has devastated our animals. We humans have made this disaster possible, by being so intelligent that we, and no other animals, not even monkeys, have made all of this possible. Believe me, too much power is horrifying, , you don't want a lifeform to have a so largw influence on the world. In the Half life universe, the humans aren't really to blame for this disaster, even if they have opened the portals. Who would have expected that smarter aliens will take over our world? But we humans still have a potential to hsrm our own planet, our industry harms the environment, and animals will go extinct through climate change, and that's sad, because it is a real issue, not only a fictional situation like in half life.
@@jtktomb8598 Exactly. Their behaviour and anatomy resemble that of insects on earth, but their evolutionary path and how they evolved to what they are is VERY different since they are from another planet. So their "circulatory" system may be completely different than ours, or insects, or anything on earth. Maybe they use constant pressure pumps instead of a pulsing pump like ours, maybe their carapace is capable of oxygen absorption so as long as move. Maybe they have lungs, who the fuck knows they're aliens. So his massive assumption is a bit... shortsighted. Gotta think a bit deeper instead of just saying "looks like a bug therefore same anatomy"... its not a bug though.
I liked the video, but I do have to say that, while the Antlions clearly took some of the same evolutionary footpath as arthropods, there's clearly no perfect analogue. Whatever mechanism they use, it's clearly a sign they are not, in fact, Earth bugs.
Bro a cover of monster hunter would do so much for the channel, theres so much potential in the monsters for a biological and morphological analysis, specifically monsters like Brachydios, Mizutsune, Dodogama, it's a gold mine big man
Hey! Love your videos! As somebody who knows a few too many things about insects, I'd like to add a couple observations about the Half Life antlion. First, those extra "front arms" on the worker antlion would most likely be chelicerae, as commonly seen in creatures like spiders and solifugae. In solifugae, the chelicerae are much larger and more noticeable than on an arachnid. Secondly, antlions are an existing species on Earth as we know it! Not much to add there as there's clearly no correlation, but I thought it was interesting. Lastly, based on Earth colony-faring insects, the worker antlions would most likely be female and the soldiers would most likely be male, drawing comparisons to real-world ants! Thanks for doing what you do!
Honestly, I kinda dislike the "this doesn't make sense at all" approach here. I think I'd rather you attempt to come up with an explanation to potentially answer the questions you're asking. After all, a scientist doesn't say that the universe is wrong when there are discrepancies compared to the theory; they just revise to fit reality. Similarly, I think I'd prefer if you hypothesized on discrepancies to fit what's being shown, rather than say it's impossible.
Well, from a biological perspective, it kinda doesn’t. Put it this way, the combine require multiple life support systems for their species to live on earth, which that makes sense. Antlions on the other hand still carry a similar morphology to insects, including their green blood and high metabolic capabilities, without requiring as much oxygen as they would theoretically need to survive. It would make more sense if they at least had a vascular system that properly distributed Earths oxygen across their bodies, but their respiration seems to be based on direct diffusion instead. Either that or they don’t require oxygen at all and actually survive off another atmospheric compound which is in larger concentration than oxygen which would be Nitrogen, which could be feasible, but a nitrogen based life form would be a lot more reactive in our atmosphere, which would be complicate their biology further considering they feast on human corpses without any visible repercussions.
@@InfamousX1000 but the antlions are not arthropods, and seeing how things like vortigaunts and headcrabs can breathe the air just fine ( the combine need life support to exist anywhere because they're that biologically screwed up) i think that the atmosphere of the antlion/vortigaunt homeworld is at least comparable to the atmosphere of earth. There was really no evidence to suggest that antlions don't have a closed circulatory system aside from "they look like bugs" and "when you shoot them goo comes out" when you shoot people red goo comes out of them but that doesn't mean there isn't more stuff in there; in fact, when an antlion guard is wounded, fluid pours out of it, suggesting that it has some sort of circulatory system that continuously pumps blood around its body, as well as the fact that the guard makes a lot of grunting or roaring sounds, strongly implying that it has at least a rudimentary active respiratory system
I'm reminded of an HL2 skit from the "Civil Protection" videos, so I might need to rephrase it to describe how I feel about Antlions breathing fine on Earth with our oxygen levels. "It's not possible." "Well, OBVIOUSLY it's possible Dave! He's doing it right now!"
it was Weta :P Native to New Zealand Weta's can grow to up to size of man's fist. and sometimes even bit bigger. They are considered to be one of the biggest bugs on planet. Weta's are mainly herbivores but some of them eat other bugs aswell. As the clip was from King kong and its VFX was produced by Weta Workshop it was quite obvious that VFX house's namesake would appear :D
Anyone else wondering why the thing in the background at 3:14 randomly floated up and away? 😂 Great analysis on these creatures dude, I haven't played this game in YEARS but watching your videos is making me feel like revisiting it for nostalgia sake ❤
About the oxygen levels I believe earth's oxygen percentage could have been manipulated by the combine The combine advisors resemble giant grubs, meaning they would of had to modify earth's oxygen levels to fit thier needs, this would have the downside of allowing the antlions to exist It might sound a little farfetched, but remember, the combine were able to shut down every humans reproduction system with a suppression field
@@desolation2438 You know what? I'm probably thinking of WowSuchGaming 'Why you would not survive Prototype's blacklight virus.' Good video though, would recommend: ruclips.net/video/aWQh93xDVmQ/видео.html
I think that the Antilions might have different biochemistry, in that they might breathe using nitrogen instead of oxygen. Our atmosphere is majority nitrogen, about 3/4 of our atmospheric composition, so these numbers could make these scale of insects possible, as well as their yellowish-green insides which could be due to a different compound that carries nitrogen throughout the blood, like how hemoglobin binds to oxygen and gives our blood it's red color
I personally believe human wildlife would be able to contend with most Xen ones. The only proper advantage against other animals I could see is the acid spit from the bullsquid. Which could become useless against ambush predators. Houndeyes would be shredded by most predators and headcrabs might become prey to common house cats. Gargantuans would be rather useless in forests unless they want to knock down every single tree. and stick out like a sore thumb in fields so literally any prey could get away. I highly doubt they could hunt enough to survive. Then there the obvious that most have no fur. Ant lions would win tho
You do know that the Gargantua are have a likely chach to be cyborg or at least bio engineer as they do have merhcens on there body like the alien grunts but it is possible that the Gargantua we see may have been capture and bio engineer to be guards
11:23 unrelted, but this is the most badass punch Also, I think the antlions have a circulatory system, green blood might mean they don't consume iron? Maybe it's cyanoglobin? Maybe it's maybelline?
