And the answer is yes
Let's start with the starter Pokemon and have a Magikarpet ride to find these animals!
Bulbasaur
Well, according to the Nintendo wikia, Bulbasaur is reptilian creature which shares traits with amphibians. And as there are no reptiles that are part amphibian, I moved onto his most defining feature. His bulb.
As the bulb is a plant, this meant that the Bulbasaur was in a symbiotic relationship with the bulb. There are three types of symbiotic relationship, parasitism, commensalism and mutualism. Parasitism is when only one species benefits at the expense of the other. Commensalism is where one species benefits without harming the other. Mutualism is where both species benefit from the relationship. In this case, the bulb is important to the Bulbasaur's growth by providing nutrients and in return, the Bulbasaur lies in the sunlight to help the bulb to grow. So we have figured out that Bulbasaur is based on an animal that has a mutualistic relationship with a plant
So what animal could Bulbasaur be based on?
That animal is the Mary River Turtle. It is probably the closest to the Bulbasaur in appearance but this is not a mutualistic relationship, it is just some plants growing on a turtle. And this is Onixceptable! (I felt that pun was necessary)
There are many plant/animal combinations in the wild but plants need to get building materials from the ground with roots or if they don't have roots, they have a large surface area to volume ratio. The Bulbasaur clearly doesn't have any roots and the bulb has a very small surface area to volume ratio. I don't think that there any animals that share building materials like carbon, nitrogen and water with plants. So could there be something else that can transfer nutrients from animal to plant?
What about fungi?
Lichens are a composite organism made out of a plant and a fungi in a symbiotic relationship. The plant uses photosynthesis to provide food and the fungi provides the water and nitrogen and will protect the plant in return. So we now have an organism that can transfer nutrients from the plant to the fungi. What about organism that can transfer nutrients from an animal?
Labouls are a fungi that are capable of doing just this. They grow on insects and take nutrients from the blood which is an example of commensalism
So i guess that a real life Bulbasaur does not exist as it's an amalgamation of possibly four species. But going back to the Mary River Turtle, I guess that it is an example of commensalism. It doesn't work the same way as the Bulbasaur does but I think that it's the closest that we can get.
As the bulb is a plant, this meant that the Bulbasaur was in a symbiotic relationship with the bulb. There are three types of symbiotic relationship, parasitism, commensalism and mutualism. Parasitism is when only one species benefits at the expense of the other. Commensalism is where one species benefits without harming the other. Mutualism is where both species benefit from the relationship. In this case, the bulb is important to the Bulbasaur's growth by providing nutrients and in return, the Bulbasaur lies in the sunlight to help the bulb to grow. So we have figured out that Bulbasaur is based on an animal that has a mutualistic relationship with a plant
So what animal could Bulbasaur be based on?
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| Could this be what the Bulbasaur is based on? From https://featuredcreature.com/meet-the-ultra-punk-rock-mary-river-turtle-thats-battling-extinction/ I'm not sure who to give credit to for this photo but if you can prove that you are the original photographer, please let me know so I can put your name in the caption. Also, if you are the original photographer and would like me to remove this picture, also let me know so I can remove it. |
There are many plant/animal combinations in the wild but plants need to get building materials from the ground with roots or if they don't have roots, they have a large surface area to volume ratio. The Bulbasaur clearly doesn't have any roots and the bulb has a very small surface area to volume ratio. I don't think that there any animals that share building materials like carbon, nitrogen and water with plants. So could there be something else that can transfer nutrients from animal to plant?
What about fungi?
Lichens are a composite organism made out of a plant and a fungi in a symbiotic relationship. The plant uses photosynthesis to provide food and the fungi provides the water and nitrogen and will protect the plant in return. So we now have an organism that can transfer nutrients from the plant to the fungi. What about organism that can transfer nutrients from an animal?
Labouls are a fungi that are capable of doing just this. They grow on insects and take nutrients from the blood which is an example of commensalism
So i guess that a real life Bulbasaur does not exist as it's an amalgamation of possibly four species. But going back to the Mary River Turtle, I guess that it is an example of commensalism. It doesn't work the same way as the Bulbasaur does but I think that it's the closest that we can get.
Charmander
Charmander is an amalgamation of the words char and salamander. (Amalgamation is a great word!) In the game, Chamander is a lizard Pokemon but is not a salamander. There is a big difference between the two: salamanders are amphibians and lizards are reptiles.
Geckos are reptiles too, one possibility is that the Charmander is based on the Red Crested Gecko.
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| The Red crested gecko https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Gekkoninae_Rhacodactylus_ciliatus_orange.png |
The red crested gecko is only found in New Caledonia. According to the Pokemon wiki, Charmanders tend to gather together in hot areas which is similar to the tropical climate and the three disjunct populations in South Province, New Caledonia. Chamanders are also rarely found in the wild, the red crested gecko is endemic to South Province. Endemic means that the species can only be found in one place.
Squirtle
The word Squirtle is a portmanteau (Did I spell that correctly?) of the words 'squirt' and 'turtle' Squirtle is considered a turtle Pokemon so I searched for turtles that bears a resemblance to it. Unfortunately, I could not find a turtle which was blue with a brown shell but the turtle that I thought resembled Squirtle in appearance was the Loggerhead sea turtle.
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| Baby Loggerhead sea turtle By O%27Brian Bill, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
It has a rounded shell and like all other turtles, they hide inside their shell to protect themselves, like the Squirtle. Unfortunately, sea turtles in general are endangered because of their highly coveted shells, eggs and meat. We can always help groups like the WWF to help protect these marine animals, so not all hope is lost.
So I hope that was an interesting post about Pokemon. I had lots of fun searching for animals similar to the Pokemon in the game. If you want to help support this blog, please follow and subscribe.
Happy Pokemon hunting!
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