63 replies to this topic

[Personality #9]

I am an Ecologist, I study the history of animals and their relations to one another. So it seems logical that I am interested in Battle Beasts. With their size, bright colors and great amount of detail I have been interested in them since I was very young.

My purpose here is to introduce some official science nomenclature to all of my fellow Beast lovers, and to help reduce and possibly eleminate some of the confusion that might exsist about what kind of animal a certain Beast is supposed to represent.

Now even with the great amount of detail that has been put into the various Beasts, there are some errors (such as a Pink Elephant [somebody at Hasbro must have watched Disney's Dumbo to think of that], or the Blue Ram).
I understand of course that these were designed to be children's toys and that, as such, certain liberties were taken. So I'm not here to "flea eff"...so to speak.

So here goes...

1. Sabre Sword Tiger, #50: Of all the animals to ever evolve sabre-teeth, none of them have been tigers. The traditional cats we think of when we think of the genus Smilodon of which three species are known to have existed. I have taken a certain amount of liberty and placed our Sabre Sword Cat as the species Smilodon fatalis.

2. Sailon, #79: Sailon isn't a prehistoric rhinocerous but rather a very modern Indian Rhinocerous Rhinoceros unicornis. The single horn and grey features give this one away.

3. Condorassin, #82: Contrary to what his name suggests, Condorassin isn't a condor, but rather a King Vulture, the species Sarcoramphus papa. Condors generally have bald heads where the details on Condorassins' head/face match up almost exactly to various pictures I've seen of King Vultures.

Anyways I'll stop here for now. Please let me know if any of you find this kind of stuff the least bit interesting. If you do, I'll post more.
On the other hand, if you're all terribly bored with this kind of stuff, I'll stop here.

Just let me know!

[dabbuu]

Keep going this stuff is great

dabbuu

[THEGODBEAST]

I really enjoy this educated info you have shared! It is extremely interesting...thanks for sharing! More, more...

TGB

[Orca]

i'm going to steal someone's line........ This is NERDCORE at its finest and we love it~!!!!!!

Keep it comming. and if the little dudes are out of their proper color combos let us know so we can customize our beasts and re-name them. Or am i getting way too nerdcore here?????

-Orca

[koppenschevelle]

Facinating information.

I actually had to look up for myself what a Pangolin was. Facinating little creature though.

Keep it up, I would love to hear more about our Battle Beasts.

Eric

[THEGODBEAST]

i'm going to steal someone's line........ This is NERDCORE at its finest and we love it~!!!!!!

Keep it comming. and if the little dudes are out of their proper color combos let us know so we can customize our beasts and re-name them. Or am i getting way too nerdcore here?????

-Orca

You have always been totally "NERDCORE."

He!he!hE!

TGB

[Personality #9]

Thanks for all the support guys! I really appriciate it. I wasn't really sure if any of you would be interested in this kind of stuff so it makes me feel good knowing that you guys have been very positive about what I've shared so far.

As many of you might have noticed, I've started with the more "contraversial" Beasts that I've seen either misnamed, or mis-represented either officially or on various websites and fanfic. Now while my studies put me more "at home" to properly list these creatures, I am not infalliable. So if any one out there finds an error in my taxonomy LMK, I'm not proud!

Also, if you guys want/or are curious, I can put some general information about the real life animal (i.e. it's habitat, geographical location, ecological niche etc.). But obviously, I don't want to turn this board into a classroom or into the Discovery Channel or anything like that.

If you have questions about any animals, please feel free to ask.

Anyways, here's more:

#34, Delta Chameleon: Delta is one of two chameleons represented officially. The other being #98, Puzzlecolor [see last entry]. Delta is your common chameleon Chameleo chameleon. Common chameleons live in trees and have indepently swiveling eyes and can display striking color changes in their scales. Although I don't know of a chameleon that has eyes as red as Delta's are.

#54, Leapin' Lizard: Leapin' Lizard is a Frilled Lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii. Frilled Lizards live in Australia and the frill (or mane around it's head) is usually folded back and is only used to make it look more intimidating to potenital predators. The Coloring for Leapin' is a more "traditional" lizard green, while the pics of Frilled lizards that I've seen are more earthly colored (different shades of brown mixed in with some brick red). But there might be some green frilled lizards out there.

#65, Tanglin Pangolin: A very straight forward one here, Pangolin's are kinda like the Old World's (Africa & Asia) equivalent to the America's Amadillo. I think our Pangolin is Manis temminckii. All Pangolin's are aboreal (they spend at least a portion of their lives in the trees), and have tails. The coloring of Tanglin looks spot on.