@@Trash_prince maybe trough gaps or holes all over their body, like frogs do. Antlions are aliens, not insects, so they obviously would break any laws of logic.
Antlions aren’t from xen and from their absence in half life 1 we can extrapolate that they co-existed on a world with vortiguants and barnacles. They may - unlike our insects - have circulatory systems since such life may have evolved differently. If vortiguants can live on earth fine, antlions should too
Assuming that they needed oxygen to survive to begin with? who's to say they don't breath nitrogen,which is very abundant in the atmosphere! It might sound far fetched but there are weirder creatures on earth right now! Archaeans being a great example as they can subsist on unusual compounds such as sulfur and ammonia!
I agree with everything apart from the oxygen size survival argument mainly for the fact that I doubt it's ever mentioned that ant lions specifically require oxygen like earth insects or require any respiratory intake at all as they are beings from not only another planet but plane of existence entirely. For instance xenomorphs from aliens breathe but dont need oxygen at all to survive persisting in the vacuum of space.
I take some issue with the assumption that the antlions are insects. They certainly look like insects, but they are in fact alien and their internal biology could be quite different from insects as far as we know.
Just a theory here but what if they are a dual species, as in they have evolved with another life form as a part of themselves. Just as much of life on earth evolved with Mitochondria in our cells that allow us to gain energy from oxygen, they have an integrated life form that allows them to process and utilize nitrogen. One of the byproducts of this could be Nitric Acid. Which easily dissolves minerals like rock.
Thank You Mr. Dr. Roanoke Gaming for informing me through biology that Ant Lions can't exist on Earth....that's one fear of possible irl game ending I can cross off
I think antlion grubs are used in those green health vials everyone uses. Im assuming the combine attempt to farm the stuff because soldier corpses are found in the nests in hl2 ep2. This strengthened with the grub health thingies in hl alyx.
Well seeing as most things coming from Xen are from beyond our universe. Antlions can be similar to our insects, however they might have a biological system we do not even know of yet. Seeing as Vortigaunts, Houndeyes, headcrabs, Etc don't suffocate there must be some other biological thing that keeps them so big. Something I always found interesting was areas especially along the coastal region where antlions reign free and thumpers are aplenty... You can find metal signs stating 'Neverin54' an 'Insecticide' and that possibly in the period between the black mesa incident and the 7 hour war insecticides were used to help quell the ant lion onslaught (probably unsuccessfully) As the signs seem to be in storage and almost seem as a warning sign, possibly denoting advanced toxicity even to humans.
They're aliens that have evolved similar traits to insects, they are not insects. I don't see why they couldn't have evolved respiratory and circulatory systems more similar to reptiles or mammals? If I remember correctly, they do make noises that would only be possible through breathing
Acids don't "melt" they dissolve, also hydrofluoric acid is a weak acid, but highly reactive. It might seem pedantic but you are clearly an educated gent so I thought it was worth mentioning. (edited spelling) edit 2; Just because earth based arthropods lack a robust circulatory system does not mean that an alien of similar morphology does. Overall i am very impressed and just found your channel, very intelegent, very articulate, a rare thing on youtube right now. please do more half life :)
I think that the grubs turn into either a worker or guardian. Hear me out. The soldier is a intermediate stage before the worker, and shed their hard exoskeleton, exposing the gooey skin underneath. Shedding this armor makes the worker faster, and likely be able to drink more. The guard will turn into a guardian, and drink more water. Why does water matter? Well, the diet of the antlion workers/guardians lead to more acidic urine. The further down in the caves you go, the more water you find. Basically, projectile piss. What a sentence.
Guardian basically are the true leaders of the colony, so guards are basically young queens. Guards will mate with soldiers, and give birth to larvae in the guardian statue since they were fertilized in a younger stage.
The reason why xen creatures don’t bleed red is probably because they use another compound other than haemoglobin to transfer oxygen in their blood. Insect’s blood isn’t red, it’s more of a yellowish colour but gets a bit of a greenish tint because their lymphatic systems are also freefloating along with their circulatory system. While it is true antlions might be the same way, to assume that correlation is causation isn’t very scientific. Antlions are just as likely to have full circulatory systems like us and just have chlorocruorin instead of haemoglobin yo carry oxygen throughout their body based on what little we know about them. There are many different pigments of blood found on earth. While a majority of vertebrates use haemoglobin and thus have red tinted blood, there are many invertebrates with green, blue, or even purple blood. We can’t just assume that antlions have the exact circulatory system of Arthropods on our planet because they evolved in a parallel universe from ours, they most likely went down a completely different evolutionary tree.
I think that this may Also be formic acid because it's weak/moderate and Also has neurotoxic properties. Ants have this acid and they are really simalar to them
One thing becomes rather interesting with Antlions seen in HL:Alyx trailer. When one antlion's leg is shot off, what looks like strands of glowing tissue are seen. Perhaps, this is to indicate their primitive (But still existing) circulatory system!
