Author: A.E. Van Vogt

Length: short story

First Publication: Astounding Science Fiction, 1939

What the Story is About: To quote from Wikipedia:

Van Vogt’s first published SF story, “Black Destroyer” (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1939), was inspired by On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. The story depicted a fierce, carnivorous alien stalking the crew of an exploration spaceship. It was the cover story of this issue of Astounding, the issue often described as having ushered in the Golden Age of science fiction. The story became an instant classic and eventually served as the inspiration for a number of science fiction movies.

Honestly, I’m not exactly sure how the “Origin of Species” comes into the story and there seems to have been some Freudian inspiration in the mix.