What precisely makes a natural attack different from an unarmed strike? in Starfinder? How do they differ from a melee weapon attack?
The first two were clearly defined in Pathfinder, but this seems less true in Starfinder. Are they even different things?
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An unarmed strike is an archaic nonlethal weapon that doesn't threaten AoO, except when it's not. Its damage is considered weapon damage (CRB page 190).
NPC natural weapons are melee attacks with the appropriate attack bonus and damage shown in the table for their CR and number of attacks (Alien Archive pages 128-130).
A bloodbrother's Cold special ability triggers when struck with a natural weapon or unarmed strike.
A kyokor's Demolish Structures ability applies to its natural weapons. Its listed weapons are bite, claws and slam. A nuar has natural weapons and has a horn attack listed (note: Gore is not an attack type and doesn't require use of natural weapons), as does a reptoid for claws.
Briefly, I could suggest "natural weapon" is a defined term but the weapon's name, damage and damage type are as listed in text for each creature. A natural weapon is not an archaic weapon unless a specific ability makes it such.
A PC's unarmed strike is a natural weapon if the PC has the Natural Weapons trait, but wherever it matters, unarmed strikes and natural weapons seem to be referenced together anyway. Currently for an NPC, nothing seems to mark an attack explicitly as a natural weapon except the GM's knowledge.