I think that the antlions guards are so large because they survive on nitrogen and as earth ast like 70 percent nitrogen they were able to survive. So this would mean that their native planet would have had a higher concentration of nitrogen.
As far as current knowledge of myrmecology goes and having been fascinated with social insects from childhood, and keeping my own formicariums of ants to this day wile studying and learning as much as I can. I couldn’t agree more they would quickly suffocate/game end colony failure.
I do think they could because we have to take into account of the terraforming the Combine was doing to Earth itself for its resources, remember that the beaches seen in HL2 were once entire bodies of water before the terraforming started and when it comes to oxygen one thing I've noticed in HL2 is the lack of trees, trees produce the oxygen we need to breath and survive which leads me to believe that the trees that still exist in HL2 were also affected by the terraforming to produce more oxygen to make up for the lack of trees resulting in the Antlions to be the size they are.
As to the oxygen argument, I would agree. However, if the organ that harvests hydrogen actually uses water rather than ambient hydrogen in the atmosphere, they may be able to saturate their bodies with adequate oxygen to survive.
Thanks for watching guys! Glad to be back after 11 days lol That move took waaaaayyy longer than I thought it would so expect videos regularly now that I am back! Speaking of videos, heres this video I made over werewolf syndrome on my second channel! ruclips.net/video/qes4kEQ6Ll0/видео.html
Evolve when?
Roanoke Gaming will you do more dying light when the second game comes out big fan bro
K
For why they don’t suffocate it’s probably an oversight on the creators part but I’d say it could be because they are either sustained by a different gas or they don’t need to breath. Instead only needing to eat or having an internal process that sustains them.
Can you please do more resistance fall of man videos
The Antlions do have a sort of respiratory system, though. All of the forms of the antlion are capable of making distinct vocalizations, that couldn't be made without a lot of air. The normal antlion soldier, when idle, makes a sort of breathing/humming sound, and the antlion guard makes a panting noise when charging.
No way I have seen all your videos and I never knew you liked half life too!
The world of xen doesn’t have correct physics, so antlions probably could breathe without air.
@Godyeater Inhale* what's a gas my friend I don't think gas really cares about proper physics
they also drown
@@Godyeater Humans can breathe in xen though?
Everyone: say the line
Roanoke: starting with the feet
Everyone: cheering
This COULD'VE been funny
...GIVE FEET
The largest terrestrial arthropod was the human-sized millipede Arthropleura and some evidence suggest she didn't use tracheae to breathe like insects which means that the higher oxygen content isn't really needed, also some huge sea scorpions (eurypterids) spent some time on land and also had a very well adapted respiratory system (similar to today's coconut crabs who can be pretty large and breathe just fine) for both aquatic and terrestrial repiration, on top of that even the giant insects of the Carboniferous weren't that tied to the high oxygen content since some of the largest species continued on for some time after the oxygen dropped, it wasn't until the rise of birds that these flying critters became extinct due to being less manuverable.
As for the circulatory system it's much more complex that what we think, some crustaceans have what is called a partially closed circulatory system, it's essentially a mix of open and closed and was shown to be as efficient at keeping a high blood pressure as the closed one of smaller mammals. Arthropods are stuck to using an open one because it's better suited for deep aquaitc life (their origin) but ironically it's the crustaceans that developed a far more complex semi closed one.
If I learned something about arthropods after so many years of obsessive research is that they are by far some of the most adaptable animals on the planet, the only reason we're not seeing the giants of past times today is because it's inefficient to try and occupy niches that other animals have already claimed, few other animals can cover all the niches that insects, chelicerates, crustaceans, myriapods etc can and will always do!
bro the decline of giant insects had everything to do with the carboniferous jungles disappearing, bringing the oxygen % from around 25 down to 18. No arthropods larger than today's standards (that we know of) continued into the Permian, and birds did not exist for a long, long time after that.
@@Hexarth en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meganeuropsis
"The presence of very large Meganeuridae with wing spans rivaling those of Meganeura during the Permian, when the oxygen content of the atmosphere was already much lower than in the Carboniferous, presented a problem to the oxygen-related explanations in the case of the giant dragonflies."
@@buggyboy2849 Yes. There was an actual study on large dragonflies in the mesosoic. Arthropods could grow bigger. Could. They just don't have a need for it.
yeah, i'm not going against the word of someone named buggy boy on that topic
I would argue it wasn't birds, but rather Pterosaurs the ones that started giving insects some serious problems
The Reality of Xen (where the Antlion's are implied to come from, like head crabs and vortigaunts) features seemingly nonsensical traits, like variable gravity, spatial irregularities, foreign matters, and an abundance of natural, and stable, wormholes. We also see that Vortigaunts can presumably function in the 4th Dimension, and maybe even further, being able to project their consciousness across reality, similar to the G-Man, and in groups can even fight him.
This leads me to believe, that like the Vortigaunts, there is a lot of aspects of Xen (and beyond) that doesn't function according to Humanities perceived grasp of reality, as we are limited to solely 3 dimensions. The Vortigaunts make many references to this, stating, "There is no distance between us. No false veil of time or space may intervene." , and "Communion of the Vortessence. And that other: a deeper mystery. No deeper than the void itself." They also refer to the Vortigaunts whom Freeman killed in Black Mesa, as "having their cords cut" There is clearly something more to these creatures who exist "Between the Worlds."
Well actually nothing regularly lives in Xen. Xen universe is like a subway. It was is where portals exit. So Antlions,Vortigaunts, And Headcrabs aren’t native to Xen. This means that they all ended up there, and probably had all different dimensions.
