Vortigaunts have a slightly hunched posture, and their faces are dominated by a large eye with a maroon sclera and a heterochromic red-yellow iris with a yellow pupil, surrounded by three smaller eyes.
Vortigaunts have mottled green-brown skin, sharp teeth, and clawed hands. Apparently, this third arm is used for feeding, as both Vortigaunts and Alien Grunts are often seen bending over slain victims, feeding on them. This similarity, along with other shared features such as red eyes and digitigrade legs, is strongly suggestive of a common ancestry with other intelligent Xen life forms. This extra limb is a feature also found in other bipedal, sapient species from Xen, including the Alien Grunt and the Nihilanth. In appearance, Vortigaunts are somewhat humanoid, with two legs and two arms and an additional third arm protruding from the chest.
