List of Crap 61: Top 50 Fictional Species/Races Countdown

[Johnny Unusual]

30. Mermaid
(54 points, on 6 of 23 lists - Top Vote #12 by Darth Geek)

      

Genus: Homo Gadus
Mermaid is the common name for a fabled aquatic creature, typically depicted with the head and torso of a girl or woman, and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore, literature and  popular culture of many countries worldwide. The masculine equivalent is called a "merman", and the general terms "merfolk" or "merpeople" are occasionally used to refer to groups without reference to gender.

 Notable representatives:
The Little Mermaid, Thessolonike, Abdullah the Merman, the Fiji Mermiad (the least attractive Mermaid on the list)


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

Though mermaids were created through adaptation, they cannot adapt quick enough that they can live on the Slip N Slide in your backyard for too long, even if you leave the water on over night (which, by the way, is very bad for your yard).

[Coragale]

You forgot Sonic the Merhog. It's from this one fanfic.

[MontyServo]

Mermaids should have made my list.  I would also include Daryl Hannah in Splash and Marta Kristen in Beach Blanket Bingo as notable (meaning the first two I thought of) mermaids.

[Johnny Unusual]

29. Centaur
(56 points, on 4 of 23 lists - Top Vote #5 by Pegaso220379)

      

Genus: Homo Equus
In Greek mythology, a centaur (from Ancient Greek: Κένταυροι, Kéntauroi) or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse. In early Attic and  Boeotian vase-paintings, they are depicted with the hindquarters of a horse attached to them; in later renderings centaurs are given the torso of a human joined at the waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be.

This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, both as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.

The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele (the cloud made in the image of Hera). Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. This Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele (inserting an additional generation) or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithes, ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins.

Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia.

Centaurs continued to figure in literary forms of Roman mythology. A pair of them draw the chariot of Constantine the Great and his family in the Great Cameo of Constantine (c314-16), which embodies wholly pagan imagery.

Notable representatives:   
Chiron, Sagitarrius, Catherine the Great’s secret son (NOT FICTIONAL!)


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

Sadly, though they are strong elements of both horse and man, they are incompatable for living side by side due to the difficulty centaurs have wiping.  I mean, their asses are very far away.

[Johnny Unusual]

28. Mutant
(60 points, on 3 of 23 lists - Top Vote #5 by @ScottOTD)

      

Genus: Homo Superior (Oh, You Pretty Thing)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism (usually otherwise human) who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities. Human mutants are considered to be of the subspecies Homo sapiens superior, an evolutionary progeny of Homo sapiens, and are considered the next stage in human evolution, though whether this is true or not is a subject of much debate.

Unlike Marvel's mutates which are characters who develop their powers only after exposure to outside stimuli or energies (such as Hulk, Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and Absorbing Man), mutants are born with the genetic potential to possess their powers, although the powers typically manifest at puberty.

Like mutates, the powers of the vast majority of Marvel's human superheroes are the result of genetic manipulation by the Celestials millions of years in the past.

 Notable representatives:   
Wolverine, Cyclops, Magneto, Professor Charles Xavier


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

Jeez, you guys are really all over the map with this one.  But I have noticed one thing: is it coincidence or just a mutation that many mutants are ridiculously attractive?  Also, is it a coincidence that the attractive ones get the most lines?

[Johnny Unusual]

27. Little Pony
(60 points, on 3 of 23 lists - Top Vote #2 by Invader Quirk)

      

Genus: Equus Pretty
Friendship Is Magic takes place in the land of Equestria, populated by varieties of ponies (including variants of Pegasus and unicorn), along with numbers of other sentient and non-sentient creatures. The central character is Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn pony sent by her mentor Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, to the town of Ponyville to study the magic of friendship. In the show's opening episodes, Twilight resents this assignment, as she is more concerned about the foretold appearance of Nightmare Moon. When Nightmare Moon does appear, vowing everlasting night and causing Celestia to disappear, Twilight sets off with five other ponies—Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity—to obtain the Elements of Harmony and defeat Nightmare Moon. Before Twilight can activate the Elements, Nightmare Moon appears and shatters them. In a flash of inspiration, Twilight realizes that each of her new friends represents one of the Elements of Harmony, and that she herself is the final piece, Magic. The magical power of the ponies' friendship reverts Nightmare Moon to a repentant Princess Luna. Celestia reappears, reunites with her sister Princess Luna, and allows Twilight to stay in Ponyville to continue studying the magic of friendship.

