This page lists the general information of each monster type. For individual monsters, they are listed at the proper generation in which the monster was introduced in.
Herbivores
Rather than sharing a body structure, these are united as a classification by their behavior and relative weakness in combat. Timid creatures that, as their name and (relative) docility suggests, stand at the bottom of the food chain. They are among the least durable full grown monsters in battle, normally able to be slain with only a few hits.- Herbivores Are Friendly: Most of them won't attack unless the player attacks them first, although there are a few exceptions.
- Monster Munch: A lot of predators hunt them for food as Herbivores are easy prey. Even ones with some defensive capabilities don't stand a chance if the predator is a large monster.
- Taxonomic Term Confusion: There's not much really linking species in this classification together besides being weak plant-eaters. In fact, some of the monsters in this "Category" are implied or stated to actually belong in other groups, such as Mosswine's similarities to the Fanged Beasts, Bullfango and Bulldrome; and the Gastodon/Kestodon actually being a small species of Brute Wyvern closely related to Banbaro.
Neopterons
Insectoid creatures, the smaller species of which easily break when killed, making it hard to carve parts off them unless one uses poison-laden weapons or items; on the upside, their parts make for very sharp weapons, making these extremely valuable. 4 turns the tables with the new Insect Glaive weapon, which comes with a "Kinsect" that fights on your side. Notable large Neopterons include Seltas Queen, Ahtal-Ka, and the Online-exclusive Lightenna.- Anti-Frustration Features: They don't always break from normal attacks in World. Using low-damage weapons like Slinger ammo and the Normal Ammo 1 for Light Bowguns makes them break less often. There is also an armor skill that reduces the chance of breaking, up to making them never break.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: The smallest ones are about the size of a dog, while the biggest ones are the size of a tank.
- Fragile Speedster: Most of them are quick and nimble, but can't take much punishment in return.
- More Deadly Than the Male: Most major Neopteron bosses are female.
Bird Wyverns
A loose grouping of bipedal wyverns divided into two sub-types: True Bird Wyverns, which sport a beak and functional wings with a ratite or raptor-like combat style; and Theropod Bird Wyverns, which, though resembling small theropod dinosaurs more than modern birds, share the same skeletal structure as the True subtype. Notable Bird Wyverns include Great Jaggi, Yian Kut-Ku, and Malfestio.- Feathered Dragons: Many are prominently feathered as a result of their strong resemblance to birds and other theropod dinosaurs, and some — such as the owl-like Malfestio
and the flightless Gargwa — are more like actual birds than anything else. - Fragile Speedster: Most of the Theropod Bird Wyverns are fast and agile, but are frailer than most other monsters.
- Mooks: The small monsters among them. Not all, but many Theropod Bird Wyverns are small and easy to kill. They hunt in packs and follow the command of large alphas.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Initially, Theropod Bird Wyverns were the oddballs amongst the rest of the creatures that could be hunted, as they had no breakable parts and would not limp when near death instead simply running away. This was rectified from Tri onwards, where it became possible to break their head crests and would start limping when on their last legs.
- Raptor Attack: The Theropod Bird Wyverns look like dromaesaurid raptors, although most of them are featherless.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Usually one of their kind will serve as a real awakening to Hunters for what's coming such as Yian Kut-Ku whose shell can deflect yellow sharpness which starter weapons usually have at the start. Also Yian Garuga for being the most aggressive and coming in with various status effects that will ruin your day, Qurupeco for his ability to call stronger bosses, Great Maccao for hitting harder and encouraging the player to be more mindful of its tells than most other Theropods, Malfestio for his status ailments, Pukei-Pukei for making continued use of Flight, and Aknosom for its tricky movement and fireblight.
- Warm-Up Boss: Some of the earliest bosses you face, with the theropods at times serving as training monsters for each weapon class or mechanics.
Flying Wyverns
The most recognizable creatures of the Monster Hunter franchise belong to this classification — every aspiring Hunter's "baptism of fire", so to speak. As the name implies, Flying Wyverns have wings attached to their forelimbs. They are divided into two subtypes: the mostly bipedal "True Flying Wyverns" and "Pseudo Flying Wyverns", which typically use their forelimbs in quadrupedal locomotion. Most Flying Wyverns are boss monsters, although there are a few exceptions. Notable Flying Wyverns include Rathalos, Diablos, and Tigrex.- Giant Flyer: It's even in their classification. This is subverted by certain species, however, who prefer to travel by other means, especially Gravios and Basarios, who are too heavy to fly for long periods, or Ukanlos and Akantor who are both wingless besides a few vestigial membranes in their legs.
