On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations beh

[Markus]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

Thank you, great read!

 

[Ranger Jack Walker]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

A great read as always. I have always loved Poochyena and Mightyena. Too bad they are completely unusable. But that never stops me from training one every time i play RSE.

 

[#Daisuke#]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

A great read as always. I have always loved Poochyena and Mightyena. Too bad they are completely unusable. But that never stops me from training one every time i play RSE.

They aren't unusable, I have one and I kick butt with it. Even competitively. :/

 

[MizuTaipu]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I love to read these! It's like learning with a Pokemon twist!

 

[GreatLiver]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

Believe me, I could have written paragraphs on the hyena pseudo-penis; it's one of the oddest arrangements in nature. But I decided to keep it brief. I didn't want people to feel that I was ramming penises down their throats, after all...

I cannot emphasize this enough really. There is so much to the reproductive structures and habits of spotted hyenas. Wrote a 13 page paper on it for one of my bio classes.

Love that you did an article on neeners. They are by far my favorite animal just from having spent so much time working with them.

I do have to say though that as far as Poochyena and Mightyena go, I never really thought of them as hyenas as far as design goes. Based on their pokedex that aspect does seem to come from spotted hyenas, but their design wise always struck me more as lupine/canine. I guess they look a bit like browns and stripes, but having never worked with them I really only have that experience by which to compare for spotteds, and their designs are definitely nothing like those.

 

[Bikini Miltank]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I've found that hyenas are often drawn to look more canine or lupine than they really are... I dunno, maybe it's a subconscious thing whereby the artist is thinking of them as a dog, so they come out looking a bit like a dog. Mightyena in particular is lacking the distinctive muscular shoulders that adult hyenas have... but perhaps this was an intentional attempt to 'prettify' it, because a lot of people think they look weird (naturally, I disagree, so bleh ^_^).

I think Poochyena does look very like a hyena cub, though. Maybe it helps that they tend to be very dark when they're young.

You've actually worked with spotted hyenas, then? I am insanely jealous. Despite them being my favourite animal, I've never had the chance to see one up close: I think there's only one in the whole of the UK...

 

[Articwolf10]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I've found that hyenas are often drawn to look more canine or lupine than they really are... I dunno, maybe it's a subconscious thing whereby the artist is thinking of them as a dog, so they come out looking a bit like a dog. Mightyena in particular is lacking the distinctive muscular shoulders that adult hyenas have... but perhaps this was an intentional attempt to 'prettify' it, because a lot of people think they look weird (naturally, I disagree, so bleh ^_^).

I think Poochyena does look very like a hyena cub, though. Maybe it helps that they tend to be very dark when they're young.

You've actually worked with spotted hyenas, then? I am insanely jealous. Despite them being my favourite animal, I've never had the chance to see one up close: I think there's only one in the whole of the UK...

I always loved Shaza (Can't spell her name) Banzai and Ed... Haven't seen the movie in a good while but they were always funny (and Hungry)

Mightyena always struck me as Lupine persoanlly Wolves also are pack animals and though not normally scavangers they will eat anything if there is no food avable.) Hyena's and Wolves have a good bit in common (Minus the female penis which is kinda gross)

Maybe Mightyena can be a combination of Lupine and Hyena traits as it can fit in both

 

[Suicide by cop]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I enjoyed this article, but here's a tip for the writer: if you want us to "appreciate the hyena as an animal that's [...] beautiful", don't talk about female penises. Please. XD

Oh you, get over it. I found it very interesting and was not at all disturbed by it.

Believe me, I could have written paragraphs on the hyena pseudo-penis; it's one of the oddest arrangements in nature. But I decided to keep it brief. I didn't want people to feel that I was ramming penises down their throats, after all...

I wouldn't have minded a more in-depth explanation.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I never knew that they were based on hyenas I guess I never got the reference. This was a pretty cool article to read, I quite liked the clarification on the hyena's misjudgement.

 

[Bikini Miltank]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I wouldn't have minded a more in-depth explanation.

Well, you asked for it...

As far back in history as we can find, spotted hyenas were thought to be hermaphrodites: they all appeared to be male, but then some would give birth. Given that the ancient Egyptians had some success in domesticating them, it's likely that they understood the breeding process at least to some degree, but the notion of hermaphroditic hyenas persisted into the early twentieth century.

The spotted hyena pseudopenis is one of the weirdest examples of intraspecific mimicry in nature. A quick description of what it is: Essentially it's an enlarged clitoris, but the vagina actually runs through it... so it's a vagina masquerading as a penis. What would ordinarily be the labia are fused together, giving the appearance of a scrotum... it really is very difficult to tell male spotted hyenas from female, such is the quality of the illusion. The pseudopenis is even capable of erections, and these can be a part of dominance displays.

