Hyrulean Animal Theory Guide

[HerosDescendant]

This is the first of many animals(and plants) of Hyrule that I have put in my field guide. With permission from nintendo, I plan to publish it someday, because whenever I hear about most of the animals of Hyrule, all I hear is how to kill them. I have taken the liberty to theorize about some of the habits and lifestyles of these amazing creatures. I hope to get some good remarks from other fans. If so, I will defenitely try to publish it. First up is the Octorok, which we will refer to as the Land Octopus, Octopus edaphos(I have come up with common and scientific names for many of these organisms).


The Land Octopus is a unique amphibious cephalopod found in Hyrule's moist environments. It pulls itself along with six muscular legs, and catches prey with two extended grabbing tentacles above it's siphon. As a defensive adaptation, the Land Octopus can shoot semi-solid balls of ink from it's siphon at it's enemies. It has a mantle opening on it's backside which is finely lined with blood vessels inside the cavity, which it uses to breathe, both in and out of water. But in order to breathe out of water, it must keep this cavity wet, so it can never stray to far from the water.
The Land Octopus has chromatophores(pigment-bearing cells) in it's skin which allow it to change color at will. It uses this adaptation to camoflauge itself from both it's predators and prey. It's diet mainly consists of insects, fish, and hard-shelled invertabrates. The Land Octopus' beak(it's mouth) is located on it's underside, in the middle of it's ring of tentacles. It has a mildly venomous bite that it uses to stop it's prey from struggling. It also sports a skin-covered shell on top of it's head. Partially for defense, and partially to keep from drying out while on land.
Land Octopi come in two varieties: a riverside species, and a coastal species. As the Land Octopus has no nose, it detects scent through odor-detecting organs in the suckers on it's tentacles. The Land Octopus is active anytime of the day, and is normally a harmless animal.



So, tell me what you think, and if I should post more.

 

[Shadsie]

A comprehensive Hylian beastiary. I like this idea. (I wanted to do something like this for the creatures of the anime/manga Trigun and never got around to it).

I would imagine that the Octorock might have an air-filled bladder within it that enables it to shoot is projectiles at high velocity. It would suck in air through chambers much like a normal octopus or squid will suck in water in order to swim away at high speed - this has been modified for life on land for the sucking in of air to "spit" its projectiles.

Perhaps those projectiles are actually rock, as well. Maybe, like birds, the Octorock has a habit of eating small stones. Unlike birds, however, it does not use them to grind its food, but, instead stores them in a "crop" within itself where they get rolled up/bound with ink or some other sticky substance until they form perfectly round balls.

I think there's a "Hylian Biologists" guild on this board. I'm thinking I should join it.

 

[angelkid]

I like the description. It's very in depth and interesting. You can tell you have put alot of thought into the description. One thing, there seemsto be alot of... guesswork. Most of the information presented isnt cannon and is more like assumptions. I dont think that you should say anything that you arent 100% is fact.

 

[zzRICHzz]

its really cool i like it alot... i wonder if the creators even put this much thought into it when designing these monsters.

Do you base your descriptions on them by a specific game or the series in general??? because you know how the games have different versions of the same monster?

can you put up a photo of which one your talking about so i know plz?

 

[HerosDescendant]

its really cool i like it alot... i wonder if the creators even put this much thought into it when designing these monsters.

Do you base your descriptions on them by a specific game or the series in general??? because you know how the games have different versions of the same monster?

can you put up a photo of which one your talking about so i know plz?

I don't know how to put a picture on my posts, but the design is like the bigocto from OoT and MM, but smaller, and with two additional "feet".

 

[HerosDescendant]

Hyrulian Animal: Helmasaur (TP)

Now for the second of my Hyrulean animal field guide entries: The Helmasaur. Actually I have "discovered" two kinds of Helmasaur; the Grassland Helmasaur(TP), and the Mountain Helmasaur(TMC). This forum is about the Grassland Helmasaur.


The Helmasaur is a gentle herbivore of the fields of Hyrule. It normally grows to the size of a small cow, and sports a formidable shell upon it's back, which covers most of the animal's top. The shell is formed out of a mucous that hardens over time. Upon hatching, the Helmasaur is shell-less and vulnerable, and retreats into the forest for protection until it can grow it's shell. Once it does, and has grown big enough, the Helmasaur moves out into the open grasslands. As a youngling, the shell can occasionally weaken and fall off (or be ripped off by a strong force such as a predator's attack), during which the Helmasaur then seeks shelter or the protection of a herd, and secretes new mucous which will eventually become a new shell.
An adult Helmasaur's shell is normally far too heavy to fall off, and the Helmasaur's feinforced spinal column is adapted to deal with the weight. A Helmasaur's diet consists mainly of grasses and low-lying vegetation. They are normally gentle animals, but will charge if provoked.