- Non-Indicative Name: Some Flying Wyverns such as Diablos rarely fly, while others don't fly at all. This isn't the case in Japanese where they're simply called True Wyverns.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Most of them resemble standard wyverns.
- Sliding Scale of Villain Threat: Stronger Flying Wyverns such as Rathalos and Diablos are apex predators while weaker ones such as Khezu are only slightly stronger than most Bird Wyverns. Other less usual cases like Espinas, Berukyurosu and Doragyurosu are on par if not superior to some Elder Dragons.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: The moment you start fighting some of these, the game really begins.
Piscine Wyverns
A grouping of wyverns that are, as their name suggests, fish-like in body structure, being able to swim through water, sand or even magma. They also bear side fins which help them with movement and tail fins that aid them in navigating their habitat by swimming and sliding around. They can walk as well on specialized fins, but tend to be comparatively clumsy when doing so. Notable Piscine Wyverns include Plesioth, Cephadrome, and Jyuratodus.- Fiendish Fish: They are essentially fishes, and particularly nasty ones when provoked or on the hunt.
- Graceful in Their Element: The large ones can walk around with their legs, but they generally move around much faster and fight much more efficiently when swimming.
- Land Shark: In spite of the fact that they are fish-like, only some of them swim in water while others swim in other terrains. Cephadrome and Delex are the most notable examples as they swim in sand.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Combine features of fish, reptiles and dragons in their designs.
- The Rival: In World and the Iceborne expansion, all of the Piscine Wyverns are this towards Brute Wyverns with Jyuratodus fighting Barroth in the Wildspire Waste, Lavasioth fighting Uragaan in the Elder's Recess, and Beotodus fighting Banbaro in the Hoarfrost Reach.
Carapaceons
Crustacean-like creatures introduced in the second generation, featuring hard shells and exoskeletons, making them very tough enemies to defeat without green-sharpness weapons or higher. Daimyo Hermitaur, Shogun Ceanataur and Shen Gaoren are the only main-series Carapeceons so far. Some Carapaceons from the Frontier and Online spinoffs resemble scorpions or spiders.- Giant Enemy Crab: Their sizes range from a large dog to a two story house.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: They tend to resemble hodgepoges of real life crustaceans, some even have mostly arachnid-like designs such as Akura Vashimu and Baelidae.
Fanged Beasts
Introduced in the second generation, Fanged Beasts are mammalian creatures that mostly operate with their limbs and are incapable of true flight. This type is divided into four subtypes: Primates, Artiodactyls (ungulates), the Ursids (bears) and the Frontier-exclusive Canids. Generations would introduce the Proboscidean (Elephant) subtype. They were previously called Primatius before Freedom Unite, and Pelagus before 3 Ultimate. Notable Fanged Beasts include Rajang, Arzuros, and Gammoth.- Animal Stereotypes: Tend to act like exaggerated versions of their real life counterparts.
- Jack of All Stats: The Ursid Fanged Beasts are roughly balanced in terms of stats, having average health, power, speed, and defenses overall. Tends to overlap with Master of None, as most Ursids aside from Goss Harag tend to be early-game monsters.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Most of them tend to be a combination of various real life creatures, such as the Rajang being a Monkey/Bull hybrid.
- Non-Indicative Name: Bulldrome belonged to the still-calle Primatius group in Freedom 2 despite not being a primate at all.
- Whale Egg: Despite looking like mammals, Monster Hunter Stories shows they hatch from eggs like all monsters.
Leviathans
A variety of monsters introduced in the third generation, Leviathans are creatures differentiated from Piscine Wyverns by longer bodies and a crocodilian and/or eastern dragon appearance, along with the long necks and strong legs of monitor lizards. Leviathans cannot fly, and are well-adapted to fluid habitats, such as freshwater, sub-glacial water, sand, or even magma. They also can be fairly agile on land, some more than others. Notable Leviathans include Ludroth, Lagiacrus, and Mizutsune.- Commuting on a Bus: After starring in the third generation to showcase the swimming mechanics of tri- and 3 Ultimate (and being also present in Portable 3rd despite only featuring gameplay on land), Leviathans were removed from 4 and 4 Ultimate only to return in Generations and Generations Ultimate. Then they were excluded from World and World: Iceborne due to technical issues, before being brought back again for Rise.
