Basic Trope: Aliens mistake a nonhuman for a dominant life form.
- Straight: The Blorgians arrive on earth, and mistake Bob's pet ball python for the dominant life form.
- Exaggerated: The Blorgians mistake the ball pythons for deities, and build altars to them.
- Downplayed: The Blorgians think humans and Ball Pythons are equally dominant.
- Justified: The Blorgians are serpentine in structure, making snakes essentially their version of Humanoid Aliens.
- Inverted: Bob thinks the blorgians are a dominant alien species, when they really serve a stronger species.
- Subverted:
- A blorgian claims the ball pythons are dominant life forms, only to reveal he was being sarcastic.
- Turns out ball pythons really are dominiant in this setting.
- The blorgians were looking for the dominant serpentine species. note
- Double Subverted: ...and immediately clarifies that he knows garter snakes are the dominant species.
- Parodied: Ball Pythons turn out to be the dominant species, and ascend with the aliens after thanking humanity for the rats.
- Zig Zagged: The blorgians realize their mistake... and then believe cats to be the dominant species. After humans tell them that they have it all wrong, they decide the dominant species must be dolphins.
- Averted:
- The aliens coming to Earth know humans are the dominant species.
- The Earthlings traveling to alien planets guess the dominant species of each planet first try every time.
- Enforced: The director wants this to be a comedy, so he demands the aliens be introduced in a comedic way
- Lampshaded: "Why does every alien think my snake is the dominant species when it is the one in the cage?"
- Invoked: A prankster hears that aliens are coming, sneaks into the ship, and tells them that snakes are their master as a joke.
- Exploited: A sapient mutant snake sees this happening, and uses this to be treated like a king for once.
- Defied: Humans make sure to dress extra regally when the aliens arrive, so there's no mistake.
- Discussed: "Knowing our luck, the aliens will probably think that cow is our master."
- Conversed: "Can you believe the aliens in Super Alice Force 3 thought hamsters were the dominant life forms?"
- Implied: The aliens arrive at earth, don't talk at all, and leave with only a group of Ball Pythons.
- Deconstructed: The aliens realize the ball pythons are kept in cages, and start killing their owners to "liberate" them
- Reconstructed: The aliens think these cages are throne rooms.
- Plotted A Good Waste: This starts a plot where the protagonist needs to go into space to face the aliens and take back their pet.
- Played For Laughs: The aliens think rubber ducks are the dominant species.
- Played For Drama: The aliens arrived to interrogate many members of the dominant species and gather intel on the planet.
- Played For Horror: They plan to use the dominant life form to host their eldritch, invincible master.
"Wait, Boss, I've found the dominant life form! It's this playing with page, not the Main Page."
