#great horned rhinoceros

[themask-maker]

I have not been able to commit to the larger wips I have in my folders, so instead I worked on some color morphs of the Icespine Grassland Rhinos, an AU subspecies of BotW canon's Great Horned Rhinoceros. These are work animals found in Icespine, which is a steppe-type region located between Snowhead and Ikana Canyon.

[unironicallycringe]

1am, time to post misc igo knight and icespine rhino rider concepts

[journeytothewestresearch]

Laozi's Powerful Diamond Cutter

My first article of 2024 focuses on Laozi's "diamond cutter" (jingang zhuo, 金鋼琢; a.k.a. "diamond snare," jingang tao, 金鋼套), an uber powerful holy treasure. The fillet first appears in chapter six when it is used as a blunt throwing weapon to incapacitate Sun Wukong during his rebellion. It later reappears in chapters 50 to 52 as a mysterious, shiny, white string of pearls used by a buffalo spirit to instantly suck away magic weapons and animals and defeat even destructive elemental attacks, kind of like a personal black hole generator with a built-in pocket dimension. It’s so powerful, in fact, that even the sight of it is enough to make Monkey and a host of other gods flee for their lives.

My article quotes all mentions of the weapon, complete with the original Chinese; explains how it was created; describes the history of terminology that ties the treasure to diamond-pointed tools used by craftsmen west of China to work hard stone like jade; demonstrates that it is a mirrored literary element to Sun Wukong’s headband and Prince Nezha‘s fire wheel; and, finally, explores its influence on three fillet-like throwing weapons from another Chinese vernacular classic.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Do you think you could make a list from the strongest demon king to the weakest?

Maybe Wukong's sworn brothers other than the demon bull king wouldn't be included because we never see them fight (although I understand they fought alongside Wukong when he rebelled against heaven?)

I could only give out a rough outline since I'm not really a 'power scaler' and honestly it's hard to say if by strong you mean the most difficult or if they had powerful attacks. Most of Wukong's worst fights aren't, particularly because his enemies were physically powerful but just had a strong weapon or a single powerful attack while being a glass canon.

While Wukong's sworn brothers did join the fight against heaven, their own armies were captured. Not sure if this was to reflect Wukong's favoritism toward his own monkeys or to show how his sworn brothers were outclassed but I am not even going to try to guess.

So this will be more of a list of Wukong Most DIFFICULT fights to the easiest fights.

Hurt Wukong Trapped Wukong Fought (tie) Fought (lost) Lost without Fight Never seen Fight (inconclusive) Magic Item

Red Boy - made Wukong pass out, Guanyin subdued him, glass cannon

Scorpion Demoness - poisoned Wukong, killed by Pleiades Star Offical, glass cannon

Yellow Wind Demon - make Wukong blind, he needed Lingshan's help, glass cannon

Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord - blinded Wukong momentarily, also taken out by Star Official Pleides

Golden-Winged Great Peng - Talons overpowered Wukong, was taken out by Buddha

Silver Horned King - captured Wukong due to magic spell and has magic item, was killed later though

Single Horned Rhinoceros King - very powerful magic item used, subdued by Laozi

Yellow Brows Great King - powerful magic item and needed Maitreya Buddha help to defeat

Princess Iron Fan - blew Wukong away with magic item, he needed Lingshan's help

Golden Horned King - captured Wukong due to magic items

Six Eared Macaque - tie until Buddha gave Wukong the upper hand

Bull Demon King - impressive fight but still ran away after being overwhelmed in numbers

Yellow Robe Demon - impressive fight but Wukong still needed the 28 Star's help

Nine-Headed Insect - ran away until taken out by Erlang Shen

Black Wind King - good at escaping, needed Gaunyin's help

Great Immortal King of Spiritual Touch - Gaunyin defeated in the end

Yellow Toothed Elephant - defeated Bajie, lost to Wukong

Azure Lion / Lion-Lynx Demon - defeated Wujing, lost to Wukong

Grand Saint of Nine Spirits - Wukong had Tianzun to help

King of Dust Protection - captured Bajie and Wujing

King of Heat Protection - captured Bajie and Wujing

King of Cold Protection - captured Bajie and Wujing, was killed by Bajie

Lady Earth Flow - able to slip away, needed Nezha and King's Li's help

Great King Jupiter's Rival - had a magic item but never got a chance to use against Wukong

Tuolong Black River God - his own cousin took him out but even Wujing could fight him

Python Demon

White Bone Demon - hard to pin down but killed in one blow

Spider Demons - stole Sanzang but very easy to defeat

King of the Southern Hill

Tiger Strength Great Immortal

Elk Strength Great Immortal

Antelope Strength Immortal

White Deer Spirit

Nine-Tailed Vixen

Great King Fox Number Seven

Wansheng Dragon King

Demon King of Confusion

Dragon Demon King

Peng Demon King

Lion Demon King

Female Macaque King

Snub Nose Monkey King

Bear Mountain Lord

This is my personal take on the Demon Kings and as you can see, I did include demons that aren’t technically Demon Kings but rather the main antagonist in their arc. This also doesn't include ALL the demons or any gods or immortals that Wukong has fought with either, these are just the Demon Kings (or at least demons that are the big bad in their arcs) so there are still other antagonists that are in the book on here.

