Silurian

The Silurians are a race of reptile humanoids native to Earth. The Silurians were Earth's first known sentient species, were scientifically advanced, and lived during prehistoric times. Eventually the Moon approached close to Earth which panicked then and sent them into self-induced hibernation to survive.

Appearance
Silurians are roughly the size of humans, with a large head and green scaley skin. They have large, fan-like ears and fan-like crest. Their main eyes are bright yellow.

The noticeable feature of the Silurians is their three eyes. The third eye is red and is on their foreheads. They can use these third eyes for a variety of purposes. The Silurians from Doctor Who and the Silurians used them for stunning or killing their opponents, signalling each other, or opening Silurian made doors. The Silurians from Warriors of the Deep, on the other hand, had eyes that merely glowed whenever they spoke.

The Warriors of the Deep have other, physical differences, such as a stockier build and browner skin. This has led many people to believe they are of a different species.

Overview
In their first appearance in Doctor Who and the Silurians, a group of Silurians were awakened from hibernation by the energy from the nearby nuclear power research centre. The Silurians (after a schism of power) then attempted reclaim the planet from humanity by releasing a deadly virus. This plan was stopped by UNIT and the Doctor. Despite the Doctor's best efforts to broker a peaceful solution, the Silurian base was bombed by UNIT on Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's order.

Another group of Silurians in Warriors of the Deep allied themselves with the Sea Devils, in a second attempt to reclaim Earth from the humans. That attempt took place circa 2084. This story portrayed the Silurians as having a living weapon, the Myrka.

Other appearances by the Silurians in the Doctor Who spin-offs media include the Virgin New Adventures novel Blood Heat andd Scales of Injustice. Also featuring the Silurians were the Big Finish Productions audio plays Bloodtide with the Sixth Doctor and UNIT: The Coup with General Sir Lethbridge-Stewart.

Silurians have also made many minor appearances in the New Adventures, as they have been accepted into Terran society by Bernice Summerfield's time, when the term "Earth Reptile" was apparently popularised.

The Doctor Who Magazine cycle of comic strips, The Cybermen portrays the Cybermen discovering Silurians and Sea Devils living on the planet Mondas during an unspecified time in the past. Whether the Earth Reptiles evolved on Mondas or were transported there is not clear. The strip also portrays Golgoth, a primordial humanoid reptile god-figure, who resembles a Sea Devil. The first strip, The Dead Heart, introduces the Silurians into continuity; subsequent strips concentrate on the Sea Devils and, later, Golgoth.

Trivia

 * The name Silurian is a misnomer created by the humans. The misnomer arose because the race was identified as originating in the Silurian period when they were first encountered in the Third Doctor serial Doctor Who and the Silurians. The Doctor mentions in a later serial that Silurians should more properly be called Eocenes. Neither names are interrially correct, either because the reptiles would be too early or the dinosaurs would be too late. They are sometimes referred to as Earth Reptiles in later sources.

Television

 * Doctor Who and the Silurians
 * Warriors of the Deep

Spin-off novels

 * Blood Heat by Jim Mortimore
 * The Scales of Injustice by Gary Russell

Comic strips

 * Twilight of the Silurians
 * City of Devils
 * Final Genesis
 * The Cybermen: The Dead Heart

Audio spin-offs

 * Bloodtide
 * UNIT: The Coup