History Main / InformedSpecies

'''NOTE: This trope is NOT "animal has qualities that differ from their real counterparts", '''[[note]]JustForFun/{{Egregious}} examples of this may go in ArtisticLicenseBiology or FunnyAnimalAnatomy[[/note]]''' this trope is "animal mainly does not look like their general species". As a rule of thumb, ask yourself if you could recognize the animal's correct species without being told (hence the name, Informed Species)'''.[[note]]If you're familiar with what the real animal looks like, obviously.[[/note]]''' If not, then this is the correct trope. Also, keep MST3KMantra in mind and only point out details that are mostly obvious and that the general audience would notice, not minor, nitpicky ones only zoologists would care about.'''

'''NOTE: This trope is NOT "animal has qualities that differ from their real counterparts" (which would be the Downplayed section of the PlayingWith tab) ''',[[note]]JustForFun/{{Egregious}} examples of this may go in ArtisticLicenseBiology or FunnyAnimalAnatomy[[/note]]''' this trope is "animal mainly does not look like their general species". As a rule of thumb, ask yourself if you could recognize the animal's correct species without being told (hence the name, Informed Species)'''.[[note]]If you're familiar with what the real animal looks like, obviously.[[/note]]''' If not, then this is the correct trope. Also, keep MST3KMantra in mind and only point out details that are mostly obvious and that the general audience would notice, not minor, nitpicky ones only zoologists would care about.'''

'''NOTE: This trope is NOT "animal has qualities that differ from their real counterparts" (which would be the Downplayed section of the PlayingWith tab) ''',[[note]]JustForFun/{{Egregious}} examples of this may go in ArtisticLicenseBiology or FunnyAnimalAnatomy[[/note]]''' this trope is "animal mainly does not look like their general species". As a rule of thumb, ask yourself if you could recognize the animal's correct species without being told (hence the name, Informed Species)'''.[[note]]If you're familiar with what the real animal looks like, obviously[[/note]]''' If not, then this is the correct trope. Also, keep MST3KMantra in mind and only point out details that are mostly obvious and that the general audience would notice, not minor, nitpicky ones only zoologists would care about.'''

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-Monkeys Sea-Monkeys]]. The cartoons on the packages look nothing like the brine shrimp they are in real life. They are not monkeys either. This is probably an intentional attempt to fool gullible kids into buying them -- a kingdom of merpeople in your aquarium sounds cooler than a bunch of brine shrimp.

* You would be hard-pressed to believe that the earless Manga/{{Doraemon}} is actually a cat. However, a flashback in the manga's volume 6 reveals that Doraemon ''used'' to have ears and was colored yellow, and does resemble a cartoon cat, before an accident turns him into what he looks like for the rest of the show. [[https://www.littledayout.com/wp-content/uploads/e02-story-of-doraemon.jpg Compare Doraemon past. vs. present]].

* Because only the ivory made its way to Europe for a long time, [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/book-review-sea-monsters-on-medieval-and-renaissance-maps/ walruses were initially depicted as elephants]], and later as pig-fish hybrids.
* Given that seeing a lion in 18th-century Brazil was difficult, the ones made by local sculptor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleijadinho Aleijadinho]] [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FoE-D8uvs6w/Th2gr2zZpbI/AAAAAAAAAl4/1Js-Uls1YHM/s1600/images.do.jpg looked like monkeys]] -- most notably in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Congonhas_sanctuary_of_Bom_Jesus_prophet_Daniel.jpg his statue of Daniel]] in a series with Literature/TheBible's prophets (which also includes another example, [[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2326/2462644259_dc29b24950.jpg the whale carved on Jonah's statue]]).

** Invoked with the titular heroine: According with WordOfGod, Erma and her family are not based on any Feline breed or sub-species, albeit some fans pointed out they look like between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_cat the Manx cat]], a breed from the Isle of Man in the U.K., the Abyssinian cat and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Bobtail Japanese bobtail cat]].

