History Main / AntlionMonster

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The Antlion Monster is usually found in the ShiftingSandLand waiting for its prey at the bottom of a pit, with only its mouthparts visible until it emerges for battle.

The Antlion Monster is usually found in the ShiftingSandLand waiting for its prey at the bottom of a pit, with only its mouthparts visible until it emerges for battle. The vast majority are based on the larval form of the antlion, which digs a conical hole in the sand with only its jaws sticking out and waits for passing insects to fall in.

** So does FinalFantasyIX. It's actually one of the many recurring enemy types that span many of the games in the franchise, often as a boss, though sometimes as just a big mook in RandomEncounters or as a mini-boss around desert areas.

See also SandWorm and PitTrap, which this can be considered a combination of. Not to be confused with the antlion monster from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which isn't an example.

* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIV'' and ''Videogame/FinalFantasyV'' feature antlions as bosses.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapdoor_spider Trapdoor Spiders]] employ a similar tactic to antlions. They make a burrow with a hinged lid and line the entrance with its own silk as a tripline then hide inside to ambush any insect that walks onto the silk.

See also SandWorm and PitTrap, which this can be considered a combination of. Not to be confused with the antlion monster from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which isn't an example.

* The ''Videogame/HalfLife2'' monster actually subverts the trope. It's [[InNameOnly called an antlion]], but other than burrowing through sand actually has little in common with actual antlions; it got the name for having the same basic insect colony as an ant, but is the size and ferocity of a lion.

* The inspiration for most of these is the larva of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antlion antlion]], which digs out a hole and waits for food to come tumbling down.

* The ''Videogame/HalfLife2'' monster actually subverts the trope. It's [[InNameOnly called an antlion]] but actually has little in common with actual antlions; it's called that because it's a lot like an ant, but is the size and ferocity of a lion.

* ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' and ''Videogame/ALinkBetweenWorlds'' have Antlion-like enemies called Devalants in Hyrule's desert area and the Sand Palace Dungeon. They bury themselves and create sand vortexes that they're visibly at the center of, and they try and get you to fall into. Some also shoot fireballs. You defeat them in the former game by attacking their heads while exposed, and in the latter by using the Sand Rod to get them above ground, then attacking them.

See also SandWorm and PitTrap, which this can be considered a combination of. Not to be confused with the antlion monster from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', which is NotAnExample.

The AntlionMonster is usually found in the ShiftingSandLand waiting for its prey at the bottom of a pit, with only its mouthparts visible until it emerges for battle. The vast majority are based on the larval form of the antlion, which digs a conical hole in the sand with only its jaws sticking out and waits for passing insects to fall in.

* In ''VideoGame/RibbitKing'' for the PlayStation2, the Lava planet has mouths sticking out of the ground, which the frogs can get stuck in as a hazard. Danny of ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' even noted their similarity to Sarlaccs when the grumps played it.

* In ''Ribbit King'' for the PlayStation2, the Lava planet has mouths sticking out of the ground, which the frogs can get stuck in as a hazard. Danny of ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' even noted their similarity to Sarlaccs when the grumps played it.

* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'': Spider Legs, an enemy seen in the desert.

* The first boss of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' for the Game Gear and Sega Master System is a Robotic Antlion. To defeat it, Sonic must dodge the cannonballs that Robotnik throws at him so that they will hit the Robotic Antlion. Eventually, Robotnik flies down at Sonic and Sonic must dodge him as well so Robotnik will inadvertently deliver the final hit. This boss is harder in the Game Gear version due to the reduced amount of space on the screen.

* VideoGame/SecretOfMana: Spider Legs, an enemy seen in the desert.

See also SandWorm and PitTrap, which this can be considered a combination of. Not to be confused with the antlion monster from HalfLife2, which is NotAnExample.

!Examples

* The antlion appears in [[Literature/TheMoomins The Moomins and the Great Flood]], [[Literature/TheMoomins Finn Family Moomintroll]], and the 90's anime series Anime/TanoshiiMuminIkka. In this case the antlion is a black [[VisualPun lion-like]] creature that digs {{Pit Trap}}s at a beach.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''

** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIV'' and ''Videogame/FinalFantasyV'' feature them as bosses.

* Sandworm, the first boss of ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'', waits at the bottom of a quicksand cone that drags you to him. He later reappears as a DegradedBoss in the [[ShiftingSandLand pyramid level]].

* ''''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The Great Maw is a vast mouth in the ground, apparently sentient and capable of giving the ogres that worship it (by throwing food down its gullet) the ability to use Gut Magic.