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Jimbo Jambo
Joined September 29, 2010
→On Pikmin Biology
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Onions and Candypops, too, probably don't photosynthesize much, if at all, given they have no leaves (or very small leaves in the case of Candypops, which live mostly underground and probably couldn't get enough sunlight to survive even if they wanted to). Chrysanthemums are in the same boat as everything else, but are probably able to do all the hunting, eating, and digesting themselves. As for Pellet Posies...I can only imagine. Their ability to grow so quickly and produce such nutritious pellets without large leaves or some other visible means of obtaining food baffles me. Maybe they extract nutrients from decaying remains of animals underground with the aid of symbiotic fungus. Who knows? | Onions and Candypops, too, probably don't photosynthesize much, if at all, given they have no leaves (or very small leaves in the case of Candypops, which live mostly underground and probably couldn't get enough sunlight to survive even if they wanted to). Chrysanthemums are in the same boat as everything else, but are probably able to do all the hunting, eating, and digesting themselves. As for Pellet Posies...I can only imagine. Their ability to grow so quickly and produce such nutritious pellets without large leaves or some other visible means of obtaining food baffles me. Maybe they extract nutrients from decaying remains of animals underground with the aid of symbiotic fungus. Who knows? | ||
===Communication=== | |||
Pikmin are obviously social creatures, similar to bees, ants, and termites, but evolved independently of them. They share much in common, but there's also a lot that's different. Whereas social insects communicate mostly by smell, Pikmin seem to do it by sight and sound; I can't say for sure whether or not Pikmin smell at all, but the fact that they follow Olimar, who could not possibly produce Pikmin pheromones, means its part in their communication must be minimal at best. | |||
The auditory part is pretty easy to see. Pikmin sing all the time, but more than just being cute, I think their songs are vital to keeping themselves together and organized. It also explains why they react so strongly to Olimar's whistle and whatever that little horn thing he does is when the C-stick is used. | |||
The visual part requires a bit more imagination. It's pretty clear that Pikmin can see - they have eyes after all - but it plays a more important and complicated role just "see food, attack food." Since they don't likely smell very much, I think Pikmin use their sight to identify other members of their species, but their visual acuity and processing power are likely limited by their size, so they need a fast and simple way of doing so, something that is unique to them; I believe the leaves serve this purpose. Evidence for this idea is the fact that Pikmin leaves glow when they are idle, a clear visual signal of ''something'' (possibly to call the attention of the pack should a Pikmin become lost or stranded). The color of a Pikmin's body also always contrasts that of its leaf, so it is easily recognizable (White Pikmin have pink flowers, not white, so there is still contrast. It is also because of this that I firmly believe there should never and will never be Green Pikmin, since its body would blend with its leaf, which ''must'' be green). If one accepts this idea, it's easy to imagine why a Pikmin might follow Olimar, whose shining antenna probably sparks the same visual cues they get from other Pikmin, but to a much larger degree. It also explains why Pikmin accept juvenile Bulbmin, which probably smell and look just like Bulborbs save for their recognizable leaves, as their own (the adults are just so absurdly huge that they probably don't register as anything but an enemy to Pikmin). | |||
==Subpages== | ==Subpages== | ||
See [[User:Jimbo Jambo/notes]] for ship part notes. | See [[User:Jimbo Jambo/notes]] for ship part notes. | ||