Same goes for Chumtoads, Houndeyes,Bullsquid,Icthyosaurs, Shockroaches, Barnicles, and most of the Species X creatures
@@WeedCop except halflifes creators said that headcrabs and barnacles are native to xen and that the barnacles evolved the traits they have to capture and eat headcrabs.
@@jacobweatherford4696 This video displayed how antlions beat barnacles so it isn't very plausible to think they'd exist in an ecosystem so lacking in fauna variation despite their completely alien nature. I'd think it safe to assume that none of xen is native to itself, and the land masses could be some whacked out rock developing fungal colony which created the generic landmasses, carried in by flying fauna utilizing the portals to allow these spores to hitch-hike into xen before more and more travelers would bring unique and highly successful parasitic organisms. It's sci-fi, the rules can bend anywhere in the processes we know for how life spreads. It could also just be a badly written attempt at an ultradimensional subway which could have been fresh back in 98; but rule bending canon like this is always subject to change as time goes on.
@@lawka2699 But that's the great thing about crossing dimensions, the rules change, and suddenly you have to look at things from a new perspective. I see no reason that Xen shouldn't function on a different set of rules compared to our reality. The possibility of Freeman only seeing what humanity is capable of seeing, allows so much if Xen's terrain and ecology make sense. What if the Vortigaunts, Houndeyes, and Gonarch see a vastly different world? What if there is more there that a 3d being can't see, but a 4d creature can. The Vortigaunts can see across time and space, so what if that's what's natural in Xen?
This explains how they lived in Xen but not how they live on earth..
Just imagine if Half Life 3 came out.
Yeah, I can't either.
What is wrong with gabe ?
Lmao valve barely gets a case or two out in cs per year I doubt theyll ever make another game again
Project Borealis
It has to be left to us fans, valve won’t do anything anymore.
@Cheese-Master Wallace Really now? Ive been replaying Half Life 2 and feel the need for closure. Then again, TF2 was in development for 9 years, so...
~Anti-Antilion Procedure~
also, good series for ya to cover would be " *STALKER* " !~
Yes I concur.
I agree!
YES
Yessssssss.
Love to see the species of stalker
Is "game ending" just another way of saying "dying/killing"? Are you scared of RUclips demonatizing you if you talk about death in video games?
Yup
Well since they'll demonetize him and he doesn't make money off the videos. Ya he probably is. Just like the other Content creators who are being targeted they dnt give YT more reasons to fuck with them.
@@wallaceluna6241 I think Tier Zoo could have had a slight influence on his choice of words.
RUclips now flags the word death among many others.. Just saying it can get you age restricted or demonstration.
@@Fillthrill I think Pyro was one of the origin points of the term "game end" with his video on those Fortnite skits.
The term might be older but I have no idea.
I came to conclusion that I LOVE when games have thoroughly developed biological ecosystems. It immediately adds so much immersion, plausibility and geeky research potential. Episode 2's Hive was absolutely stunning, even despite antlions being ugly bugs, and all.
Soldier ants, fungi and parasites would monster stomp these alien Invaders, lol
Captain Badassitude most of xen’s life are filled with highly corrosive material that would probably melt any number of things earth’s nature could throw at them.
Sounds like my ex-wife!!!.....She was a trans-dimensional arachnoid on her mother's side. We're still good friends.
@Snoo Seal aka money 😎
Markat wot
Was she like Rachnera from Monster Musume. If so, nice.
@@debbidonosenshi man of culture i see...
Ah.. e’eryone loves a good ol’ no eyed girl.
I’d do it all again.
*ARE THEY XEN OR RACE X?!*
Vortigaunts: We farmed these whippersnappers.
i personally think they're from a fifth faction (the alien factions are combine, xen, race x, vortigaunt, antlions
i also think vorts and antlions are from the same dimension
also, vortigaunts arent native to xen. nothing is native to xen, its a border world. things you think are 'from xen' are from literally anywhere else.
so yeah the reason i think vorts and leggies are from the same place are because (SPOILERS AHEAD)
in episode 2 a vortigaunt takes antlion extract from a hive.
I heard that apparently Race X is non Canon
@@Zedigan race x is neither canon, nor non canon, everything in opposing force is canon to the half life universe, just not in a way that makes it directly canon to half life 2
@@rebel6301 vorts also say it used to be a tradition to harvest antlion extracts
@@deadlybunz yeah
Two things: 1 - "insect" is a form of life from Earth. Half-Life's Antlions aren't insects. They just look similar and have a larvae offspring. They may have other ways of getting and moving O2 that real insects do not posses. *IF* antlion's metabolism ever needs O2 in the first place.
2 - What movie is that with the guy punching giant worms?
The movie in King Kong
King Kong 2005
Also reminded me of primeval
antlion: "your weak."
ant: "i'm you."
starship trooper bug: "well i'm both of you but more stronger."
Widowmaker: let me laugh my ass off
Human : You meant you'r- is torn to pieces by arachnids
Ant Lions aren't ants. They eat ants the same way the Ant Lions eat prey in half life
@@MrFRNTIK its just a joke calm down m8
@@MrFRNTIK
Earth ants are too small to be eaten by Half-Life's Antlions.
Hence why they eat humans instead. XD
You should talk about the machinery the Combine have, such as the Headcrab canisters, Dropship container guns, Combine autoguns, rollermines and many more.
The oxygenation was an interesting point. However, this is assuming that these creatures evolved the same was as insects on Earth. The feather-like structures on the backs of the really large antlions almost look like exposed gills. This would be a weird system as the very vulnerable lungs/gills are extremely exposed, but it suggests a circulatory system is present.
I have a suggestion: Could you review the creature of the Borderlands? There are plenty of creatures with interesting characteristics such as the rapid metamorphosis of the Varkids and the symbiotic relationship between the Rakks and their radically different Hive. Just a suggestion, but I would love to see your take on them.