Later episodes follow Twilight and her friends dealing with various problems around Ponyville. At the end of each episode, Twilight sends a report back to Celestia explaining what she learned about friendship from these adventures. This part of the formula was abandoned in "Lesson Zero", the second season episode in which Twilight was convinced to be less rigid in her perceived duties; after this, all the principals contribute reports, although the formality is disregarded when appropriate. There is a loose continuity in these episodes; a theme throughout the first season, for example, is the ponies' preparation for the Grand Galloping Gala that occurs in the final episode of that season.

A central theme of the show is "cutie marks", iconic symbols that magically appear on a pony's flank once she has discovered her special talent in life. While physically young adults, the six main characters are envisioned as similar in maturity to human teenagers in the 12- to 18-year-old range. One episode, "Cutie Mark Chronicles", highlights how each received her cutie mark as a younger filly. Several episodes focus on the exploits of a much younger trio of pony characters that call themselves the "Cutie Mark Crusaders", who have yet to receive their cutie marks and are teased by other young ponies as "blank flanks". In response, they desperately hurry to try to discover their talents and receive their own cutie marks, often doing so in comical fashions.

 Notable representatives:   
Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and other names that sound like flavours of lip gloss for 12 year old girls.


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

Wait, ponies aren’t real?

[goflyblind]

permaban.

[Johnny Unusual]

permaban.

Sorry, no one voted for the permaban, which I think are some sort of half-human/half claims adjustor creature from Antarctic mythology.

[Johnny Unusual]

26. Gremlin
(62 points, on 4 of 23 lists - Top Vote #5 by Darth Geek)

      

Genus: Pan Pestus
A gremlin is an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented, with a specific interest in aircraft. Gremlins' mischievous natures are similar to those of English folkloric imps, while their inclination to damage or dismantle machinery is more modern.

Although their origin is found in myths among airmen, claiming that the gremlins were responsible for sabotaging aircraft, John W. Hazen states that "some people" derive the name from the Old English word gremian, "to vex." Since the Second World War, different fantastical creatures have been referred to as gremlins, bearing varying degrees of resemblance to the originals.

The term "gremlin" denoting a mischievous creature that sabotages aircraft, originates in Royal Air Force (RAF) slang in the 1920s among the British pilots stationed in Malta, the Middle East and India, with the earliest recorded printed use being in a poem published in the journal Aeroplane, in Malta on April 10, 1929. Later sources have sometimes claimed that the concept goes back to World War I, but there is no print evidence of this.

An early reference to the Gremlin is in aviator Pauline Gower's The ATA: Women with Wings (1938) where Scotland is described as "gremlin country", a mystical and rugged territory where scissor-wielding gremlins cut the wires of biplanes when unsuspecting pilots were about. An article by Hubert Griffith in the servicemen's fortnightly Royal Air Force Journal dated April 18, 1942, also chronicles the appearance of gremlins, although the article states the stories had been in existence for several years, with later recollections of it having been told by Battle of Britain Spitfire pilots as early as 1940.

This concept of gremlins was popularized during the Second World War among airmen of the UK's RAF units, in particular the men of the high-altitude Photographic Reconnaissance Units (PRU) of RAF Benson, RAF Wick and RAF St Eval. The creatures were responsible for otherwise inexplicable accidents which sometimes occurred during their flights. Gremlins were also thought at one point to have enemy sympathies, but investigations revealed that enemy aircraft had similar and equally inexplicable mechanical problems. As such, gremlins were portrayed as being equal opportunity tricksters, taking no sides in the conflict, and acting out their mischief from their own self-interests. In reality, the gremlins were a form of "buck passing" or deflecting blame. This led the folklorist John Hazen to note, "Heretofore, the gremlin has been looked on as new phenomenon, a product of the machine age — the age of air."

