There are few things more terrifying than H.R. Giger's Xenomorph design from the "Alien" film franchise. While those creatures gestate inside humans ensnared by the equally unsettling Facehugger, each one is also born from the hands of a skilled, but often overlooked, prop maker.

A new video for Ridley Scott's "Alien: Covenant" reminds us that even the iconic extraterrestrial stars out small -- with a hand, specifically.

Where it all begins. #AlienCovenant pic.twitter.com/X0aGEEtH3P

— Alien Anthology (@AlienAnthology) July 6, 2016

The video is an eight-second quasi-GIF that gives the illusion of depth, but there is at least one key detail to be gleaned: The Xenomorph's hand deviates slightly from the original designs, which had the index and middle finger, as well as ring and little finger, conjoined. This model appears to have only the conjoined ring and little finger.

The previous "Alien" film, "Prometheus," changed Xenomorph physiology a great deal, and while this is a very minute detail, perhaps more changes are in store for the ever-evolving menace.

Opening Aug. 4, 2017, "Alien: Covenant" stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Jussie Smollett and Billy Crudup.