Establishing terminology

[Wil]

Penning articles for TOE, once in a while I realize there is a feature or concept for which there is no well‐established terminology. I am interested in knowing how you refer to these. In particular, I find it awkward naming some anatomical features that have no exact or common equivalent on Earth’s creatures. So tell me, what do you personally call the following?

• The protrusions on a Slig’s face.
• The protrusions around a Paramite’s mouth.
• The maw of a Scrab.
• The flapping ‘ears’ of a Glukkon.

Suggest any other ambiguously‐referenced things. Maybe we can establish more common terms.

[Bullet Magnet]

I think that the slig and paramite appendages are homologous. I've used various terms before: tentacles, fingers, thrips, fangs, "phalangipods"... but I think the best one ever is pedipalp.

Pedipalps are a sort of cross between legs and mouth parts. Although the distinction between the two is function and form, it is evolutionarily arbitrary due to the nature of arthropod appendages, in which antennae, mouth parts (including mandibles, maxillae and maxillipeds), wings, elytra, gills, walking legs (pereiopods), swimming legs (pleopods), sexual organs (gonopods), and parts of the tail (uropods) are all appendages and are probably descended from identical body parts.

Pedipalps are clearly seen on spiders and some other arachnids, and are used for feeding, occasionally walking, sometimes fighting and in males, for the transfer of sperm.

I think that that the facial appendages of paramites are perfect Oddworld analogies with pedipalps, and I think that is a good name. I think this also works with the slig features as well. If not, "fang" sounds far better than any connections with fingers.


The scrab mouth has always struck me as a beak. Certainly the hard, pink tip of the upper jaw looks like part of one and could do some damage, though the reach of the lower jaw makes this superfluous. It has teeth, but then so did many prehistoric bird beaks.

Though honestly, I don't think the mouth of a scrab particularly needs any special name.


The external ear lobes of a Glukkon are exactly the same as those of the ogre Shrek. And I think they are just that: ear lobes. There are so many varieties on Earth, and we all call them "ears". Some bats have two ear lobes per ear. The Glukkon's earlobe is tubular, movable and seems to express emotion as part of the Glukkon body language. Just as they do in so many species.

[ziggy]

Bullet Magnet's suggestions are good. Pretty scientific, but if we wanted a name in a more common talk, maybe we can call the appendages sligs and paramites have, feelers. I believe a lot of insects and arachnids have these, plus it's easier to type. A scrab's mouth called a beak is fine. It's jaw pretty much looks like a bird beak with a huge lower jaw. I also thought the same thing about Shreks' ears looking just like upright glukkon ears! Why not just call them ears?

[Wil]

Great observations, BM, especially since I have consistently been using the terms ‘beak’ and ‘pedipalp’ in TOE. Not sure about ‘fangs’, though. The appendages are clearly designed after fingers, and after watching the clawing action they make when a Paramite attacks, it’s hard to escape the association. What’s more, they’re not teeth, and there’s no indication they deliver a poison.

Another area of potentially ambiguous nomenclature has occurred to me while trying to describe the vocalizations of Oddworld’s wildlife. Just what are the best words to describe the noises made by Scrabs, Paramites, and Sligs?

[Nate]

I've always thought of the Scrabs as crying or screeching. Paramites make more of a hissing sound. Not sure really what to make of Sligs; they can speak language so I'm not sure if a word is necessary.

[Bullet Magnet]

Paramites hiss, chirp and screech, in MO they grunt, even "oink". Scrabs howl,, in MO the chitter like monkeys and everywhere they very nearly "shoop-da-woop". I can't find any good word for the "shhhak!" sound they make.

Fleeches bark. "Ark! Ark!"

[used:)]

-The protrusions on a Slig’s face = tenticals
-The protrusions around a Paramite’s mouth = feelers/fingers
-The maw of a Scrab = beak
-The flapping ‘ears’ of a Glukkon = ears

[skillya_glowi]

I've always referred to the Slig proturusions as tentacles. I don't know what the devil a pedipalp is, but I've always called the Paramite ones "fingers." I don't know why, but in my conception tentacles are all limp and...
Pretty much like everyone else, the last two things were beak and ears. I was never one to concern myself with complicated names of things...

