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Animal

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Animals (動物, Doubutsu; , Kemono.) are any organism either classified as an invertebrate or a vertebrate.

While youkai based on animals like tengu or kappa would be animals themselves they are not classified as such because they are supernatural rather than logical and scientific. Animals are often considered to be anything that move, however creatures like karakasa obake and ghosts are hard to classify as the first is born from an inanimate object while the latter is dead in the form of some kind of energy.

Types of Animals

Invertebrate

Invertebrates are animals that lack a backbone. They consist of animals belonging to groups like mollusks, crustaceans, arachnids and insects. This group includes almost all the animal species in the world except for the group known as vertebrates. Invertebrates first appeared around 665 million years ago.

Fish

Fish are the oldest group of vertebrates. While many fish are bound to water some have amphibian like adaptations. Fish consist of animals such as oarfish, catfish and carp. Fish are the most diverse vertebrate on Earth. Fish first appeared around 510 million years ago.

Amphibian

Amphibians are a group of vertebrates consisting of animals such as frogs, toads and salamanders. Amphibians first appeared around 397 million years ago.

Reptile

Reptiles are a group of vertebrates consisting of animals such as lizards, turtles, and the famous dinosaurs. Reptiles first appeared around 320-310 million years ago.

Mammal

Mammals are a group of vertebrates that descend from a branch of reptiles known as synapsids. Mammals range from small creatures such as mice to larger creatures such as tigers. Among mammals, humans are among the most successful. Mammals first appeared around 220 million years ago.

Bird

Birds are the youngest group of vertebrates thought to have evolved from a branch of reptiles known as the dinosaurs, maniraptorans in specific. Birds are the most diverse among the terrestrial vertebrates mainly consisting of animals that are capable of flight like the crows and sea eagles, while flightless birds like dodos and penguins are either endangered or simply extinct. Birds first appeared around 160 million years ago. Most recent classifications of birds have become more difficult as some scientist place birds in the Reptilia class while others place in its' own class Aves.

Animals in Touhou

The native fauna of Gensokyo likely mirrors that of Japan. Animals such as the oarfish (With the exception of youkai variants) are not likely to live in Gensokyo but can be found in the oceans of the outside world. Aside from regular animals, cryptids also live in Gensokyo; aside from being mythological and may possess strange powers, they act just like any animal (In terms of intelligence). It is unknown if cryptids can become youkai beasts as well.

The more commonly used term doubutsu (動物) was used by Rin Kaenbyou in-game to identify animals.[1][2] Her classification are more accurate than Hieda no Akyuu who only seems to group mammals as animals, while Rin also includes birds. Many who are native to Gensokyo use a rather crude form of the word, kemono () which often defines them as beastly creatures.[3][4] However, there are exceptions like the tofu store who wrote in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, and Aya Shameimaru in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red who used the term doubutsu to identify Ran Yakumo, unlike the other residents who commonly refer to her as a kemono.[5][6]

While the latter is used in modern times commonly in popular culture, it is not often used for documents involving species or classifications but both terms are valid. It is often used to describe large animals otherwise known as megafauna that strike fear to the average human.

Characters under this Bestiary

Characters placed here currently do not belong to any other bestiary within the animal grouping.

General species found in Gensokyo
Species mentioned in Touhou

See Also

References