History Main / IntelligentGerbil

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] ResorcefulRodent and other works featuring actual sapient earth-native gerbils (though if you need one of those, talk to [[Webcomic/{{Narbonic}} Beta]] and she can help you out).

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] works featuring actual sapient earth-native gerbils (though if you need one of those, talk to [[Webcomic/{{Narbonic}} Beta]] and she can help you out).

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' features the Kzinti and the Caitians, two species of CatFolk.

* The Ovions and Borays from the original ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Battlestar Galactica]]'' are races of insect people and pig people, respectively, and their cultures reflect this.

* The premise of ''Comicbook/LeonardNimoysPrimortals'' is that the aliens are actually all descendents of ancient Earth animals, taken from Earth and [[UpliftedAnimal Uplifted]] long ago by SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. Naturally, they all look like Earth animals, either modern or prehistoric ones. The heroes include an ape, an insectoid, and a ceratopsian dinosaur. The villain is a humanoid pteranodon.

* The premise of ''Comicbook/LeonardNimoysPrimortals'' is that the aliens are actually all descendents of ancient Earth animals, taken from Earth and [[UpliftedAnimal Uplifted]] long ago by SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. Naturally, they all look like Earth animals, either modern or prehistoric ones.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'': The Cat is a humanoid who evolved from a cat that lived three million years before the show's present.

* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': The Triceratons are an alien race resembling anthropomorphic ''[[StockDinosaurs Triceratops]]''. In some continuities they're revealed to actually be descended from triceratops, mutated into an anthropomorphic form by Utrom experiments with the series'trademark MutagenicGoo.

* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': The Triceratons are an alien race resembling anthropomorphic ''[[StockDinosaurs Triceratops]]''.

* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': All the animals still demonstrate traits of their respective species, such as the frogs living in a river filled with lilypads or the raccoons hoarding trash and living in a landfill. The Timber Cats are arguably the biggest example, residing in trees they've carved to resemble giant cat towers, use a litter box as a prison, and having the method to summon them be opening a can of tuna.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': While the series tends to avoid this trope for the most part, the Xindi from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' are consisting of six different species resembling different kinds of animals: There are TheReptilians, the [[InsectoidAliens Insectoids]], the [[PosthumousCharacter extinct]] [[BirdPeople Avians]], the Arboreals (resembling sloths), the Aquatics (resembling whales or large fish) and the Primates (resembling humans, and thus are simply RubberForeHeadAliens).

* ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'': Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel is notably physically different from any Earth animal, but the comparisons are thrown around left and right. He's constantly referred to as "gerbil-like"; Hämsterviel himself takes offense to this (but only because he insists that he's ''hamster''-like.) He hates when people pronounce it "Hamster-wheel", though.

* ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'': Yazz, the team mascot of Gerard Jones's late-90s run, is a bright blue ''Pteranodon'' in a vest.

** ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'': Creator/KenPenders' ''The Lara-Su Chronicles'' depicts the echidnas as humanoid aliens known as [[PunctuationShaker Echyd'nya]].

* ''Videogame/WildStar'': The Chua are this both figuratively and literally, being a highly-intelligent gerbil-like race.

** The Jokaero are [[EverythingIsBetterWithMonkeys orangutan-like]] aliens with an innate knack for building incredibly advanced technology with scraps of damaged machinery, but possess no real language. The Imperium Inquisition makes use of Jokaero to customize their weaponry and other equipment.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManUnlimited'': The Bestials.

* ''Literature/{{Tasakeru}}'': The eight sentient mammal species in this series are basically this with some FunnyAnimal thrown in (as it takes place on an alternate Earth).

* Several comedic series, such as ''Anime/SpacePirateMito'' and '''D.I.C.E.''', have anthropomorphic terra-based animals as aliens or galactic citizens as (generally) lower classes to the humanoids. Often appearing as background characters, pirate crews, and servant/slave races.

