Line #99 Main/InformedSpecies


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9	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1345839692013658700
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12	[[quoteright:283:[[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/980f1be3_1a0c_47aa_83fc_783cf77a7381.jpeg]]]]
13	[[caption-width-right:283:The [[{{Dogfaces}} Beagle Boys]], and real beagles.]]
14	->''"...the only thing that makes him a cricket is because we call him one."''
15	-->-- '''Animator Ward Kimball''' on the character design of '''[[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} Jiminy Cricket]]'''
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17	Sometimes, whether due to a specific visual style or use of [[SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism anthropomorphism]], a character who belongs to a clearly-identified RealLife species ends up looking nothing like what said species actually does.
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19	Some examples are understandable and forgivable, but for the most part Administrivia/TropesAreTools and so is making a character look less like their real-world species counterpart due to TheLawOfConservationOfDetail, being able to tell a story easier (as MostWritersAreHuman) and sometimes simply because it looks [[RuleOfCool cool]] and/or [[RuleOfFun fun]]. See also ViewerSpeciesConfusion for a subtrope based on the audience's reaction to a creature, and IAmNotWeasel for in-universe reactions. This can lead to AdaptationSpeciesChange or DubSpeciesChange into something the character actually resembles.
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21	While this primarily applies to animal characters, it can also apply to anthropomorphic objects.
22
23	Related to CartoonCreature (whose actual species is entirely ambiguous) and CallASmeerpARabbit (which is about the ''name'' of their species, and not the species itself).
24
25	'''NOTE: This trope is NOT "animal has qualities that differ from their real counterparts", '''[[note]]JustForFun/{{Egregious}} examples of this may go in ArtisticLicenseBiology or FunnyAnimalAnatomy[[/note]]''' this trope is "animal mainly does not look like their general species". As a rule of thumb, ask yourself if you could recognize the animal's correct species without being told (hence the name, Informed Species)'''.[[note]]If you're familiar with what the real animal looks like, obviously.[[/note]]''' If not, then this is the correct trope. Also, keep MST3KMantra in mind and only point out details that are mostly obvious and that the general audience would notice, not minor, nitpicky ones only zoologists would care about. Also, this trope is specifically about non-human animals. If there is a character that is supposed to be human but doesn't look human, don't list them here. They belong at AmbiguouslyHuman.'''
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27	----
28	!!Example subpages:
29	[[index]]
30	* [[InformedSpecies/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
31	* InformedSpecies/VideoGames
32	* InformedSpecies/WesternAnimation
33	[[/index]]
34
35	!!Other examples:
36
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder:Advertising]]
40	* The University of Minnesota's mascot, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldy_Gopher Goldy Gopher]] doesn't look much like a gopher. [[http://www.mndaily.com/2003/07/21/goldie-really-gopher Upon consultation]] the conclusion was he looks more like a chipmunk.
41	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-Monkeys Sea-Monkeys.]] The cartoons on the packages look nothing like the brine shrimp they are in real life. They are not monkeys either. This is probably an intentional attempt to fool gullible kids into buying them -- a kingdom of merpeople in your aquarium sounds cooler than a bunch of brine shrimp.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Animation]]
45	* William from ''Animation/BabySharksBigShow'' is meant to be a pilot fish, but has an orange color scheme that more resembles a goldfish.
46	* ''Animation/BlazingTeens'': You really have to take the series' word for it when the Spirit of the Dashing Eagle yo-yo claims to be an eagle, as his yellow color makes him look more like a canary.
47	* Max from ''Animation/{{Miniforce}}'' is said to be a beaver, but he looks more like a squirrel or chipmunk due to his tail not being flat.
48	* The fireball aliens from the ''Animation/MotuPatlu'' episode "Fire Ball Aliens" are an interesting variation. While they do have enough features to make them recognizable as fireballs, literally the only indication that they're aliens at all is how they're referred to as such in the title and in the episode itself; they are never stated to come from another planet, don't own any spacecraft for travelling, or anything like that.
49	* ''Animation/PakdamPakdai'' features a bulldog named Rox who looks less like a bulldog and more like a Great Dane.
50	* ''Animation/HungarianFolkTales'': The pelican looks like any generic fantasy bird with a normal-sized beak. This is justified though, as the episode in question follows the depictions of pelicans found in medieval bestiaries and religious imagery. People, especially from landlocked countries where pelicans were rare, used to believe these birds bled themselves dry to feed their young, making them symbols of Christ, while their real-life traits were ignored.
51	* You wouldn't know the titular protagonists of ''Animation/KitAndKate'' are meant to be cats unless you were told so. They look more like [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife blue]] alien frog creatures. The other animals are more recognizable though.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
55	* The tanukis in ''Manga/AnimalLand'' look less like real life tanukis and more like small humans in bear-like costumes.
56	* One episode of ''Manga/BumpetyBoo'' involved a KillerGorilla, which looked little like a gorilla and resembled a Bigfoot instead.
57	* You would be hard-pressed to believe that the earless Manga/{{Doraemon}} is actually a cat. However, a flashback in the manga's volume 6 reveals that Doraemon ''used'' to have ears and was colored yellow, and does resemble a cartoon cat, before an accident turns him into what he looks like for the rest of the show. [[https://www.littledayout.com/wp-content/uploads/e02-story-of-doraemon.jpg Compare Doraemon past. vs. present.]]
58	* In ''Anime/{{Needless}}'', Miu's "teddy bear" is actually a rabbit, except it looks like a teddy bear, not a rabbit. Even the characters are like "That's a RABBIT???" upon finding out.
59	* The titular Pikaia in ''Anime/{{Pikaia}}'', rendered as a Pokemon-esque RidiculouslyCuteCritter rather than the worm-like creature it actually is. Which is ultimately pointed out by the show itself.
60	* Plue from ''Manga/RaveMaster'' is supposedly a dog. Despite not having any ears, having a drill as a nose, loves lollipop candies, can walk on two legs, deflating when exposed to hot water, and generally looking for all the world like a tiny snowman, Plue is a dog. [[CloudCuckooLander Elie]] thought Plue is an insect instead.
61	* The cats from "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1971)" don't really look like cats, they look more like little bears with whiskers that look like they might have been designed by Dr. Seuss.
62	* ''Anime/RingingBell'' actually invokes this: when Chirin (a male sheep) is fully-grown, he looks very little like a normal ram. Not only is he lithe and lanky rather than stocky, but his horns point forward rather than curling back. He looks much more like some kind of goat or antelope than a sheep. Given that the point of the film is that Chirin isn't a sheep anymore after being twisted by hatred, this is pretty intentional.