- Sea Monster: Many of them thrive in seawater and have crocodilian or piscine characteristics.
- Underwater Boss Battle: Many of them go underwater in Tri and 3 Ultimate, necessitating underwater combat, though some of them like both variants of Agnaktor are still land-only. After underwater combat was removed in subsequent games, they became exclusively land-based fights like with all other monsters.
Brute Wyverns
Introduced in the third generation, Brute Wyverns are essentially large theropod dinosaurs in terms of build. The biggest distinction they have from the Bird Wyverns is their bulky shape (though many also have quite bizarre body coverings). Despite their immense size and slow movement, they can still be a challenge due to their tough hides and devastating attacks, which can include tail sweeps and aggressive charges. Notable Brute Wyverns include Barroth, Glavenus and Anjanath.- The Brute: Many of them tend to be incredibly aggressive and are quite massive in size and damage. In the third and fourth generation, they also tend to be only second to Elder Dragons and certain Flying Wyverns in terms of strength and size.
- Dinosaurs Are Dragons: A lot of Brute Wyverns have draconian features such as fire-breathing abilities. Especially notable with Deviljho as it's a dragon-elemental monster.
- Mighty Glacier: Most of them are durable and hit hard, but are slower compared to most other monsters.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Their one strategy? Attack! Attack! Attack!. It works well. Brachydios and Glavenus diverge from the trend by backing up their brute force with technique (especially their Raging and Acidic variants), thus being Strong and Skilled.
Fanged Wyverns
Reptilian monsters first introduced in Portable 3rd. They are united as a classification by a four legged stance, focus on land or arboreal locomotion, and complete lack of wings. In the third and fourth generations, the only introduced species was the lupine Zinogre. Then the fifth generation includes many others; World introduces iguana-like Great Jagras, serpent-squirrel Tobi-Kadachi, scavenger Great Girros, explosive Dodogama, and flesh-dog Odogaron, while Rise and Sunbreak introduce Magnamalo and Lunagaron, deadly monsters capable of standing up to some Elder Dragons.- Fragile Speedster: Many of them are relatively fast, but not too durable.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: They're still very reptilian, but Zinogre, Tobi-Kadachi, and Odogaron have noticeable mammalian features such as fur and canine teeth.
- Mooks: The small monsters among them. Similar to Bird Wyverns, some Fanged Wyverns are pack-hunters who follow the command of large alphas.
- Warm-Up Boss: In World, most of the newer ones share this spot with Bird Wyverns with the Great Jagras taking the place of Raptorial Bird Wyverns (Velocidrome, Great Jaggi and Great Maccao) as the first large monster of the game and the designated training dummy for new hunters.
Temnoceran
A class of monster first introduced in Monster Hunter 4. This class is characterized by its spider-like characteristics, which include eight limbs and the ability to produce silk. This class includes as of now only four monsters, the Nerscylla and its subspecies, the Rachnoids and their adult stage: Rakna-Kadaki.- Giant Spider: They have spider-like characteristics and can reach up to the size of a tank.
Amphibians
Amphibious monsters introduced in the fourth generation. Tetsucabra, Zamtrios (and its larval form Zamite), and Tetranadon are the only Amphibians so far.- Amphibian Assault: They're prone to attacking hunters who come after them or anything they can spot.
- Amphibian at Large: All of them are pretty massive.
- Metamorphosis: Like most real world amphibians, they all have a juvenile form that is markedly different in body structure from the adult. Zamite for instance lack hind legs when at their smallest, and young Tetsucabra are more tadpole-like with membranous tails.
Snake Wyvern
Serpentine wyverns introduced in the fourth generation. Najarala, its subspecies, and Remobra are the only major Snake Wyverns introduced so far.- Snakes Are Sinister: Their bodies and/or heads are snake-like. Interestingly, all Snake Wyverns so far seen have four fully developed limbs.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: They took the place of Leviathans in 4 and 4 Ultimate as the only class of monsters with slender anatomy and curvy locomotion. Generations features both classes at once, averting this trope.
