Line #45 Main/RibcageRidge


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4	%% Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages. All such examples have been commented out.
5	%% Please add proper context before uncommenting them. A good example explains how it's an example.
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7	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ribcage_ridge.jpg]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:Here lies the mighty bantha, killed by its own body weight.]]
9
10	Like [[AlienSky an oddly-colored sky with multiple suns or moons]], this is one of those surefire ways of letting the audience know that the story has taken them to a world vastly different from our own. Just stick a ginormous monster skeleton somewhere in the scenery, and presto, instant [[AlternateUniverse otherworld]]! Interestingly, the heroes almost never encounter a ''living'' monster of that type, or one [[{{Squick}} in an earlier state of decay]]. Sometimes, dinosaur bones may be substituted to indicate another time period instead of another world entirely.
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12	This often overlaps with AlienLandmass, as both involve the use of large, unearthly landscape features to symbolize that a story is moving through realms unlike our own. See also SaharanShipwreck, DesertSkull, RibcageStomach and ElephantGraveyard. For a much larger version of this concept, see GiantCorpseWorld. When the huge creature in the background is still alive, see MonstrousScenery; overlap is possible if the being is undead.
13	----
14	!!Examples
15
16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19	* ''Manga/BlackClover'': The village Hage where Asta and Yuno are from resides near a massive skeleton of the demon god that the first Magic Emperor defeated [[spoiler:which is later on revealed as the transformed Elf leader Licht who lost himself to darkness after the devil Zagred manipulated the ancient humans into massacring the elves, an incident that also resulted in the creation of Asta's five-leaf grimoire.]]
20	* ''Manga/InuYasha'': The most seen of the Inu-no-Taisho (the father of the main character and his half-brother Sesshomaru) is his gigantic skeleton (his fanged skull visible), albeit covered in equally-humongous armor, looming across the landscape where he supposedly "fell" in battle.
21	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': [[spoiler:Madara]]'s hideout (which includes his lab, [[spoiler:the statue the tailed beasts are sealed in ([[SummonMagic most of the time]]), and his mindless clone of the 1st Hokage]]) turns out to be in a mountainous area covered in giant animal skeletons of unknown origin. We eventually learn this place is called "Mountains' Graveyard".
22	* ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'': There are a few God Warior corpses, overgrown with greenery, in the opening landscape.
23	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': One arc features an island with two giant skeletons on it. Although at first they appear to be just scenery, they turn out to be important plot points. In addition, gigantic monsters are quite common in the series.
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Card Games]]
27	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
28	** In the backstory, the Talon Gates appear to be a pair of giant pointy rocks off the coast of Madara. They're really the ribs of a demonic leviathan killed by Nicol Bolas.
29	** A major scenery element in some ''Khans of Tarkir'' cards, such as the "Ugin's Nexus" artifact, is the ribcage of the spirit dragon planeswalker Ugin... who, incidentally, was ''also'' killed by Nicol Bolas. They fit in quite well on Tarkir, given that [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BwdLlMdCcAArYrO.jpg:large dragon bones]] are regular landscape features.
30	* ''Tabletopgame/YuGiOh'' has a living example in the monster [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Temple_of_Skulls Temple of Skulls]].
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Comic Books]]
34	* Creator/{{Moebius}} had quite a few decorating the landscape of Arzarch.
35	%%* One of Creator/WallyWood's favorite tropes, an example is the cover of [[http://www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/Overstreet9hc.jpg Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #9]]%%Zero context
36	* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': In ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'', Logan and Hawkeye pass by two different giant skeleton landmarks: Loki pinned under a toppled Manhattan skyscraper, and Giant-Man sprawled over the interstate near the appropriately-named town of "Pym Falls".
37	* ''ComicBook/XMen'': In ''ComicBook/TheBroodSaga'', readers discover roughly an issue in that the DeathWorld surrounding one of the alien bases was, in fact, the semi-decomposed corpse of one of the Space Whales they had enslaved as {{Living Ship}}s. To give an idea of the scale, the tips of the ribs poked out of the planetary atmosphere.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Fan Works]]
41	* ''Fanfic/JurassicWorldTheGeekyZoologist'': In the prologue, the convoy drives past several ''Giraffatitan'' skeletons.