63	* Ichigo from ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'' is supposed to have the DNA of an Iriomote Wildcat. Despite this, she looks [[AllAnimalsAreDomesticated and acts]] like a domestic cat. Her cat form also looks like a normal housecat.
64	* Mughi, Yuri and Kei’s pet from ''Literature/DirtyPair'', is meant to be a giant genetically engineered cat, but in the anime adaptation he more closely resembles some kind of mixed breed of dog. Given the shape of his head and snout, the only cat-like things about him are his ears and claws. The fact that he [[AllAnimalsAreDogs acts like a dog]] doesn't help. Mughi does look like a cat in the original novels, but his design was a ShoutOut to the Coeurl from ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheSpaceBeagle'', so it was changed to avoid copyright issues.
65	* Tippy from ''Manga/IsTheOrderARabbit'' is supposed to be an Angora rabbit, but her ears look more like a cat's ears than a rabbit's, being very short and pointy. It's especially noticeable since the other two rabbit mascots, Anko and [[ADogNamedCat Wild Geese]], look much more like actual rabbits than Tippy does.
66	* The title character's airplane in ''Anime/PorcoRosso'' qualifies as a mechanical example. It's identified as a Savoia S.21, but looks nothing like the real airplane by that name, apart from its distinctive top-mounted pusher prop engine, and that gets replaced with a standard propeller after the plane is shot down and rebuilt.
67	* Yans and Gans of ''Anime/MeatOrDie'' are said to be dinosaurs, but come out looking like vaguely reptilian vinyl toys.
68	* It's almost never brought up anywhere, but the eponymous main character of ''Anime/{{Ojarumaru}}'' is apparently a fairy; in Series 1 episode 1, King Enma calls him a "fairy brat", and NHK's official description of the same episode refers to him as a "fairy aristocratic child". However, Ojarumaru does not display any traits one would normally associate with fairies and he could easily pass for a normal human otherwise.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Arts]]
72	* The ''Art/CartaMarina'', a decorative sea map famous for the immense variety of sea monsters it depicts, includes a number of creatures that are meant to be representations of real animals, but don't really read as such to modern eyes. In addition to the [[MonsterWhale stylized, dragon-like "whales"]], there is also a "sea-hog" that was probably based on a description of a walrus, and a "marine unicorn" most likely inspired by accounts of a narwhal.
73	* Because only the ivory made its way to Europe for a long time, [[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/book-review-sea-monsters-on-medieval-and-renaissance-maps/ walruses were initially depicted as elephants,]] and later as pig-fish hybrids.
74	* Given that seeing a lion in 18th-century Brazil was difficult, the ones made by local sculptor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleijadinho Aleijadinho]] [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FoE-D8uvs6w/Th2gr2zZpbI/AAAAAAAAAl4/1Js-Uls1YHM/s1600/images.do.jpg looked like monkeys]] -- most notably in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Congonhas_sanctuary_of_Bom_Jesus_prophet_Daniel.jpg his statue of Daniel]] in a series with Literature/TheBible's prophets. (This includes another example, the whale carved on Jonah's statue.)
75	* The ''Art/CrystalPalaceDinosaurs'' include a number of reconstructions of prehistoric animals whose species are not immediately recognizable to modern viewers. These include the infamous example of ''Iguanodon'' depicted as a massive rhino-lizard hybrid, a giant frog that's supposed to be ''Mastodonsaurus'', ''Dicynodon'' as a tusked turtle-like creature, and the early horse ''Paleotherium'' as a kind of tapir.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Comic Books]]
79	* ComicBook/{{Cerebus\|TheAardvark}}, in the very early issues, looked reasonably like a bipedal aardvark, but as the comic progressed and [[ArtEvolution Dave Sim's art improved]], Cerebus looked less and less like an aardvark and more like a gray pig-creature.
80	* Happens a bit in ''ComicBook/AlbedoErmaFelnaEDF'':
81	** Alliusiz, a minor character, is supposedly a possum, but he looks more like a monkey.
82	** Invoked with the titular heroine: According with WordOfGod, Erma and her family are not based on any Feline breed or sub-species, albeit some fans pointed out they look like between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_cat the Manx cat,]] a breed from the Isle of Man in the U.K., the Abyssinian cat and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Bobtail Japanese bobtail cat]].
83	* Guess which species [[http://www.kaukapedia.com/index.php?title=Datei:Lupo.jpg these]] [[http://www.kaukapedia.com/index.php?title=Datei:Knox_.jpg two]] characters from German comic ''ComicBook/FixUndFoxi'' are supposed to be. [[spoiler:The first one's a wolf named "Lupo" and the second one's a raven named "Knox", but honestly, could you have told? To set things straight, Lupo hardly looks like a wolf due to [[InkblotCartoonStyle the way he's drawn]], [[CartoonyTail a really thin tail with a tuft of hair at the end]] [[FurryEarDissonance and floppy ears that look more like dog ears than wolf ears]]. Knox, on the other hand, has a large curved yellow beak which makes him look more like a toucan or puffin than a raven.]]
84	* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'':
85	** As noted by the page image, the Beagle Boys, who despite being more canine than the other DogFaces (Especially in ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'' and ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017''), still don't look enough like beagles.
86	** In a minor case, while WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's cousin Gladstone Gander is a goose there's basically no difference between him and the ducks, apart from being slightly larger than Donald in the early Carl Barks stories.
87	** Gyro Gearloose does not resemble a chicken.
88	** [[Westernanimation/DuckTales1987 Launchpad McQuack]], with his [[LanternJawOfJustice big chin]], looks more like a pelican than a duck.
89	* Brazilian comic ''Comicbook/MonicasGang'' has three dogs, [[http://p2.trrsf.com/image/fget/cf/460/0/images.terra.com/2014/02/26/floquinho-619.jpg Fluff, a hairy and nearly featureless one that does resemble a lhasa apso,]] [[https://super.abril.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/bidu_schnauzer.png Blu, who is not immediately recognizable as a Schnauzer,]] and [[https://caua1000.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/bugu.jpg Glu,]] who is... an egg-shaped dog. And that's not mentioning how [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife their fur is green, blue and yellow]].
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
93	* Lampshaded in ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' that [[ArtEvolution eventually]] Opus looked more like a puffin than a penguin.
94	* ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'': Dogbert barely looks like a dog. There are a few small, white, and fluffy breeds he could be, but his general shape resembles a {{Cephalothorax}}, and it's easy to forget his nose isn't actually his mouth.
