Fauna of the Discworld
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Terry Pratchett's fictional Discworld has a large number of creatures unique to it or its parasite universes (such as Fairyland or Death's Domain).
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[edit] Ambiguous Puzuma
A big cat with a quite unique black and white check coat, the ambiguous puzuma is the Disc's fastest animal. Because of the Disc's standing magical field, which slows down light to approximately the speed of sound, the puzuma can actually achieve near-light-speed. Because of this, seeing a puzuma in motion means it isn't there. Puzumas commonly die from complications caused by Sangrit Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle; they lose concentration because they cannot simultaneously know who they are and where they are, frequently causing them to crash into an obstacle. Many males also die from ankle failure caused by excessively running after females who aren't present.
[edit] Bookworm, .303
A bookworm that has evolved in magical libraries. Because of the constant danger of running into a volume containing spells (which release thaumic radiation), the .303 caliber bookworm eats quickly. So quickly, in fact, that it has been known to ricochet off walls after boring through a shelf of books. Possibly these creatures use L-space to spread from one library to another, although in no explorations into L-space have such bookworms been mentioned.
[edit] Curious Squid
A small species of squid, whose curiosity exceeds their ability at making connections. They are small, harmless and reckoned by many experts to have the foulest taste of any creature in the world. Due to this they are in great demand at a certain type of restaurant where skilled chefs with great care make dishes containing no trace of the squid at all. Apparently the only place they can be found is in the area around the sunken island of Leshp, in the Circle Sea, approximately halfway between Al-Khali and Ankh-Morpork.
[edit] Dragons
Dragons are a genus of reptiles which apparently evolved on the Disc's Moon.
[edit] Draco lunaris
Possibly the original species of dragon, these Moon Dragons inhabit the Disc's moon. They are quite similar to draco vulgaris, but have silver scales and flame from their rears. This allows them flight by means of the rocket principle. They subsist on a silvery plant which apparently covers much of the Moon and glows by means of phosphorescence, creating moonlight. This species is seen in The Last Hero.
[edit] Draco nobilis
Noble dragons are the large, graceful fire-breathing creatures of legend. Probably evolved from draco vulgaris, these dragons use magic to combat the physical laws that would normally kill a flapping-winged creature weighing several tons and spitting burning substances. Because this requires more magic than the Discworld can in normal circumstances provide, draco nobilis now exist mostly in a parasite universe closely connected to the human imagination. They can be briefly released from this universe by a sufficient expenditure of magic, or summoned on a more permanent basis in areas of high background magic. Examples of this can be found in The Colour of Magic and Guards! Guards!
[edit] Draco stellaris nauticae
The star voyaging dragon is massive even when compared to draco nobilis. Like draco lunaris, this species flames from the rear to achieve propulsion. Their food is the various debris they trawl from the voids they travel. Smaller dragons voyage by attaching themselves to the hide of this species, much like the remora. The species was first observed by Leonard of Quirm during the events of The Last Hero, which may mean that they are either quite rare or avoid positioning themselves so as to be visible from the Disc.
[edit] Draco vulgaris
Main article: Swamp dragon
[edit] Hermit Elephant
A native of Howondaland, the hermit elephant is a close relative of the more commonly known elephant. However, the Hermit elephant has an uncommonly thin and vulnerable skin by comparison to these. In order to protect itself, the hermit elephant will walk into a village, enter a house or hut and lift it upon its back, carrying it away. As it grows, the elephant will periodically shed its house in favour of a new, larger one, much like hermit crabs. Hermit elephants frequently travel in herds, and these can easily be mistaken for villages if found while the animals are resting.
[edit] Pointless Albatross
A species of migratory albatross. Contrary to what one might expect, the bird's name refers not to its plumage but its migration habits, consisting of a series of lazy treks from Hub to Rim deemed pointless by most ornithologists of the Disc. The name is play on Wandering Albatross.
[edit] Quantum Weather Butterfly
The Quantum Weather Butterfly is a butterfly which has evolved the curious trait of weather control. This is used as a defence mechanism and a sexual characteristic. The insect is yellow, with Mandelbrot patterned wings: with an infinite wing perimeter, they must have infinite area. Its classification is Papilio tempestae, and it appears mainly in Interesting Times. It is based on the illustration of chaos theory that the air movement caused by a butterfly flapping its wings in America could eventually cause a storm in China.
[edit] Republican Bee
A species of honeybee that, rather than being ruled by the traditional queen, runs its hives as democratic republics. Republican bees "committee rather than swarm, and tend to stay in the hive a lot, voting for more honey."
[edit] Scalbie
A shabby and disreputable species of seabird, which looks like it has been in an oil slick, and eats carrion. The ultimate scavenger, it has been said that scalbies will eat things so disgusting they would make a vulture sick, and even things that already have made a vulture sick.
[edit] Shadowing Lemma
A creature which exists in only two dimensions and eats mathematicians. How exactly this works is a matter possibly best left untouched. The name is a reference to a lemma from dynamical systems theory.
[edit] Vermine
This small rodent is a more careful variant of the lemming, as it only throws itself off small pebbles. Its fur coat is very valuable (particularly to the creature itself, which will do anything rather than let go of it). Many articles of expensive clothing, such as wizard's robes, tend to be lined with vermine. Its name is a play on vermin and ermine.
[edit] World-bearing Turtle
Also known as chelys galactica. The Discworld's example is commonly named "Great A'tuin" and is of unknown gender. How they arise is a matter of some difficulty to answer. Faust Eric shows Great A'Tuin being made instantly from nothing, seemingly in support of the theory that it came from nowhere and would continue at a constant pace into nowhere mentioned in The Colour of Magic. However, The Light Fantastic shows Great A'Tuin watching the hatching of its children, which supports the Big Bang hypothesis also mentioned in The Colour of Magic. A combination of the two theories might be possible, with A'Tuin being among the first generation made by the Creator and subsequent generations being created through breeding.
According to the wizards of Unseen University, chelys galactica are composed largely of the element chelonium, the properties of which are apparently known to them (they do tests to look for it in Roundworld in The Science of Discworld), but not to readers.