 Notable representatives:   
Stripe, Mohawk, Bounce Bounce, and the Claw


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

This is what happens if you don’t take care of your pets.  They enter into a pupal stage, mutate into monsters and try to kill you.  Seriously, think about this the next time you get a dog.

[Johnny Unusual]

Now a list of things that didn't make it, but I wish they had:

Pod People
(33 points, on 3 of 23 lists - Top Vote #13 by Johnny Unusual)

      



The McCarthy Era
with your host, Kevin McCarthy

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Env5KQWNlOU" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/Env5KQWNlOU</a>

Luck Dragon
(33 points, on 2 of 23 lists - Top Vote #3 by Cole Stratton)

      


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

I think this song should address all you need to know about Luck Dragons

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/qppKbg_91-o" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/qppKbg_91-o</a>

Tralfamadorian
(25 points, on 2 of 23 lists - Top Vote #12 by Goflyblind)

      


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

So it goes.

I'll do more tomorrow.

[Johnny Unusual]

 

25. Nac Mac Feegle
(63 points, on 3 of 23 lists - Top Vote #1 by Goflyblind)

      

Genus: Homo Prepatratus
The Nac Mac Feegle (also known as Pictsies, the Wee Free Men, the Little Men, 'Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed', 'That's him, the third one from the left!", and occasionally 'The Defendants') are a type of fairy folk appearing in Terry Pratchett's Discworldnovels Carpe Jugulum, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight. Aside from being six inches tall, they just about invert the Victorian concept of mystical and refined fairies, and hark back to the fairies of folklore, who were generally seen as occasionally helpful thieves and pests.

The Nac Mac Feegles' skin appears blue because it is heavily tattooed and covered with paint, and all have red hair. The tattoos identify a Feegle's clan. Wings or similar features of any kind are out of the question. Their speech can only be described as some sort of variation on the Scots language, usually Glaswegian in the clans encountered so far, although William the Gonnagle (from a different clan) has a softer, Highland accent. They are notably strong and resilient, which comes in handy given that male Feegles (almost all of them) tend to be notoriously rowdy as a lifestyle.

The Feegles spend their time drinking, fighting and stealing, alone or in various combinations. The immense strength and rowdiness of these pictsies means that they will fight anything, and they have a particular fondness for headbutting creatures far larger than themselves. In a good fight, a Feegle will take on all comers, including his fellow Feegles (or, in their absence, themselves), with such enthusiasm that makes missing someone hazardous ("Crivens! I kicked meself in ma ain heid!").

Some clans have an apparently superstitious fear of their names being written lest their names appear on unwelcome legal documents. Some of the upland clans have mastered the concept of law as a weapon however, and note that it is a good idea "neever tae sign a feegle contract; six inch high people write verra small print". Beware the cry, "We've got a cheap lawyer an' we're not afraid to use him!" Their swords glow blue in the presence of lawyers.

 Notable representatives:   
Big Aggie, Rob Anybody, Jeannie, No'-As-Big-As-Medium-Sized-Jock-But-Bigger-than-Wee-Jock Jock


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Nac Mac Feegle

We’ve stolen this column and there’s no a thing you can do about it!

[Johnny Unusual]

 

24. The Great Old Elder One/size]
(63 points, on 5 of 23 lists - Top Vote #5 by Wurwulf)

      

Genus: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
In the weird fiction of H. P. Lovecraft, the term "Old Ones" is employed in different contexts. Lovecraft's first mention of the Old Ones appears in his most famous story, “The Call of Cthulhu” (1926), where he uses the term in reference to Cthulhu's spawn.  Inspector John Legrasse of the New Orleans police department raids a cult meeting, capturing several of the members:

They worshipped, so they said, the Great Old Ones who lived ages before there were any men, and who came to the young world out of the sky. Those Old Ones were gone now, inside the earth and under the sea; but their dead bodies had told their secrets in dreams to the first men, who formed a cult which had never died.

