Reptiles are often misunderstood creatures but have a beauty and elegance all their own. The speed at which some can strike is truely devastating and the gracefulness of movement that others show can be a source of wonderment. Below you find a small selection of some of the reptiles of Gor. Enjoy.
A rare Gorean python, so large, it would be difficult for a man to encircle its body with his arms.
In another cage, somnolent and swollen, I saw a rare
golden hith, a Gorean python whos body, even when unfed, it would be difficult for a
full-grown man to encircle with his arms.
Priest-Kings of Gor, page 191
huge, many banded Gorean python that can sometimes be found in the countryside.
One such serpent was the huge, many-banded Gorean
python, the Hith.
Outlaw of Gor, page 26
Large predatory variety of river tharlarion that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests inland of Schendi. It is believed the cannibalistic Mamba People take their name from this flesh-eating animal.
The word 'Mamba' in most of the river dialects does
not refer to a venomous reptile as might be expected, give its meaning in English, but,
interestingly, is applied rather generally to most types of predatory river tharlarion.
The Mamba people were, so to speak, the Tharlarion people. The Mamba people ate human
flesh. So, too, does the tharlarion. It is thus, doubtless, that the people obtained their
name.
Explorers of Gor, page 393
Narrow dark, poisonous snake about five feet long with a small triangular head. It inhabits the waters of the Vosk Delta.
(Looking up quote, please be patient)
Book 24, page 267
Tiny snake about 12 inches long bright orange in color; its venom causes extremely painful death within seconds. It is the most venomous snake on Gor.
One to be feared even more perhaps was the tiny ost,
a venomous, brilliantly orange reptile little more than a foot in length, whos bite
spelled an excruciating death within seconds.
Outlaw of Gor, page 26
A variety of ost identified by its yellowish orange color and black rings.
Vancius laughed. “As I have great respect for the banded ost,” said he. I smiled. The banded ost is a variety of ost, a small, customarily brilliantly orange Gorean reptile. It is exceedingly poisonous. The banded ost is yellowish orange and is marked with black rings.
Assassin of Gor, page 335
A snake of the rainforests inland of Schendi that is identified by its red with black stripes.
(Searching for Quote)
Explorers of Gor, page ??
An inhabitant of the brine pits of the salt mines of the Tahari, they are white and blind with long stem like legs with fern-like filaments which are feather gills.
Among the lelts, too, were, here and there, tiny
salamandes, they, too, white and blind. Like the lets, they were, for their size,
long-bodied, were capable of long perious of dormancy and possessed a slow metabolism,
useful in an environment in which food is not plentiful. Unlike the lelts they had long,
stemlike legs. At first I had taken them for lelts, skittering about the rafts, even to
the fermlike filaments at the sides of their head, but these filaments, in the case of the
salamanders, interestingly, are not vibration receptors but feather gills, an external
gill system. This system, common in the developing animal generally, is retained even by
the adult salamanders, who are, in this environment, permanently gilled.
Tribesmen of Gor, page 247
One of several types of large reptiles, some of which have been domesticated, it's fat is rendered to provide lamp oil. Tharlarions can be two or four legged, flighted or land, prefer land or water and comprise most of the reptile types in one way or another. Perhaps the word would translate loosely as reptile.
See the various quotes below.
Sluggish tharlarion used as draft animals; herbivorous.
The high tharlarion, unlike their draft brethren, the
slow-moving, four-footed broad tharlarions, were carnivorous.
Tarnsmen of Gor, page 125
Agile tharlarion used as a mount for riding. They have very short almost useless forelegs; carnivorous.
He rode the species of tharlarion called the high
tharlarion, which ran on its two back feet in bounding strides. Its cavernous mouth was
lined with long, gleaming teeth. Its wo small, ridiculously disproprotionate forelegs
dangled absurdly in front of its body.
Tarnsmen of Gor, page 115
Land dwelling tharlarion used for towing. The land tharlarion can swim, though not as efficiently as the river tharlarion.
Those approaching were drawn by land tharlarion,
plodding on log roads along the edges of the river. The land tharlarion can swim barges
across the river, but he is not as efficient as the vast river tharlarion.
Captive of Gor, page 81
Inhabitants of the marshes that comprise the delta of the Vosk; similar to a crocodile in some ways.
In the pool, clambering over one another, lifting
their jaws upward were crocodiles, beasts like river tharlarion but differently hided and
plated.