#71, Diving Duckbill: Duckbill is not a duck, but actually a Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus, the lone representative Monotreme (Mammals with literally "one hole", it lays eggs and poops out of that one hole!). Platypus' are located in eastern Australia and Tasmania.
I know it's not a duck because of the shape of his head and his coloring. The "beak" is actually not yellow on a real life platypus but dark grey from all the pictures I've seen. Another hint that this isn't a duck is by comparing him to Run Amuk Duck. Run Amuk's bill is smaller, and he's colored a "traditional" duckling yellow.

#98, Puzzlecolor: Puzzlecolor is the other chameleon represented officially. The other being Delta Chameleon [see first entry]. Puzzlecolor is a Jackson's Chameleon, Chamaeleo jacksonii. Male Jackson Chameleon's are distinguished the three 'horns' on their face used to confront each other with and the horns aren't yellow but rather a grey with a tint of green in them. Jackson's Chameleons are located in Kenya, Africa.

Well that's it for now. Again, LMK if any of this stuff is interesting/helpfull. If you have any requests, just ask.

Edited by Artimus Prime, 13 January 2005 - 12:25 PM.

[Slowpoke Sloth]

As a third year Biology major at Penn State Erie I have to say it's nice to see some fellow Bio lovers on this board. The info is great, keep it up.

[THEGODBEAST]

#54, Leapin' Lizard: Leapin' Lizard is a Frilled Lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii. Frilled Lizards live in Australia and the frill (or mane around it's head) is usually folded back and is only used to make it look more intimidating to potenital predators. The Coloring for Leapin' is a more "traditional" lizard green, while the pics of Frilled lizards that I've seen are more earthly colored (different shades of brown mixed in with some brick red). But there might be some green frilled lizards out there.

#98, Puzzlecolor: Puzzlecolor is the other chameleon represented officially. The other being Delta Chameleon [see first entry]. Puzzlecolor is a Jackson's Chameleon, Chamaeleo jacksonii. Male Jackson Chameleon's are distinguished the three 'horns' on their face used to confront each other with and the horns aren't red but rather a grey with a tint of green in them. Jackson's Chameleons are located in Kenya, Africa.

I am confused...the Leapin' Lizard IS brown/earthy tone...not green and the Puzzle Color has yellow horns, not red. You are correct on all the other info...I am a sort of reptile enthusist too. Jackson's Chameleons and Frilled Lizards are 2 of my favorite lizards.

How about the colors on the Igunna? There is one you can go off on...BIG TIME!!!

TGB

[Personality #9]

I am confused...the Leapin' Lizard IS brown/earthy tone...not green and the Puzzle Color has yellow horns, not red. You are correct on all the other info...I am a sort of reptile enthusist too. Jackson's Chameleons and Frilled Lizards are 2 of my favorite lizards.

How about the colors on the Igunna? There is one you can go off on...BIG TIME!!!

TGB

I made a mistake about Puzzlecolor's horns, I meant to say that his eyes were red, not his horns.

The pics of Frilled lizards that I've seen are definatley more red than what is represented by the figure. I personally feel the figure looks more of a dark "lizard" green than anything else, but maybe that's just my opinion.

I'll probably do more tonight, thanks again guys!

[Personality #9]

Alright, here's a few more Beasts for list:

#1, White Leo & #89, Brown Lion: Both of these Battle Beasts are lions, Panthera leo. Lions live in the African savanna (not in woods or jungles). Lions are quite socialble for cats, living in 'prides' with usually one grown male (although brothers will sometimes share a pride together) and several females and their cubs.
As far as coloring goes, I guess it can be somewhat argued that White Leo is an albino (lacking any coloring pigments). Lions are a tan or golden color that is a bit lighter than the brown that Brown Lion is


#8, Sledgehamer Elephant: Sledgehamer is an African Elephant, Loxodonta africana. African Elephants have much larger ears and tusks than do their Asianic cousins, and with the size of Sledgehamer's ears with respect to his body, he is obviously African.
African Elephants live in the African savanna and when fully grown and healthy, they have no natural predators (other than humans). Elephants are long lived, they can live for up to 60 years in the wild.
The coloring for Sledgehamer is ridiculously off. There is no such thing as a pink elephant (Unless you're drunk I suppose). Elephants are a grey color, and their tusks are white.

Well, That's all for now guys. Again, I'll add some more Beasts tomorrow!

Edited by Artimus Prime, 14 January 2005 - 03:24 AM.