95	* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'': Quincy is supposed to be an iguana, but he looks more like a frog with a long tail. He also has a row of circular plates along his back, rather than spines like a real iguana.
96	* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': Jim Davis declared Odie to be a beagle, but is even less similar to it than [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Snoopy]] (in the live-action movies he's a dachshund; in [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/2007/ga070826.gif this strip]], Garfield declares he's a "purebred clown").
97	* ComicStrip/KrazyKat is not readily identifiable as a cat. (S)he looks somewhat like Yakko, Wakko, and Dot from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', but with a flesh-colored face and pink nose.
98	* Mister Jack from the comic strip of the same name by Jimmy Swinnerton barely looks like the tiger he is supposed to be, lacking a long tail and the stripes just barely visible. [[toonopedia.com/mrjack.htm Source]].
99	* Mooch the cat from ''ComicStrip/{{Mutts}}'' is not readily identifiable as a cat and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mooch.gif looks rather like]] [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_1.bmp Yakko Warner]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', except with smaller, more pointed ears, a bigger nose, and without the cheek tufts and tan colored pants. The resemblance would be even more noticeable if Mooch were drawn in the same style Yakko is drawn, or vice versa.
100	* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}''
101	** More of an informed breed, but Snoopy and his brothers (and sister) look nothing like real beagles. Notably Snoopy wasn't originally intended to be a beagle, and even denied being one in an early strip. In fact, the character was [[TributetoFido roughly based off of Charles Schulz's childhood dog,]] a Pointer named Spike who was "a mixed breed of some kind"—by Schulz's admission, Snoopy was only a beagle in the strip because [[InherentlyFunnyWords it was a funny word]]. Snoopy's black and white coloring seems to be more of that of a Pointer's or a Dalmatian's, although there are black and white beagles as well. Regardless of whether or not he resembles a real beagle, Snoopy is a perfect portrayal of the standard breed: smart, playful, affectionate, hard-headed at times with a stubborn and independent streak that real beagles are famously known for having.
102	** Woodstock doesn’t even seem to resemble a bird, with his beak looking more like a big human nose due to the simplistic art style. A RunningGag is that he doesn't know his own species, and Snoopy's attempts to narrow it down only reveal that he's (probably) not a crow, an American bittern, a Caroline wren, a rufous-sided towhee, a yellow-billed cuckoo, a Canada goose, a warbler, or a duck. One story treated bird species in terms of rank, with Woodstock going to "Eagle Camp" to learn how to be an eagle (and flunking out due to a tendency to get "beak bleeds" at high altitudes).
103	* Winslow from ''ComicStrip/PricklyCity'' is supposed to be a coyote pup, but he looks more like a cross between a bobcat and a Cairn Terrier.
104	* Pogo from ''ComicStrip/{{Pogo}}'' looks nothing like a possum; he looks more like a monkey.
105	* In ''ComicStrip/MotherGooseAndGrimm'', while Grimm is clearly a dog, he doesn't really share much of resemblance with Bull Terriers, which he's stated to be, so he just looks like a generic yellow dog with an enormous nose. Combined with ArtEvolution, in the earlier strips he actually did look a lot like the particular breed.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Fan Works]]
109	* The picture of Undertow, the ''Pristichampsus'' in Nathanoraptor's ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' 5 fanfic, on the author's deviantART page, reveals he looks more like a featherless ''Velociraptor'' than a ''Pristichampsus'', or even anything vaguely crocodilian.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
113	* ''Film/SixtyFive'': The small four-legged carnivores are supposed to be ''Lagosuchus'' according to the soundtrack. However, not only are they much larger than that animal, but they're depicted as quadrupeds when the real creature was probably bipedal-- to say nothing of the fact it didn't live in the Cretaceous.
114	* The large prehistoric feline from ''Film/{{Alpha\|2018}}'' is supposed to be a cave lion, but it is depicted with saber teeth, making it resemble a ''Machairodus''.
115	* Benny from ''Benny Loves You'' is a living toy that his owner, Jack, refers to as a "bear" -- he looks (and sounds) more like a floppy-eared [[Series/SesameStreet Elmo]] {{expy}}, complete with bright red fur.
116	* ''Film/CoolCatSavesTheKids'': Cool Cat's features don't quite come across as feline. In fact, he vaguely resembles a fox. His excitable personality isn't very catlike either.
117	* [[Film/{{Godzilla 1998}} Zilla]], a.k.a., the American Franchise/{{Godzilla}}, is an interesting variation. He's supposed to be a mutated marine iguana, but his physical structure is more akin to that of a theropod dinosaur. Since he is mutated, this might be justified.
118	** Ironically Godzilla himself , who was in fact supposed to be a mutated theropod of some variety, doesn't really look like any real dinosaur so much. Part of this is ScienceMarchesOn, since back in the '50s when Godzilla was created, the classic 'tripod' pose for theropods was still in vogue, but even taking that into account, his head is way too small to be a theropod. Granted, this may be justified on account of his mutation, as his original form, the ''Godzillasaurus'', has a bigger head in proportion to its body. Some fans also interpret other incarnations of him as a synapsid.
119	*** May be the reason why in the 2014 reboot he is portrayed as [[AdaptationSpeciesChange a type of Permian reptile instead of a dinosaur]]. However, suplementary material in the special features of the home release of this movie states that yes, the ''Monsterverse'' Godzilla is a dinosaur as well, but given he originates from the Permian era, it means his species were either the very first dinosaurs or extremely derived dinosauriforms. There's also the fact that he has ''gills'', which means that MV!Godzilla technically wouldn't even be a reptile, but some kind of non-amniote amphibian.
120	** Anguirus in ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'', despite the claims of the contrary, doesn't really look much like an ankylosaur. He is more like some kind of ''Styracosaurus''/crocodile/armadillo hybrid.
121	** Likewise, Film/{{Rodan}} doesn't really look like a ''Pteranodon''. He's got a small head reminiscent of a bird of prey and lacks pycnofibres, but at least he possesses membranous wings like real pterosaurs. His Heisei version has a more ''Pteranodon''-like head as well as a slimmer body build closer to real pterosaurs, but he unfortunately has bat-like wings which other versions of the character lack. In the ''Monsterverse'' Rodan is now an ancient organism from a time before pterosaurs emerged, making his inaccuracies more justifiable, as that version of him isn't a pterosaur at all.
