Skinnies
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The Skinnies are a fictional alien race created by author Robert A. Heinlein in the novel Starship Troopers. The skinnies are allied with the Arachnids against humanity and in the first chapter of the novel, the protagonist, Johnnie Rico attacks a skinny city. Skinnies are described as being essentially humanoid, but much thinner than ordinary humans and have high body temperatures which makes them stand out when viewed with infra-red "snoopers".
In the short-lived syndicated TV series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, the skinnies are the unwilling allies of the arachnids and when they are freed from their arachnid brain-controlling overlords, their leader Colonel T'Phai, fights alongside humans. The Skinnies as portrayed in the series are methane breathers.
This term is also used in the film Black Hawk Down by United States troops when referring to the local population of Somalis. This is most likely meant as a derogatory term[citation needed].
