History Main / InformedSpecies

* This is common with paleontologists, as they often have very little fossil evidence of what certain creatures looked like in life. As a result, many reconstructions of animals look very different from what the animal is later discovered to have actually looked like thanks to ScienceMarchesOn. One of the biggest examples in history is ''Iguanodon''. The earliest reconstructions of Iguanodon looked more like a giant iguana or a synapsid reptile with a nose horn (which was actually a thumb spike) than what the dinosaur is actually known to have looked like now. In the early 19th century, dinosaurs were often depicted as more closely resembling giant lizards or crocodiles.

*** May be the reason why in the 2014 reboot he is portrayed as a type of Permian reptile instead of a dinosaur. However, suplementary material in the special features of the home release of this movie states that yes, the ''Monsterverse'' Godzilla is a dinosaur as well, but given he originates from the Permian era, it means his species were either the very first dinosaurs or extremely derived dinosauriforms. There's also the fact that he has ''gills'', which means that MV!Godzilla technically wouldn't even be a reptile, but some kind of non-amniote amphibian.

** ''Film/JurassicParkIII'': The ''Pteranodon'' have ''teeth'', especially ludicrous considering its name literally means "toothless wing" and there were many other species of pterosaurs that did possess teeth.

*** There's a HandWave by Dr. Wu that all the dinosaurs were purposely modified to look "cooler" rather than biologically accurate, as their purpose was to serve as theme park entertainment. This is true even in the books; it is explicitly explained that none of them are perfect replicas because of all the modifications and substitutions that had to be made. The use of Frog and modern reptile DNA rather than Bird DNA to fill the gaps in the sequences is a major reason for this.

* The giant ground sloth from ''Film/UnknownIsland'' barely resembles the real animal, instead looking more like a bizarre hybrid between a bear and an ape. And then there's the fact that it's ''carnivorous''.
* In a similar case to ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', the epononymous ''Allosaurus'' from ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'' looks more like an old-fashioned three-fingered ''T. rex''.

* Loona from ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' is supposed to be a wolf, or more accurately, a female werewolf, but she resemble more like a Siberian Husky than a wolf. This is more visible if you take into account that Vortex, another werewolf she is in love with, did look more like a proper wolf than her, unless the creators tried to depict her like a wolfdog instead.

* In a similar case to ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', the epononymous ''Allosaurus'' from ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'' looks more like a ''T. rex'' with three fingers.

** The Mole is nigh-impossible to identify as a mole by appearance, given that the show's artstyle means he lacks the most distinguishing traits of one (clawed forelimbs, black or gold fur, 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.

* In ''ComicStrip/MotherGooseAndGrimm'', while Grimm is clearly a dog, he doesn't really share much of resemblance with Bull Terriers, which he's stated to be, so he just looks like a generic yellow dog. Combined with ArtEvolution, in the earlier strips he actually did look a lot like the particular breed.

** ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'':
*** The ''Mamenchisaurus'' look more like ''Diplodocus'' or ''Barosaurus'' in that they don't have a hump or a tail club. Most glaringly, they don't have the extra-long neck this dinosaur is famous for, meaning that they mostly just look like generic sauropods. This may be because the animal was going to be changed to ''Seismosaurus'' (nowadays a synonym of ''Diplodocus hallorum'') during mid-production, but the initial identification as '' Mamechisaurus'' has stuck.

* Sherlock from ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' is said to be a mix between a cow and a helicopter, but he looks more like a jellyfish type thing.

* ''TheVelocipastor'', being a film with its tongue buried firmly in its cheek, does this with the titular monster: Doug's dinosaur form barely even resembles a ''Jurassic Park'' raptor, much less a real one. Even aside from the fact that it's clearly a man in a costume, said costume, with its upright tail-dragging stance, thickset build, huge head, and tiny arms, far more closely resembles old depictions of large theropods.

Some examples are understandable and forgivable, but for the most part Administrivia/TropesAreTools and so is making a character look less like their real-world species counterpart due to TheLawOfConservationOfDetail, being able to tell a story easier (as MostWritersAreHuman) and sometimes simply because it looks [[RuleOfCool cool]] and/or [[RuleOfFun fun]]. See also ViewerSpeciesConfusion for a subtrope based on the audience's reaction to a creature, and IAmNotWeasel for in-universe reactions.