122	** The [=MUTOs=] featured in the Film/MonsterVerse continuity are described by the MPC visual effects supervisor in ''Godzilla: The Art of Destruction'' as probably being mammals based on the fact they possess skin, bones and muscle, but he also admitted that they do look more insectoid than mammalian. To say nothing of the [=MUTOs=]' reproductive cycle, which in light of this information makes the platypus look like nothing to gawk about.
123	* The large carnivorous dinosaur from the 2008 ''Literature/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth'' film is supposed to be a ''Giganotosaurus'', but it looks more like a three-fingered ''Tyrannosaurus''.
124	* The ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' franchise is ''NOTORIOUS'' for this:
125	** ''Film/JurassicPark'':
126	*** The ''Velociraptor'' are an infamous case of this, resembling the larger ''Deinonychus''. This is because the [[Literature/JurassicPark novel the film was based on]] described ''Deinonychus'' as being synonymous with ''Velociraptor'', a now-discredited hypothesis proposed by Gregory S. Paul, and also because Creator/MichaelCrichton thought ''Velociraptor'' sounded [[RuleOfCool much cooler]] than ''Deinonychus''. And let's not get to the fact raptors should have feathers (granted, it was only discovered in 1997, shortly after ''The Lost World'', but later films don't have ScienceMarchesOn as an excuse).
127	*** The ''Dilophosaurus'' not only possess non-existent neck-frills (which wasn't even present in the novel) and venomous spit but also a more broad skull, and are also too small (about on par with the ''Velociraptor'' in real life, funnily).
128	** ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'': The ''Mamenchisaurus'' look more like ''Diplodocus'' or ''Barosaurus'' in that they don't have a hump or a tail club. Most glaringly, they don't have the extra-long neck this dinosaur is famous for, meaning that they mostly just look like generic sauropods. This may be because the animal was going to be changed to ''Seismosaurus'' (nowadays a synonym of ''Diplodocus hallorum'') during mid-production, but the initial identification as '' Mamechisaurus'' has stuck.
129	** ''Film/JurassicParkIII'':
130	*** The ''Ankylosaurus'' possess pointed osteoderms and large spikes protruding from their sides, which nowadays make them resemble their spikier relatives such as ''Tarchia'' or ''Zuul'' (the real ''Ankylosaurus'' had smoothed or rounded armor). This was because the nodosaur ''Edmontonia'' was thought to have had a tail club, which nodosaurs are now known for lacking, and this portrayal resulted in confusion between it and ''Ankylosaurus'', thus the latter became portrayed with spikes. This depiction got carried over to later films.
131	*** The ''Pteranodon'' have ''[[ToothyBird teeth]]'', especially ludicrous considering its name literally means "toothless wing" and there were many other species of pterosaurs that did possess teeth.
132	** ''Film/JurassicWorld'':
133	*** The ''Gallimimus'' have broader skulls and beaks full of small teeth, which is jarring since the ones that appeared prior looked somewhat more like real ''Gallimimus''. They also should have feathers.
134	*** The ''Dimorphodon'' have heads shaped more like a typical carnivorous theropod than the real animal. Perhaps this could be the reason why they are ferocious carnivores rather than inoffensive insectivores. They do have pycnofibres unlike the ''Pteranodon''; the problem is that they don't have ''enough''.
135	*** There's a HandWave by Dr. Wu that all the dinosaurs were purposely modified to look "cooler" rather than biologically accurate, as their purpose was to serve as theme park entertainment. This is true even in the books; it is explicitly explained that none of them are perfect replicas because of all the modifications and substitutions that had to be made. The use of frog and modern reptile DNA rather than bird DNA to fill the gaps in the sequences is a major reason for this.
136	** ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'':
137	*** The ''Baryonyx'' is a major offender. It has a considerably shorter and smaller skull than the real animal as well as atrophied forelimbs, lacking the prominent thumb claw that is literally ''Baryonyx's'' most distinguishing and namesake feature, both of which make it look more like a generic theropod than a spinosaurid. Especially jarring seeing as promotional art for the website of the [[Film/JurassicWorld previous film]] featured a ''Baryonyx'' design much closer to its RealLife counterpart (as this one was drawn by a renowned paleo artist).
138	*** According to the script, the ceratopsian skull that the Indoraptor is impaled on is that of an ''Agujaceratops'', not a ''Triceratops'', as viewers commonly assume. The thing is, the skull's frill is clearly solid, a feature only ''Triceratops'' had. The producers, on the other hand, claim the skull wasn't meant to be any specific type of ceratopsian. Interestingly, the junior novelization identifies it as a ''Triceratops horridus''.
139	*** Likewise, the movie's ''Sinoceratops'' have holes in their frills. While real ''Sinoceratops''--and most other ceratopsians--did have these holes, in life they would have been covered by skin, not exposed like they are in the movie. The ''Sinoceratops'' also have a horn that is also much broader than the real animal's, and they also have small spikes on the center of the frill like a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''. Though the latter may be because they were originally going to be ''Pachyrhinosaurus'', which would have played this trope even straighter since ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' is famous for not having horns.
140	** ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'':
141	*** The ''Giganotosaurus'' is shown with a prominent dorsal hump and SpikesOfVillainy, making it look more like an ''Acrocanthosaurus'' or an oversized ''Concavenator''.
142	*** The ''Atrociraptor'' are basically slightly larger recolors of the JP ''Velociraptor'', ignoring that the real ''Atrociraptor'' was even smaller than ''Velociraptor''. The only indication that they're ''Atrociraptor'' is that they have the distinctive square-shaped snout of the genus.
143	*** Likewise, the ''Pyroraptor'' looks more like a reasonably-accurate ''Deinonychus'', when the real animal was also smaller than ''Velociraptor''.
144	*** The ''Dreadnoughtus'' look more like a modified version of the ''Brachiosaurus''. Granted, brachiosaurs and titanosaurs are very closely related.
145	*** The ''Iguanodon'' are a mild example. They have smaller forelimbs than the real animal, making them look more like similar ornithopods such as ''Mantellisaurus''. This is especially noticeable in ''VideoGame/JurassicWorldEvolution2'', which featured a more accurate ''Iguanodon''.
146	* The turkey from ''Film/{{Thankskilling}}'' looks more like a vulture.
147	* The giant ground sloth from ''Film/UnknownIsland'' barely resembles the real animal, instead looking more like a bizarre hybrid between a bear and an ape. And then there's the fact that it's ''[[AscendedToCarnivorism carnivorous]]''.
148	* In a similar case to ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', the eponymous ''Allosaurus'' from ''Film/TheValleyOfGwangi'' looks more like an old-fashioned three-fingered ''T. rex''.