* Ch'p, one of the Franchise/GreenLantern Corps, was a from a race that was a sort of raccoon/chipmunk hybrid.
* Yazz, the team mascot of Gerard Jones's late-90s run on ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', was a bright blue pteranodon in a vest.
* Creator/KenPenders' ''The Lara-Su Chronicles'' depicts the echidnas of ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' as humanoid aliens known as [[PunctuationShaker Echyd'nya]].

* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'', an alien race, simply known as dinosaurs in spacesuits, are anthropomorphic dinosaurs.
* Dino-Mite, a raver from ''ComicBook/SuperboyAndTheRavers'', is an anthropomorphic dinosaur from an entire race of such aliens.
* The Triceratons, from ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', are an alien race based on ''[[StockDinosaurs Triceratops]]''.

* Mostly averted with the ''Film/MenInBlack'' franchise, which has some [[StarfishAliens truly alien-looking alien designs]]. Except of course, the main recurring antagonists -- the [[OurBugsAreDifferent Bugs]], a race of scary space cockroaches.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' has too many species to count. About 1/4th of all of the ''Star Wars'' alien races fall into this category: bats, lizards, moths, squid, goldfish, frogs, etc. etc etc. Cats and rabbits are some of the most common, particularly in the comics made in the 70s by Marvel. Creators tend to make up their own new species rather than going with the previously-established, say, small peaceful flightless birdlike aliens whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is academia.
** This becomes a rather hilarious point in an EU book that has Han ending up at an interplanetary pet competition. Humanoid aliens tend to have small furry pets, Lizard aliens seem to prefer more insect-like pets and of course the sentient insect species like (non sentient) humanoids as pets. Han noted that it was best to observe a pair for a minute if you weren't sure which one was the pet, case in point the Chadra-fan (giant rat) with a large bipedal lizard pet that was twice its size.

%%* Every alien race in Debora Chester's ''Literature/AlienChronicles'' series.
* Creator/CJCherryh's ''Literature/AllianceUnion'' universe has a few examples:

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''
** The Pemalites (and their Android creations, the Chee) are dog-like in both appearance and attitude. {{Inverted}}, however: it turns out that domesticated dogs were actually created when the Chee put the Pemalites [[OurSoulsAreDifferent essence/souls]] into wolves.

* Creator/ChinaMieville's ''Literature/BasLagCycle'': The bird-like garuda from ''Literature/PerdidoStreetStation''. Most of Miéville's "Xenians" seem to fit this trope to some extent. The hotchi (hedgehogs), the vodyanoi (frogs), the grindylow (eels), the Weavers (spiders) and the beetle men (guess) are just a few examples that spring immediately to mind.
%%* Creator/MarionZimmerBradley's ''Literature/{{Darkover}}'' stories: the cat-men (or cat-people).
* Creator/RobertSilverberg's ''Downward to the Earth'': The Nildoror are basically sentient elephants [[spoiler:who, for spiritual reasons, become sentient bear/tapir creatures every few years]].
* The Fithp of Niven and Pournelle's ''Literature/{{Footfall}}'' bore a lot of resemblance, both physically and with their "herd" culture, to elephants. This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when the Fithp observe actual elephants in Africa and wonder why they hadn't become the dominant species on Earth.
* The Lodgeless Ones in Marti Steussy's ''Forest of the Night'' resemble [[PantheraAwesome big cats]] (humans tend to call them "tigers") with feathers instead of fur. They're predatory, nomadic, and rather territorial. Kargans, in ''Dreams of Dawn'', resemble some sort of crustacean (and undergo multiple {{metamorphos|is}}es, and have MirrorChemistry). In their not-yet-fully-sapient larval stage, they scavenge like crabs; when adult, they're at least partly aquatic. The briefly-mentioned Houri seem to be some sort of [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys simian]]. They're [[OrganicTechnology tree-dwellers by choice]].
* A common format for aliens in ''Literature/TheFourHorsemenUniverse''. The biggest example is the Besquith, which resemble a man-sized wolf/wolverine/bear mashup and are pack-oriented, vicious combatants who often eat what they kill.
* From Creator/JohnRingo's ''Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass'':