Some examples are understandable and forgivable, but for the most part Administrivia/TropesAreTools and so is making a character look less like their real world species counterpart due to TheLawOfConservationOfDetail, being able to tell a story easier (as MostWritersAreHuman) and sometimes simply because it looks [[RuleOfCool cool]] and/or [[RuleOfFun fun]]. See also ViewerSpeciesConfusion for a subtrope based on the audience's reaction to a creature, and IAmNotWeasel for in-universe reactions.

[[caption-width-right:283:The [[{{Dogfaces}} Beagle Boys]], and real beagles...]]
->''"And the only thing that makes him a cricket is because we call him one."''

Related to the CartoonCreature (whose actual species is entirely ambiguous) and CallASmeerpARabbit (which is about the ''name'' of their species, and not the species itself).

*** The ''Velociraptor'' are an infamous case of this, resembling the larger ''Deinonychus''. This is because the [[Literature/JurassicPark novel the film was based on]] described ''Deinonychus'' as being synonymous with ''Velociraptor'', a now-discredited hypothesis proposed by Gregory S. Paul, and also because Creator/MichaelCrichton though ''Velociraptor'' sounded [[RuleOfCool much cooler]] than ''Deinonychus''. And let's not get to the fact raptors should have feathers (granted, it was only discovered in 1997, shortly after ''The Lost World'', but later films don't have ScienceMarchesOn as an excuse).

** Series/PowerRangersZeo managed to even take it a step outside of the animal kingdom. That season's Zords in the corresponding ''Sentai,'' ''Series/ChourikiSentaiOhranger'' were based off of characters from various world mythologies. Red, Green, and Blue decently resembled a Phoenix, Taurus the Bull, and Egyptian Sphinx, respecitvely, but good luck recognizing [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/powerrangers/images/1/17/MoaLoader_%26_Zeo_Zord_I.png Zeo Zord I]] as an [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Moai_Rano_raraku.jpg/800px-Moai_Rano_raraku.jpg Easter Island Moai]] or [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/powerrangers/images/d/da/DoguRander_%26_Zeo_Zord_II.png Zeo Zord II]] as a [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Dogu_Miyagi_1000_BCE_400_BCE.jpg/800px-Dogu_Miyagi_1000_BCE_400_BCE.jpg Japanese Dogu]]. Notably in contrast to ''Ohranger,'' ''Zeo'' didn't even bother identifying them as ''anything,'' merely calling them the team's artillery and basically claiming they were little more than tanks.

'''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. Also, this trope is specifically about animals, and not humans. If there is a character that is supposed to be human but doesn’t look human, don’t list them here. They belong at AmbiguouslyHuman.'''

* Benny from ''Benny Loves You'' is a living toy that his owner, Jack, refers to as a "bear" - he looks (and sounds) more like a floppy-eared [[Series/SesameStreet Elmo]] {{expy}}, complete with bright red fur.

** ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' also had it bad when it took Birca (an orca), Gunpherd (a German Shepherd), and Toripter (a rooster) from ''Series/EngineSentaiGoonger'' and made them into the Tail Spinner (shark?), Wolf Cruiser, and Falcon Chopper Zords.

* The 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.

* 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. (This includes another example, [[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2326/2462644259_dc29b24950.jpg the whale carved on Jonah's statue.]])

** ''Film/JurassicParkIII'':
*** The ''Ankylosaurus'' possess spiky armor which makes them look more like ''Tarchia''.
*** The ''Pteranodon'' have ''teeth'', especially ludicrous considering its name literally means "toothless wing" and there were many other species of pterosaurs that did possess teeth.

** The ''Pteranodon'' in ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' have ''teeth'', especially ludicrous considering its name literally means "toothless wing" and there were many other species of pterosaurs that did possess teeth.

* Benny from ''Benny Loves You'' is a living toy that its owner, Jack, refers to as a "bear" - he looks (and sounds) more like a floppy-eared [[Series/SesameStreet Elmo]] {{expy}}, complete with bright red fur.

* The large prehistoric feline from ''Film/{{Alpha|2018}}'' is supposed to be a cave lion, but it is depicted with saber teeth, making it resemble a ''Machairodus''.