#bulbasaurus

[troythecatfish]

It be like that sometimes 🤷‍♂️

[alex-fictus]

Paleo Party - Bulbasaurus! (No it isn’t exactly the pokemon, they really existed!)

[oneweirdreptileaday]

Bulbasaurus phylloxyron, honorary reptile. i started this blog so i had something to do if i didnt have anything else i wanted to draw that day or as a warmup so im going to try and let myself do whatever each day instead of rendered speedpaints :)

[saritawolff]

I wanted to do one more dicynodont to show just how diverse these guys were. Yes I could have done Diictodon... but instead I chose Bulbasaurus phylloxyron. Did I choose it just for that name? Maybe.

Apparently, Bulbasaurus was not originally named after the Pokémon bulbasaur, but rather for the “bulbous” headgear on its nose. However, its describers have admitted that its name and similarity to the Pokémon “may not be entirely coincidental.”

Also, “phylloxyron” means Razor Leaf. Apparently also maybe possibly a coincidence as it relates to its leaf-cutting beak. But I think we all know paleontologists are a bunch of nerds, so...

[gyrrakavian]

TIL there’s actually an extinct animal called “bulbasaurus”

They looked nothing like the pokemon, and they were Therapsids.

[thecreaturecodex]

Bulbasaurus

Image © Nix Draws Stuff 2013-2018, used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0). Accessed @alphynix here

[There’s a lot of dicynodonts I could have done, but I went with Bulbasaurus because I wanted to include a few familiar options in this project, and because it’s named after a Pokemon. The behavior includes some speculative elements--the hay piles are based on pikas, whereas the sequestering toxins in the body could be based on any number of creatures, but I was mostly thinking koalas.]

Bulbasaurus This odd, squat creature looks something like a furry lizard the size of a cat, with a short tail, a domed beaked head and a crest over its eyes.

One of many dicynodonts, the bulbasaurus is notable for being particularly strong and robust for its size. They are burrowing herbivores that feed on a wide array of vegetation. They are known to cache large amounts of greenery in their burrows for feeding on during the drier seasons of the semi-desert habitats in which they dwell. They have iron-clad stomachs and include large amounts of poisonous plants in their diet—chemicals from these plants imbue their flesh with a bitter taste that repels all but the most desperate predators. Bulbasauruses are sexually dimorphic—males are slightly larger, and their nasal bosses are brightly colored, especially during mating season.

Bulbasaurus as Familiars A bulbasaurus can be taken as a familiar. A spellcaster with a bulbasaurus familiar gains a +1 bonus to their CMD.

Bulbasaurus   CR ⅓ XP 135 N Tiny animal Init +0; Senses low-light vision, Perception +3, scent Defense AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 size) hp 6 (1d8+2) Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0 Defensive Abilities anchored, foul-tasting Offense Speed 20 ft., burrow 10 ft. Melee slam +2 (1d3) Statistics Str 10, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 9 Base Atk +0; CMB -2; CMD 8 (12 vs. bull rush, grapple, trip) Feats Skill Focus (Perception) Skills Perception +3, Stealth +12 Ecology Environment warm plains Organization solitary or cete (2-12) Treasure none Special Abilities Anchored (Ex) A bulbasaurus gains a +4 bonus to its Combat Maneuver Defense against any attempts to grapple or bull rush it, as long as it is in contact with the ground. Foul Tasting (Ex) Any creature that makes a bite attack against a bulbasaurus must succeed a DC 12 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1 minute. This is a poison effect. The save DC is Constitution based.

[alphynix]

Who’s that synapsid?

It’s Bulbasaurus phylloxyron!

This creature was a member of the dicynodonts, a group of herbivorous mammal-relatives with beaks and protruding tusks. Its fossils are known from the Late Permian of South Africa, about 259-254 million years ago, and it would have been roughly the size of a cat, around 60cm long (2′).

It wasn’t officially named after the pokémon character Bulbasaur, but instead in reference to the bulbous bosses on its snout. But combined with how the species name “phylloxyron” means “leaf razor”, it doesn’t seem to entirely be a coincidence.

[252mya]

Bulbasaurus phylloxyron

Artwork by Matt Celeskey

Bulbasaurus is a herbivorous relative of mammal from the dicynodont group that lived in the Permian Period. It is named “bulbous reptile” for its bulbous snout while the species name, “leaf razor,” refers to its leaf-shearing, keratin-covered jaws.

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252MYA creates custom-made artwork for private collections and editorial, scientific, or educational project.