* The Kzin, from Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' series are sometimes described as "a race of aliens resembling eight-foot cats". A more detailed description weakens the resemblance considerably, what with hairless tails, chubby body (with a lattice of struts instead of a ribcage), and other distinctions. Averted by most of the rest of the aliens. Some are very strange indeed, but with their evolutionary processes given a lot of thought. However, it was his first published story, and he claims to have written it in high school.
* The lizard-like Tagorians from the ''Literature/NoonUniverse'' of the Creator/StrugatskyBrothers. Also subverted with the Headies/Golovans who look ''kinda'' like dogs ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with very large heads]]), and indeed apparently descended from some sort of alien dogs (it's commonly assumed that they mutated [[ILoveNuclearPower thanks to the fallout of a nuclear war]]), but their psychology doesn't have much to do with any of the stereotypical dog-like characteristics; it's just [[StarfishAliens thoroughly inhuman]] (to wit, they are mistrustful of technology, highly enigmatic, seemingly unemotional and above all practice evolutionary pragmatism on an apparently everyday basis; the latter in particular definitely overrides any dog-like loyalty they might have had).

* The hrossa from ''[[Literature/TheSpaceTrilogy Out of the Silent Planet]]'' are quite like sentient seals, only their planet's lighter gravity has made them taller and thinner. This resemblance to Earth animals make Ransom uncertain and awkward when he sees the intelligence in their eyes and tries to talk to them through panicked gestures.
* All of the major alien races of Robert Asprin's ''Literature/PhulesCompany'' series can be described thusly: cats, slugs, lizards, and warthogs (just not when Phule himself [[BerserkButton is around]].) He even chews out Beeker, one of the few people he really has a personal relationship with, for using such terms.
* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Prostho Plus'' had semi-humanoid dinosaurs, anteaters, oysters, etc. Semi-subverted with the Gleep, who looked exactly like Earth whales, and the Lepidop, human-sized moths and butterflies whose only other physical difference from Earth species was having teeth.
%%* The Rats in ''Literature/RatsAndGargoyles''.
* James White used this in some of his ''Literature/SectorGeneral'' stories.
** ''Hospital Station'', "The Trouble with Emily": The titular character is essentially a brontosaurus (she's called Emily JustForPun by the engineers who maintain her living area, especially the crew of the tractor beams that keep her from thrashing around if she becomes agitated).
** ''Hospital Station'', "Outpatient" features the staff's first encounter with the Ians, who reappear in ''Star Surgeon'', in the form of a youngster rescued from a wrecked alien hospital ship. [[spoiler:The Ians as a species resemble giant dragonflies as adults; the patient is in chrysalis form]], which seriously confuses the staff until Conway works out why the detected vital signs are so messed up [[spoiler:(they're getting two sets, one from the "caterpillar" form that's being sloughed off, one from the adult stage)]]. The patient's actual original medical condition is that it can't [[spoiler:break out of its chrysalis]] on its own and thus needs some minor but time-critical surgery.
** ''Ambulance Ship'', "Quarantine": A youngster belonging to an unknown species is rescued from a wrecked spaceship. The medical staff find out the hard way that the new species' physiology is essentially like that of [[spoiler:skunks]], though with a mild poisonous effect rather than [[spoiler:a bad smell]].
* Toby Frost's ''Literature/SpaceCaptainSmith'' books include the Ghasts, a fascist species of mansize army ants; Beetle People, whose culture revolves around collecting and rolling dung; and most of all the Yull, 6-foot lemmings who regard suicide as the highest virtue, and hence follow a samurai honour code taken to a ludicrous extreme. Admittedly, they are comedies.
* Kathleen Sky's Franchise/StarTrek novel ''Death's Angel'' features a whole conference of these aliens: a giant blue crocodile, a koala, a cat, a bat, a lamprey, etc. With the occasional exception including a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] and a talking pyramid. The character names aren't much more creative; the cat is Neko (Japanese for cat) and the pyramid is Hotep.
* While most aliens in the ''Literature/{{Uplift}}'' universe are of the {{starfish|Aliens}} variety, there are some that resemble Earth animals. Pila are UrsineAliens. Soro are a bit like therapod dinosaurs. Synthians look like large raccoons without tails. Tytlal are pretty much otters capable of speech. And the Tytlal's patrons, the Tymbrimi, are described as having a slightly vulpine appearance, and the [[TheTrickster personality]] of a mythological Kitsune, though they're also the most anthropomorphic aliens in the setting, approaching RubberForeheadAlien levels with application of their minor shapeshifting abilities.
* Creator/MercedesLackey's stories in the world of [[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Velgarth]] have the hertasi (LizardFolk) and tervardi (songbirds); there are also the dyheli (elk) and kyree (wolves), but they aren't bipeds. However, all of these are created species, mostly created by a single human mage. There are also weakly-sapient companion birds, also human-created.
* Creator/AEVanVogt's ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheSpaceBeagle'' had a cat-like alien called Coeurl ([[OlderThanTheyThink which has since appeared in other media]]) and telepathic alien birds called Riim.
* The Lindauzi in Warren Rochelle's ''Literature/TheWildBoy''. There is a scene where people disagree about whether they look like cats, dogs or bears, but the cover shows them to look a lot like Earth bears. The one difference is that they have crests running from front to back on their heads and cat-like retractable claws. And if they lose their sentience, they'll go back to hunting and killing prey like grizzly or polar bears.
* The tigers in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures novel ''The Year of Intelligent Tigers''. They're just intelligent tigers who have BizarreAlienBiology, lay eggs, and have two opposable thumbs on each paw. [[spoiler:Also, some of them [[EloquentInMyNativeTongue can speak English to a degree and have their own complete language]], which the Doctor learns.]] Other than the thumbs, they apparently look just like tigers. (It's intended as a parallel to the fact the Doctor is a {{Human Alien|s}}, though.)
** The denizens of Dogworld in ''Mad Dogs and Englishmen'' are, well... [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/tardis/images/b/b3/Mad_Dogs_and_Englishmen.jpg yeah.]] It's [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs that kind of novel]].
** Also in the ''Doctor Who'' novels, the Pakhar are hamsters.
* Most sapient species in Rick Griffin's ''Literature/HayvenCelestia'' universe resemble anthropomorphized Earth animals to some extent. Geroo partially resemble ferrets and kangaroos, while ringels look a lot like scrawny raccoons.

