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When the colonists came to Pern they found a host of native creatures, many of them sporting six limbs in one form or another. They also brought along several species of Terran stock which were adapted, by genetic alterations, to Pern's environment.

Native Species[]

Mammals[]

When the E.E.C. first explored PERN, they were surprised to see no evidence of any large mammalian creatures; but, they did discover fossil remnants of a herbivorous ruminant in a tar pit that was 50,000 years old.

Reptiles[]

  • Fire lizards were 4-legged and 2-winged reptiles, and, along with snakes and wherries, shared the same common ancestor. They were divided into five colours, as were the dragons: Gold, Bronze, Brown, Blue, and Green. The Golds (or Queens) possessed greater intelligence than the other colours and, unlike the foolish greens, would lay their eggs safely above the tide line of the beaches where they tended to live. Fire lizards could, like dragons, be Impressed by humans at hatching; but, unlike dragons, those that didn't Impress stayed wild and didn't go between to die. Fire-lizards were telepathic and communicated with their owners, though only through images, unlike dragons, who could communicate verbally as well. Fire-lizards that were treated with the mentasynth enhancements by Bay Harkenon tended to be smarter and more capable of communicating with their owners.
  • Snakes were reptilian vermin that infested Pern. Unlike Terran serpents, snakes possessed six limbs, which some used to burrow and dig. Others were adapted to survive an amphibious life, with either webbed feet or paddles. Only a few species of tunnel snakes were edible, as the colonists learned early on. Some species also had a venomous bite, that could prove fatal if left untreated. They were renowned for vastly depleting supplies, and could eat practically anything.
Tunnel snake game
  • Sand snakes
  • Tunnel snakes
  • Water snakes

Birds and Bird-like Creatures[]

  • Wherries were large avian creatures distantly related to the tunnel snake. Their middle set of limbs were large leathery wings. Unlike Terran birds, the wherry was covered in a soft fur-like down. Wherries were used as food stock. The fatty flesh would often be an indication of where it fed - picking up a fishy taste when it fed by the sea and a nutty taste when it fed on grains from the plains. They were named by the EEC survey team for their resemblance to wherries, a form of flat-bottomed barge used on Earth. It is not clear in the books whether there were different species of wherries.

Insects and Insect-like Creatures[]

  • VTOL — A harmless flying insect, they were named by the survey party for their ability to perform vertical take offs and landings.
  • Grubs — small, gray, furry, and legless creatures engineered from a native species by Ted Tubberman to eat burrowing Thread before it could cause any damage. They were further modified by Ted's son Purman into «vine grubs» that would help plants grow, as well as protect them from Thread.
  • Crawlies
  • Trundlebugs — A useful insect that ate parasites, turned the soil and acted as a pollinator. They had the most elaborate color camouflage of all the insects found on Pern and came in many colors. Their young clung to their mother and formed a line of trundlebugs until something separated them. Trundlebugs always traveled in a straight line until something forced them to turn or moved them to face another direction. If they were annoyed in any way, their defense was to release a HORRIBLE smell. Tai said that, according to her dragon, they had scratchy feet. Since Golanth didn't like them, Zaranth showed him how to move them without crushing them. Tai also said they could swim.
  • Fy-bys — small gnat-like insect
  • Rockmites — Small water-dwelling beetle-like insects
  • Rollers — a type of wood louse
  • Scatid — a six-limbed burrowing insect smaller than a human thumbnail, with two front limbs adapted for digging. There were at least two species - a northern one with thinner diggers and furry back legs, and a southern one with wider diggers for pushing away sand
  • Wrigglers — a small worm-like creature
  • Sandworms — an armored Thread-eating worm that lived near Igen Hold

Fish and Sea Creatures[]

Fish were the most common and diverse form of life on Pern. There were many different species, with varieties of each. It was theorised by the colonists that the lack of diversity of land creatures, and the massive variety of sea life, were both a direct effect of Thread. A number of fishholds were established to take advantage of this.

  • Bordo - Northern version of the Packtail,[1]
  • Packtail — A deep-sea fish. It was covered in slime that could cause infections in humans if it got into an open wound.
  • Redfin[2]
  • Yellow-stripe
  • Rainbow[3]
  • Whitefish
  • Fingertail
  • Spiderclaw — A plump shellfish that looked like a crab with many legs. They laid their eggs on sandy beaches in the spring. They could be smoked, salted or dried, and they retained their flavor in long-cooking dishes.

Imported species[]

The colonists brought cryostored sperm and eggs which they implanted in surrogate horses and cows that had been transported in cold sleep.

  • A catch-all term used to describe bovine, porcine, and sheep and goat stock, herdbeasts was used for their meat, milk and hides much like they had been on Earth and the other colonies.
  • Descended from horses, the Pernese runnerbeast was as diverse in its breeding as its forefathers, ranging from fast sprinters to sturdy draft beasts used to haul trader wagons. They were used by the Runners to carry messages from holders who did not have easy access to Drumheights or Weyrs.
  • Another catch-all term for any beast that was used to pull a cart or other form of serious labor, Draybeast covered oxen, mules, and possibly llamas.
  • 25 bottle-nosed dolphins (also known as shipfish), who had been given mentasynth enhancements, volunteered to assist in the mapping of Pern's large oceans. They were capable of speaking in English to the Pernese. During the First and Ninth Passes they were accompanied by human companions, or Dolphineers.
  • Cheetahs (later known as Felines) were brought by the colonists, but weren't used until Ted Tubberman enhanced them with mentasynth to serve as guard animals. The cheetahs killed Tubberman and escaped. By the Ninth Pass, they had spread across the Southern Continent. Despite being descended from cheetahs, there was considerable variety in their coat patterns. They were the largest predators in the Southern Continent's ecosystem, and they were a frequent hazard to humans, even attacking a dragon on at least one occasion.
    • On the Far Western Continent during the Second Interval, there was a population of felines known as Mrreows. Their preferred prey was tunnel snakes, and they would push aside easy prey to get to them. Other than that, they were similar to Southern Continent felines. Shortly after the Ninth Pass, there was no sign of them. In fact, Threadfall had killed all life on the continent except tunnel snakes.

Fish and Sea Creatures[]

Unknown species[]

  • Mentioned once, Fur beasts were small animals trapped for food and their skins. It is unclear if they were native to Pern or were a marginally successful introduced species.
  • Whersports, a species related to dragons native to the Southern Continent, were larger than a fire-lizard and smaller than a watch-wher.  Humans could eat them.
  • Deep Ones were a large, aquatic species that lived near Tillek.  They went to depths beyond any trawling ships' nets, but were capable of coming to the surface.  They created spouts of water, similar to the ones created by dolphins when they exhaled.  According to harpers, they came on the «Great Crossing» (which may refer to either the First or Second Crossing), and they helped people by herding fish.  Lorana described them as «almost» telepathic, and similar to dolphins, but «much bigger» and «different.» They were presumably descended from whales.

References[]

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