149	* The titular werewolf of ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'' doesn't really look like a wolf and instead looks more like a cross between a bear and a gorilla. This is because of TechnologyMarchesOn, since at that time special effects and make-up were not sophisticated enough to go beyond adding just hair and fangs or having a dog (or [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} hyena]]) play the role of a werewolf. The [[Film/TheWolfMan2010 2010 remake]], while sticking to the classic design, adds in more wolf-like features such as pointy ears and a muzzle, although the redesign still resembles more of a bear than a wolf. Especially due to possessing sharp claws, which wolves don't possess but bears do.
150	* Utam, Film/TheMightyPekingMan, is supposedly a giant orangutan (hence his name). But he's got black fur like a gorilla (fitting, as he's a KingKongCopy) and his features are much closer to an early hominin than any living ape species. He's ''also'' supposed to be a {{Yeti}}, but he's [[{{Kaiju}} WAY bigger]] than yetis are usually described as.
151	* The title monsters in ''Film/TheMonsterThatChallengedTheWorld'' are supposed to be snails, but other than the fact that they have shells, they really look like insect larvae such as grubs or caterpillars. The scene where a scientist shows footage of real snails and talks about their "remarkable similarity" to the giant monster only makes it hard to ignore the fact that they don't look alike at all.
152	* ''Film/TheVelocipastor'', being a film with its tongue buried firmly in its cheek, does this with the titular monster: Doug's dinosaur form barely even resembles a ''Jurassic Park'' raptor, much less a real one. Even aside from the fact that it's clearly a man in a costume, said costume, with its upright tail-dragging stance, thickset build, huge head, and tiny arms, far more closely resembles old depictions of large theropods.
153	* While the other monster-ized residents of the Hundred Acre Wood in ''Film/WinnieThePoohBloodAndHoney2'' are more or less recognizable as the animals they're based on (e.g. Pooh is humanoid bear, Piglet is a PigMan, Tigger is a humanoid tiger), the same cannot be said for Owl. With his prominent nose/beak and bald head, he looks more like a vulture.
154	[[/folder]]
155
156	[[folder:Literature]]
157	* Many animals in the various Creator/DrSeuss books.
158	* The eponymous Literature/{{Arthur}} of the picture books and later animated TV series is billed as an aardvark. In the earliest books there is some trace of a resemblance, and the elongated nose is actually relevant to the plot (though it resembles that of an anteater's more than an aardvark's.) Later in the series, you wouldn't know unless you were told.
159	* Lowly from Creator/RichardScarry's works is supposed to be a worm, but he looks more like a snake.
160	* The illustrations of Roo in the original ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' books look more like a cat than a joey. Averted with Disney's Roo.
161	* This is a major plot point in ''Literature/ADogsWayHome''. Bella is a nondescript mutt but is repeatedly referred to as most likely being a mastiff or Rottweiler mix. A man at the local shelter, however, believes her to be a pit bull. Though various characters (including his co-workers) try to argue against this, it still causes trouble for Bella because her county has strict BSL laws. Bella is almost euthanized several times because she's erroneously dubbed a pit bull. As a result, Bella's owner sends her into foster care out of town until he can move out. Bella doesn't understand this and believes Lucas abandoned her. The day before he's set to come back for Bella, she [[APetIntoTheWild runs away]] trying to get to him herself.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
165	* ''Series/TheBananaSplits'':
166	** Bingo is supposed to be a gorilla, but he looks more like a generic ape with a dog's nose and orange fur. In ''WesternAnimation/{{Jellystone}}'', he was redesigned as a TopHeavyGuy, making him resemble a gorilla more.
167	** Drooper is supposed to be a lion, but his longer snout makes him look more like a dog.
168	* Binyah Binyah Polliwog from ''Series/GullahGullahIsland'' looks more like an adult frog that still has yet to lose its tail than a polliwog.
169	* Professor Bobo in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' is stated to be a highly-evolved gorilla, but he [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/mst3k/images/7/70/Bobo.jpg really looks like a chimpanzee.]]
170	* In ''Franchise/PowerRangers,'' AnimalMecha often don't look much like the animal they're supposed to be. Sometimes, however, the zord's name is changed from ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', where it resembles the animal it was ''originally'' named for.
171	** The second season of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' had this issue when it had to rename the Yellow and Blue Rangers' Thunderzords to Griffin and Unicorn, when they were originally a {{Kirin}} and a {{Pegasus}} in ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger''.
172	** ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' also had it bad when it took Birca (an orca), Gunpherd (a German Shepherd), and Toripter (a rooster) from ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'' and made them into the Tail Spinner (shark?), Wolf Cruiser, and Falcon Chopper Zords.
173	** ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'' did it again, changing [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGoBusters Beet Buster and Stag Buster]], who were JapaneseBeetleBrothers, to being based instead on a Mantis and Scarab respectively, despite them not looking like those at all.
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Manhwa]]
177	* ''Manhwa/DoolyTheLittleDinosaur'':
178	** Many sources claim Dooly is a ''Ceratosaurus''. While he is vaguely a bipedal dinosaur with horn on his nose, his resemblance to a ceratosaur is zilch.
179	** Ddochi is supposed to be an ostrich, but she looks more like some kind of white humanoid with bird-feet and a feather tail.
180	** One episode of the 2008 series had an orangutan which looked more like a gorilla with an orange mane.
181	[[/folder]]
182
183	[[folder:Music Videos]]
184	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja1R5dJFt9g René la Taupe]] (René the Mole) is a virtual character from France singing some songs for children. Except its design evokes much more a marmot or gopher than a mole.
185	[[/folder]]
186
187	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
188	* Baby Bop from ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' has been identified as a ''Triceratops'', but other than having a head frill she barely resembles one at all, as she has no horns, mammalian ears and a face like a hippopotamus.
189	* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'':
190	** Earl Sinclair is said to be a ''Megalosaurus'', but looks nothing like the actual dinosaur.
191	** Likewise, his wife Fran is supposed to be an ''Allosaurus''. ''Allosaurus'' never had that ''Dilophosaurus''-like crest on its head.
192	** Their youngest child Baby was called a ''Megalosaurus'' by Earl in "Germ Warfare", but he doesn't resemble the dinosaur any more than his father does. When we see him as an adult during Fran's nightmare in "Out of the Frying Pan", he is clearly a ''Ceratosaurus'' complete with a nose horn.
193	** B. P. Richfield is meant to be a ''Triceratops'', but has the spiky frill of a ''Styracosaurus''.