* There's plenty of examples in ''Series/DoctorWho'': the Judoon are rhinos (who are sapient, but not necessarily intelligent), the Tritovores are flies, etc. Occasionally, there's some alien traits for the aliens: Vespiforms are wasps and [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]], the Cheetah People are cheetahs and natural [[{{Teleportation}} teleporters]], the Foamasi are chameleons and are immune from radiation and can compress themselves into human suits.
* ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' had the Insect Civilisation.
* The Cat in ''Series/RedDwarf'' is a humanoid who evolved from a cat that lived 3 million years before.
* While ''Franchise/StarTrek'' tends to avoid this trope for the most part, the Xindi from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' are consisting of six different species resembling different kinds of animals: There are TheReptilians, the [[InsectoidAliens Insectoids]], the [[PosthumousCharacter extinct]] [[BirdPeople Avians]], the Arboreals (resembling sloths), the Aquatics (resembling whales or large fish) and the Primates (resembling humans, and thus are simply RubberForeHeadAliens).

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]
* ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'': the Lion Men of planet Mongo.
* ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers'' had Tiger Men from Mars. And a single guy with tiger stripe tattoos named Tiger Man in the 1970's TV series.
[[/folder]]

** Though considered reptiles in later editions, kobolds in the Basic/Expert/etc version of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' were often portrayed as Intelligent Gerbil versions of evil dog-people, with yapping voices and wagging tails, although their appearance gradually became much more lizardlike.