42	* ''Fanfic/StarWarsRedone'': While being escorted by the Nelvaanians, Anakin discovers that the cave he was traversing through is actually a skeleton of a giant creature that the Nelvaanians made into their home.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
46	* ''Anime/AnimalCrossingTheMovie'': The cave by the sea contains, sticking out of the wall, an enormous, intact ''Seismosaurus'' skeleton. In the climax, [[spoiler:they climb it to grab one of Gulliver's gears]].
47	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'': Near the end of the "Rite of Spring" section, there is a desert littered with dinosaur bones.
48	* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'': Taarna the Tarakian flies past a monstrous skeleton of truly ludicrous size, combined with AlienSky.
49	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': Ursula lives in the skeleton of... some kind of big fish thing, overgrown with weeds. (On second viewing, knowing that those weeds are the the [[ForcedTransformation transformed victims]] who have lost in the ChainOfDeals that Ursula strings them on, the long pan down the hallway into Ursula's lair is horror.) A comic based on the movie shows the creature when it was alive. It was a monster used by a race of eel-people in their GladiatorGames, and Ursula bought its body from them after Ariel killed it.
50	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'': The ElephantGraveyard is covered by immense elephant skeletons.
51	* ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'': One of the first things greeting the Kayley and Garret in "Dragon Country" is a giant skeleton that they climb over without realizing what it is. Much later, they have a giant dragon skeleton ''dropped'' on them when the ogre finishes eating it.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
55	* ''Film/AlienVsPredator'': The final battle takes place on a long-abandoned whaling outpost, with the FinalGirl fleeing through a cage of whale-bones while being pursued by the Alien Queen who smashes through every single bone in the way.
56	* ''Film/KingKong2005'': Several gigantic bones from Kong's deceased relatives lie scattered about near his mountaintop cavern.
57	* ''Film/Leviathan2014'': The whale skeleton lying on the beach, which serves to reinforce the mood of hopelessness and despair.
58	* ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'': Huge sauropod ribcages and bones are encountered by the heroes near the ruins of the facilities of Site B.
59	* ''Film/LoveAndMonsters'': The countryside is littered with the ribcages of the immense monsters, all long dead, which are used as impromptu walls and ridges.
60	* ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheMovie'': The title characters encounter some on an alien planet. They turn out to be DemBones.
61	* ''Film/MonsterHunter2020'': Alpha Team discovers a monstrous rib cage poking out of the sand in the desert. When they stop to examine it, they are attacked by a Diablos. The rib cage (and the wrecked vehicles) serve as major landmark for the rest of the film.
62	* ''Franchise/MonsterVerse'':
63	** ''Film/Godzilla2014'': The action is set into motion when Serizawa finds a cave where the walls are supported by the fossilized remains of a member of Godzilla's species that was infested by likewise fossilized "[=MUTO=]s".
64	** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': A major battle against the skullcrawlers takes place amid the bones of Kong's family and other tremendous beasts.
65	* ''Film/PacificRim'' shows {{Kaiju}} skeletons being incorporated into buildings, most noticeably in the aptly-named Bone Slums of Hong Kong, where an entire shantytown is housed within the titanic skeleton of a dead monster. The skeletons are just too heavy to move, and more than strong enough to support buildings.
66	* ''Film/PitchBlack'': If the derelict settlement doesn't clue you in that something went [[GoneHorriblyWrong Horribly Wrong]], the discovery that the "trees" on a hill are actually the skeletal "fins" of several dozen long dead [[StarfishAliens Whale-sized, Slug-like Extraterrestrial filter-feeders]] in the valley far below should.
67	* ''Film/RedSonja'' has a bridge made of giant vertebrae roped together.
68	* ''Film/StarWarsEpisodeIVANewHope'' has a famous example. [=C3PO=] and R2-D2 walk across the desert on Tattooine and come across the bones of a Krayt dragon. It was still there when Lucas went out to film scenes for the prequel trilogy. Anakin and Ahsoka also stumble upon the a Bantha skeleton in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''.
69	* ''Film/TimeBandits'': As Kevin and the dwarves walk through the deserts of Time of Legends, searching for "[[SchmuckBait the most wonderful object in the world]]", they pass by myriad skeletons of animals. They discover the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness when [[spoiler:they reach an invisible wall, which one of the dwarves, Wally, accidentally shatters by throwing a nearby skull at the leader, Randall, in a fight after being shoved by Randall to the ground]].