194	** Spike is presumably a ''Polacanthus'', but he looks more a stegosaur (he even has a spiked tail, which ''Polacanthus'' lacked) with the head of a ''Pachycephalosaurus''.
195	* ''Series/ItsABigBigWorld'': Snook is supposed to be a modern-day tree sloth, but he looks more like a prehistoric ground sloth instead.
196	* Franchise/TheMuppets:
197	** Pepe -- if he didn't tell you he was a king prawn would you have ''any'' idea what he was? He's clearly some kind of crustacean, so...they got us to "within a subphylum", anyway.
198	** Beauregard, who was based on Wendell Porcupine from Literature/EmmetOttersJugBandChristmas, by the time he appears in the movies and the TV series, doesn't look too much like a porcupine, with the rats convincing him that he was an honorary rat in the TV show (even though he doesn't resemble one).
199	** Sam the Eagle, while clearly a bird, doesn't really look much like an American Bald Eagle as he has none of the standard markings and is blue.
200	** Gonzo, whose species has been the subject of much guesswork due to his hooked nose[=/=]beak, started out evolving from Snarl Frackle in "The Great Santa Claus Caper". Kermit once mused that "he looked a little like a turkey, but not much" in ''Film/TheMuppetMovie''. In ''Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper'', he's put in a crate with "whatever" marked on the side. In ''Film/MuppetsFromSpace'', he is revealed to be an alien from a far away planet, and his alien relatives come to invite him back to his homeworld, and when he sees how he would be missing the other Muppets whom he considers his close friends and family, the aliens respect his choice to stay on Earth.
201	** Kermit himself isn't particularly froglike in appearance. His snout is pointed and while his hands and feet could be called flippers, there's no webbing, so overall he looks more like a tailless lizard than anything else. Jim Henson had, in fact, been using the character design for years before identifying it as a frog. Funnily, he's an excellent match to the Diane's bare-hearted glass frog, which, like Kermit, has bright green skin, minimal webbing on its toes, and large white eyes with wide black horizontal pupils... [[AccidentallyCorrectZoology and it was discovered in 2015.]]
202	* ''Series/SesameStreet'':
203	** An animated music video about animal families featured featured a chickadee as one of the featured animals, but the chickadee looked more like an Baltimore oriole (a bright orange bird) than an actual chickadee (actual chickadees have gray bodies, black heads, and white cheeks).
204	** Rosita was meant to be a fruit bat but she looks more like a blue Elmo or a mutated flying squirrel than a bat. After 13 years they removed her wing flaps and {{retcon}}ned her into being a Monster. The in-series reason for this is that she 'lost' her wings while flying through a cave. (The wings later returned, but she's still officially a Monster, just a winged one.)
205	** Although Big Bird's exact species is debatable depending on the source, he doesn't resemble many of the species he has been identified as. For example, some sources have identified him as a canary. To say nothing of his size, he doesn't really look like a canary at all apart from being bright yellow. Some sources have even identified him as a condor, which he also looks nothing like. He looks more like a giant yellow silkie chicken than anything else (which he ironically has never been identified as).
206	* While none of the animal characters in Peter Jackson's raunchy Muppets parody ''Film/MeetTheFeebles'' look particularly close to their real species, most of them are at least recognizable to a point. The same cannot be said of drug lord Mr. Big. WordOfGod says he's a whale, but if so, he's a pretty weird-looking one, with skin that looks scaly and reptilian and huge sharp teeth.
207	* In the British children's series ''Series/InTheNightGarden'', one of the main characters, Igglepiggle, is stated on the show's official website to be a teddy bear. He barely looks like one, though -- apparently, blue humanoid things with bean-shaped heads are considered "teddy bears" in this show's universe.
208	* The titular character in ''Series/HRPufnstuf'' is ostensibly a dragon but looks more like a prototype [=McDonald's=] mascot, especially with his round yellow oversized head that resembles a wide-mouthed saggy-eyed human Muppet rather than a dragon. However, Pufnstuf has the torso, limbs, and tail of a stereotypical dragon mascot.
209	* ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'' has Duck. He is green, which matches up with a male mallard's green head, but the green covers his entire body rather than just the head, and it's such a dark green that in many shots (particularly in the first short) it looks more like black. He also has a narrow pointy beak that doesn't much resemble a duck bill (though it is yellow), and has no sign of webbing on his feet. Since his official "name" wasn't revealed for a long time, [[ViewerSpeciesConfusion a lot of people were outright confused]] as to what kind of bird he was supposed to be. One of the openings of the TV series jokingly nods to this, having him call himself "a talking crow-like thing."
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
213	* In [[https://i.imgur.com/3EKyqzJ.png its initial incarnation]], the owlbear of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', despite supposedly being a hybrid of bear and owl, was pretty hard to identify as such: it has bearlike arms and a thickset furry body, but the only owl-like trait it has is a beak, which certainly doesn't look like an owl beak (it looks more like a parrot's, if anything), and feathers on its head, which are so sparsely drawn that they look like scales or armor instead. Add in the gizzard neck, the hunchback, the oddly reduced fur on its limbs (to the point that its paws and feet seem to be hairless), and the T-rex stance with a long thick tail dragging behind it, and one could be forgiven for thinking it's some kind of fantasy dinosaur or possibly an obscure kaiju, rather than the MixAndMatchCritter that it is. This owed to its original design being based less on owls or bears and more on [[https://i.imgur.com/hZhuDbN.png a knockoff dinosaur toy]] Gary Gygax had used as a miniature in his home games. Later redesigns have tried to make it more like its inspirational critters, usually by shortening the tail considerably to give it a bearlike silhouette and giving it a rather obvious owl head.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Toys]]
217	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' mostly featured fantasy beasts that were [[CallASmeerpARabbit sometimes designated as real animals despite resembling none]], but the Hapaka is an odd example. Officially labeled a hound-like creature, it's actually a miniature elephant, with an obvious trunk, tusks and large ears. It was even called an elephant in Toys/{{LEGO}}'s website URL. It's unclear why the toyline's fiction changed it to a dog, unless "hound-like" was only meant to [[AllAnimalsAreDogs describe its behavior]].
218	* "Chinasaurs", generic toy dinosaurs named for the only identifiable mark on them being the "Made in China" stamp, can form an entire spectrum of this ranging from "not entirely accurate but recognizable as the intended species" to "it's labeled as a Dilophosaurus but it looks more like a Carnotaurus" to "this looks like it belongs in a collection of alien toys not dinosaur toys". Some of the more baffling cases found a new life as ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' monsters (due to Gygax using them as miniatures), including the owlbear, bulette, and rust monster.