** Nycters and desmodu are both races of gregarious subterranean bat people who live in densely-populated communities.

** The ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' setting had nothing ''but'' these for races, except for [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Scro]], who fill the MonsterAdventurers slot. Some fit this trope more accurately than others; the xixchil, biological MadScientist mantis-people, are notorious for their incredibly individualistic social mentality, and whilst they try to avoid it, sexual cannibalism is still a very real risk in their mating rituals -- and the race keeps a sustainable population because, upon hatching, the strongest hatchling will devour the rest of its clutch, save maybe for one or, very rarely, two siblings of equivalent strength.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' TabletopRPG: the Aslan and the Vargr. Cats and dogs (well wolves actually).
** [[spoiler: The Vargr were genetically engineered by the Ancients from Earth dogs a long time ago.]]
** Aslan really behave more like the more [[ProudWarriorRace warlike]] tribes among humans than like lions. They have a sense of tribal cohesion, hierarchy, a stern honor code, and so on. Canon actually says right out that they have a lot in common with humans.
* ''TabletopGame/StarFleetBattles'': Lyrans (lynx). The Kzinti were already official in-universe, giving two "cat-people" races (who hate each other).
* ''TabletopGame/{{Starfire}}'' board game: Khanate of Orion (another touchy cat-race).
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Space'' allows alien designs from intelligent gerbils (literally if you wish) to "plasma life".
** The ''Bio-Tech'' book has intelligent gerbils called Tek-Rats.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
** The Jokaero are [[EverythingIsBetterWithMonkeys orangutan-like]] aliens with an innate knack for building incredibly advanced technology with scraps of damaged machinery, but possess no real language. The Imperium Inquisition makes use of Jokaero to customize their weaponry and other equipment.
** For another example, the ([[CrapsackWorld relatively]]) docile [[TheGreys Tau]] are [[AllThereInTheManual supposedly]] evolved from three-toed grazing animals, their allies the Kroot [[FeatheredFiend from birds]], and the Vespid [[BeePeople from insects]]. All are more-or-less HumanoidAliens.

* The Aeriad, Ferrans, Gryphs, Imrians, Jaka, Saurans, and Stryx of the TabletopGame/{{Talislanta}} game-setting are Intelligent Gerbil songbirds, rats, hawks, fish, panthers, lizards, and vultures, respectively.
* Weres in TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}} are Awakened animals that can transform into humans, and they often bring their animal behaviors and attitudes with them into human society. This can be hard on the humans, when it's Striper who's bringing her predatory attitude with her...
* Lots of these in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=16450 catfolk]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=12948 lizards]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=83651 elephants]] and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=45407 insects]] being just a few examples. Part of the reason for them may be game balance, to keep the game's few humanoid races from dominating the creature type distribution.
* The Roden from ''TabletopGame/BurningWheel'' are pretty much intelligent human-sized anthropomorphic rodents who divide themselves into Country Mice (Kind of Vegetarian Amish types who look like field-mice) and City Mice (stereotypical criminal rat-person, with 'Pinky' and 'The Brain' included as possible life paths, Narf) with murderous cultists and albino mystics thrown in for good measure.
* The ''TabletopGame/WorldTreeRPG'' is rife with them: Cani (dog-folk, focused on personal relations), Herethroy (insect-folk, mostly farmers), Gormoror (bear-folk, honorable warriors), Khtsoyis (squid-folk, not too bright... but brighter than they let on), Sleeth (intelligent cats), Rassimel (raccoon-folk with obsessive-compulsive tendencies), Orren (otter-folk with short attention spans), and Zi Ri (dragon-folk who live a looooong time... barring accidents).
* In ''TabletopGame/MyriadSong'' Towsers look like dogs with crystals in their fur, Troodons resemble the dinosaurs they're named after, Rhax males are basically giant spiders (and not actually intelligent), Ishato look a lot like octopi, while Elvers seem to be some cross between assorted eels and seals.