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Literature]]
73	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': The desert surrounding Rak Cthol was once a shallow sea. When it was drained, the enormous serpents that called it home were left behind and died, leaving skeletons in the black sand.
74	* ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}'': A large dinosaur skeleton is seen in the Desert in ''Journey to Chandara.
75	* ''Literature/EndersGame'': When Ender kills a giant in a game designed by Battle School to test the students' psychology, the giant's body is left to rot. Every time he comes back it's a bit different -- the bones get grown over, until the rib-cage forms a valley and the legs two long hills. Someone even comes along and builds a village into the skeleton. Later, after the war is over, he learns that [[spoiler:the Buggers built an identical landscape on one of the planets the humans colonized and [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture hid a cocoon containing their last queen in it.]]]]
76	* Creator/LuciusShepard has a series of stories about people living in towns on and around the body of a gigantic dragon -- who isn't ''entirely'' dead.
77	* ''Literature/TheLastDragonslayer'': When Jennifer first explores the Dragonlands to find Maltcassion, she walks past a massive, moss-covered dragon skull.
78	* ''Literature/PerdidoStreetStation'': The city of New Crobuzon contains a neighborhood, Bonetown, ''entirely'' inside the ribcage of some monstrous beast. Said beast is most certainly some stripe of EldritchAbomination, given the following: 1. All attempts at removing the Ribs fail. 2. All attempts at building over them also fail, with building just not going right and completed constructions just suddenly collapsing for no reason, despite being brand new and structurally sound. 3. Tools used in construction projects against the Ribs always malfunction, break, and wear out supernaturally quickly and often. 3. Workers involved in such projects report feeling unsettled, and frequently suffer horrific nightmares and visions. Often, workers just suddenly disappear without a trace... even the [[spoiler:monstrous [[AnimalisticAbomination slake-moths]] feel unsettled when flying near them]].
79	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The Ironborn tell stories of how the legendary Grey King killed the sea dragon Nagga and built his hall from her rib cage. Whether the stories are completely true or not, the petrified, building-sized ribcage remains; they treat it as holy ground and crown their kings there.
80	* ''Literature/TempleOfTerror'' has the hero crossing the Desert of Skulls. At one point he can come across the half-buried skeleton of an unidentified draconic monster whose ribs are as tall as the hero.
81	* ''Literature/TunnelInTheSky'': Rod and Roy scout the countryside looking for a new colony site. They find a beach of bones on the shores of a dead sea. There are millions of bones lying there; some ancient and worn, others with gristle still clinging on, but with no actual carcasses in sight.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
85	* ''Series/Space1999'': In one episode, the main characters wind up on a planet where the only signs of animal life are big weird skeletons scattered about the place. The story revolves around the fact the plants on this planet teamed up and killed all the animals, so it's not quite just scenery in this incidence.
86	* A made-for-TV movie with Jack and the Beanstalk as the backstory has a shot of a dragon on a hill in the Giant's realm in the flashback, and the same shot of its skeleton when said realm is revisited in the present.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Mythology]]
90	* Many creation myths describe gods creating the world itself from the remains of colossal monsters killed in battle at the beginning of time. In Myth/NorseMythology, for instance, mountains were formed from the bones of Ymir, the first and biggest of the [[OurGiantsAreBigger frost giants]], and his skull became the sky itself.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	%%[[folder:Podcasts]]
94	%%* ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'': The Skull Kingdom from the ''Here We Gooooo!'' is primarily this, though a DarkIsNotEvil variant.%%ZCE
95	%%[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
98	* ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'': The material for the Eisentown of Freiburg features a whole city ripe with this trope. One dragon skeleton makes the biggest bridge in town, another one the biggest tower and the last one is used as the cathedral.
99	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
100	** ''Dungeon Adventures'': One adventure takes place in a tunnel-complex that was dug out in and around a gigantic, buried dragon skeleton. Its cranial cavity and ribcage were two of the rooms in the place.
101	** ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'': The Outlands' portal town to the Nine Hells, the aptly-named Ribcage, is built within the ribs of something huge and unidentified. Meanwhile, the Gray Wastes of Hades houses Khin-Oin the Wasting Tower, bastion of the fiendish yugoloths and the rumored birthplace of their race, which is nothing less than the freestanding spinal column of a dead god that looms 20 miles tall (and reportedly extends just as deep underground).
