Third eye
The Silurians first encountered by the Third Doctor had three eyes, providing them with a triple-faceted form of vision. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)"]) According to one source, it was these Early Silurians (PROSE: The Monster Vault [+]Loading...["The Monster Vault (novel)"]) of the "scholar caste" who possessed a third eye embedded into their forehead, (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]Loading...["The Lost Dimension (comic story)"]) Other accounts suggested that the "third eyes" were bionic implants, referred to as "Silurian Paralysers". (GAME: Worlds Apart [+]Loading...["Worlds Apart (video game)"])
The third eye also allowed them to use a variety of telepathic powers. The Silurians used their third eyes to communicate with other Silurians in a process known as "linking". The third eye would glow along with their emotions, becoming brighter when they were angry. They could sense the presence of other Silurians, even at great distances. Silurians could control the minds of other creatures. (PROSE: Blood Heat [+]Loading...["Blood Heat (novel)"]) They could hypnotise and coerce humans through a link to a primal part of a subject's mind, though stronger wills could resist this control. (AUDIO: Bloodtide [+]Loading...["Bloodtide (audio story)"]) However, even Silurians without the third eye could demonstrate this ability: Vastra told Jenny Flint that her species could exert a mesmeric influence over humans. (AUDIO: The Cars That Ate London! [+]Loading...["The Cars That Ate London! (audio story)"])
The third eye was capable of harming organic beings, killing them or leaving them unconscious. Alternatively, they could revive a human that they had rendered unconscious with the third eye. Energies emanating from it allowed them to burn through walls and create tunnels. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)"], PROSE: Blood Heat [+]Loading...["Blood Heat (novel)"]) According to one account, the offensive capability of the third eye was a beam of burning radiation. (COMIC: Twilight of the Silurians [+]Loading...["Twilight of the Silurians (comic story)"])
The Silurians also employed their third eye in less destructive tasks, such as activating their technology, opening passageways or creating force fields to trap prisoners. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)"])
As understood by historians, the evolved Middle Silurians used their third eyes, which were now positioned atop their heads, solely for communication. As the Silurians were now solely identical, they used it to indicate who was speaking (PROSE: The Monster Vault [+]Loading...["The Monster Vault (novel)"], TV: Warriors of the Deep [+]Loading...["Warriors of the Deep (TV story)"]) much like the luminosity dischargers of the Daleks and the (TV: The Daleks [+]Loading...["The Daleks (TV story)"] etc.) and the mouth slits of certain Cyber-subspecies. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)"] etc.)
Not all Silurians had these third eyes, (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Supremacy of the Cybermen (comic story)"]) primarily the Late Silurian (PROSE: The Monster Vault [+]Loading...["The Monster Vault (novel)"]) warriors. (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]Loading...["The Lost Dimension (comic story)"]) Jastrok bitterly implied that these Silurians once had working third eyes but they had lost it over time. (AUDIO: Call to Arms [+]Loading...["Call to Arms (audio story)"]) However, the Dacha was one Silurian who possessed a third eye despite his resemblance to the warrior caste. (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]Loading...["The Lost Dimension (comic story)"])
