History Main / SingleSpecimenSpecies

** [[https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Buyon The Buyon,]] which could resist a Kamehameha in a relatively early stage of the series, was present only in a "boss tower" surrounded by an ecosystem in which it couldn't survive (FridgeLogic can be an important part of this trope -- in this case, how did they bring the creature into the tower, and where from?). No other specimen ever appears again for the whole series, but it's interesting to see what would have happened if invaders had come across others of the same species -- if others existed at all. Averted in ''VideoGame/DragonBallOnline'', where several of the same species (revealed to be aliens) appear as bosses.

* In ''Manga/EdensZero'', the [[SpacetimeEater Chronophage]] is the only one of its kind. This leads to a DubInducedPlotHole across all official English translations that state there is more than one Chronophage, which persists until the final arc when [[spoiler:Shiki makes it his mission to destroy the Chronophage to end its to the cosmos menace for good]].

* Both used and subverted in ''Manga/{{Toriko}}''. Many animals are so bizarre you don't expect to see another specimen, but sometimes one will show up.

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Rodan}}''. The eponymous mutated Pteranodons are shown to be a breeding pair.
* The Heisei ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' films:
** Averted with the Gyaos. They can reproduce asexually and are soon able to attack in large swarms.
** Likewise, subverted with Gamera himself. At first glance, it seems that he's the only one of his species. Then, during ''[[Film/Gamera3AwakeningOfIrys Awakening of Irys]]'', we see that there were '''thousands''' of Gamera that existed before him, but were all killed out leaving him to be the ''last'' of his kind.
* Gonzo from ''Franchise/TheMuppets'' was this for awhile [[spoiler: before being revealed as an alien]], since he himself didn't even know what he was. Invariable he was referred to as something like "a whatever he is".

* Audrey Jr. from ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors'' is the only one of his kind in existence as he was a crossbreed between a butterwort and a Venus flytrap. In [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors the musical]], he's an alien so there are probably more of them in space but the only other one we see is in Seymour's flower bed after the original Audrey II is killed.
** The play and the musical's [[ReCut Director's Cut]] have them breeding and taking over America.
* Ego from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' formed alone in space and had to search the universe for other lifeforms. He refers to himself as a Celestial, it's not clear if he's related to the "celestial beings" from the [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014 first movie]] which were based on the Celestials from the comics. This is possibly implying that Ego is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boltzmann_brain Boltzmann brain]].
* The ''Indominus Rex'' from ''Film/JurassicWorld'', counts but also falls under being the Main/LastOfHerKind when it's revealed that Ingen initially created ''two'', but the bigger one ''ate its smaller sibling.''
** Played straight with the ''Indoraptor'' from the sequel ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'', as only one was ever created, being a [[PsychoPrototype problematic and aggressive prototype]] for their planned weaponized dinosaurs.
** This applies to the Mosasaurus. There isn't any indication that Ingen or Masrani ever cloned another, leaving her as the only one of her kind on earth after surviving the abandonment of the park and managing to escape her lagoon into the open ocean.
*** To a lesser extent, several other dinosaurs have become, or are implied to be, the LastOfHisKind as of this film--particularly, Blue is directly stated to be the last living ''Velociraptor'' after the rest of the Raptor Squad was killed in the previous film and Rexy, the original Tyrannosaurus rex is the only known surviving member of her species. [[spoiler: However, the fourth and fifth seasons of ''WesternAnimation/JurassicWorldCampCretaceous'' and ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' reveal that there are other raptors and Tyrannosaurs, meaning Blue and Rexy are not yet the last of their kinds.]]
** This is also the case with the ''Spinosaurus'' from ''Film/JurassicPark3'', which is confirmed through viral marketing to have been something of a prototype ''Indominus'' as another hybrid, albeit one that actually resembles a fossil species.
* Before Yaddle was created for ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} didn't want ''Franchise/StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse writers mentioning Yoda's species. They wanted it left vague if he was unique or there were a whole race of them.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** The Watcher In the Water, a strange mass of tentacles that hangs out in a relatively small and shallow lake waiting for passersby toting [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]] to prey on.
** Tom Bombadil; even [[ShrugOfGod the author]] isn't quite sure ''what'' he is, but he seems to be completely unique. His wife Goldberry also seems to be a completely unique being.
* In the ''Literature/{{Mithgar}}'' books, which started as Tolkien fanfic complete with pseudo-Moria and pseudo-Watcher, there is eventually an explanation both for the ecology and how such a huge monster got into the isolated lake - it's a kraken, they're part of a BizarreSexualDimorphism with dragons, and a dragon flew by and dropped it into the lake to annoy the dwarves. [[spoiler: The dwarves manage to kill it by breaking the dam and draining the lake.]]
* The title "character" in ''[[Literature/{{Illuminatus}} The Illuminatus Trilogy: Leviathan]]'' is a gigantic single-celled organism at the bottom of the ocean, a result of the first cell division that just got bigger and bigger while the rest of life on Earth developed into multicellular organisms. [[spoiler:It's actually just a metaphor for the State. Straight out of Thomas Hobbes' article of the same name.]]