102	** In the 3.5th Edition ''Fiendish Codex II'', the Hellish layer of Malbolge is covered with the (partially still alive) body of its former ruler, her bones forming giant mountain ranges and her skull serving as the citadel of its current archduchess.
103	** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'': The short-lived domain of Daglan, from the adventure ''Feast of Goblyns'', features huge ribs and femurs jutting out of the ground as part of its "local color".
104	* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': After he died, the skeletal remains of the titan Behemat continued to dominated the landscape of the land where he fell -- his ribcage, for instance, houses a large commercial hall.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
108	* ''Ride/BigThunderMountainRailroad'' at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks has ''Tyrannosaurus'' bones at the end. This doubles as a ShoutOut for the attraction it originally replaced at Disneyland, the ''Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland'', which featured the same skeleton.
109	%%* So does the ''Camp Jurassic'' playground at [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's Islands of Adventure]].
110	* At the American Museum of Natural History, one of the dioramas is of a whale skeleton on the ocean floor, covered in sea snow.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Video Games]]
114	* ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'' has levels like this, and parts of the bridge/spinal column fall off as your player runs across them.
115	%%* ''VideoGame/AliensVsPredator2'': One of these can be found, although it has to be looked for. It's in an out-of-the-way corner of some rocky wastelands in the Predator's campaign.%%What can be found? Describe.
116	* ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark1992'': The escape tunnel in the first game looks like a spine with ribs.
117	* ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}'': There are several big skeletons. A big one in the NoobCave that can be swim through, the other ones are more in the background, at least one of them is from a creature that can also be encountered alive, and these creatures are indestructible, (for the player anyway) and quite gentle, so that makes it extra sinister.
118	* ''VideoGame/ArkSurvivalEvolved'' features these on several maps, though not on the original one, The Island. They're especially prominent on Ragnarok: several litter the "Death Sands" in the southeastern part of the map, (including one that's a ShoutOut to ''A New Hope'') a line of vertebrae form a bridge in the northwestern mountain jungles, an especially huge skeleton can be found in the northern part of the "Viking Bay" region, and there's even one in a deep-sea trench. Whole distinct skeletons are scattered around the FloatingContinent Apotheosis in the Crystal Isles.
119	* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'' features a stage based ([[ArtisticLicensePaleontology very loosely]]) on the Mesozoic era and features many different fossils embedded on the ground and walls. A bit of FridgeBrilliance when you realize some dinosaurs were dead as long, to others, as they have been dead, to us.
120	* ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'': The bones and fossilized scales of enormous dragons frozen eons ago litter the icy moon of Bliss.
121	* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'':
122	** Planet Pandora is littered with giant skeletons. Bandits have turned some into encampments, most notably Titan's End.
123	** ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'': The Three Horns area is lousy with bits and pieces of ''massive'' monster skeletons. Some of them are lying on the ground, but one is coiled threateningly around a mountain peak. There's a subsection called the Marrowfields, so called because of the giant ribs that mark its borders, as if the whole place were actually inside an unspeakably huge skeleton's ribcage. The skeletons are skeletons from dead skags, ''{{Kaiju}}-sized'' dead skags. Skags so big that they could eat [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Skagzilla]] and [[VideoGame/Borderlands2 Dukino's Mom]] for snacks.
124	* ''VideoGame/TheBurnableGarbageDay'': The Nature Area is littered with several giant elephant skeletons.
125	* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'': In the Necromancer Abyss, at several points you encounter rock formations that look suspiciously like bones, and then one cave which is clearly a ribcage. Of course [[spoiler:those happen to be the fossilized remains of a dragon, which are then reanimated by the Necromancer to serve as the stage's boss: The Dracolich Titan.]]
126	* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'': Fossil Valley, one of the earliest places the player visits, has a gigantic dragon skeleton as part of the background. No live ones are ever encountered because the specific species of dragon is long extinct. [[spoiler:(bar one egg that the player can hatch)]]
127	* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': The video game ''Quest for Infinity'' offers a sort of variation; parts of XANA's mechanical monsters (disembodied heads, limbs, etc.) can be found littered about; you get points if you break them by shooting them or [[GoombaStomp jumping on them]].
128	* ''VideoGame/DawnOfTheMonsters'': In Cairo, the skeleton of a long-deceased Nephilim called Kemarah can be found integrated into the cityscape. The skeletons of deceased Nephilim can also be found scattered around various levels and posed menacingly across [[spoiler:the Hatteras Abyssal Plain]].