219	* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
220	** G2 bombed in most places, bar [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff a few European countries]], because of this. The toys no longer resembled ''ponies'', they looked like ordinary ''horses''. While there is a lot of overlap between the two due to being the same species, ponies are overall shorter and stockier than other horses.
221	** G1 had "Dream Beauties" which were essentially a predecessor to G2. They didn't look like ponies, with the official consensus seeming to be that they were "teenage ponies". That didn't make much sense though, since most previous ponies were adults and ponies don't suddenly become long-legged during adolescence.
222	** G3.5 ponies just look off. They don't really resemble anything, besides maybe some sort of dog-horse mix. Their proportions are completely wrong even for SuperDeformed ponies.
223	** Just like [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic the cartoon]], G4 ponies less resemble horses and more resemble deer with manes or weird looking dogs or cats without paws, due to their short muzzles. Celestia and Luna resemble horses, though they're supposed to be tall ponies.
224	* Toys/{{Squishmallows}}: Elda is an ostrich, but doesn't look the part due to her shaggy rainbow feathers and beak that looks like the snout used for horse and cow Squishmallows.
225	* Many animals in ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' are informed species. Birds in general often fall victim to this, as do most cats. The toys of feline characters tend to fall into a very similar (but not actually resembling any actual cat) build. Often, this owes to the fact that they have to turn into a humanoid robot, but even then, there are some weird standouts.
226	** Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are probably the first major examples: they're supposed to be condors, and Laserbeak's Japanese name is even Condor. But even allowing for the artistic license of being a robot that turns into a tape, their heads have what looks like a crest rather than rounding off, their wings are short and stubby rather than massive and square, their faces are streamlined rather than droopy, and their personalities are very aggressive rather than relatively docile scavengers, all of which suggest a small bird of prey, likely a falcon. It doesn't help that Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are consistently shown as relatively small Transformers, [[ParrotPetPosition easily fitting on the resident Decepticon leader's arm or shoulder]]--condors are some of the largest flying birds and wouldn't easily pull off that kind of pose with a human.
227	** Ravage is meant to be a jaguar, but is so stylized that it was half-jokingly debated for years in the fandom whether he was a dog instead. His face is rather long and thin, and his tail is short and stubby, neither of which are jaguar traits. This varies DependingOnTheArtist, though; later artists tend to make him more obviously feline.
228	** The G1 Decepticon Headmasters all have animals as their alternate modes. Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, and Mindwipe all manage to look like the species their alt-modes are supposed to be (a wolf, a crocodile, and a bat, respectively), and even Apeface, who is considerably more stylized, is relatively easy to peg as a gorilla. Others are not so lucky. Horri-Bull is, as his name suggests, supposed to be a bull. He has bull-like horns but his head has a broad snout full of sharp teeth, his feet have claws instead of hooves, and his tail is broad and forked (as it's his robot mode gun). Overall, he looks more like [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Zuul]] than any sort of actual bull. His wavemates Squeezeplay and Fangry are so far beyond this that they're well into CallASmeerpARabbit territory: Squeezeplay's "crab" mode is more like an alien monster with crab claws, while Fangry's wolf mode has a wolf head on a bipedal body with bat wings.
229	** In the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' toyline, Snarl (and his Japanese mold-mate Tasmania Kid) are stated to be Tasmanian devils. They really aren't; for one thing, Tasmanian devils are black with a white stripe down their fronts, but Snarl is light brown with a black stripe down his back. Snarl is also a lot chunkier and has a bushier tail than a Tasmanian devil. He's not a bad match for a dunnart or quoll, which are close relatives of the Tasmanian devil, though.
230	** The ''Beast Wars'' version of Iguanus is very clearly a frilled-neck lizard. The name is, admittedly, a reuse from a ''G1'' character, who was kinda-sorta an iguana monster.
231	** Cheetor's first toy is a ''lot'' stockier than an actual cheetah, which are known for being [[FragileSpeedster lithe and lightweight,]] making him look more like a leopard with cheetah spots. It's often theorized that it was intended as a generic big cat and the decision to make it a cheetah happened fairly late, a theory that is borne out by the fact that it got [[PaletteSwap a recolor into Tigatron, a tiger]], and looks a lot more natural that way. The cartoon redesigned it significantly to look more like a cheetah.
232	** Dinobot's toy has a lot to be excused about it, being a ''Velociraptor'' toy in the post-''Film/JurassicPark'' mid-90s ([[RaptorAttack featherless, hands are wrong, way too big]]). What can't be easily excused is that he's incredibly chunky, with tiny arms, legs barely long enough to lift his belly off the ground, and gigantic hips, when ''Velociraptors'' were even then depicted as slim and slight with lanky limbs. He was redesigned somewhat in the cartoon, but even then, he's still a lot thicker than a real ''Velociraptor.'' If not for the sickle claw (which is small enough to be mistaken for a big toe), you'd probably think ''T-rex'' or ''Allosaurus'' first. His ''Universe'' and ''Kingdom'' toys managed to fix this a fair bit by slimming out his proportions, though his design is still outdated.
233	** Tarantulas's first toy is meant to be... well, a tarantula, but appears to be more of a generic spider. This is most obvious in the legs, which are very spindly, when tarantulas are known for their thick, bulky legs, the complete lack of any kind of fur, the weird clawed mouthparts that more invoke a solifugid, and the fact that he has nine eyes. Once again, the cartoon redesigned him to look more like a real tarantula, if you forgive the fact that he's bright purple and still has nine eyes. Blackarachnia, his repaint, is at least identifiable as a black widow spider, even though her legs are inexplicably orange. His ''Legacy'' toy bucked the trend by redesigning him to look more like an actual spider, and though he's still purple, thanks to his big forward-facing eyes, small downward-pointing fangs, and arching cephalothorax, he is indeed easy to identify... as a ''wolf spider'' [[note]]Incidentally, the word tarantula originally applied to wolf spiders before being associated with "true" tarantulas[[/note]].
234	** Based on his name, B'Boom seems to be intended as a baboon, when he's rather clearly a mandrill, down to having a mandrill's signature bright-colored snout.