Varkids were fucking bastards to deal with
or those Shugguraths
Right.....time to get The Bug Spray again lol.
Good to see you back men hope you're well and these are like a smaller version off The Arachnids off Starship Troopers 🕷 keep up the epic work 😃.
Respect dude 😃👍.
You should cover Dark Wood. I wouls love to see that given it's lovecraftian.
@@leviroch Yes I remember last time I woke up with an elder god hiding in my shorts
Sounds like big dick energy.
Lamb does it have full body art of half the lovecraft goodness?
I mean, all jokes aside, Darkwood would really
be an interesting topic to cover, apart from the fact
that the wiki is as barebones as it gets
@@sebs-shenanigans our boy likes to speculate so I think it's perfect
"Upon Game Ending a Worker" best line ever
Would love to see, Left 4 dead, Halo, State of decay or more Half life. Love every single video
Yeah some of the plague zombies from state of decay would be interesting af
He did l4d and halo.
Just an interesting factoid: there is an insect living on Earth called an antlion. It preys on smaller insects such as ants much like a lion would prey on other mammals.
The reason that half life ant lions are called that is because they have similar hunting styles. Earth antlions wait in the sand for ants to pass and then knock them into their traps before attacking them. Half life antlions similarly wait in the sand for creatures to approach before rising up and attacking.
that 5/3 mouth part mixup is understand able, i always thought it was just three, until i examined the antion infront of you...
You can actually hear the antlion guard breathing at times, and can actually see them huff and puff like their trying to take deep breaths.
They have lungs?! I wouldn't have expected that from insect based creatures. Surely the antlion guard is as large and firm as an elephant, and charges at people with it's enormous weight, therefore it needs a circulatory system and lungs to support the oxygen demand. But the regular antlions respirate like locusts, they have small openings on their bodies for a good airflow, just like a pile of thin wood sticks can burn better than a dense wood log.
they're
you: antlions would suffocate
me: oh thank god
But since they don't ingame, we can safely assume they have a respiratory system... XD
@@PerfectAlibi1 or they breathe nitrogen or straight up dont breath
@@therobot1080 I think nitrogen is the gas of choice for that sizable arthroponoid.
@@Netherdan yea
@@therobot1080 were you born dumb nothing can breath nitrogen dipshit
Tacking on Half-Life: Alyx after the fact, Gary's mural near the start of the game in-fact shows Vortigaunts and Antlions co-existing even before they were driven to Xen by the Combine.
I think they came from Xen and, before that, they maybe lived on the same planet as Vortigaunts do.
On Xen they can fly very well, because of the weaker gravity, and they caves will be much smaller but easily defendable (and will not have to much water).
They also are not insects (the taxonomy does not match), so probably they have a circulatory sistem. Also, they adapted very well to earth because ALL the creatures from Xen have evolved to be capable of living on a much larger pool of ecosystems and planets than the creatures from Earth (because, you know, Xen is the borderworld of probably various universes).
I respect you for still making Half-Life 2 content
Oh fuck. I just realized those are the grubs in the jars in half life alyx
Im just glad that theres someone in the year of our lord two thousand and nineteen still talking about half life 2
it warms my heart
roanake gaming: guys can I do anything thats not dead space for once I have this really intere-
views: *_NO_*
Meltin bodies! Also dear god that scene from King Kong was literally one of the scariest things in cinema.
Pretty sure Antlions breathe legitimately, Guards and Guardians bark and growl like a dog or some other kind of mammal. As for the weaker stem, Grubs could easily function like this too, especially since they chirp and gurgle, implying they have some sort of respiratory system like the Guard stem. No need for lots of oxy to be big here with these two.
(On a brief tangent here, the Grubs' medicinal substance could be some sort of hypernutrient, so once it's put to use it starts to develop the adult Antlion at an alarming rate, and when injected into humans as seen in Half Life Alyx and Episode 2, it speeds up the natural healing process, to the point where enough of the substance could close any wound)
Back on topic of the non-boss antlions, the Soldiers are noted to have a keen sense of smell alongside their touch, clearly indicating they can somehow breathe to track down scents and, if the Soldier is built right, could run entirely on the air around them if they can say, filter feed. This means they'd probably survive *by* just breathing and running around to keep their blood flowing.
The Workers on the last hand, clearly are of a similar brood to Antlion Soldiers, making the same noises and having an almost identical system of movement, only instead use their mouths to spew acid, meaning they could possibly feed off dissolving rocks to speed up colony-forming processes, thus they may not *need* to breathe, but if they do, it's probably in the same manner as Soldiers.
If this all checks out, then the Antlions can be big and not suffocate first thing, meaning Earth is freaking screwed!
What if the antlions use a different type of gas somehow, like nitrogen.
Oxygen is used because of its unique properties. Nitrogen is mostly inert!
@@JangoBango18 symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria perhaps?
Nitrogen may be inert but perhaps the ant lion possesses a chemical additive, or organ to make use of the gas.
Nah, you need a oxidizer like Oxygen or Chlorine to justify their speed and strength. Best solution is to have a Human like or similar Respiratory system. That ok, since though they look like bugs they don't have to be like bugs on the inside. Because Aliens! Or they had a similar Atmosphere on their Homeworld.
Major Payne well I’ve never played the game tbh, but it looks like a portal opened up so possibly an alternate dimension with different physics. Or maybe their biology is completely different to where they don’t need an oxidizer to generate energy, but I know nothing about biology so.
He returns! Welcome back good sir. Great vid as usual
What always struck me the saddest in Half Life was never the combine and their horrible treatment of humanity, but rather about just how fucking destroyed earths ecosystems are. Be it the sea or land, basically all of earths animals save for humans, birds, and a few others are extinct.