I am solely going on how the fights went in my notes and what I can remember so if you remember these fights going differently and actually want to add any details please let me know. I didn't include anything that the demons like 'claim' to have or powers or feats that they have done, just what they ACTAULLY did in the story, cause actions speak louder than words.

There could be grey area with the demons with magic items. And you could argue how easily the demons that caused Wukong the most damage were easily defeated by other gods just because they could bypass their one (1) magic spell gimic that was just giving Wukong trouble. Two of these Demon Kings were taken out by the SAME ROOSTER just because they are insect demons and roosters are their natural enemies. So take that as you will... Other demons Kings were defeated just cause their owner showed up before they could really fight too.

[autistickaitovocaloid]

Just found out they removed wooly rhinos in totk

[dinosaurwithablog]

Look at this beautiful iguana!! It does look like a dinosaur. Being a dinosaur myself, I love that!! ❤️ it's lovely 😍

Is that a dinosaur? Nope: It’s the rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta)! This large, heavy-bodied lizard’s name refers to the horns on its head. These horns, which are found on both males and females, are used in combat among males as well as display behavior like head-bobbing. This animal, which can grow to an impressive 4 ft (1.2 m) long, is found only on the Caribbean island Hispaniola. Its diet consists primarily of plants and insects, but it may occasionally feed on carrion.

Photo: brdnrd59, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

[chattychatty4]

THE ANSWER TO THE POLL YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…

RHINOCEROS AARAVOS‼️‼️‼️

Yes, the little unicorn is Leola 😭

+a little poem about it

Great rhinoceros, full of anger and spite, tell me what fuels this rage.

Tell me how you once were revered

Tell me how, great rhinoceros, you have fallen from your spot high above.

Once considered compassionate and a guardian, even beautiful,

Now shunned and shamed and called dirty and corrupted.

Poached and ravaged for your sacred horn. For your only proof that you were once pure. That you were once a unicorn.

That you were once kind and merciful.

That you once had inner peace.

Now with your dry and thickened walls of skin. Doesn’t let anything in.

Great rhinoceros, continue your pillaging and death, draw the blood of those who wronged you.

Spread your sickness and your disease, your wrath and spitefulness.

Avenge your unicorn,

Avenge what you once had,

And embrace what you’ve now become.

[infodumpingaboutnature]

Some good news from Indonesia: the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park has just announced that on November 25th their female Sumatran Rhino named Delilah gave birth to a healthy male calf!!!

(Photo credit: Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry)

The as of yet unnamed calf is the second calf born at the sanctuary this month, and his mother Delilah was the second calf ever born at the sanctuary as well as the first captive bred Sumatran rhino to successfully give birth in captivity, so this is great news for captive breeding efforts of this species. There are only somewhere between 34 and 47 Sumatran rhinos in the wild, so captive breeding is incredibly important for this species survival. The sanctuary plans to eventually release the rhinos born at the sanctuary in order to help build the wild population back up. This baby is the fifth calf to be born at the sanctuary, and in addition to being Delilah’s first calf, he is also the first calf to be sired from his father, Harapan, who was originally born in the Cincinnati Zoo.

The mother and calf are currently being held in a naturalistic enclosure at the sanctuary (as the goal is to try to get them to live a life as similar to in the wild as possible) and are being heavily guarded to protect them from poachers. This species has suffered so much due to a combination of poaching for their horns as well as habitat loss. They are also pretty hard to keep and breed in captivity due to their shy nature, so this calf is amazing news!

Also! Fun fact: this species of rhino is the closest living relative of the extinct Woolly Rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). Which makes sense since the Sumatran rhino is the hairiest of all the living rhino species, which you can especially see with the babies.

