Star Trek: 9 Ways Strange New Worlds Re-Imagined The Gorn
5. Hatchlings
When Arena originally aired television programs couldn't even show married couples sleeping in the same bed or say pregnant on the air, let alone postulate about extraterrestrial reproduction. Today's standards are a little more liberal and television audiences are a little more open to depictions of alien reproduction on both the big and small screens.
The Gorn hatch from parasitic eggs laid inside humanoid hosts. The length of the incubation period varies depending on the host's species. It lasts months in an Orion and mere days in humans. The hatchlings' first meal is the host's flesh as they eat their way out of the host's body, a 'life-altering' experience for the host.
Hatchlings are white when they emerge but turn green as they grow, and molt their skin. The fast and strong quadrupeds are brutally aggressive toward other lifeforms, especially each other, ensuring the survival of only the strongest and most intelligent. As they grow, they develop abilities that aid in their survival and hunting success, including venom glands in their mouths. The venom blinds their prey and infects them with parasitic eggs. The hatchlings are also undetectable by sensors, an ability they lose as adults, and can shield themselves from telepathic scans.