I have never thought about that, let alone realized until now that almost all animals were extinct in the half life universe, and this is gruesome. If the combine would be defeated one day and the humans are free, not only human civilization will chsnge, but we would have lost so many unique miracles of nature. Lions, sharks, deer, crocodiles, you name it, all those animals that took billions of years to evolve are lost without traces. Our ecosystem would be screwed, not only of combine bombardement, vut because of invasive alien animals like antlions, who have rotten out our animals. We humans might be the most successful species on earth by our technological and social progress, but we contribute the least to earth's ecosystem, we are like highly intelligent aliens on earth, but we fit into it's ecosystem. Now that we have eveolved our technology, we have discovered quantum physics and managed to open a portal. After an invasion of aliens, the more evolved combine enslaved us and have broken humanity while the antlion swarm has devastated our animals. We humans have made this disaster possible, by being so intelligent that we, and no other animals, not even monkeys, have made all of this possible. Believe me, too much power is horrifying, , you don't want a lifeform to have a so largw influence on the world. In the Half life universe, the humans aren't really to blame for this disaster, even if they have opened the portals. Who would have expected that smarter aliens will take over our world? But we humans still have a potential to hsrm our own planet, our industry harms the environment, and animals will go extinct through climate change, and that's sad, because it is a real issue, not only a fictional situation like in half life.
@@Lanuzos pretty much
Maybe Antlions are Insects with a central circulatory system ...
Their blood would have different color then, I think...
@@danilonakazone386 Blood means that something has a Circulatory system.
Then they would not be insects, well they are not, they are aliens
@@jtktomb8598 Exactly.
Their behaviour and anatomy resemble that of insects on earth, but their evolutionary path and how they evolved to what they are is VERY different since they are from another planet. So their "circulatory" system may be completely different than ours, or insects, or anything on earth. Maybe they use constant pressure pumps instead of a pulsing pump like ours, maybe their carapace is capable of oxygen absorption so as long as move. Maybe they have lungs, who the fuck knows they're aliens.
So his massive assumption is a bit... shortsighted. Gotta think a bit deeper instead of just saying "looks like a bug therefore same anatomy"... its not a bug though.
@@sacr3 Well put, it's a common issue in speculative evolution
I always was curious about the Antlion
I liked the video, but I do have to say that, while the Antlions clearly took some of the same evolutionary footpath as arthropods, there's clearly no perfect analogue. Whatever mechanism they use, it's clearly a sign they are not, in fact, Earth bugs.
I'm so glad there are still people making videos about Half-Life!
Bro a cover of monster hunter would do so much for the channel, theres so much potential in the monsters for a biological and morphological analysis, specifically monsters like Brachydios, Mizutsune, Dodogama, it's a gold mine big man
1:12 like you just crushed that larva with your head
8:30 when an antlion seen your stuck n just wants to help
Hey! Love your videos! As somebody who knows a few too many things about insects, I'd like to add a couple observations about the Half Life antlion. First, those extra "front arms" on the worker antlion would most likely be chelicerae, as commonly seen in creatures like spiders and solifugae. In solifugae, the chelicerae are much larger and more noticeable than on an arachnid. Secondly, antlions are an existing species on Earth as we know it! Not much to add there as there's clearly no correlation, but I thought it was interesting. Lastly, based on Earth colony-faring insects, the worker antlions would most likely be female and the soldiers would most likely be male, drawing comparisons to real-world ants! Thanks for doing what you do!
Honestly, I kinda dislike the "this doesn't make sense at all" approach here. I think I'd rather you attempt to come up with an explanation to potentially answer the questions you're asking. After all, a scientist doesn't say that the universe is wrong when there are discrepancies compared to the theory; they just revise to fit reality. Similarly, I think I'd prefer if you hypothesized on discrepancies to fit what's being shown, rather than say it's impossible.
GunlessSnake it's kinda weird because a lot of other things he covers are pretty much just as impossible it seems
Well, from a biological perspective, it kinda doesn’t. Put it this way, the combine require multiple life support systems for their species to live on earth, which that makes sense. Antlions on the other hand still carry a similar morphology to insects, including their green blood and high metabolic capabilities, without requiring as much oxygen as they would theoretically need to survive. It would make more sense if they at least had a vascular system that properly distributed Earths oxygen across their bodies, but their respiration seems to be based on direct diffusion instead. Either that or they don’t require oxygen at all and actually survive off another atmospheric compound which is in larger concentration than oxygen which would be Nitrogen, which could be feasible, but a nitrogen based life form would be a lot more reactive in our atmosphere, which would be complicate their biology further considering they feast on human corpses without any visible repercussions.
@@InfamousX1000 but the antlions are not arthropods, and seeing how things like vortigaunts and headcrabs can breathe the air just fine ( the combine need life support to exist anywhere because they're that biologically screwed up) i think that the atmosphere of the antlion/vortigaunt homeworld is at least comparable to the atmosphere of earth. There was really no evidence to suggest that antlions don't have a closed circulatory system aside from "they look like bugs" and "when you shoot them goo comes out" when you shoot people red goo comes out of them but that doesn't mean there isn't more stuff in there; in fact, when an antlion guard is wounded, fluid pours out of it, suggesting that it has some sort of circulatory system that continuously pumps blood around its body, as well as the fact that the guard makes a lot of grunting or roaring sounds, strongly implying that it has at least a rudimentary active respiratory system
The thing that sucks about invasions is that a lot of our species will go extinct.
And I thought I was safe here
I didn't know you watched this kinda stuff lol.