[Orca]

The coloring for Sledgehamer is ridiculously off. There is no such thing as a pink elephant (Unless you're drunk I suppose). Elephants are a grey color, and their tusks are white.

What about Green????? can Elephants be green????????





......say they can be green.........saaay it

[Personality #9]

The coloring for Sledgehamer is ridiculously off. There is no such thing as a pink elephant (Unless you're drunk I suppose). Elephants are a grey color, and their tusks are white.

What about Green????? can Elephants be green????????





......say they can be green.........saaay it

Uh, okay... "it"!

[THEGODBEAST]

There is no such thing as a pink elephant (Unless you're drunk I suppose).

Ok, I am starting to sound like a unit, however, I don't mean to be...I am an artist and I would have to say that the color of the actual BB Elephant is lavendar not pink.

Please don't think I am pickin' ya apart, however, I have to call you out on the colors...

Keep up the good work, I love the info!

TGB

[koppenschevelle]

I love this, hearing about some of my favorite Battle Beasts such as Delta Chameleon and Sledgehammer Elephant. If you are thinking of some more animals to do, I have always had a bit of questions about:

Roamin' Buffalo - What type is it? Asian or African?

Cutthroat Cuttlefish

Tarsier Tyrant

Torrential Tapier

Manic Mandrill

Shool

Battle Fennec

Dragon Seahorn

Grin Reefer - What type of ray is it? Sting Ray? I know it's not a Manta Ray, although there should be like a bigger Manta Ray.... hmmmm...........

Dino Gator - Is this supposed to be some type of current Alligator, or a prehistoric variety with the Dino tag?

Thanks,

Eric

[transformersontheshelf]

Man, i love this thread! I've always loved animal and never got the chance to study zoology at all. So out of all the BB who would you say (based on animal only, not the augmentations of bio-mechanics) would be the longest lived and who would be the shortest lived? We know that Dinosaurs had very long life and most tortises (i can not spell for crap) live for over 100 years. I'm not shure but I also think parrots can live a VERY long time and I think this would put Rainbow Samu in the run as well. What about the Insects, they have short lives do they not?

and Eric...I think that Dino Gator must be a reference back to a HUGE 50'(?) alligator that existed at the time of the Dinosaurs, and not a mofdern breed.

[Personality #9]

Alright guys, sorry I havn't posted any follow ups in the last couple of days, but I've been working out a way to add a little more orginization to the posts. Also, I've been thinkin' about posting what the latin names actually mean.

Probably tomorrow, I'm gonna start with the Bear family and then I will get to some of the ones that koppenschevelle and a few of you others have asked about.

And, God Beast, you're not a unit. I know that Sledgehammer is a light purple, i.e. lavendar, but I just like the sound of a pink elephant.

[Personality #9]

Okay guys, here are the Battle Beast Bears (say that 5x's fast ).

Here's how I'm gonna do my listing from here on out, I'll begin by posting the scientific order that the animal(s) are listed under, followed by the family. The number of genera that can be found in that particular family will follow. Then I'll go systematically through the species and give various details that are known including its conservation status. I will try to list the Beasts numerically when possible, but at this point I feel it'd be wise to primarily try and emphasize their relationships to each other. So, with no further ado....

PHYLUM: CHORDATA (animals with a notochord)

Subphylum: Vertebrata (vertebrates)

CLASS: MAMMALIA (mammals)

Subclass: Eutheria
(placental; give birth to reasonably devleoped young)

ORDER: CARNIVORA

FAMILY: URSIDAE
8 species in 5 genera

Bears are the largest land carnivores and are distributed around the world being absent only in Africa, Australia and Antarctica (make special note of this guys, this means Polar Bears don't eat penguins!). Bears are smart, have color vision and have very good memories, being able to remember their ways around given areas where food was available in previous years. Despite being classified in the order Carnivora, bears are actually omnivores, meaning that they eat fruit, insects, roots, grass, etc, as well as meat.

#11, Grizzly Bear:
Ursus arctos horribilis

Ursus is Latin for bear, and arctos is Greek for bear. While the sub-species' name horribilis means "horrible". So Grizzly's name literally translates to "Horrible bear bear".

The details on the BB Grizzly don't match up very well to a real Grizzly Bear. There isn't such a defined "dent" in the middle of a Grizzly Bear's head and all the Grizzly Bears I have pictures of have a much lighter brown coat than does our BB friend (although there could possibly be Grizzly's out there with coats just as dark).

Despite having a bad reputation for being violent, bears usually shy away from people, and unless cornered or protecting their young, they will usually opt to retreat than to stay & fight against a human. But a Grizzly bear does have an awesome display of power and are very fast runners.