Wingdrake
Relatively small and weak pterosaur-like wyverns introduced in the fifth generation games. Whether they are considered monsters or not seems to depend on the region and the behavior of the Wingdrakes found there. In the New World there are various varieties that act as small monsters and can be used as transport by Hunters. In the Old World the only currently known Wingdrake is the Regitrice, however, this inoffensive creature is considered Rare Endemic Life instead of being a small monster.- Basilisk and Cockatrice: While Wingdrakes take their main inspiration from pterosaurs (albeit with wings that are structured more like a bat), the aptly named Regitrice also incorporates some rooster-like features.
Endemic Life
While examples are seen in the background of earlier games, they were solidified as a concept only in the 5th generation. These creatures are a vague classification in the sense that they can include creatures that in other locations in the Monster Hunter world may be considered monsters (such as the Wingdrakes), and in still other cases are noted to actually be just very small and harmless monsters despite not being classified as monsters (like the scalebats which are in fact just tiny Flying Wyverns that have adapted to live like bats). What unites Endemic Life and separates it from what are considered monsters are two simple details related purely to game mechanics, the first being that they cannot be slain by attacks from a Hunter, and the second being that they themselves cannot do a Hunter damage in battle. Most are small, but the building-sized Monk Snail of Rise proves that size does not define them.- Cosmetic Award: Rare Endemic Life tend to not actually do anything in terms of having in-game effects, and more are just interesting (if hard to find) creatures to locate, photograph or capture for display in your living area (in games that have this feature).
- Power-Up: Many of them serve this function in the games, being able to be picked up (or in some cases simply touched) by a Hunter and used to instill some kind of benefit in battle such as increased healing, heightened affinity or a boost in attack power.
???
Introduced in the fourth generation, these monsters belong to an as-of-yet unknown class within the context of the game. Unlike the Unclassified class, these monsters are of an unknown type in-universe and not because their classification is not informed. Gore Magala is the only species in this set, although Frontier's Laviente is in a similar class, the Unknown Black Flying Wyvern has more in common with this class, and Estrellian due to the Guild not knowing yet what monster classification it is.- Animalistic Abomination: Appears very similar to other bosses, yet is also very different.
- Eldritch Abomination: Its very appearance is a mystery.
- My Name Is ???: The official title of this class.
Relict
Spiritual creatures from another world. Only Leshen and Ancient Leshen can be counted amongst their number.- Guest Fighter: Leshen and Ancient Leshen hail from the Witcher universe, and only arrived into the Monster Hunter one after a portal sent them over.
- Outside-Context Problem: They're magic using Dark Fantasy spirits that arrived in a Low Fantasy world. This is a given.
Elder Dragons
Standing at the top of the heap are the Elder Dragons. Despite the name, they are actually a loose grouping of creatures of varying physiology, only bound together by their lack of connection to other types of monsters. Elder Dragons are infamous for their rarity and strength, and some require specialized fighting techniques. Notable Elder Dragons include Kirin, Fatalis, and Teostra.- Animalistic Abomination:
- Some of the stronger Elder Dragons, such as Gogmazios and Dire Miralis, are often closer to demonic forces of nature than dragons.
- On a more subtle level, these monsters don't fit in with the other classifications of monsters (such as Flying Wyverns and Leviathans), each of them having unique physiology, which is what makes them so mysterious and feared by everyone.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Elder Dragons often have very strange physiologies that result in abilities that almost seem supernatural at first glance. However, most of them are still natural creatures.
- Contractual Boss Immunity: Elder Dragons are immune to traps; you must slay or repel them to defeat them. The really, really big ones are also immune to status effects and mounting.
- Cruelty Is the Only Option: Elder Dragons can't be captured, only slain.