 

[Zemen]

These are creative threads, but I think that it will spam up the forums a lot if you keep posting separate threads for EVERY creature. Why don't you just make one Hyrulian Animal thread and keep adding on to it?

 

[HerosDescendant]

Hyrulean Animals

Ok, I decided to take some advice from another fan, and collaborate all of my field guide entries into one forum. So up next is the Kargarok(from TP), which I have dubbed as the genus name Ornithosaurus, or the common name, Dragon Buzzard.

The Dragon Buzzard, despite it's name, is neither a bird, nor a dragon, but a reptile. Evolved from small jumping lizards, it is lightweight and excellently adapted for flight, with specially hollow bones and air sacs attatched to its lungs to deal with lower air pressure at high altitudes and to give it lift for flight.
It's mouth has been replaced by a beak, to better deal with eating carrion. Though it is mainly a scavenger, it will not turn up a bit of live game. Dragon Buzzards usually roost in large trees and mountain peaks. They often nest in communal flocks.
Despite what is seen in TP, Dragon Buzzards are day-active animals.

 

[BoxTar]

Again, very well done. It is very discriptive and seems to be describing an animal in the real world.

 

[HerosDescendant]

The fourth animal I am going to post about will be the Dodongo(OoT/MM). Actually, like the Helmasaur, there are two species of Dodongo: the Giant Dodongo(OoT/MM), and the Cave Dodongo(TP). Here we will be covering the Giant Dodongo, or as we will call it Phlegonosaurus megalos (greek for "Giant Flame Reptile"), or simply a Phlegonosaur.


The Phlegonosaur is an all-around predator and scavenger. It will eat anything, including plants and certain rocks(its digestive system is designed to squeeze all of the nutrients out of anything it eats). They often live near volcanoes, which not only keeps them active(because of the heat), but also helps them when they lay their eggs in the volcanic soil.
The Phlegonosaur can exhale fire from it's mouth. It stores hydrogen that it gets from digesting it's food within two storage bladders connected to it's stomach. When it exhales this hydrogen, it reacts with a metal(that it obtains from eating volcanic rocks) that it stores in it's mouth and ignites the gas. The inside of the Phlegonosaur's mouth is specially protected by armor-like skin and a heat-resistant throat flap to keep any backlashes of fire from burning the throat. It probably evolved this adaptation to attack fleeing prey from a distance, as the Phlegonosaur is a relatively slow animal. A full-grown Phlegonosaur's fire-breath can reach a distance of up to 50 feet.
Baby Phlegonosaurs only have two small front legs, and spend their lives with the other hatchlings in a pack underground, surfacing only to attack prey when they sense vibrations coming from above ground. By the time they reach adolescence, their front legs have grown bigger, have ceased living underground and have gained the ability to breathe fire, but only as adult Phlegonosaurs will they grow back legs. Adult Phlegonosaurs are rare, however, as adolescents have been known to be cannibalistic.

 

[BoxTar]

You should probably add why it explodes when killed in OoT. That would be an interesting factiod.

 

[HerosDescendant]

You should probably add why it explodes when killed in OoT. That would be an interesting factiod.

Oh, their not really supposed to explode in "real life", thats just in the games. Or I assume Ganondorf's power just did something to them that made them explode when they are killed.

Anyway, here is my fifth entry from my field guide: The Helmasaur from TMC, which I have scientificly named Helmasaurus ouros(Helmet Reptile of the Mountains), or as a common name, the Mountain Helmasaur.

The Mountain Helmasaur is smaller than it's grassland relative, and has a different diet. It is also not as heavily armored, with only it's head covered by armor, which, like the Grassland Helmasaur, is formed out of hardened mucous. The Mountain Helmasaur occasionally sharpens the tip of it's "helmet" against rocks and mountain faces. This is because it uses the sharpened point to impale prey when hunting.
Like the Grassland Helmasaur, this "helmet" can occasionally fall off. After it has fallen off, the Mountain Helmasaur temporarily ceases hunting and instead suppliments it's diet on insects and plants that live near mountain bases, until it can grow a new "helmet". Though normally a solitary animal, they take care of their young after they hatch for at least two years, until the young can grow their own "helmets".

Despite what is seen in TMC, Mountain Helmasaurs have four legs, not just two, and can assume both quadrepedal and bipedal stances. In fact, when it is chasing after prey, the Mountain Helmasaur runs on two legs until either it's prey has been caught or has gotten away. In "real-life", their bodies resemble a small predatory dinosaur-like creature.(THEORY, and a pretty good one in my opinion)



Well, since no one has posted here in a while, I'll just continue with my next entry, which is the Peahat, which is not an animal, but a plant. I have given it the common name, the Windmill Plant. The "real-life from" is based on the one from TP.