* Notably averted, subverted, and played with in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. Turians are like a bizarre cross between a velociraptor, various insects, and birds, but are not any more violent than humans, and can be very nice people. Krogan are probably the closest thing to playing this trope straight, as they are something of a cross between a T. rex and a snapping turtle, and are a definitely ProudWarriorRace. Salarians, a race of [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guys]], are vaguely amphibian, but have numerous characteristics that lead some Protheans to mistake them for lizards, since [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Javik]] mentions they used to eat flies and lick their eyeballs in his Cycle.
* The Luminoth in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' are a race of giant anthropomorphic moth-people that seem to have an obsession with light.
* The Kilrathi from ''VideoGame/WingCommander'', a race of evil tiger-people.
* Some of the alien species in the ''VideoGame/StarControl'' series fit this trope:

** The [[FanonDiscontinuity non-existent]] third game introduces the Doog (dogs, obviously), the Lk (more mushrooms), the Owa (jellyfish), the Ploxis (rats), and the Vyro-Ingo (crustaceans).

* The Iskai in ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}'' look like anthropomorphic cats that besides their appearance, resemble humans a lot, at first glance. On second glance, you realize that not only are they completely alien, but have some very bizarre, logic defying traits. This is even lampshaded at one point.
* Semi-intelligent animals pop up in various forms in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', such as the [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs raptors,]] who have been known to ornament their bodies with feathers, seem to have a vague hierarchical society and are dexterous enough to unlock and open doors with their little foreclaws.
* The Chua of ''Videogame/WildStar'' are this both figuratively and literally, being a highly-intelligent gerbil-like race.
* A good number of the alien races in the lore of ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' are basically sapient versions of Earth animals. To name a few, there are the Aviants (BirdPeople); Pendles' race, the Roa (SnakePeople) complete with snake tail-like CombatTentacles that naturally molt off upon adulthood; and the MonstrousSeal-like alien race which the main antagonist of the DLC Toby's Friendship Raid belongs to.
* Done literally in ''VideoGame/AtlasReactor'' with Isadora (short for "[[CutenessProximity Isadoryble]]"), as she's a hamster with a chunk of [[AppliedPhlebotinum Reactor]] stuck in her head which gave her an IQ of 6,000 - and a desire to TakeOverTheWorld.
* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' lets you create your own alien race and empire from scratch, and the options range from Earth humans and RubberForeheadAliens on one end to StarfishAliens (including sentient plants and fungi) on the other. In between, there are numerous options for customizing your species based on real-world Earth animals, from foxes to butterflies to peacocks, though they're mostly cosmetic given that you set the species' traits separately. A [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtEZq84WkAAuGu6.png gecko-based species]] has become particularly iconic within the fandom, associated with the [[AbsoluteXenophobe genocidal Fanatic Purifiers]] that wish to purge the galaxy of all other alien species/xeno filth. If you have ''VideoGame/CitiesSkylines'' installed, one of the options is Chirpy, the mascot of that game's Website/{{Twitter}} knockoff Chirper.
* ''VideoGame/TheSunAtNight'' has [[HeroicDog Laika]], a dog from space who can speak human languages, and wears a high-tech suit with a blaster mounted on its back.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

** And among the unnamed species (some named on the [[https://lastres0rtrpg.fandom.com/wiki/Species fan wiki]]), we have four-armed rabbits, tentacle-haired felines ("Sea Lions", perhaps?), and we never have been given a proper name for Addy's species (or [[spoiler: for her Efreet in the Bottle]]) -- she looks like a simple (albeit very pink) lion centaur, but she has leopard spots going down her back as well.
* [[http://eheroes.smackjeeves.com/comics/1923206/an-alien-concept/ Uma and her father]] in ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes''. Holy cow!
* The Nemesites of ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' are giant butterfly people. Their culture does not appear to be butterfly-like, however.
* The galaxy in ''{{Webcomic/tinyraygun}}'' is populated by these. The Leviks, for example, are long-eared cats with short tails, with the ones from the mountain regions even sporting antlers.