[elbiotipo]

It's worth doing a full analysis on how the Jurassic Park franchise makes the "bad man-eating carnivore, nice and friendly herbivore" dichotomy so prevalent it's almost a staple of its writing now. In Jurassic World, the pteranodons get released and they attack humans for no other reason that, well, this is a monster movie and they have to. In Camp Cretaceous, there's a carnotaurus that stalks and wants to kill the kids for no other reason than well, this is a monster series and they have to have a monster, but they approach and make friends with a Pachyrhinosaurus because it's an herbivore and herbivores are nice. Now, I can't say for sure what was the exact behavior of a Pachyrhinosaurus, but based on our current large horned herbivores, I have a feeling approaching one would be as a good idea as a stranger approaching a bull or a rhinoceros.

These are the examples I can recall now, that's why I said it would be great to do a full analysis, but it all comes down to the fact that in the writing herbivore = good and carnivore = bad. In real life, and thus we can assume that for dinosaurs, large herbivores are extremely territorial and aggressive, always on the look out for any potential threat. A human just happens to be around the size of a random dromeosaur and bipedal too, if a dinosaur saw or heard a bunch of humans approaching it, it would be in alarm mode instantly. Big sauropods might not care out of sheer size, but I don't think it would be safe to approach a 30 meter long animal either. Meanwhile, carnivores would not be safer, either, but most apex predators tend to spend the time between hunt resting and trying to conserve energy, lazying around.

I mean, I'm being generic here since there are lots of kinds of animal behavior but it's never "good nice herbivores". In fact, the nice herbivores we know are because of domestication, because wild goats/sheep and horses are incredibly aggressive, and I'm still not sure how we domesticated aurochs or fucking boars.

But that's because Jurassic Park isn't as much as interested in showing an ecosystem or actual behavior, but rather, the dinosaurs are characters too in a movie, and you have good and bad characters. Which is fine, I mean, it's not a documentary, is it? But many people do treat it as such, in the sense of what they see there is what the popular conception of dinosaurs are, and even the conception of how animals and ecosystems 'work' in the first place. I'm not blaming Jurassic Park for seeing all those people commenting "why didn't you rescue it???" in videos of a wild animal predating another, but I do think it's a kind of thinking (moralizing animals) that comes from that viewpoint.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Rugose Stag Beetle - Sinodendron rugosum

No insects were harmed in the making of this video. The finger visible was just gently poking. Today's post marks the 6 year anniversary since this blog's inception! Thank for you, dear reader, for 6 wonderful years of insect photography, research and appreciation. And thank you to my friends, family and followers for your support and contributions. This post is representative of that, and how the reach of this blog extends further than ever, with many unique and interesting species to find and enjoy on this blog (and my YouTube Channel as well) from Toronto and other regions of Canada. Cheers to many more great years on the horizon, with lots more insects to share with everyone.

With that excellent horn on its face and its well-armored shell, this insect could easily be mistaken for a Scarab Beetle (of the family Scarabaeidae). I was hopeful that my dear friend had sent me some variety of Squamish Rhinoceros Beetle, but its profile didn't quite match other horned Scarabs of similar stature (they tend to be more heavily armored and bulky). The pebbling on the wingcase is quite prominent, which led to the confirmation of this insect's identification. As it turns out, this Beetle is one of a variety of horned Stag Beetles (of the family Lucanidae). The two Beetle families aren't that far apart in terms of relation (both are under the Superfamily of Scarabaeoidea), and the males of both family branches use large horns or mandibles to fight against rival males to secure mates (females lack a facial weapon). As such, this specie of Beetle relies on its bulk to keep it stable and its horn to flip rivals over. Of course, there's much more to worry about in the wilderness after emerging from wood as an armored adult. Despite the integrity of its armor, it doesn't protect against everything in the insect world. The Ants scurrying around this Beetle were definitely probing for a vulnerable spot of the underside, but the Beetle moved along, seemingly undeterred.

Video was recorded in Squamish on June 12, 2024 with an iPhone 12.

[luminouslumity]

Another year, another season, another post going into Chinese mythology (mostly in how it pertains to Journey to the West).

LI JING (李靖) is someone I've actually already discussed a bit here in terms of his and Nezha's backstories, but for JttW specifically, he's sent by the Jade Emperor to subdue Sun Wukong, and of course things don't go well in his favor. Later, he attempts to help Sun Wukong in apprehending the One-Horned Rhinoceros King and later shows up to arrest the Bull Demon King, and again after Tang Sanzang is kidnapped by the GOLDEN-NOSED WHITE-HAIRED RODENT-SPIRIT (金鼻白毛老鼠精), otherwise known as LADY EARTH FLOW (地涌夫人).