129	* ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'' has gigantic "fossilized xenoform" ribcages that might generate in caves set in the Fungus Bogs, Sandblasted Corridors or Dense Biozone. Nothing about them is elaborated upon, but they do show that the [[BigCreepyCrawlies Glyhpids]] were not always the dominant lifeform on Hoxxes IV, and there is much about the world that we still don't know.
130	* ''VideoGame/DigimonWorldNextOrder'': The Corpseway in the Bony Resort runs right under what seems to be the skeleton of an unidentified gigantic Digimon.
131	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'': Cliff world is defined by this aesthetic, being a rocky region full of gigantic fossilized seashells and dinosaur bones.
132	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' has an entire dungeon inside of a dragon skeleton, with several smaller ones forming the terrain.
133	* ''VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney'': The rebel camp is situated partly on a colossal skeleton floating the swamp.
134	* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': The plains and mountains of Skyrim are liberally dotted with the ribcages, spines and occasionally skulls of large animals (usually mammoths, but there are a few troll and dragon skeletons lying around). Killing a dragon can cause this instantly (apparently eating draconic souls makes flesh disappear). The skeleton of a whale also serves as a bridge to the Hall of Valor in Sovngarde.
135	* ''VideoGame/EndlessOcean'' lets you swim through a whale skeleton.
136	* ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' has this in the [[http://everquest.allakhazam.com/scenery/fieldofbone-bones.jpg Field of Bone]], featuring a giant reptilian skeleton jutting derelict from the ground.
137	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest'': The entrance to the Bone Dungeon is marked by a giant dinosaur skeleton. You also fight (a smaller) one inside for the big boss battle.
138	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has this in a few areas, like Tahrongi Canyon and the Maze of Shakhrami.
139	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'': Large skeletons may appear on desert maps. Some take up two squares on the map, which means they're considerably larger than humans. The most exaggerated example would be the Plegian maps in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', which all feature huge dragon bones, but the Chapter 10 map takes the cake. It's fought around what little of the gargantuan dragon Grima's ribcage wasn't buried under the ground, but what "little" is still visible is still big enough to take up almost the entire map and have ''fortresses'' built on top of some of the rib lengths.
140	* ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'': Stage 4 in the NES port of ''Life Force'' has a giant ribcage with a gauntlet of lasers near the end, and a giant skull as the boss.
141	* ''VideoGame/GarfieldsNightmare'': Many large dinosaur ribs are present in the second lava level. Some are in the background, while others are an implicit part of the pathway Garfield is going through.
142	* ''VideoGame/GroundControl'': A few maps have the rotting remains of ''huge'' otherworldy fish.
143	* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'': The Crystal Desert is full of these, which the lore {{handwave}}s as the remains of the [[HereThereWereDragons now-extinct "Great Giants"]], presumably unrelated to the game's [[OurGiantsAreBigger smaller elephant-sized modern giants]].
144	* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'':
145	** The fourth game has various dragon skeletons, giant snakes, a pair of gigantic ribcages, and other miscellaneous piles of huge bones as decorative obstacles that mapmakers can place.
146	** The ''VideoGame/HornOfTheAbyss'' GameMod for the third game adds various monster skeletons as decoration for the new Wasteland terrain type, including a jawbone that's big enough to block the path. Good thing we never see what kind of creature it used to be connected to.
147	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'': At the very end, the body armor of an Annihilator is seen.%%Which is an example why?
148	* ''VideoGame/IronLung'': Objects that look like bones litter the blood ocean floor, often too large for the player to even grasp an idea of what they might have looked like. The ambiguity of what these monsters are and how they evolved to live inside a sea of human blood is part of the game's horror.
149	* ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'': One stage has Kirby exploring an underground cavern where part of the scenery is made of fossils. One of the titular {{Mineral MacGuffin}}s is inside a reptilian's mouth.
150	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroANewBeginning'': Several areas in the swamp area at the beginning are roofed and lined with the skeletons of immense snakes.
151	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
152	** In general, many ''Zelda'' games have human and monster skulls littered about, which can be broken to get health, money, keys, or health-restoring fairies.
153	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': Both the western swamp and TheLostWoods of the DarkWorld are littered with huge monster ribcages, many enclosing forest paths like morbid tunnels. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' likewise features giant ribcage tunnels in its take on the area.