* Adam in ''Literature/TheBible'' qualified, before Eve entered the picture. {{God}} Himself too.
%%* The Incredibly Deadly Viper in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''
* Tigger from ''Literature/WinnieThePooh''. He gleefully rejoices in it too.

* Sun Wukong himself from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' is the one and only specimen of Stone Monkey. According to Buddha, there are other three unique monkeys with singular powers; one of them, the Six-Eared Macaque, uses his powers to take Sun Wukong's form and tries to KillAndReplace the real pilgrims.

* ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'': The Puffstool and Smoky Progg are fought only once and do not appear in the sequel games. The Progg, however, is claimed to be a mutant baby Mamuta by the end credits.
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'': Forgotten Beasts are forgotten remnants from when the gods created a given world. Each one is unique as a result of being procedurally generated, and can vary in terms of limb count, tails, flight, dangerous excretions, and sometimes being made of inorganic things like glass or mist. This gets weird when there is no feasible way for them to survive until they reach you. Creatures made of Mist, Fire, Water, and Dirt [[GoodBadBugs are universally killed in one or two hits because the materials they are made of tend to fall apart when attacked; your dwarves tending to punch heads, this causes heads to break apart, killing the creature.]]
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': The Thorian is the only specimen of its species shown or mentioned. The fact that there should logically be other thorians is never brought up even once.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' features numerous [[PublicDomainCharacter gods and demons]] as its {{Mons}}, and while lesser demons like the [[HotAsHell Lilim]] or [[OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious Mothmen]] can exist in quantity, the likes of [[OlympusMons Zeus and Loki]] necessarily fall under this trope. Several games enforce it in gameplay, most notably the ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' subseries where various demons are marked as "Unique" so the player can only have one of them in their party at a time.
* Torkscrew in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''. This boss... is never really explained species wise, and the game itself actually has characters who wonder what the hell it is and whether things like that live in the desert now. Additionally, you could also say this applies to the Zeekeeper, although that's probably due to him being a deity.
* Played many ways in different ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games. Some bosses, such as the Sheegoth and the Metroids, are mature metamorphoses of a mook species, others like the Ing gain unique forms by consuming technology, some creatures like Thardus are not even classifiable as biological organisms. Then there's Ridley who, despite [[spoiler: being revealed to have a metamorphic growth cycle]] in ''Other M'', has only one known body at a time.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has Nah, the [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human]], half-[[OurDragonsAreDifferent Manakete]] daughter of Nowi, who, according to the Manakete princess Tiki in their [[RelationshipValues support conversations]], is the first and (presumably) only non-full-blooded Manakete in the history of Ylisse (and possibly Archanea, as Awakening is a loose sequel of the game). However, this gets averted if the player marries Nowi or Tiki herself.
** [[BigBad Grima]] itself is eventually revealed to be a species of its own as well. As the creation of an ancient MadScientist that merges human and divine dragon blood with unknown dark magic, Grima is a unique being in the setting. Despite this, it does share a relation with the descendants of its creator who donated his blood to form it, which allows them to use its power to a degree.
* In ''VisualNovel/MarcoAndTheGalaxyDragon'', Arco--the titular Galaxy Dragon--is the only one of her kind in the entire Milky Way galaxy.