The real puzzle is why this structure has evolved, because it seems to have numerous drawbacks and few obvious advantages. The process of giving birth can be extremely painful and hazardous, because the pseudopenis is only just wide enough to allow the newborn cub through. Complications are very common, and there is quite a high death rate amongst first time mothers. Mothers will also lose their first cubs more often than not, in part because the umbilical cord is not usually long enough to allow for the extra seven inches or so that the cub has to travel before it emerges.

Given the above, it seems astonishing that this feature ever evolved. There must be some advantage to this arrangement that outweighs all of the obvious drawbacks, but there's no consensus on what it might be.

Now, for a while, it was thought that this might simply be a side-effect of the large amounts of androgens found in female spotted hyenas. Androgens increase aggression, which makes for better hunters. Spotted hyenas also have a curious arrangement whereby the cubs of high-ranking females are exposed to higher levels of androgens during development. This means that, when born, they will display higher levels of aggression, and this seems to aid in maintaining the social structure. If there's one thing that can be credited for the spotted hyena's success as a species, it's their ability to co-operate, and without a well-defined hierarchy, this wouldn't be possible.

However, while androgen levels do seem to have some effect on the size of the pseudopenis, they aren't responsible for its existence, since experiments in which the hormones were blocked during development didn't prevent it from emerging. So the androgens alone can't be the reason.

From the female's perspective, there is at least one definite advantage to the pseudopenis: it means that they have absolute control over if and when they mate. Its odd structure means that mating simply can't happen without the female's co-operation. This is obviously good news for the individual female, but it may also benefit the species as a whole. Female hyenas spend an unusually long time raising their cubs, and so having absolute control over mating has obvious advantages.

While I don't think this is the only reason for the adaptation, I do think it's almost certainly linked to how spotted hyenas operate as a society. This is one puzzle that could also be illuminated by a bit of exploratory genetics, I think.

This has been me, your host, telling you far more than you ever wanted to know about unusual genitals.

 

[m190049]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

As another avid lover of determining Pokemon Species Origins, I just wanted to throw this in here... I found that, appearance wise, Mightyena was most closely based on the Brown Hyena. When you look at Mightyena, a short generalization of how it is laid out is that it has a very hairy tail, and the thickest section of fur on it's body seems to be stemming from it's backside. When you compare to pictures of the brown hyena, it seems to have a relatively similar description. Also, when you look at a Brown Hyena Cub and compare it to Poochyena, the resemblance is obvious there. That's what I found, at least.

(Also, hey, my first post, after finally deciding to register.
Even if I have been stalking this forum for months now. Blah.)

 

[GreatLiver]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

I've found that hyenas are often drawn to look more canine or lupine than they really are... I dunno, maybe it's a subconscious thing whereby the artist is thinking of them as a dog, so they come out looking a bit like a dog. Mightyena in particular is lacking the distinctive muscular shoulders that adult hyenas have... but perhaps this was an intentional attempt to 'prettify' it, because a lot of people think they look weird (naturally, I disagree, so bleh ^_^).

What really kills it for me is the legs. I would be sold on it being a hyena without a doubt if the forelimbs were longer than the hindlimbs. The haunch that causes is one of the most distinguishing visible features of a hyena, but the pokemon don't have that. They instead have the generic doggish figure which gives them the appearance of being more like wolves than hyenas.

You've actually worked with spotted hyenas, then? I am insanely jealous. Despite them being my favourite animal, I've never had the chance to see one up close: I think there's only one in the whole of the UK...

Yeah, in a zoo setting. Nothing like the labs at Berkeley. They're so much fun and are amazing. I was able to work with the 6/5 hyenas at Busch Gardens Tampa through the summer program I did there for 4 summers. It's truly awesome even to just watch those guys. When you're standing only a few feet from them watching them bite through a rib bone like it was a celery stick blows your mind. Going into it I really didn't care for hyenas any more than any other animal, but from working with those guys they are now by far my favorite animal.

 

[Gar]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

They aren't unusable, I have one and I kick butt with it. Even competitively. :/

I dunno who you're playing competitively, but I commend you. Mightyena was given such a shallow movepool, and its stats are nothing to be proud of. =/ I love the Pokemon, the design, and what it is based off of. But I cringe at his defenses, speed, and movepool.

Hyena's and Wolves have a good bit in common (Minus the female penis which is kinda gross)

I find it fascinating, really. Gross is quite the... immature choice of word to describe such a unique trait in this misunderstood animal.

 

[_Pkmner_]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

hmmm very interesting..indeed....the research is very complete ^^

 

[Norle]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Poochyena and Mightyena: Investigating the inspirations

To be honest, I've always felt that the canine interpretation of the barghest influenced the design as well. The dark typing and dog-like features is what triggered the thought in my mind, and seeing as many stories (of many modern media) use the barghest as a vicious black ghost dog it doesn't seem that farfetched to me. (Dungeons and Dragons uses a version of the beast which crosses it heavily with the design of a goblin.)