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* The Literature/ChakonaSpace setting has the alien species Caitians (it was originally a Franchise/StarTrek FanFic), Voxxans, and Rakshani (ProudWarriorRaceGuy, also possibly [[CallASmeerpARabbit Terran semantic imperialism]] because Rakshasa were oriental cat-demons and D&D monsters before they were aliens), but also more alien aliens.
* Literature/{{Tasakeru}}: The eight sentient mammal species in this series are basically this with some FunnyAnimal thrown in (as it takes place on an alternate Earth).
* The D'yimyi of the planet Diyim'yi, found in http://home.earthlink.net/~otrstf/ - an online-published novel. Physically, they resemble foxes, but they're from another planet, and a great example of this trope in action.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}''
** The Loboans which are space wolves.
** Stinkfly (giant insect)
** Ripjaws (fish man).
** The sequel series ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'' has even more, such as Big Chill (moth man), Jetray (manta ray that can 'swim' in the air) and Humungasaur (dinosaur). Though the one with truly animal-like behavior is Spidermonkey, who acts hyper and chimp-like.
** And later still in ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'' we have Crashhopper (grasshopper), Bullfrag (frog), Astrodactyl (pterosaur), Ball Weevil (insect), Kickin' Hawk (bird of prey), Molestache (Mole...[[InformedSpecies apparently]]) and Walkatrout (fish).
* ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars''. Exactly what it sounds like.
* ''WesternAnimation/BountyHamster''

* Occasionally featured in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' with the most prominent being the [[SimpleCountryLawyer Hyper]][[CluckingFunny chicken]]. But due to the SciFiKitchenSink nature of the show, it's hard to tell whether most of them are actual aliens or just genetically enhanced animals.

* Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel from the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise, primarily ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. He's notably physically different from any Earth animal, but the comparisons are thrown around left and right. What's more, everyone and his brother (even other aliens) refers to him as "gerbil-like", while Hämsterviel himself takes offense to this (but only because he insists that he's ''hamster''-like.) He hates when people pronounce it "Hamster-wheel", though.
* The Bestials in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManUnlimited''.
* The Kzinti appeared once in ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'', and there was also the Caitians, a race of CatFolk.

EvolutionaryLevels are often [[FridgeLogic implied]] - apparently if you want sapience, intelligence and organised society, they always come with two arms, two legs and an upright body plan.

* Creator/KenPenders' ''The Lara-Su Chronicles'' depicts the echidnas of ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' as humanoid aliens known as Echyd'nya.

* The Jokaero in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are [[EverythingIsBetterWithMonkeys orangutan-like]] aliens with an innate knack for building incredibly advanced technology with scraps of damaged machinery, but possess no real language. The Imperium Inquisition makes use of Jokaero to customize their weaponry and other equipment.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' meanwhile has the Skaven, anthropomorphic rats who live underground, constantly squabble, are disease-ridden, and don't attack anything bigger than them without having a 10-1 numerical advantage. They also reproduce like crazy and the albinos or big ones get special treatment. One of their war-machines is [[RuleOfFunny a giant exercise wheel with guns.]]
** The [[LizardFolk Lizardmen]] are aloof, stubborn and set in their ways, though not strictly speaking [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Abhorrent]].

* There's plenty of examples in ''Series/DoctorWho'': the Judoon are rhinos (who are sapient, but not necessarily intelligent), the Tritovores are flies, etc. Occasionally, there's some alien traits for the aliens: Vespiforms are wasps and [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]], the Cheetah People are cheetahs and natural [[TeleportersAndTransporters teleporters]], the Foamasi are chameleons and are immune from radiation and can compress themselves into human suits.

* Dino-Mite, a raver from ''ComicBook/SuperboyAndTheRavers'', is an anthropomorphic dinosaur from an entire race of such aliens.

* Yazz, the team mascot of Gerard Jones's late-90s run on ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', was a bright blue pteranodon in a vest.
* ''ComicBook/GiantRobotWarriorMaintenanceCrew'': One member of the titular crew is a human-sized brown creature that looks like a badger.