154	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has an absolutely ginormous dodongo skull near the entrance to the boss chamber in the Dodongo Cavern. Kinda' makes you wonder what would've happened if Ganondorf had resurrected THAT instead of the dragon in the Fire Temple. Furthermore, in Dondongo's Cavern that entire room where the skull is located is inside a massive ribcage. Oddly, this means the ginormous skull is facing the wrong way...
155	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'':
156	*** The skeletons of colossal [[KrakenAndLeviathan "Leviathans"]], giant whale-like creatures, are hidden in three areas -- the Gerudo Desert, Hebra, and Death Mountain. A group of three archeologists in a ranch northwest of Hyrule Castle have [[MultipleChoicePast mutually exclusive theories]] on how the species died out ([[LeaningOnTheFourthWall each one a nod to one of the franchise's three timelines]]) and [[SideQuest will pay Link to find their remains and take pictures]]. In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'', they are revealed to also have underground counterparts directly below them in the Depths.
157	*** There are also inexplicably huge ribcages jutting out of the ground near the three Hinox brothers of Mount Taran, all over Death Mountain, and everywhere in the Gerudo Desert.
158	* ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'': Shuma-Gorath's stage is a massive otherworldly wasteland with the skeletons of strange beings decorating the landscape.
159	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'': On one of the optional explorable planets, there's a giant skull about the quarter of the size and shape of your MAKO. When you investigate it, it adds a map marker and says that it does not match any species in the Codex.
160	* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': In the Soul Sand Valley biomes of the Nether, there are exposed bones in the shape of ribs and skulls. These fossils can be found in the Overworld, but they are usually buried.
161	* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter4'': In the Primal Forest map, one area is entirely overshadowed by the giant ribcage of some sort of gigantic serpentine monster. The [[DisconnectedSideArea secret starting location]] for this map is located on top of one of the ribs that has snapped loose from the rest of the ribcage, and is easily large enough for a [[CoOpMultiplayer full party of four hunters]].
162	* ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'': Used as part of a ContinuityNod. The Age of VideoGame/{{Riven}} contains a species of aggressive aquatic beast known as the ''wahrk'', as well as a sort of wormhole, the Star Fissure, that was turning the Age into a vacuum and destroying the universe. A key part of the endgame reveals that [[spoiler:jumping into the Star Fissure is survivable and is the only way you can get back to Earth]]. In ''VideoGame/{{Uru}}'' -- in the present-day -- you start out the game in the New Mexico desert and determine that this must be around where the wormhole ended, because hey, giant wahrk skeleton!
163	* ''VideoGame/MysticDefender'' have an area in the game where the ribcage of some unknown gigantic monster forms various platforms, which you can jump on to avoid enemy attacks.
164	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: MaskOfTheBetrayer'': You have a conversation with the "dead" god Myrkul while the entire party is standing on his breastbone.
165	* ''VideoGame/NuclearThrone'': The initial Desert levels have huge ribcages scattered around them to further emphasize the post-apocalyptic nature of the world.
166	* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'': Howl's Den is littered with the bones and skulls of various unidentifiable beasts, including at least two spinal columns. The Feeding Grounds between the Silent Woods and Windswept Wastes, where Shriek resides, have a similar aesthetic.
167	* ''VideoGame/{{Patapon}}'' has giant skeletons in the desert level which mark very dangerous areas which have damaging lava geysers.
168	* ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' has a desert map about two-thirds into the game that's mostly taken up by a giant, half-buried skeleton, which appears to be a colossal bear. An important NPC built a rather nice keep for himself inside the skull.
169	* ''VideoGame/{{Primal}}'': There's a Ribcage Ridge underwater. It's the skeleton of a giant fish, naturally.
170	* ''VideoGame/PrimalRage'': The final BossRush takes place in a tar field littered with dinosaur bones.
171	* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV: Dragon Fire'': You walk down a spinal column of a giant deceased Dragon in Hades.
172	* ''VideoGame/RadicalRex'' has a level called [[ElephantGraveyard Dinosaur Graveyard]], where you have to climb up huge jumbled dinosaur skeletons. Just watch out for ''Stegosaurus'' plates and carnivore claws.
173	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'': Veldin mixes this with SaharanShipwreck: there's the wreck of a ship early whose circular hull has decompiled such that it resembles the classic ribcage. The effect is helped by the thrusters, which now look like eyes.