The Windmill Plant has evolved a method of locomotion. On it's top is a stem that is formed in a ball-and-socket joint, almost like a bone. Muscle-like organs at the base of this joint can rotate the stem, allowing it's four, propeller-like leaves to lift it into the air, and it can steer by moving it's four post-like protrusions beneath it's stem. At the end of each of these protrusions is a light-detecting organ, almost like a simple eye, which it uses to "see" where it is going. When it finds a spot with plentiful sunlight, it lands and buries it's roots in any soil it can find, and begins to photosynthesize and absorb nutrients from the soil.

When a male and a female Windmill Plant meet, they knock into each other while the male sends out spores. Once the female has "mated", she flys over a suitable spot and drops her seeds, which grow into a tree. This "Windmill Tree" will eventually grow new Windmill Plants on the ends of it's branches, which detatch when they are big enough. Smaller Windmill Plants will often travel and plant themselves with a larger one for protection.

 

[HerosDescendant]

I'm not sure if I'm allowed or not to double post, but I wanted this thread to get some attention. Sorry.

Anyway, up next is the Chuchu (the "Chus" from TP take the "real-life" form), which I have given the common name Giant Slime Mold.

The Giant Slime Mold is actually neither a plant or animal, but a collection of single-celled organisms that move together as one, able to change shape, and creep along the ground. It feeds on microscopic organisms that live on the ground and on plants and animals. They often carry Slime Beetles(Chu Worms) inside of them. Each microscopic organism can reproduce asexually. It can create more Giant Slime Molds by splitting parts of its "body" off. Multiple Giant Slime Molds can also merge to increase their chances of survival.

Giant Slime Molds produce a "jelly" that can be used to make certain medicines or used as fuel. This "jelly" is often used to make potions, used as oil, or can be eaten raw.

 

[TVTMaster]

jumping?

Seems pretty good, but it doesn't explain how the Giant Slime Mold jumps- given the apparent semi-liquid state of the organism, any individual particle would simply push itself into the rest of the mold. I theorize that in order for it to produce this thrust, it would need the capability to solidify parts of its body enough to push off of- moving force from the individual particle to the rest of the mold instead of slowly losing momentum. This would also explain its ability to form a cohesive shape (especially in the case of the cartoony ones) and why it can be killed with a sharp object.

 

[HerosDescendant]

Seems pretty good, but it doesn't explain how the Giant Slime Mold jumps- given the apparent semi-liquid state of the organism, any individual particle would simply push itself into the rest of the mold. I theorize that in order for it to produce this thrust, it would need the capability to solidify parts of its body enough to push off of- moving force from the individual particle to the rest of the mold instead of slowly losing momentum. This would also explain its ability to form a cohesive shape (especially in the case of the cartoony ones) and why it can be killed with a sharp object.

Yeah, thats a good idea. Either that or the corruption from Ganondorf has something to do with it.

Anyway, heres my next entry, the Chu Worm, which I have named the Slime Beetle (since it looks more like a beetle than a worm).

Slime Beetles live inside of Giant Slime Molds, breathing through means of an aqualung, a bubble of air around its body. The Giant Slime Mold and the Slime Beetle live in symbiosis. The Slime Beetle is supplied food (the jelly) and shelter from the slime mold, and the slime mold is provided with protection. If its home is attacked, the Slime Beetles that live in the slime mold viscously attack with their sharp mandibles. This attack is usually enough to deter even the most persistant predator.

In "real-life", Slime Beetles only weigh about one ounce, and are about the size of regular beetles.

--EDIT--

Anyway, my next entry is an animal that is not shown anywhere in the games, but it's existance is hinted at in OoT by the lion-shaped doors in the Gerudo Training Grounds, and in TWW by the King of Red Lions. The animal is, you probably guessed it, the Red Lion, Panthera Leo erythros.
Since these animals have not been shown in the games, much about these animals is purely speculation.


The Red Lion is similar to the species found in Africa, but it is smaller and colored a reddish-brown hue. They live in small groups called prides, consisting of a dominant male, several females, and their young. Only males have a bright red mane. Hunting is done primarily by the females, but all of the pride members partake in eating, with the male going first. Red Lions primarily hunt large herbivores such as Helmasaurs and Bull Boars(Bullbo).


I am going to go right into my next entry, the Bullbo, which is short for Bull Boar.

Bull Boars are perhaps one of the strongest herd animals in Hyrule. They pack enough strength to wreck a house, and when charging can bust through iron gates! Bull Boars have a reinforced cranium that allows them to knock down large, tough objects such as trees. They have poor eyesight, instead relying on their sense of smell to guide them. Both genders sport small tusks, which they use to dig up roots, fungi, and small invertebrates to eat. Bull Boars travel in herds composed of many males and females, and their young.
I estimate that Bull Boars weigh about 2 tons.