The SIXIANG (四象), or Four Signs, include ZHUQUE (朱雀), XUANWU (玄武), BAIHU (白虎), and QINGLONG (青龍) are the guardians of the four cardinal directions (South for the Vermillion Bird/Zhuque, North for the Black Tortoise/Xuanwu, West for the White Tiger/Baihu, and East for the Azure Dragon/Qinglong). In JttW, they are referenced towards the end in a poem:

One Real Body dropped to the dusty plain

Fuses with Four Signs to tend the self again.

In Five Phases terms forms are dead and void;

The fiends' vain names one should all avoid.

Great Bodhi's the right Candana fruition;

Appointments crown this rise from perdition.

Gracious light of scriptures now worldwide dilates,

As five sages live within Advaya's gates.

Much like the dragon family he'd married into, the NINE-HEADED BEAST (九頭蟲) is a thief, having collaborated with his father-in-law, the Wansheng Dragon King (萬聖龍王), into stealing a Buddhist relic—known as a Śarīra—from Jisai's Golden Ray Monastery. Erlang Shen's dog bites one of his heads off, but he manages to escape otherwise.

Like in many other religions, NÜWA (女媧) is said to have molded humans from clay, having initially creating what would become the nobility by hand before resorting to mass production for the rest. One day, when the heavens began to crumble—its cause depending on the source—she gathered five colored stones to patch up the sky, while a tortoise's legs would be used as pillars for support.

The Underworld in Chinese mythology is said to be divided into several hells and overseen by YANWANG (閻王) alongside nine other kings: QINGUANGWANG (秦广王), CHUJIANGWANG (楚江王), SONGDIWANG (宋帝王), WUGUANWANG (五官王), BIANCHENGWANG (卞城王), TAISHANWANG (泰山王), PINGDENGWANG (平等王), DUSHIWANG (都市王), and ZHUANLUNWANG (转轮王). Most infamously, Sun Wukong erased his name and that of every monkey he knew from the Ledger of Life and Death and to prevent them from dying.

[themask-maker]

I've been chipping away at some more lore art while the chapters get worked on (at a crawling rate of a half-paragraph per week, basically), so have a preview of that. Icespine fauna includes the Great Horned Rhinos from Hebra and Tabantha, as well as an original rhino subspecies. Demons tame, breed, and ride them in this era. Links for scale!

[deathmoth-blog]

Hercules beetle comes from family of rhinoceros beetle species. It is a longest living species of beetle in the world and largest flying insect. Dynastes hercules is known for its tremendous strength and is named after Hercules, a hero of classical mythology who is famed for his great strength. While only male Hercules beetle have characteristic horn on their head and one on their prothorax. The body of males is black with the exception of the elytra, which can have shades of olive-green. They have a black suture with sparsely distributed black spots elsewhere on the elytra.Females of D. hercules have punctured elytra which are usually entirely black, but sometimes have the last quarter of the elytra colored in the same way as the males.

Fun facts:

Hercules beetle is the strongest beetle in the world. An adult beetle can easily lift over 100 times its own bodyweight!

Hercules beetle horn is actually part of its exoskeleton and not actual horn.

As larvae the hercules beetle diet on rotting wood. As fully formed adults, they hang around in the leaf litter on the forest floor and feed on fruit and tree sap by carving bark using their mandibles.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Do those who are expelled from heaven become demons? I think you told me something like that about Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. I also didn't understand the story of the Yellow Robe Demon very well. about the part about his romance with Jade Maiden and the whole reincarnation thing. Was he a demon in the beginning? Or did he become a demon when he left heaven?

So I have explained in a past post here of how demons are made.

From there you can see how people in heaven, or rather celestials, either leave or are expelled from heaven and turn into demons. Yellow Robe Demon has said that he left heaven from his position as one of the 28 constellations in order to be with his love the Jade Maiden. The Jade Maiden for whatever reason reincarnated into a human instead of just leaving heaven (maybe this was an easier path considering that leaving heaven without permission is a harder thing to accomplish for a servant). But in any case, she didn't remember the Yellow Robe Demon or their prior love and thus he kidnapped her. Tragic romance.

But once he was caught he was brought back to heaven and lost the demonic powers that he gained while eating humans on Earth. Here is a lost of demons that were once from heaven and became demons.