I noticed a lack of eyes in these creatures, maybe it's really dark in their planet so they don't need eyes
maybe they are evolved blind, but they have incredible hearing to compensate
2:03 "A crowbar-wielding madman wearing an HEV suit"
Gordon: And I took that as a compliment
I want to see you cover more half-life creatures, particular the various synths the combine use
I thought it was neat discovering that inside those Combine health vials are antlion grubs.
I'm reminded of an HL2 skit from the "Civil Protection" videos, so I might need to rephrase it to describe how I feel about Antlions breathing fine on Earth with our oxygen levels.
"It's not possible."
"Well, OBVIOUSLY it's possible Dave! He's doing it right now!"
You've grown incredibly fast
Been here since a few thousand subs. Miss your Deadspace videos
That clip you showed of that guy getting attached by a giant roach mad eme incredibly uncomfortable.
it was Weta :P
Native to New Zealand Weta's can grow to up to size of man's fist. and sometimes even bit bigger. They are considered to be one of the biggest bugs on planet. Weta's are mainly herbivores but some of them eat other bugs aswell.
As the clip was from King kong and its VFX was produced by Weta Workshop it was quite obvious that VFX house's namesake would appear :D
Anyone else wondering why the thing in the background at 3:14 randomly floated up and away? 😂
Great analysis on these creatures dude, I haven't played this game in YEARS but watching your videos is making me feel like revisiting it for nostalgia sake ❤
About the oxygen levels
I believe earth's oxygen percentage could have been manipulated by the combine
The combine advisors resemble giant grubs, meaning they would of had to modify earth's oxygen levels to fit thier needs, this would have the downside of allowing the antlions to exist
It might sound a little farfetched, but remember, the combine were able to shut down every humans reproduction system with a suppression field
I find these videos oddly relaxing to listen to, so thanks for making them.
Yo Roanoke, you should probably do that video on the blacklight virus, I think it Would scratch that viral itch
That's been done, hasn't it?
@@0TheWomboCombo not on this channel, at least I don't think so.
@@desolation2438 You know what? I'm probably thinking of WowSuchGaming 'Why you would not survive Prototype's blacklight virus.'
Good video though, would recommend: ruclips.net/video/aWQh93xDVmQ/видео.html
8:00 expert footage thanks to Garry's Mod.
I think that the Antilions might have different biochemistry, in that they might breathe using nitrogen instead of oxygen. Our atmosphere is majority nitrogen, about 3/4 of our atmospheric composition, so these numbers could make these scale of insects possible, as well as their yellowish-green insides which could be due to a different compound that carries nitrogen throughout the blood, like how hemoglobin binds to oxygen and gives our blood it's red color
I personally believe human wildlife would be able to contend with most Xen ones. The only proper advantage against other animals I could see is the acid spit from the bullsquid. Which could become useless against ambush predators. Houndeyes would be shredded by most predators and headcrabs might become prey to common house cats. Gargantuans would be rather useless in forests unless they want to knock down every single tree. and stick out like a sore thumb in fields so literally any prey could get away. I highly doubt they could hunt enough to survive. Then there the obvious that most have no fur.
Ant lions would win tho
You do know that the Gargantua are have a likely chach to be cyborg or at least bio engineer as they do have merhcens on there body like the alien grunts but it is possible that the Gargantua we see may have been capture and bio engineer to be guards
Earth would still be fucked up but I always imagined there were a few remaining animals. Like coyotes, boars and maybe wild goats or cattle.
These videos are always great man.
I really love these guys, really reminds me of my pet ants
Hey speaking of half life you should use Gerry's mod and download some packs to use for close analysis
Love the vids
11:23 unrelted, but this is the most badass punch
Also, I think the antlions have a circulatory system, green blood might mean they don't consume iron? Maybe it's cyanoglobin? Maybe it's maybelline?
Antlions have smooth supple skin so I think we know the answer.
@@oldleatherhandsfriends4053 yeah yeah, they're hot, but how do they breathe?
@@Trash_prince maybe trough gaps or holes all over their body, like frogs do. Antlions are aliens, not insects, so they obviously would break any laws of logic.
Friend: sum up the antlions only using a meme
Me: "apes together strong"
I like how they gave the Worker eyes in Half-Life: Alyx
I can't wait for the update of this from Alyx, since the Combine does use the larva as medicine.
"Warning. Primary Target is, uh...engaged in, uh...Command and Control Tactics with Biotics. Repeat: Primary Target has Tactical C&C with Biotics."
Go on
Antlions aren’t from xen and from their absence in half life 1 we can extrapolate that they co-existed on a world with vortiguants and barnacles. They may - unlike our insects - have circulatory systems since such life may have evolved differently. If vortiguants can live on earth fine, antlions should too
another neat little detail, as seen in halflife: alyx, the combine's healing stations basically just inject you with fresh antilion grub juice
Assuming that they needed oxygen to survive to begin with? who's to say they don't breath nitrogen,which is very abundant in the atmosphere! It might sound far fetched but there are weirder creatures on earth right now! Archaeans being a great example as they can subsist on unusual compounds such as sulfur and ammonia!
This video is giving me PTSD from the "Get that Grub" achievement
I agree with everything apart from the oxygen size survival argument mainly for the fact that I doubt it's ever mentioned that ant lions specifically require oxygen like earth insects or require any respiratory intake at all as they are beings from not only another planet but plane of existence entirely. For instance xenomorphs from aliens breathe but dont need oxygen at all to survive persisting in the vacuum of space.
I take some issue with the assumption that the antlions are insects. They certainly look like insects, but they are in fact alien and their internal biology could be quite different from insects as far as we know.
Damn... imagine going into another place and destroying everything, just to claim as your own....
*all of human history*
atleast humans arent that brutal that they killed off literally almost every single life on earth
fun antlion fact: antlion grubs are used in health dispensers in half life alyx
What the heck are Antlions? Those are Leggies.