174	* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'':
175	** They're the main schtick of the Cave of Bad Dreams in ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape''.
176	** ''VideoGame/Rayman3HoodlumHavoc'' features a number of these in the Desert of the Knaaren, in the overground areas.
177	* One of the last areas in ''VideoGame/{{Scathe}}'' sees you crossing a shaft with ribcages of some gigantic beasts above you. Oddly enough you do not encounter anything that huge (dead or alive) in the entire game, not even bosses.
178	* ''VideoGame/SeriousSamII'' has them, mostly in planet Kleer. Most of them are found in the aptly named Boneyard level.
179	* ''VideoGame/TheSims'':
180	** ''VideoGame/MySims'': There's a dinosaur skeleton in the desert. All it indicates is the sort of stuff you can get digging around there.
181	** ''[=MySims=] Kingdom'': A giant dinosaur skeleton is on the Uncharted Isle.
182	* ''VideoGame/SecretOfEvermore'': The first world, a prehistoric-styled jungle, contains a "Mammoth Graveyard" that serves as a battle arena. Sticking out of the unpleasant muck are the remains of woolly mammoths; giant tusks frame the path to the next area.
183	* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': A variant -- returning to the site of a colossus battle shows the corpse of said colossus becoming a part of the environment. The imagery falls more into this trope with larger colossi like Basaran and [[GiantFlyer Phalanx]].
184	* ''VideoGame/{{Slashout}}'' contains a colosseum made from rib-bones of some ancient, unidentified gargantuan monster near the end of the game. Fittingly enough, you fight a {{Dracolich}} boss in said colosseum.
185	* ''VideoGame/{{Something}}'': Skulls Cave. It's a cave filled with lots of bones and it happens to be a reference to Skull Man's level in ''VideoGame/MegaMan4''. The Charging Chucks have Skull Man head-swaps.
186	* ''VideoGame/Sonic3DBlast'' has several dinosaur skeletons embedded in the walls of [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Diamond Dust Zone]].
187	* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestITheSarienEncounter'' has an area consisting of a large skeletal ridge in the middle of a desert planet. The player character can walk across the spinal column like a bridge, and as in ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'', a part of the column was cracked. The player can only cross the cracked area twice before it breaks, at which point [[UnwinnableByDesign you had better hope you picked up everything you needed beforehand]].
188	* ''VideoGame/SpiderTheVideoGame'' have a museum level in which you cross one area to another on the spines of a dinosaur skeleton model.
189	* ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'': Immense skeletons, ranging from mostly complete remains to solitary femurs sticking out of the earth, abound in the Creature Stage. In fact, you're encouraged to dig up the earth around them, in order to acquire new parts you can use to "evolve" your creature later. They are a lot bigger than even Epic Creatures, and too many of them in one place is often a tip-off that [[OhCrap one is in the vicinity]]. How big you ask? [[http://spore.wikia.com/wiki/File:Hyper_Skeleton.png this]] [[http://spore.wikia.com/wiki/File:Hyper_Footprint.png big]]. [[http://spore.wikia.com/wiki/File:Epic_by_Dinosaur_Bones.png In this one the spider looking guy is a regular epic, and the smaller creature is regular sized]].
190	* ''VideoGame/Spyro2RiptosRage'': Skelos Badlands, a [[{{Prehistoria}} prehistoric level]], has a large number of saurian skulls, spines and ribcages lying around, which serve as both terrain and bridges.
191	* ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' has massive skeletons as part of several scenery sets.
192	* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' features a number of these in Titania Arid Desert, foreshadowing the skeletal BossFight with Goras at the end of the level.
193	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsGalaxies'' had several of these, including the krayt dragon skeleton from ''[[Film/ANewHope Episode IV]]'' and a large krayt dragon graveyard on Tatooine, as well as various other large skeletons on Kashyyyk, Dathomir and other planets.
194	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': There's a section of the Dune Sea called the Krayt Graveyard with ''several'' of these. In the same area, there's also the skeleton of an unfortunate Trandoshan [[spoiler:Qyzen's dad. He goes later to pay his respects]].
195	* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'': One possible result of researching an anomaly is to discover that a massive mountain range is actually a giant skeleton.
196	** One potential planetary anomaly is a skeleton that your survey crews initially believed to be a mountain range. It's implied to be an [[SpaceWhale Ether]] [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Drake]].
