Many pokemon are inspired by real animals, such as the charmander which is inspired by a salamander. The same is true when it comes to Fossil Pokemon.
Some of these prehistoric animals are well known, such as Tyrannosaurus, but others are not so famous. In this post, we'll find out where the ideas for fossil pokémon came from!
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1st generation
Omanyte/Omastar
Omanyte is inspired by the ammonite molluscs, which lived since before the dinosaurs and became extinct along with them. There were many species of ammonites, some of which could be very small and others very large, with shells up to two meters in diameter! Omanyte also appears to have been inspired by the nautilus, another mollusk that still lives today.
Kabuto / Kabutops
Kabuto, in turn, is inspired by the trilobite, an arthropod (arthropods are animals such as insects, crustaceans, arachnids, etc.) that lived millions of years before the dinosaurs, in the Paleozoic era. There were several species of trilobites and they could feed on many things. The horseshoe crab, a trilobite-like crustacean that still lives today, may also have inspired Kabuto.
Aerodactyl
The prehistoric animal that inspired this fossil pokémon everyone knows is the pterodactyl! But "pterodactyl" is a very generic name for a large number of related animals that lived during the Mesozoic era, the age of dinosaurs, and yet were not "true" dinosaurs. Pterodactyls came in all sizes, some being small and some really big, like Quetzalcoatlus, which with a wingspan of about 10 meters, was like a small plane!
3rd generation
Lileep/Cradily
Although they look like plants, these two fossil pokémon were inspired by crinoids, marine animals belonging to the class of echinoderms, that is, they are related to starfish and sea urchins! These animals appeared long before the dinosaurs, and although they were much more abundant in the past, they still survive today!
Anorith/Armaldo
These fossil Pokémon are based on anomalocaris, which belonged to a family of animals that may have given rise to modern arthropods. They lived long before the dinosaurs, in the Cambrian, a period when life flourished on earth and when there were many species of animals. Anomalocaris were predators.
Relicanth
While this isn't a fossil pokemon, it deserves to appear on this list because the animal that inspired it, the coelacanth, is a living fossil. The coelacanth was thought to be extinct, but in 1938 a live specimen was discovered! And just look at a photo of a coelacanth to realize how different it really is from the other fish we are used to!
4th generation
Cranidos / Rampardos
These fossil pokémon were inspired by pachycephalosaurs, dinosaurs that lived in the Cretaceous period. These animals were herbivores and are believed to have used their massive heads in disputes just as sheep and other animals use their horns in headbutt fights!
Shieldon/Bastiodon
These were also inspired by dinosaurs, the ceratopsids. Shieldon looks like Protoceratops, Bastiodon looks more like the famous Triceratops! These animals were herbivores and lived in packs. Perhaps they used their horns and head shield to fight each other or to defend themselves from predators.
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5th generation
Tirtouga/Carracosta
Tirtouga seems inspired by Protostega, a now extinct turtle that measured 3 meters! If a turtle like this is already very big, imagine the archelon, the fossil turtle that Carracosta seems to have been inspired by, which measured up to 5 meters!
Archen/Archeops
These two were inspired by Archeopteryx, a fossil animal considered to be one of the oldest birds, as modern birds evolved from small carnivorous dinosaurs. Remember, whenever you eat chicken for lunch, you're eating a distant relative of Tyrannosaurus!
6th generation
Tyrunt/Tyrantrum
I don't even need to talk about these two! They are clearly based on Tyrannosaurus, the most famous dinosaur of all!
Amaura/Aurorus
These two fossil pokemon appear to have been based on sauropods, the famous "necked" dinosaurs. Amargasaurus, one of those animals that perhaps had a candle on its neck (just like Spinosaurus had a candle on its back) may have inspired these Pokémon.
Well, those are the fossil pokemon! We try to talk a little about each one! Which one is your favourite? We recommend reading our article which lists the pokemon names in japanese.