[squeak117]

I would say the noised made by Sligs would vary. If you're talking about the 'bs' phrases, then I would describe them as 'clicks' or 'fart sounds'. Maybe even: 'the kind of sound scottish people make when pronouncing their "r"s'. They speak in a nasal, artificial and sometimes deep voice, is what I would call it, and they wheeze when they yell, like someone around the age of seventeen trying to scream, or perhaps more accurately like an old person yelling at children to 'get off his lawn'.

There's my input.

[Zozo the Zrilufet]

I always called the slig tentacle thingies tentacles in my mind and I call those unamed Oddworld bunnies, bunnies.

[Wil]

What unnamed bunnies?

[Bullet Magnet]

For the unlearned heathens!

Pedipalps labelled "c".

[Zozo the Zrilufet]

What unnamed bunnies?

http://www.oddworld.com/firsttenyear.../pop_left.html I kinda assume they have no official name yet.

[Wil]

In that image there are ten Fuzzles, a Meetle grub, and a Meep’s right ear.

[skillya_glowi]

For the unlearned heathens!

Pedipalps labelled "c".

Oh. Ewww....
I don't think Paramites mate with those, though. I mean, they have claws and all...
(to clarify: I suddenly remembered what 'pedipalp' means. And I think I read somewhere that that's what spiders use to mate)
Or did I get something horribly wrong?
Anyway, I just saw this.

The male then inseminates the female by inserting the tips of his palpal organs into the female's genital opening.

[Bullet Magnet]

Yes, one of the uses in spiders is mating, at least by males. Usually it is aid in locomotion in some circumstances, feeding and grappling.

Pedipalps, the second pair of appendages of the cephalothorax in Arachnida, is homologous with mandibles in Crustacea, and corresponding to the mandibles of insects. The limbs themselves may be simple tactile organs outwardly resembling the legs, as in spider, or chelate weapons of great size, as in the scorpion...

Another good name would be "maxilliped", as seen in decapod crustaceans.

Maxillipeds are appendages modified to function as mouthparts. Particularly in the less advanced decapods, these can be very similar to the pereiopods. Pereiopods are primarily walking legs and are also used for gathering food. Those pereiopods which are armed with a claw (chela) are sometimes referred to as chelipeds.

all decapods have ten legs; these are the last five of the eight pairs of thoracic appendages characteristic of crustaceans. The front three pairs function as mouthparts and are generally referred to as maxillipeds, the remainder being pereiopods.

[Munch's Master]

Now, this is why BM further proves he's a walking biology encyclopedia. I always reffered to the Slig and Paramite appendages as face tentacles and face fingers respectively, but BM's term is probably better.

[Laser]

Pedipalps sound very,very oddworldian i think so those should be in!

[Wil]

To my ears, Scrabs howled and shrieked in the Abe games. In Munch’s Oddysee, the Scrab in the good ending most definitely roars. In gameplay, I can make out three kinds of noise. One sounds almost like the woof of a chain smoking dog. A similar one sounds like a seal hissing. The closest I could come up with for the last one was a seal doing an impression of a dolphin, but monkey chittering sounds about right.

Paramites hiss, click, and holler. When a Paramite is being attacked by bees, it sounds like someone pushing their finger across a damp surface. I can’t think of an onomatopoeia to describe that. In MO, they clearly just grunt, oink and squeal.

Fleeches I’d always thought of as croaking. Slig BS sounds I’ve always described as a honk and an insect chirp.

[Bullet Magnet]

My memory on that particular sound is fuzzy, but a paramite in pain seems to yelp and whimper.

[Zozo the Zrilufet]

In that image there are ten Fuzzles, a Meetle grub, and a Meep’s right ear.

It looked like a mummy and babby bunnies to me.