Just a theory here but what if they are a dual species, as in they have evolved with another life form as a part of themselves. Just as much of life on earth evolved with Mitochondria in our cells that allow us to gain energy from oxygen, they have an integrated life form that allows them to process and utilize nitrogen. One of the byproducts of this could be Nitric Acid. Which easily dissolves minerals like rock.
Thank You Mr. Dr. Roanoke Gaming for informing me through biology that Ant Lions can't exist on Earth....that's one fear of possible irl game ending I can cross off
I think antlion grubs are used in those green health vials everyone uses. Im assuming the combine attempt to farm the stuff because soldier corpses are found in the nests in hl2 ep2. This strengthened with the grub health thingies in hl alyx.
true
Please do a video theorizing on how the hell barnacles get on the ceiling.
Don't they grow on the ceiling?
I am now forever calling Freeman the crowbar wielding madlad wearing an HEV suit
Well seeing as most things coming from Xen are from beyond our universe. Antlions can be similar to our insects, however they might have a biological system we do not even know of yet. Seeing as Vortigaunts, Houndeyes, headcrabs, Etc don't suffocate there must be some other biological thing that keeps them so big.
Something I always found interesting was areas especially along the coastal region where antlions reign free and thumpers are aplenty... You can find metal signs stating 'Neverin54' an 'Insecticide' and that possibly in the period between the black mesa incident and the 7 hour war insecticides were used to help quell the ant lion onslaught (probably unsuccessfully) As the signs seem to be in storage and almost seem as a warning sign, possibly denoting advanced toxicity even to humans.
They're aliens that have evolved similar traits to insects, they are not insects. I don't see why they couldn't have evolved respiratory and circulatory systems more similar to reptiles or mammals? If I remember correctly, they do make noises that would only be possible through breathing
Acids don't "melt" they dissolve, also hydrofluoric acid is a weak acid, but highly reactive. It might seem pedantic but you are clearly an educated gent so I thought it was worth mentioning.
(edited spelling)
edit 2; Just because earth based arthropods lack a robust circulatory system does not mean that an alien of similar morphology does.
Overall i am very impressed and just found your channel, very intelegent, very articulate, a rare thing on youtube right now. please do more half life :)
I think that the grubs turn into either a worker or guardian. Hear me out. The soldier is a intermediate stage before the worker, and shed their hard exoskeleton, exposing the gooey skin underneath. Shedding this armor makes the worker faster, and likely be able to drink more. The guard will turn into a guardian, and drink more water. Why does water matter? Well, the diet of the antlion workers/guardians lead to more acidic urine. The further down in the caves you go, the more water you find. Basically, projectile piss. What a sentence.
Guardian basically are the true leaders of the colony, so guards are basically young queens. Guards will mate with soldiers, and give birth to larvae in the guardian statue since they were fertilized in a younger stage.
The reason why xen creatures don’t bleed red is probably because they use another compound other than haemoglobin to transfer oxygen in their blood. Insect’s blood isn’t red, it’s more of a yellowish colour but gets a bit of a greenish tint because their lymphatic systems are also freefloating along with their circulatory system.
While it is true antlions might be the same way, to assume that correlation is causation isn’t very scientific. Antlions are just as likely to have full circulatory systems like us and just have chlorocruorin instead of haemoglobin yo carry oxygen throughout their body based on what little we know about them.
There are many different pigments of blood found on earth. While a majority of vertebrates use haemoglobin and thus have red tinted blood, there are many invertebrates with green, blue, or even purple blood. We can’t just assume that antlions have the exact circulatory system of Arthropods on our planet because they evolved in a parallel universe from ours, they most likely went down a completely different evolutionary tree.
I though I was the only one thinking the same thing
Mentions Neurotoxin:Happy glados noises,WEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The combine bring them in, they harvest the larves to make the advanced medic pacts...
Well the Universal Union does use headcrabs as biological weapon, so why not Antlions? ^^
I think that this may Also be formic acid because it's weak/moderate and Also has neurotoxic properties. Ants have this acid and they are really simalar to them
Thanks for the videos, great break from college work.
As an amateur entomologist, you nailed the higher oxygen theory.
One thing becomes rather interesting with Antlions seen in HL:Alyx trailer. When one antlion's leg is shot off, what looks like strands of glowing tissue are seen. Perhaps, this is to indicate their primitive (But still existing) circulatory system!
You may want to update with the electric variant seen in Half Life Alyx.
Another theory about the biolumiance could be to lure intruders towards them increasing their effectiveness of protecting the nest.
I think that the antlions guards are so large because they survive on nitrogen and as earth ast like 70 percent nitrogen they were able to survive. So this would mean that their native planet would have had a higher concentration of nitrogen.
As far as current knowledge of myrmecology goes and having been fascinated with social insects from childhood, and keeping my own formicariums of ants to this day wile studying and learning as much as I can. I couldn’t agree more they would quickly suffocate/game end colony failure.
GMod: Roanoke Gaming's tool for science.
Notification squad who up? Also YAY more Roanoke!
I do think they could because we have to take into account of the terraforming the Combine was doing to Earth itself for its resources, remember that the beaches seen in HL2 were once entire bodies of water before the terraforming started and when it comes to oxygen one thing I've noticed in HL2 is the lack of trees, trees produce the oxygen we need to breath and survive which leads me to believe that the trees that still exist in HL2 were also affected by the terraforming to produce more oxygen to make up for the lack of trees resulting in the Antlions to be the size they are.
As to the oxygen argument, I would agree. However, if the organ that harvests hydrogen actually uses water rather than ambient hydrogen in the atmosphere, they may be able to saturate their bodies with adequate oxygen to survive.