* Any Kaiju in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''.
* Most imaginary friends in ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends''.
* Each of the 627 [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments genetic experiments]] in the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise (primarily ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' and ''Anime/{{Stitch}}'') and Leroy from ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'' [[spoiler:though subverted with Leroy if you count the many clones of him made later in the movie.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies'', Gonzo is often classified as a "weirdo" because no one, including himself, knows what he is.
* The Hydra and the Sea Serpent in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. The Hydra lives in a swamp inhabited by tiny frogs within walking distance of Ponyville and is more than eager to chase Twilight Sparkle and her friends, yet never seems to stroll over to munch on the happy little ponies. The Sea Serpent is much more friendly, can talk, and is very ''very'' CampGay, and shouldn't even be able to fit in the tiny river he lives in, let alone find enough food to keep himself going.
* In Franchise/DisneyFairies' ''Tinker Bell and the Legend of the [=NeverBeast=]'' 'Gruff' the Titluar Neverbeast is a magical Creature which is one of a kind, he awakens every one thousand years to build four rock towers in order to stop [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt a great storm from destroying pixie hollow]]
* ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'': While more of Sylvia's species is seen (and she's well established to be a Zbornak) and Commander Peepers is obviously a Watchdog, Lord Hater and just as interestingly Wander himself are as best we know it the only ones of their kinds.

** The Galarian fossil Pokémon in the anime are single specimen species due to being "frankenstined" from four unrelated organisms. Goh received an Arctozolt (a combination of a plesiosaur back half and a velociraptor front) and Ash received a Dracovish (a dunkleostus head on the tail of an unknown dinosaur).

