Piranhacus Giganticus
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| Piranhacus Giganticus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 A Piranhacus Giganticus from Super Mario Galaxy 2. | |||
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) | ||
| Latest appearance | Mario Party Superstars (2021) | ||
| Species origin | Piranha Plant | ||
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- Not to be confused with Super Piranha Plant.
A Piranhacus Giganticus is a gigantic Piranha Plant that first appeared in the game Super Mario Bros. 3. They are Big Piranha Plants found in large Pipes.
History
Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3, they only appear in Big Island. Although they are huge, a single fireball will destroy them. Despite their size, they are essentially exactly the same as any other typical Piranha Plant, other than they present a larger target and obstacle. They also appear in larger Warp Pipes than other Piranha Plants.
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, Piranhaci Gigantici make their sole appearance on Tiny-Huge Island, where depending on which side of the island Mario is on they could either be tiny or huge. They also had the ability to breath fire. In this game they were referred to as Venus Fire Traps in English but still possessed their original Japanese name.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Piranhacus Gigantici appear alongside Grand Goombas, Huge Paragoombas, and Gargantua Koopa Troopas in the Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy 2, where they appear in the Supermassive Galaxy. However, in contrast to their original appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, they are invincible, thus serving more as an obstacle than an enemy. They can, however, be stunned with a Star Spin or a Star Bit, but that just hinders the player as it stops the plant from going back in the pipe.
New Super Mario Bros. U
Piranhacus Gigantici reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U. They act the same way they did in Super Mario Bros. 3 although this time need to hit with three Fireballs to be defeated, similar to Super Piranha Plants. They are found in Soda Jungle, more specifically in Jungle of the Giants, which is the only level they appear in.
Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2
Piranhacus Gigantici reappear in Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2. They can be produced by applying a Super Mushroom to a standard Piranha Plant. Other than that, they behave the same as a standard Piranha Plant in a Pipe. In the Super Mario 3D World style, they are replaced with Super Piranha Plants.
Mario Party Superstars
A Piranhacus Giganticus appears in the Mario Party Superstars version of Tug o' War replacing the standard Piranha Plant found in the original version. The Piranhacus Giganticus swallows the losing contestants like the standard Piranha Plant in the original.
Names in Other Languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | でかパックンフラワー Kyodai Pakkun Furawā |
Giant Piranha Plant |
| German | Piranha Maxima | Pseudo-Latin for "Maxi Piranha" |
Trivia
- Piranhacus Giganticus' name could possibly be using binomial nomenclature, a scientific way of naming species having the genus name with the first letter capitalized (Piranhacus in this case) and a species name in lowercase (giganticus), both in italics. Which would result in Piranhacus giganticus.
- Fans claim that the name translates to Gigantic Piranha Plant however this has yet to be confirmed.