Longevity: Around 25 years in the wild.

Conservation Status: Endangered

#48, Pillaging Polar bear:
Ursus maritimus

Ursus again is Latin for bear, and maritimus means "of the sea".
Polar Bears are on average the largest of all the bears, males can measure from 6.5 to 8.3ft and weigh up to 1320lbs.

Polar Bears are believed to have evolved from Brown Bears and are well adapted for the cold environment with which they live in. Diet mostly consists of seals, small mammals and sea birds.

Polar Bears have a more round face than Pillaging does, and their eyes and noses are black. Other than that, most of the other generic features are similar.

Longevity: From early 20's to early 30's.

Conservation Status: Lower Risk, which is an improvement since the 1970's.



#92, Hustlebear:
Ursus americanus

-anus is a Latin suffix meaning "belonging to", and american obviously means America. So translated its Latin name means "Bear of America", which is fitting being that it is only distributed in North America.

Hustlebear's details match up most closely with that of the Black Bear. Little differences would be that a real Black Bear has a lighter colored mouth area and have a truly black coat, although their colors vary from cinnamon, blonde and even non-albino white!

Black Bears are relatively small averaging from 4 to 6ft, and are quite abundant. There are about twice as many Black Bears than all other bears put together, which is partially due to their generally un-aggressive nature.

Longevity: About 25 years



Conservation Status: Generally Not Threatened

#53, Panzer Panda:
Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Aiolos is Greek and means cat, pous is also Greek and means foot, meaning Cat-foot, which was named so because of the Giant Panda's likeness to the Red Panda Ailurus fulgens (Which no Battle Beast is represented ). melas is Greek for black, and leukos is Greek for white. So translated, it's name is the "Black & White cat-foot".

The classification of the Giant Panda had been a hot topic since it's discovery by Western Scientists in 1869. Recent studies of it's genetics shown that the Panda branch broke off very early in the evolution of bears, so it is firmly established in the bear family now. Giant Panda's are only found on six mountain ranges in the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces of China.

Panda's feed primarily on bamboo, although their diet is a little more varied than that. They have been observed eating insects, grasses and even rodents.

Panzer's colors and such are spot on, the only thing I feel that needs to be pointed out is that his figure looks far more aggressive than a real Panda does, but other than that, it looks perfect.

Longevity: Usually under 20 years

Conservation Status: Endangered



photos borrowed from Animal Diversity

Edited by Artimus Prime, 04 February 2005 - 09:12 AM.

[THEGODBEAST]

This is a GREAT way to lay your info out!!!

I LOVE IT!!!

Howsbout a photo or link to a photo of each animal?

Thanks for doing this!

TGB

[Orca]

this means Polar Bears don't eat penguins!

.................Damn

Edited by Orca, 19 January 2005 - 08:30 AM.

[Personality #9]

Okay guys, today I'm doing the cats’ aka the felines! I did a few touch-ups to the bears (see a few posts above).
Please let me know if you have any questions and/or if I'm getting too scientific or anything.

PHYLUM: CHORDATA

Subphylum: Verbrata

CLASS: MAMMALIA

Subclass: Eutheria

ORDER: CARNIVORA

FAMILY: FELIDAE
37 species in 4 genera

Felines are probably the most carnivorous animals in the order Carnivora, with several being highly specialized in their diets. Felines have spread throughout the world and, not including domestic breeds, are everywhere except Australia, Madagascar and Antarctica. Felines lack color vision, but they have exceptional hearing capabilities and an acute olfaction for hunting/killing their prey.
Diet consists almost entirely of meat.

# 1, Pirate Lion
#89, Brown Lion
Panthera leo

Panthera is Latin meaning a panther or a leopard, and leo means lion.

The details on both Battle Beasts match up rather decently with real life lions. The only real difference being in their representative colors.

As stated before, lions are very sociable and live in prides. The size of a pride varies, but it typically consists of about 3-10 females with 2-3 males. Usually the males are related (brothers) but not always.

Longevity: 18 years

Conservation Status: <span style='color:purple'>Vulnerable</span>, with numbers declining due to habitat loss.

#3, Ferocious Tiger
Panthera tigris

tigris is Latin for Tiger.

Tigers are generally the largest of the felines and are built for killing. They seem to have perfected the art or stalking and ambushing their prey despite the fact that only one out of about 15 attacks is successful.

Tigers are distributed in India, China, Southeast Russia and in pockets throughout Southeast Asia. Unlike lions, tigers are primarily solitary animals.

