Don't shoot! Don't shoot, you'll piss him off!Dr. Grace Augustine warning Jake Sully not to shoot an angry hammerhead titanothere
The hammerhead titanothere (Na'vi name: 'angtsìk) is a large Pandoran herbivore, approximately eleven meters (36 feet) long, which is almost twice the size of a Terran elephant. This animal may be more reminiscent to the Triceratops.
Anatomy[]
A male hammerhead (top) and female (bottom)
According to Avatar: The Game, male hammerheads are more of a blue color, while female hammerheads are more reddish.
In the juvenile animal, the imposing hammerhead structure is formed of cartilage rather than bone. It can also bend to allow the animal to pass through the restricted spaces which an inexperienced young hammerhead might encounter. As it matures, the structure ossifies and becomes solid bone. Atop the hammerhead structure, titanotheres also possess a brightly colored display crest with rigid, chitinous backings that can be raised when confronted by an adversary. The skin flaps are usually shades of purple and blue, but herd leaders have yellow-orange ones. Bioluminescent patterns are present on the fan structure. Both the hammerhead structure and the colored skin fan are also used to attract and compete for a mate.
The hammerhead titanothere has poor distance vision, but makes up for this with acute hearing and an excellent sense of smell. Although massive, its six limbs allow it to pivot rapidly when it detects a threat from the side or rear. The animal's overlapping body plates and large, bony shoulder and back offer protection during battles with other titanotheres or large creatures such as the leonopteryx or thanator. Their armor, however, only covers the front of their bodies. Their hindquarters are relatively unprotected. The titanothere has a genetic similarity to the hexapede: It has very small feathery scent organs on the side of the neck. It has four eyes and a soft, ungulate mouth, protected by a beak-like jaw structure.
Behavior[]
This massive, grazing creature travels in moderately large herds or packs of 10-20 animals. It is fairly social, but also extremely territorial and hierarchical. Constant threat displays, both visible and audible, are very common during the hammerhead titanothere's day. When angered (which happens easily and very often), a titanothere will lower its head and charge at the perceived threat. The sheer momentum and ferocity of this display is usually enough to send any Pandoran creature running for cover, including mountain banshees and even viperwolf packs. When wanting to avoid any conflict, hammerheads will raise a large "fan" of brightly colored, feather-like skin flaps on the top of its head. This display, usually accompanied by a loud roar, is usually enough to send many animals running away.
Hammerhead titanotheres group together when attacked by a thanator or leonopteryx, which are their only known predators. Many titanotheres charging at a perceived threat is even more intimidating than a single angry titanothere.
Fighting males will attempt to injure their opponents' eyes with the knobs at the ends of their hammers. The titanothere is highly territorial. Alpha males use their considerable momentum to spread their scent by smashing trees, thus warning other animals (including other titanothere bulls) to steer clear.
Despite the shape of heads which might hinder their movements within forests, they actually inhabit forests and jungles in addition to open grasslands. An aging titanothere will sometimes travel long distances in order to die in a sacred resting place such as the Hammerhead Graveyard. These sites are exceedingly rare; the animals' behavior is possibly due to the influence of Eywa.
Role in the Avatar Universe[]
Films[]
Jake comes face to face with a hammerhead titanothere
While traversing the Pandoran jungle, Jake Sully encountered an angered titanothere and its herd while playing with a grove of helicoradians. Jake raised his gun to shoot them but Grace Augustine ordered him to stand down, knowing that the weapon wouldn't be able to penetrate the titanothere's armor and would instead only make it angry. The titanothere charged Jake but fled back to its herd after a thanator appeared behind him. The herd deferred the thanator from attacking them, but it then turned on Jake and chased him into the jungle.
During the Assault on the Tree of Souls, Eywa sent a group of titanotheres and sturmbeest to help the Na'vi in their battle against the RDA. The creatures were highly effective against the RDA's AMP suits, with one of them stomping on and killing Lyle Wainfleet.
Titanotheres were also shown fleeing during the RDA's return to Pandora in 2168. One titanothere was also burned to death by the exhaust flares of the ISV Manifest Destiny.
Games[]
A caged hammerhead titanothere
In the cancelled Avatar: Reckoning, a caged hammerhead titanothere disliked being trapped in a small confined cage. Desperate, it broke loose by ramming the cage. However, Trinity Harper, in her AMP suit, decided to kill the poor creature.
In the DS game, the venerable hammerhead Au Tsum came to the aid of a Na'vi named Nok, thanks to Lungoray, who allowed Au Tsum to be influenced by Eywa. Au Tsum destroyed an RDA base in Dusk Valley single-handedly and then continued helping Nok with his quest to drive the RDA out of the Tawkami clan's land. Their Pandorapedia entry reads: “A Hammerhead is not a creature to be dealt with lightly. It’s a massive, armored herbivore with a blunt crest on its skull. It’s extremely aggressive when protecting its grazing territory.”
Trivia[]
- Players have poked fun at the hammerhead titanotheres in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora because in the first film, Grace Augustine said they will not attack if players hold their ground due to it being a territorial threat display. In the game, this does not work and they will simply try to trample the player anyway.
Gallery[]
|
See the image gallery for |
Sources[]
- James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide page 80-81
- James Cameron's Avatar: The Game NDS, ingame Pandorapedia entry
- Pandorapedia - Hammerhead entry
References[]