* Brazilian comic ''Comicbook/MonicasGang'' has three dogs, [[http://p2.trrsf.com/image/fget/cf/460/0/images.terra.com/2014/02/26/floquinho-619.jpg Fluff, a hairy and nearly featureless one that does resemble a lhasa apso]], [[https://super.abril.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/bidu_schnauzer.png Blu, who is not immediately recognizable as a Schnauzer]], and [[https://caua1000.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/bugu.jpg Glu]], who is... an egg-shaped dog. And that's not mentioning how [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife their fur is green, blue and yellow]].

* Professor Bobo in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' is stated to be a highly-evolved gorilla, but he [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/mst3k/images/7/70/Bobo.jpg really looks like a chimpanzee]].

'''NOTE: This trope is NOT "animal has qualities that differ from their real counterparts" (which would be the Downplayed section of the PlayingWith tab) '''[[note]]JustForFun/{{Egregious}} examples of this may go in ArtisticLicenseBiology or FunnyAnimalAnatomy[[/note]]''', this trope is "animal mainly does not look like their general species". As a rule of thumb, ask yourself if you could recognize the animal's correct species without being told (hence the name, Informed Species)'''[[note]]If you're familiar with what the real animal looks like, obviously[[/note]]'''. If not, then this is the correct trope. Also, keep MST3KMantra in mind and only point out details that are mostly obvious and that the general audience would notice, not minor, nitpicky ones only zoologists would care about.'''

** Still on G1: While his fellows Insecticons Shrapnel and Kickback fairly resemble the insects they're supposed to be (a stag beetle and a grasshopper, respectively), Bombshell, who's supposed to be a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, looks more like a weevil. For comparison, Barrage from the Deluxe Insecticons, ''really'' looks like a rhinoceros beetle (the Deluxe Insecticons, in general, have more realistic insect altmodes, not counting the color scheme).

* Guess which species [[http://www.kaukapedia.com/index.php?title=Datei:Lupo.jpg these]] [[http://www.kaukapedia.com/index.php?title=Datei:Knox_.jpg two]] characters from German comic ''Fix & Foxi'' are supposed to be. [[spoiler:The first one's a wolf named "Lupo" and the second one's a raven named "Knox", but honestly, could you have told? To set things straight, Lupo hardly looks like a wolf due to [[InkblotCartoonStyle the way he's drawn]], [[CartoonyTail a really thin tail with a tuft of hair at the end]] [[FurryEarDissonance and floppy ears that look more like dog ears than wolf ears]]. Knox, on the other hand, has a large curved yellow beak which makes him look more like a toucan or puffin than a raven.]]

* Zig-zagged in ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' with the titular character, who's supposed to be a robot cat despite looking nothing like one. However, a flashback in the manga's volume 6 reveals that Doraemon ''used'' to have ears and was colored yellow, and does resemble a cartoon cat, before an accident turns him into what he looks like for the rest of the show. [[https://www.littledayout.com/wp-content/uploads/e02-story-of-doraemon.jpg Compare Doraemon past. vs. present]].

[[caption-width-right:283:The [[{{Dogfaces}} Beagle Boys]], and real beagles...\\

[[quoteright:283:[[Series/TheGreatSpaceCoaster https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gary_gnu_vs_real_gnu.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:283:[[Series/TheGreatSpaceCoaster Gary Gnu]], and a real gnu...\\
not seeing it.]]

[[quoteright:283:[[Series/TheGreatSpaceCoaster https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gary_gnu_vs_real_gnu.png]]

[[caption-width-right:[[Series/TheGreatSpaceCoaster Gary Gnu]], and a real gnu...\\

[[quoteright:283:[[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/980f1be3_1a0c_47aa_83fc_783cf77a7381.jpeg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:283:The [[{{Dogfaces}} Beagle Boys]], and real beagles...\\

%%* Many animals in the various Creator/DrSeuss books.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'' has Duck. He is green, which matches up with a male mallard's green head, but the green covers his entire body rather than just the head, and it's such a dark green that in many shots (particularly in the first short) it looks more like black. He also has a narrow pointy beak that doesn't much resemble a duck bill (though it is yellow), and has no sign of webbing on his feet. Since his official "name" wasn't revealed for a long time, [[ViewerSpeciesConfusion a lot of people were outright confused]] as to what kind of bird he was supposed to be. One of the openings of the TV series jokingly nods to this, having him call himself "a talking crow-like thing."
[[/folder]]

* Mughi, Yuri and Kei’s pet from ''LightNovel/DirtyPair'' is meant to be a giant genetically engineered cat, but he more closely resembles some kind of mixed breed of dog, given the shape of his head and snout, the only cat like things about him are his ears and claws. The fact that he [[AllAnimalsAreDogs acts like a dog]] doesn't help.
** Mughi did look like a cat in the original novels, but his design was a ShoutOut to the Coeurl from ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheSpaceBeagle'', so it was changed to avoid copyright issues.