Ferocious' generic details show that he is a tiger. He has the prominent ruff on his head like male tigers do, but his coloring is all off! Tigers have black stripes on an orange background while Ferocious is yellow with no colored stripes!

Longevity: Up to 15 years (maximum known in the wild)

Conservation Status: <span style='color:red'>Endangered</span> to <span style='color:red'>Critically Endangered</span>

#81, Tiger Pain
Panthera tigris altaica

I believe that Tiger Pain is a Siberian Tiger, his broader face and bulkier build matches more closely to that kind of tiger, which has a broader face and bulkier build than a common tiger.

Siberian Tigers inhabit the Northern parts of China, Korea and Siberia.

Longevity: [See Tiger listing]

Conservation Status: <span style='color:red'>Endangered</span>

#31, Jaded Jag
Panthera onca

onca is where the word ounce is derived from, although I don't know why it's used as the jaguar's species name.

Jaguars are found in the Southwest USA to South America.

Again, as with the coloring with the Battle Beast felines, Jaded is the wrong color, real jaguars range from a yellow-brown to white to black, and he's missing the traditional jaguar spots. Jaguars also have a bit more of a protruding mouth.

Longevity: Up to 20 years in captivity

Conservation Status: <span style='color:orange'>Lower Risk</span>

#57, Black Panther
Panthera pardus

pardus is Latin for panther or leopard. Note here that a panther is a leopard. The two names are just used to distinguish the colors between this animal, with 'panther' being used to name the black kind.

The Battle Beast figure looks pretty close to a black leopard.

Leopards are distributed throughout Africa, Arabia and the Far East.

Longevity: Up to 14 years

Conservation Status: <span style='color:red'>Critically Endangered</span>

#90, Grencats
Panthera uncia

Grencats is a Snow leopard, although is head is much more broader than a real snow leopard's, his coloring is pretty damn close (minus the spots again).

Snow leopards live in Central Asia and like virtually all felines, they live primarily alone, only coming together to mate.

Longevity: Up to 21 years in captivity

Conservation Status: <span style='color:red'>Endangered</span>

#100, Scope Cougar
Felis concolor

feles Latin, genitive felis, meaning cat, concolor Latin, meaning of the same color, as opposed to discolor, meaning of different colors.

Cougars are known under several different names. Other than cougars, they are also called pumas, catamounts, & mountain cats.
Cougars live in the moutainous region of the Western Hemisphere (North & South America, Eurasia & Africa) and are very large and powerful, being able to take down wild ungulates and full-grown livestock cattle.

Scope Cougar looks remarkably accuate for a Puma. Even down to his white "mustache" that's painted on his face. His body coloring is also true to a Puma's.

Longevity: 12-15 years

Conservation Status: Generally Not Threatend

#50, Sabre-Sword Tiger
Smilodon fatalis

I've already stated some facts about this one, so I won't spend too much time here, but there are a few more things I think I should share about the genus Smilodon.

Smilodon was originally distributed in North America but eventually migrated to South America when the two continents joined together. Smilodon was a highly successful predator and many modern scientists think its lifestyle was similar to today's African lion [see first entry].

The saber-teeth were actually hollow, and probably used to choke a victim rather than to actually bite into it.

Longevity: Probably around 15 years

Conservation Status: <span style='color:red'>Extinct</span>* Dying out about 11,000 years ago.


*Interesting note here; Of the original 76 Battle Beasts, to date Sabre-Sword Tiger is the only animal that's extinct.

Edited by Artimus Prime, 26 February 2007 - 10:40 AM.

[THEGODBEAST]

How's about #89 "Brown Lion?"

TGB

[Personality #9]

How's about #89 "Brown Lion?"

TGB

Both Brown Lion and Pirate Lion are listed together as Panthera leo.

After I finished posting last night, I did notice that I left out #100, Scope Cougar though. I'll edit the Feline post and maek a note when I do include him.

Edited by Artimus Prime, 23 January 2005 - 07:29 AM.

[THEGODBEAST]

How's about #89 "Brown Lion?"

TGB

Both Brown Lion and Pirate Lion are listed together as Panther leo.

After I finished posting last night, I did notice that I left out #100, Scope Cougar though. I'll edit the Feline post and maek a note when I do include him.

Duh.......

I missed that...

I can't believe I missed the Scope Cougar too...

TGB

[Personality #9]

I added in Scope Cougar to the Feline listing I did a few days ago. So everybody, check it out!

The Feline Family was quite large (I didn't know there were that many Feline Battle Beasts!), and I plan on doing the Canine Family next which I think will be a little easier for me, famous last words....