235	** Proving MixAndMatchCritters can get this, too, Torca, and his repaint, Elphaorpha, are meant to be half-orca, half-elephant. The orca part is definitely there; the elephant part, [[https://toys.tfw2005.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2007/10/2019-10-15-Torca-1.jpg not so much.]] He does have tusks and leathery skin, but his posture is more like a big cat, his mouth looks more like a wolf, and his feet are three-toed claws rather than elephant feet. Even his ears are way off from elephant ears, and his skin is either metallic gold or bright blue. He looks more like some kind of [[CallASmeerpARabbit fantasy monster]], or possibly a case of SpeculativeBiology. Concept art has surfaced suggesting that his design may have originated from a different project.
236	** Despite his name, the ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' character Night Viper is very clearly a cobra.
237	** In the ''Power Core Combiners'' line, Grimstone is called a ''Triceratops'', but the spiky frill and very small brow horns make him look more like a ''Styracosaurus'', or the later-discovered ''Regaliceratops''. And that's not getting into one of his drones being labeled a ''Spinosaurus'' on the box, when it's very, very clearly a ''Dimetrodon.''
238	** The Arms Micron portion of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' could get pretty abstract, owing to how simple the toys are. [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Gabu Gabu]], apparently a horseshoe crab, looks more like a pile of robot parts with a tail. [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Noji Noji's]] meant to be a boar, but is mostly a gun barrel with arms and legs. And [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Bogu Bogu]], a mole, would probably be more accurately be described as a spiky orange blob.
239	[[/folder]]
240
241	[[folder:Web Animation]]
242	* ''WebAnimation/TheGrim'': The pilot episode, "Fox", has [[TheProtagonist Gertrude Byrnes]] meet an animal that's supposed to be a fox. The thing is, said fox's appearance could make one think that it's a lemur at first glance.
243	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': In the flashback in "A Curse or a Blessing", Melinda's curse's second form is supposed to be a dog, but it looks like a pink serpentine creature with two canine-like heads with huge teeth.
244	-->'''Dylan:''' Oh come on! That's a dog in the loosest definition of the word!
245	* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Frog barely looks anything like a frog. He looks more like a gumdrop with webbed limbs.
246	* Parodied in ''WebAnimation/ASDFMovie'', where some kind of sauropod calls itself a ''Stegosaurus''.
247	* Sherlock from ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' is said to be a mix between a cow and a helicopter. He has faint spots and four hanging appendages that could be legs, and that's about it for his cow similarities - you could just as easily call him a jellyfish.
248	* The wolfiin of ''WebAnimation/{{Wings}}'' are meant to be wolves, yet they look more like dogs or cats depending on the shot.
249	* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'':
250	** The deliberately over-the-top cutesy artstyle means that a lot of characters end up defaulting to a kind of "[[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife brightly-colored]] bucktoothed teddy bear with a big round head and FingerlessHands" look, with the most common way to distinguish species being their tail. This leads to some characters that are supposed to be more generic mammals, such as Giggles (chipmunk), Russell (otter), or Cro-Marmot (guess) being hard to pick out as such.
251	** The Mole is nigh-impossible to identify as a mole by appearance, given that the show's artstyle means he lacks the most distinguishing traits of one (clawed forelimbs, black or gold fur, a long snout). The only thing marking him out as a mole is his [[BlindMistake blindness]], a trait associated with some moles, but even that could easily be a disability (especially since he also appears to be deaf and mute). Other than that, he looks more like a bear with unusually small ears.
252	* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', much like its parent series ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'', animal-based demons don't come across as {{Animalistic Abomination}}s so much as having vague AnimalMotifs.
253	** Stolas and his family members are meant to be owl demons, but have a tall and lithe humanoid shape, their feathery tails too long to suggest those of owls, and their faces only barely seem avian; it's most obvious when they're viewed from the side. Going beyond that, Stella and her side of the family are actually meant to resemble peafowl, despite their design barely differing from that of Stolas's side.
254	** Asmodeus is described as a rooster demon. He has the tail and the strutting posture, but is otherwise humanoid and unlike Stolas and kin, his face isn't even slightly bird-like.
255	** Mammon is meant to be a spider demon. While he does sit in the center of a web, if anything he looks like an anthropomorphic Christmas tree.
256	[[/folder]]
257
258	[[folder:Web Comics]]
259	* Laverne from ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'' is said to be a llama. Between her short neck and wooly-looking fur, however, she could have been labeled a sheep and no one would question it.
260	* Carson the Muskrat in ''Webcomic/DorkTower''. He looks more like Snoopy than like an actual muskrat. This is lampshaded in one strip where he goes as himself to a costume event and gets told "[[YourCostumeNeedsWork Worst muskrat costume ever!]]"
261	* In ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'', none of Helen's gerbils look anything like real gerbils. Whether they look like in-universe gerbils that are not the creations of a MadScientist varies between strips.
262	* Layla Flaaffy from ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'' looks absolutely ''nothing'' like the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Flaaffy except possibly for her curly hair, instead just being a sort of generic furry. WordOfGod (well, [[WordOfSaintPaul word of troll]]) says that she was created by one of the author's [[{{Troll}} internet girlfriends]] and it was his idea to make her a Flaaffy despite not changing her design at all.
263	* Chiro in '' Webcomic/TheFuzzyPrincess'' is a bat, but she looks more like a flying cat.
264	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Adrian Raven initially [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2011-12-16 doubts]] Grace is part-squirrel because her part-squirrel form has a very humanoid face with non-squirrel-like teeth. He is [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2011-12-19 convinced]] when he sees her full-squirrel form though.
265	[[/folder]]
266
267	[[folder:Real Life]]
268	* In a real-life example, it's a known issue that many dogs in animal shelters are mislabeled. They don't give them DNA checks, so the people just check if they have enough characteristics of a certain type of dog and categorize them as such. Due to how dogs work, mixed breeds can look a variety of ways despite their heritage. This means that just about any dog could be called a "Lab mix" or "Pit Bull/Staffie mix" even if they contain very little or none of those breeds in them, and often times they don't truly resemble the breeds much either.
269	* This is common with paleontologists, as they often have very little fossil evidence of what certain creatures looked like in life. As a result, many reconstructions of animals look very different from what the animal is later discovered to have actually looked like thanks to ScienceMarchesOn. One of the biggest examples in history is ''Iguanodon''. The earliest reconstructions of Iguanodon looked more like a giant iguana or a synapsid reptile with a nose horn (which was actually a thumb spike) than what the dinosaur is actually known to have looked like now. If you compared the earliest reconstruction of Iguanodon to modern reconstructions, you wouldn't believe they were meant to represent the same animal. In the early 19th century, dinosaurs were often depicted as more closely resembling giant lizards or crocodiles.
270	[[/folder]]

Context Main / InformedSpecies