* Many fairies in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise look little like fairies, and more like AmazingTechnicolorWildlife versions of basic animals (ex. [[Anime/YesPrettyCure5 Milk]] looks like a normal rabbit, [[Anime/SuitePrettyCure Hummy]] looks like a normal cat, [[Anime/HealinGoodPrettyCure Latte]] looks like a normal puppy, etc.).

* Baby Bop from ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' has been identified as a ''Triceratops'', but other than having a head frill she barely resembles one at all, as she has mammalian ears and a face like a hippopotamus. Then again, this was done intentionally so that she could look appealing to children.

* Zig-zagged in ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' with the titular character, who's supposed to be a robot cat despite looking nothing like one. However, a flashback in the manga's volume 6 reveals that Doraemon ''used'' to have ears and was colored yellow, and does like a cartoon cat, before an accident turns him into what he looks like for the rest of the show. [[https://www.littledayout.com/wp-content/uploads/e02-story-of-doraemon.jpg Compare Doraemon past. vs. present]].

* Mole in ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' is nigh-impossible to identify as a mole by appearance, given that the show's artstyle of FingerlessHands, [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife bright colors]], and circular heads means he lacks the most distinguishing traits of one (clawed forelimbs, black or gold fur, and a long snout). The only thing marking him out as a mole is his [[BlindMistake blindness]], a trait associated with some moles, but even that could easily be a disability (especially since he also appears to be deaf and mute). Other than that, he looks more like a bear with unusually small ears.

* Mole in ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' is nigh-impossible to identify as a mole by appearance, given that the show's artstyle of FingerlessHands, [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife bright colors]], and circular heads means he lacks the most distinguishing traits of one (clawed forelimbs, black fur, and a long snout). The only thing marking him out as a mole is his [[BlindMistake blindness]], a trait associated with some moles, but even that could easily be a disability (especially since he also appears to be deaf and mute). Other than that, he looks more like a bear with unusually small ears.

* ''Manhwa/DoolyTheLittleDinosaur'':
** Many sources claim Dooly is a ''Ceratosaurus''. While he is vaguely a bipedal dinosaur with horn on his nose, his resemblance to a ceratosaur is zilch.
** Ddochi is supposed to be an ostrich, but she looks more like some kind of white humanoid with bird-feet and a feather tail.
** One episode of the 2008 series had an orangutan which looked more like a gorilla with an orange mane.

* Given that seeing a lion in 18th-century Brazil was difficult, the ones made by local sculptor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleijadinho Aleijadinho]] [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FoE-D8uvs6w/Th2gr2zZpbI/AAAAAAAAAl4/1Js-Uls1YHM/s1600/images.do.jpg looked like monkeys]] - most notably in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Congonhas_sanctuary_of_Bom_Jesus_prophet_Daniel.jpg his statue of Daniel]] in a series with Literature/TheBible's prophets (which also includes another example, [[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2326/2462644259_dc29b24950.jpg the whale carved on Jonah's statue]]).

** Ironically Godzilla himself , who was in fact supposed to be a mutated theropod of some variety, doesn't really look like any real dinosaur so much. Part of this is ScienceMarchesOn, since back in the 50s when Godzilla was created, the classic 'tripod' pose for theropods was still in vogue, but even taking that into account, his head is way too small to be a theropod. Granted, this may be justified on account of his mutation, as his original form, the ''Godzillasaurus'', has a bigger head in proportion to its body. Some fans also interpret other incarnations of him as a synapsid.

[[quoteright:286:[[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beagles_vs_beagles_3611.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:286:The [[{{Dogfaces}} Beagle Boys]], and real beagles...\\