I nodded. The marsh tharlarion, and river tharlarion, of Gor are, I suspect, genetically
different from teh alligators, caymens, and crocodiles of Earth. I suspect this to be the
case because these Earth reptiles are so well adapted to their environments that they have
changed very little in tens of millions of years. The marsh and river tharlarion,
accordingly, if descended from such beasts, brought long ago to Gor on Voyages of
Acquisition by Priest-Kings, would presumably resemble them more closely. On the other
hand, of course, I may be mistaken in this matter. It remains my speculation, however,
that the resemblance between these forms of beasts, which are considerable, particularly
in bodily configuration and disposition, may be accounted for by convergent evolution
Explorers of Gor, page 326
these high tharlarions are bred and registered for racing. Unlike the animals used as cavalry, these are chosen from 'medium class' tharlarion, being smaller and lighter. Famous bloodlines include Venetzia, Toraii, and Thalonian.
We were astride rented tharlarion, high tharlarion,
bipedalian tharlarion. Although our mounts were such, they are not to be confused with the
high tharlarion commonly used by Gorean shock cavalry, swift, enormous beasts the charge
of which can be so devastating to unformed infantry. If one may use terminology
reminiscent of the sea, these were medium-class tharlarion, comparatively light beasts, at
least compared to their brthren of the contact cavalries, such cavalries being opposed to
the sorts commonly employed in missions such as foraging, scouting, skirmishing and
screening troop movements. Rather our mounts were typical of the breeds from which are
extracted racing tharlarion, of the sort used, for example, in the Vennan races. To be
sure, it is only select varieties of such breeds, such as the Venetzia, Torarii and
Thalonian, which are commonly used for the racers. As one might suppose, the blood lines
of the racers are carefully kept and registered, as are, incidentally, those of many other
sorts of expensive bred animals, such as tarsks, sleen and verr.
Magicians of Gor, page 290
Extremely large web-footed lizards used by bargemen of the Cartius River to pull barges.
A broad, low-sided barge began to back toward the
pier. It had two large steering oars, manned by bargement. It was drawn by two gigantic,
web-footed river tharlarion. They were the first tharlarion that I had ever seen. They
frightened me. They were scaled, vast and long-necked. Yet in the water it seemed, for all
their bulk, they moved delicately. One dipped its head under the surface and, moments
later, the head emerged, dripping, the eyes blinking, a silverish fish struggling in the
small, triangular-toothed jaws. It engorged the fish, and turned its small head, eyes now
unblinking, to regard us.
Captive of Gor, page 80
Crocodile-type animal; implied to be carnivorous and very similar to the marsh tharlarion.
In the pool, clambering over one another, lifting
their jaws upward were crocodiles, beasts like river tharlarion but differently hided and
plated.
I nodded. The marsh tharlarion, and river tharlarion, of Gor are, I suspect, genetically
different from teh alligators, caymens, and crocodiles of Earth. I suspect this to be the
case because these Earth reptiles are so well adapted to their environments that they have
changed very little in tens of millions of years. The marsh and river tharlarion,
accordingly, if descended from such beasts, brought long ago to Gor on Voyages of
Acquisition by Priest-Kings, would presumably resemble them more closely. On the other
hand, of course, I may be mistaken in this matter. It remains my speculation, however,
that the resemblance between these forms of beasts, which are considerable, particularly
in bodily configuration and disposition, may be accounted for by convergent evolution
Explorers of Gor, page 326
A small, six-toed reptile of the south.
(Looking up the quote, please be patient)
Book 9, page 152
Described as not much more than 'teeth and tail', this tiny scavenger follows in the wake of the larger water tharlarion and is not more than 6 inches long. It inhabits the marshes.
Immediately following I saw the water seem to glitter
for a moment, a rain of yellowish streaks beneath the surface, in teh wake of the water
tharlarion, doubtless its swarm of scavengers, tiny water tharlarion, about six inches
long, little more than teeth and tail.
Raiders of Gor, page 1
Can grow to be gigantic, these animals are carnivorous, aggressive and persistent. Can be difficult to kill.
(Searching for quote, please be patient)
Raiders of Gor, page ??
winged, monstrous, hissing, predatory tharlarion, found flying over the deltas surrounding Port Kar. This reptile has a 25-foot wing span and a long, snakelike tail, terminating with a flat spade like structure.
Only one creature in the marshes dares to outline
itself against the sky, the predatory Ul, the winged tharlarion.
Raiders of Gor, page 1