Lovecraft also mentioned the Old Ones in "The Dunwich Horror" (1929), naming them as mysterious entities associated with the Outer God Yog-Sothoth. In "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1936), the Old Ones had the power to keep the Deep Ones in check. In Lovecraft's revision story "The Mound" (1940), "Old Ones" referred to the denizens of K'n-yan.

In Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness (1936), "Old Ones" was another name for a fictional alien species, the Elder Things, which were described in vivid detail in the story. These aliens built cities around the world in ancient times but were eventually relegated to Antarctica. At the end of their reign, they were all but destroyed by the shoggoths, a slave race of their own creation.

 Notable representatives:   
Cthulu, Yog Soggoth


For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

No!  NO!  THE STARS ARE FALLING!  THE WORLD IS FALLING!  I KNOW TOO MUCH NOW!  IT’S IN THE ANGLES!  THEIR ALL HIDING IN THE HIDDEN ANGLES!  THEY’VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE!  ALWAYS!  THERE IS NO RUNNING.  KNOWLEDGE CAN’T SAVE YOU.  ONLY THE IGNORANCE CAN KEEP YOU SANE!  KNOWLEDGE IS A TRAP THAT FEAR SETS!

[Russell]

Hey does anybody remember that character Mobab Von Hoffman from The Brak Show? Wasn't he from the elder race or something? Definitely squid-like on some level.

[Johnny Unusual]

 

23. Q
(64 points, on 3 of 23 lists - Top Vote #1 by Gunflyer)

   

Genus: Q
The Q are a unique race, and they possess many extraordinary, "God-like" powers including the ability to manipulate time, space, matter, and energy. They have an almost omnipotent ability to perceive and know events in the past, present, and future. They are invulnerable and immortal except when faced with weapons designed by others of their kind: in sufficient numbers, Q can strip other Q of their powers and make them mortal or make them any lifeform they wish.

It is suggested through their appearances on the various series of Star Trek that the Q have evolved since the Big Bang to their current state, and that possibly they were like humans very early on.

One member of the Q once referred to a "New Era" among the Continuum, during which an important change occurred in the species. No further details were given. The Continuum is on a separate plane of existence and thus not subject to linear time as normal space is. It has been suggested by Quinn that when the Q gave up their physicality and achieved their godlike powers, they also gave up any chance of growth or evolution, thus leading to stagnation (since change was unnecessary).

They usually appear as human simply because they can assume any form they wish, and when interacting with humans they usually appear as one of them to make the humans feel more comfortable.

In the episode "All Good Things..." Q mentions that Picard is destined to explore existence itself. Q's meaning of that statement has never been explained in any episode or movie of Star Trek.

 Notable representatives:
Q, Q, Q, Q, Q, Q
   

For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

This is a case where there is very little to go on, since there is no life comparable to them.  However, if you can get them to say their name backwards, you can make them go away, which is a genetic flaw and also very easy to do.

[Johnny Unusual]

22. Pikmin
(67 points, on 3 of 23 lists - Top Vote #2 by Asbestos Bill)

   

Genus: Bellis Conquesta

The basis of gameplay in Pikmin is to retrieve ship parts by using the three varieties of Pikmin available in different combinations. Olimar discovers multi-coloured plant-animal hybrids that willingly follow his orders and help him recover ship parts. All three of the Pikmin colors that Captain Olimar discovers must be used in order to overcome various obstacles and complete the game. The Pikmin creatures come in three different varieties - red, yellow, and blue. Red Pikmin are the basic type, though more powerful than the other two varieties and resistant to fire. Yellow Pikmin can be thrown higher than the other two and can carry explosives called "bomb rocks", while blue Pikmin are the only ones that can survive in water. They are utilized in various tasks, including carrying objects and enemies, breaking down walls, and defeating enemies. Objects that can be carried vary between ship parts, enemy corpses, and pellets. Only 100 pikmin can follow Olimar at a time.

 Notable representatives:
red, blue, white, etc.
   

For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

Born to be slaves, this species might be the most tragic on the list as they will never rise above indentured servitude to an interplanetary conqueror.