197	* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'': The Lost River cave system contains ancient fossilized remains of long-extinct creatures, including a colossal SeaSerpent that must have been over a kilometer in length. More worryingly, you can also find the fresh skeletons of Reaper Leviathans that your scanner notes were likely dragged down and eaten by [[AlwaysABiggerFish something bigger...]]
198	* ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'': Near the east end of the map is the Gant Pole, which is the skeletal remains of some very large unknown creature sticking out of the sea. While it's unknown how deep the sea is at that point, the bones you can see are much larger and tower much higher than your ship and incidentally, are larger than some of the islands you encounter.
199	* ''VideoGame/SuperCyborg'' have areas containing giant ribcages as ''bridges'', where you walk on the spines to avoid falling into pits.
200	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
201	** ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'': Bone-Dry Dunes has a wall of rib bones that acts as an [[GravityScrew anti-gravity]] section.
202	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'': Fossil Falls features a giant ''Triceratops'' skeleton and its ribcage crowns the top of a waterfall.
203	* ''VideoGame/TadpoleTreble'': The water of Thunder Creek is filled with gigantic skeletons of various animals that perished while trying to cross the Creek.
204	* ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'' has gigantic ribcages as a cavern decoration, along with loose bones and four-horned dragon skulls, with no living monster of a matching appearance. [[spoiler:These eventually appear in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.]]
205	* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'':
206	** The overworld scenery in highly Chaos-corrupted regions is littered with the skeletons of draconic monsters with skulls bristling with embedded weapons.
207	** ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'': The background scenery of battle maps in the Mountains of Mourn includes the skeletons of immense dinosaurs, mammoths and saber-toothed cats the size of hills.
208	* ''VideoGame/{{Vexx}}'' has one in its second level, Dragonreach. The level is so-called because the giant skeleton is from a dragon, and it looks like it's reaching for the sky. Naturally, you get to clamber around its back and inside its skull.
209	%%* ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'': Many stages feature dinosaur bones.
210	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': There are several enormous kodo skeletons in Tanaris desert, a giant snake skeleton off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale, the skull of a colossal Faceless One in Darkshore (with a glowing Titan sword still embedded in it), and two giant naga-like creatures in Desolace. That's just the most famous ones; listing them all would take forever. The kodo graveyard in Desolace and the Dragonblight (dragon graveyard) in Northrend are obviously chock full of them, too. The biggest one in the game is probably off the coast of the Dragonblight, which is large enough to be seen on the map. Not as an icon like most large or important things, but as a skull and skeleton itself.
211	* ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' DS has several large beast skeletons lying around in the "desert" levels.
212	[[/folder]]
213
214	[[folder:Webcomics]]
215	* ''Webcomic/TheSwordInterval'': Exaggerated with [[GiantCorpseWorld an entire town built inside]] [[https://www.webtoons.com/en/supernatural/sword-interval/ep-2-the-titanfolly-vanishings/viewer?title_no=486&episode_no=2 a colossal skeleton]].
216	* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': The khert hub in Port Morstorben is made up of a giant ogre spine, with part of the giant's ribcage also jutting out of the earth to its side.
217	[[/folder]]
218
219	[[folder:Web Original]]
220	* ''[[http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600109056&chapter=11 From Sun to Moon, From Moon to Night]]'': One of the landmarks on a national map is a Titan dragon's skull, which is bigger than the sovereign's '''castle''', even though the rest of the skeleton is buried. Fortunately for everyone, Titans are long extinct.
221	[[/folder]]
222
223	[[folder:Western Animation]]
224	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' had an episode where Finn and Jake carry tarts through a desert wasteland. At some point, they walk in between the bones of this dead, giant creature and climb through its eye socket. Oddly, it seemed that its brain hadn't fully decayed yet.
225	* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'': The ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope]]'' example is parodied sketch featuring a green water-dwelling creature talking to his wife about finding great things beyond their little lake. As it turns out, he was the creature to whom the skeleton belonged, so things evidently didn't work out for him.
226	* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': The opening features Jack swimming through a huge, multi-eyed fish skeleton.
227	%%* ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'': All over the face of planet Bone.
228	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'': Yugo stumbles onto the skeleton of a dragon in the desert during episode 21. It takes him some time to realize what it is since he can't use his eyes but only AuraVision at the moment.
229	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RibcageRidge