On the Origin of Species: Sandshrew and Sandslash: Investigating the inspirations beh

[Kyoto Tushoni]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Sandshrew and Sandslash: Investigating the inspirations

Reguardless...it learns poison sting, I'm not sure but I don't think any of the pangolins have a trait of venom amoung them.

I do love these Origin Investigations, Mawile's was the most uncovering for me, because I loves me some Mawile. Kinda looks like it will evolve into a Fighting/Steel if it evolves, but I hope it stays pure steel if that ever happens.

 

[Bikini Miltank]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Sandshrew and Sandslash: Investigating the inspirations

Over the years, I've heard the following referred to as rodents: Shrews, hedgehogs, moles, rabbits, bats... even echidnas. A ton of mammals look vaguely rodent-like, and so people lump them in with the rodents. As several people have mentioned, shrews, moles and hedgehogs are Insectivora.

...or they were, until recently. Taxonomical groups used to be worked out based primarily on what animals looked like. There are lots of small, insectivorous mammals of similar appearance, and so they were all placed together in Insectivora. But recently, we've been able to use genetics to give us a better understanding of the relationships between species, and so Insectivora has been replaced with a number of orders: Soricomorpha (moles and shrews), Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs), Macroscelidea (elephant shrews), Scandentia (treeshrews), Afrosoricida (golden moles and tenrecs) and Dermoptera (colugos). And I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years' time, they're split further.

Taxonomy moves fast these days. I wouldn't want to be in the biology textbook buisness...

Reguardless...it learns poison sting, I'm not sure but I don't think any of the pangolins have a trait of venom amoung them.

The closest thing I can think of is their scent-based defence mechanism... pangolins can do the skunk thing and emit a foul smell from anal glands. Which, I'll grant you, isn't the same thing. I think Poison Sting may simply have been chosen due to Sandslash's spiky appearance... and let's not forget that a huge number of Pokemon can learn Toxic by TM, whether or not the species they were based on have venomous capabilities.

 

[Kyoto Tushoni]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Sandshrew and Sandslash: Investigating the inspirations

Well the reason just about any pokemon can learn Toxic, and why other it gets other pokemon poisoned is actually quite silly, but funny. When a pokemon is using Toxic, they are basically just throwing up, making the other pokemon sick (whether due to airborne illness or whatever). Any pokemon that knows Toxic is Anerexic XD

EDIT: Ok I did some of my own research. Some shrews are venomous, I did not find any Pangolins that are legitimately poisonous http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrew

"Shrews are unusual among mammals in a number of respects. Unlike most mammals, some species of shrew are venomous. Shrew venom is not conducted into the wound by fangs, but grooves in the teeth. The venom contains various compounds and the contents of the venom glands of the American short-tailed shrew are sufficient to kill 200 mice by intravenous injection. One chemical extracted from shrew venom may be potentially useful in the treatment of blood pressure while another compound may be useful in the treatment of neuromuscular conditions and migraines."

This makes me think that Sandshrew is a Pangolin/Shrew hybrid(only because it also curls into a ball while shrews do not), while its evoled form, Sandslash, is the real Pangolin

 

[Emperor ServingSpoon]

Re: On the Origin of Species: Sandshrew and Sandslash: Investigating the inspirations

Is there any particular reason why you think Sandshrew and Sandslash have to be based on the same animal? To me, it seems that Sandshrew was based more on an armadillo, while Sandslash was based on a pangolin (For the record, I was aware of both animals and have thought that for quite some time.). The visible ears are part of their design that clearly didn't come from the pangolin (though oddly it's Sandslash's ones that most resemble an armadillo's ears). Also, Sandshrew when curled in a ball looks decidedly similar to this curled armadillo:

They're kind of my Pokemon, and I just thought it was odd that Sandshrew's origin (on its own page) sounds so certain about it being based on a pangolin, when to me the only conclusively pangolin-like traits are those of Sandslash. And it's not uncommon for a Pokemon to be based on a different animal after it has evolved, especially if they're similar in appearance.

So yeah... Just wondering what your reasons are for concluding that Sandshrew must be based on a pangolin just because Sandslash is. (Sorry if I've inadvertently sounded a bit hostile. You're doing a great job with these articles and I'll be sure to "read 'em all.")