- The Dreaded: Whenever an Elder Dragon decides to invade a particular zone, almost every other native species within that area packs up and leaves, making entire maps look like an outright ghost town. Probably the only ones who are sure to remain are Remobras, Neopterons, and Melynxes... and as of World, other Elder Dragons and invaders like Deviljho and Rajang. Averted in Rise, where Elder Dragons are now treated like any other large monster for wild monster and small monster purposes. Even amongst Elder Dragons, there stands a group that the Guild calls "Dangerous First Class Monsters" or "Forbidden Monsters." These are the absolute most dangerous and destructive if elders that even other elders fear. These consist of the black dragons Fatalis (and all its variants), Alatreon and Dire Miralis. Frontier and Online add Disufiroa and Mephistophelin, respectively. Meanwhile, while Iceborne's Safi'jiiva has not yet been officially classified by the guild as a Dangerous First Class Monster, it has been described by Capcom as equivalent to one, specifically to Fatalis.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Three recurring Elder Dragons are known for forming an elemental weakness triangle with one another:
- Teostra uses fire attacks, which Chameleos is weak to. Some games also allow its armor to negate Chameleos's item/buff stealing ability.
- Chameleos breathes poison, which Kushala Daora is not only vulnerable to, but also causes some of its powers to be disabled. Its armor also typically has wind resistance or immunity.
- Kushala uses ice attacks, which Teostra is weak to. Its armor sets furthermore usually grant Heat Cancel (immunity to hot environments).
- Hold the Line: The victory condition for several of these monsters is "Slay a ____ or repel it". In such cases, if you can't deal enough damage to kill the target, but manage to prevent them from destroying whatever they're after (such as the Sandship in the Mohran fights) or fulfill some other sort of monster-specific condition (such as breaking off one of the Ceadeus's horns, or dealing a minimum amount of total damage within the time allotment), they'll grow impatient and leave in defeat. On the other hand, failing to fulfill the victory conditions results in a Non-Standard Game Over.
- Kaiju: Some of the Elder Dragons are incredibly large, and tend to have the usual associations with Kaiju.
- Leitmotif: Every Elder Dragon except Kirin has its own unique battle theme.
- No-Sell: They're immune to traps, so you can't capture them for rare parts.
- Non-Indicative Name: This is less a category of dragons and more a category of monsters that defy categorization. Many do have a resemblance to your typical dragon, but there are also elders like Teostra, which looks like a chimera or manticore; Kirin, a scaly-skinned unicorn; and Behemoth, a magical hellhound/bull hybrid. The Head Ecologist in World lampshades this—after gathering data on Nergigante (which actually is fairly draconic) he says, paraphrased, that since they can't group it with anything else it's going to be tossed onto the "elder dragon" pile.
- Our Dragons Are Different: As mentioned above under Non-Indicative Name, elder dragons encompass a wide array of monsters, not all of which resemble dragons (like Teostra and Kirin). Even the ones that are draconic in appearance look and act incredibly different from one another. Ironically among the elder dragons are dragons that look the most like classic western dragons in the whole series (i.e. six limbs including two wings), which actually does make them very "different" from the somewhat more realistic "wyvern" model most other winged dragons in the series have. This "unnatural" appearance fuels how they often have abilities that border on the supernatural/magical.
- Person of Mass Destruction: One thing that the Elder Dragons all have in common is their immense power (albeit their power still varies widely depending on the species and individual), with characters noting their potential to destroy entire nations and ecosystems. Even the ones that are about the same size as your standard wyvern can summon storms (Kushala Daora and Amatsu) or eclipse the sun and throw every animal nearby into undirected rage (Shagaru Magala). One elder, Alatreon, is even described as a living natural disaster.
- Readings Are Off the Scale: The games flat-out don't disclose the lengths of certain species, most likely because many of the Elder Dragons are ridiculously huge. A video released for the series' 10th anniversary finally discloses some of them, however. World now gives a size for the bigger ones, with Zorah Magadros measuring at a whopping 250 meters.
- The Spook: Among the Elder Dragons are a special group known as "The Black Dragons" or "Forbidden Monsters". They are characterized by tales of the death and destruction they caused, yet being so mysterious no one knows what they look like or how they behaved, which is why their icons are always question marks. These monsters are so elusive that even promotional material almost never mentions them. The only monsters in this group in the main series are the Fatalis trio, Alatreon, and Dire Miralis. Frontier and Online created Disufiroa and the Merphistophelein variants as additional Black Dragons.
- The Battle Didn't Count: The fifth generation has a number of encounters with Elder Dragons that proved to still be alive after your hunter "slew" them.
- Violence is the Only Option: Because Elder Dragons are immune to traps, you can’t capture them. All you can do is beat them up until they either leave, assuming that they can be repelled, or die.