People

Zhu Bajie (豬八戒) deity - pig demon

Sha Wujing (沙悟淨) deity - river demon

Tang Sanzang / Golden Cicada (唐三藏 / 金蝉子) Buddha disciple - human

Yellow Robe Demon (黃袍怪) wood-wolf star - robe demon

Golden Horned King (金角大王) furnaces blower - horn demon

Silver Horned King銀角大王 furnaces blower - horn demon

Yellow Brows Great King (黃眉大王) Buddha disciple - brows demon

Baihuaxiu (百花羞) Jade Maiden in Heaven - human

Princess of India (天竺) Immortal Su'e - human

Honorary mention: Princess Iron Fan (鐵扇公主) wind goddess - Rakshasi (this is only mentioned in the Zaju play to be a former goddess, otherwise she was always a Rakshasi in Xiyouji)

Please note that Sanzang, the Princess of India, and Biguaxiu were the only fallen celestials who are human because they reincarnated properly. Zhu Bajie also reincarnated but he didn't lose his cultivation when he went to earth and therefore became a demon pig rather than living out his animal form in peace and waiting to be reincarnated into a human. All other fallen celestials choose to leave, with the expectation on Wujing who was banished, and it is to be expected that they turned into demons for giving into their desires and started to consume human flesh.

Animals

Yellow Wind Demon (黃風怪) pet - yellow marten (owner Lingji)

Lion-Lynx Demon / Azure Lion (獅猁怪 / 青毛獅子) pet - azure lion (owner Manjusri)

King of Spiritual Touch (靈感大王) pet - gold fish (owner Guanyin)

Single Horned Rhinoceros King (獨角兕大王) pet - Azure Bull (owner Laojun)

Scorpion Demoness (蠍子精) animal in heaven - scorpion (no owner)

Sai Tai Sui / Great King Jupiter's Rival (賽太歲) pet - golden hair wolf (owner Guanyin)

Yellow Toothed Elephant (黃牙老象) pet - white elephant (owner Samantabhadra)

Golden Winged Great Peng (金翅大鵬雕) pet - roc (owner Buddha)

White Deer Spirit (白鹿精) pet - white deer (owner Old Man of the South Pole)

Lady Earth Flow (地涌夫人) pet - rat (owner Li Jang and Nezha)

Grand Saint of Nine Spirits (九靈元聖) pet - Nine-Headed Lion (owner Taiyi Jiuku Tainzun)

Jade Rabbit Spirit (玉兔精) pet - moon rabbit (owner Chang'e)

It is noted that most pets or animals that escaped heaven were only spared because their owners came in time to stop Wukong or Bajie from killing them, with the exception of the Scorpion Queen as she had no owner and thus was killed. Pets have a far easier time to cultivate in heaven as they have access to scripture or magic items to aid in their escape and power growth, giving them a large advantage if they make it to earth and become demon rulers if they so wish.

[probablyfunrpgideas]

Monster Idea

Thousands of years ago, a herd of woolly rhinoceros made their way across a land bridge to Rainstone Island. They used the isolated hills and plains as a safe place to raise their young each year, until several harsh winters and heavy rains raised the seas and cut them off from the rest of the world.

Rainstone Island provided a good home, but scarce resources have taken their toll and the island effect has made the rhinos much smaller. Visitors can enjoy the sight of rugged beasts the size of a Great Dane, grazing and sharpening their horns on the scenery. And that might be the last thing they ever see.

Rainstone Rhinos lack calcium in their diet, as unfortunately their ancestors have eaten all the plants that contained significant amounts. In order to make their teeth and bones strong, they must instead consume the bones of others! Imagine a bellowing pack of rhinos hunting your player characters through the oak savanna of this island!

[kemetic-dreams]

In several Bantu mythologies, mokele-mbembe (also written as "mokèlé-mbèmbé") is a mythical water-dwelling entity that is believed to exist in the Congo River Basin. Variously described as a living creature or a spirit, mokele-mbembe's descriptions vary widely based on conflicting purported eyewitness reports, but it is often described as a large quadrupedal herbivore with smooth skin, a long neck, and a single tooth or horn, much like the extinct lineage known as sauropods.

In the early to mid 20th century, the entity would become a point of focus among adherents of cryptozoology and young Earth creationism, resulting in numerous expeditions led by cryptozoologists and/or funded by young Earth creationists and other groups with the objective to find evidence that invalidates or contradicts the scientific consensus regarding evolution. Paleontologist Donald Prothero remarks that "the quest for Mokele-Mbembe ... is part of the effort by creationists to overthrow the theory of evolution and teaching of science by any means possible". Additionally, Prothero noted that "the only people looking for mokele-mbembe are creationist ministers, not wildlife biologists."

Most mainstream experts believe that mokele-mbembe, as reported by Congolese natives, was probably inspired by the black rhinoceros, which once thrived in the region. Historian Edward Guimont has argued that the mokele-mbembe myth grows out of earlier pseudohistorical claims about Great Zimbabwe, and in turn influenced the later reptilian conspiracy theory.