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has a number of "legendary" and "mythical" Pokémon who are depicted as singular creatures, though it's sometimes unclear if there's only one ever, or if they're simply rare and limited in number. Some forms of Pokémon media even contradict each other, such as showing multiples of supposed one-of-a-kind legendaries; but in game mechanics, most are defined as genderless and incapable of breeding (under the player's control, anyway):
** A number of Pokémon [[OlympusMons are on the level of demigods]] and almost certain to be one-of-a-kind: [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza]], [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Regigigas, Arceus]], [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Xerneas, Yveltal]], [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Alola's "Tapu" guardian deities]] (Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini), [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Necrozma]], and [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Paldea's "Treasures of Ruin"]] (Ting-Lu, Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, and Chi-Yu). [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Zygarde]] might also count [[TheWormThatWalks depending on how you define "single specimen"]].
*** There are other legendary Pokémon that are considered godlike, but it's more ambiguous if there are more than one of them or not. For instance, [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Eternatus]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Terapagos]] are powerful enough to qualify, but they're explicitly alien so there may be more of them out in space.
*** As of ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', it is revealed that Arceus itself can grant anyone it deems worthy enough a small "fragment" of itself so it can inhabit the world it created. This may imply that all instances of it being owned by a trainer are also "fragments" of the one true Arceus.
** There are also a number of cases where these "god" Pokémon made unique creations in some way or another: Ho-oh resurrected and transformed three unknown Pokémon into [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Raikou, Entei, and Suicune]], Arceus directly created [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina]] (though it is known to make seconds of the latter three... but according to WordOfGod it has to recreate the world ''from scratch'' to do so), and an unnamed dragon [[LiteralSplitPersonality split itself]] into [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem]]. While not godly itself, Pecharunt also mutated three other Pokémon into [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti]]. Regigigas is believed to have built the other "Regi" golems as well, but it's implied that it made multiples of each.
** Another group don't necessarily have the devastating power that preclude there being more than one, but are treated as singular figures of legend akin to Myth/RobinHood and Myth/KingArthur: [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Celebi]], [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Jirachi]], [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite the "Three Musketeers"]] (Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion), some genies ([[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus]], and [[VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus Enamorus]]), [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Zacian, Zamazenta, Calyrex and its steeds Glastrier and Spectrier]], [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Ogerpon, and Pecharunt]] . There ''could'' quietly be at least a few of each, but the stories don't treat them that way.
** You've also got one-off results of human experimentation: [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Mewtwo]], [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Genesect]], and [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Magearna]]. There's also [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Type: Null/Silvally]], which is a semi-aversion -- only three specimens exist; one is owned by Gladion, one goes to the ''Sun and Moon'' player character, and the third remains unaccounted for. Though as of [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield the following game]], the Type: Null research was stolen and at least a fourth one was made, being granted to the ''Sword and Shield'' player character.
** There are also a few definite aversions:
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Latias]], [[VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee Meltan]], and [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Zarude]] are all described as living in groups in at least one Pokédex entry (and Latias' SpearCounterpart Latios would logically be the same), plus Meltan evolve into Melmetal via FusionDance with one another.
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Kubfu/Urshifu]] are also implied to have a decent population, with at least three specimens confirmed (the player's, Master Mustard's, and one meant to go to Leon) and specialized training facilities.
*** The "Regi" golems ([[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Regirock, Regice, and Registeel]]) have been found in temples dedicated to them in multiple regions, making it unlikely that there's just one of each shared among all the temples (and this would extend to [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Regieleki and Regidrago]], though they've only been found once so far).
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Deoxys]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Diancie]] come from rare but theoretically-repeatable mutations.
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Manaphy]] are capable of breeding (though their offspring in captivity are Phione and not more Manaphy).
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Keldeo]] had parents, but may be the LastOfItsKind now.
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Solgaleo and Lunala]] have their own way of breeding exclusively with each other (with their juvenile forms being Cosmog and Cosmoem).
*** [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres]] were finally confirmed to not be unique over two decades after their debut, as ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndEevee'' lets you find multiples in the post-game and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' introduces foreign variants of the species.
** While distinct from Legendary Pokémon, the Ultra Beasts in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' are another aversion, since multiple specimens of each one are seen/encountered at various points. Of course, they have no real "legend" and are simply Pokémon which hail from a completely different dimension. Solgaleo and Lunala, despite fitting more under the OlympusMons umbrella, are considered Ultra Beasts and likewise aren't single specimens either. The one Ultra Beast that ''is'' implied to be one of a kind is Necrozma, as [[spoiler:it was revered as a PhysicalGod in Ultra Space in its original form, and is even referred to with the name, "The Blinding One"]].
** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' feature another aversion in Paradox Pokémon, who are very much like the Ultra Beasts in that they are rare and distinct from normal Pokémon but not unique and just transported from somewhere else (in this case, through time -- [[AmbiguousSituation we think]]). Even the ones labeled "Legendary", Koraidon and Miraidon, are believed to be simply ancestors and descendants, respectively, of the modern Cyclizar species; and [[spoiler:the player encounters more than one]]. But it gets strange when Paradox versions of existing Legendaries begin to emerge -- "Walking Wake", "Gouging Fire", and "Raging Bolt" in particular appear to be prehistoric dinosaur versions of Suicune, Entei, and Raikou; which flies in the face of the existing lore.
** ''Scarlet and Violet''[='s=] DLC introduces a non-Legendary example in a new Bloodmoon variant of Ursaluna. The regular version of Ursaluna is an evolution of Ursaring that existed [[VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus a few hundred years prior]] but is practically extinct in the modern day (Ursaring are still around, but the evolution method was lost). Bloodmoon Ursaluna is ''completely'' unheard of, and its mutation is attributed to living in a non-native habitat.
** For completeness' sake, the Pokémon species where we don't really know enough to make a call either way are [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Mew]], [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Lugia, Ho-oh]], [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cresselia and Darkrai, Heatran, Shaymin]], [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Victini, Meloetta]], [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Hoopa, Volcanion]], [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Marshadow, and Zeraora]].
** It should be noted that recent games (starting with ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'', but hinted at in earlier games) have started implying that each individual playthrough is considered an AlternateUniverse in canon -- there may be only one Mewtwo in ''your'' universe, but there's nothing stopping you from trading for a second one from the next universe over.

** Creator/PeterJackson's [[Film/KingKong2005 2005 remake]] and ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' kick this trope out the door, since it shows a lot of bones from Kong's species - he's made out to be the LastOfHisKind. Completely averted as of [[Film/GodzillaXKongTheNewEmpire]], where it's revealed that an entire tribe of Kongs are alive and well in the Hollow Earth, led by the film's BigBad, the Skar King.

** Creator/PeterJackson's [[Film/KingKong2005 2005 remake]] and ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' kick this trope out the door, since it shows a lot of bones from Kong's species - he's made out to be the LastOfHisKind.