Phlogus

A Phlogus is (presumably) a creature on Aether. None are encountered in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, although its Darkling counterpart is seen twice.
Evidence suggests that a light Phlogus was planned for inclusion in the game at some point. Two Logbook models are associated with the scan file of the Dark Phlogus: the normal Dark Phlogus, and an untextured model with more spikes. The text associated with this scan only refers to it as "Phlogus" without any indication of it being a Darkling. Additionally, the text file containing the titles of Logbook entries has entries for both Phlogus and Dark Phlogus, though the Phlogus title is never used. Finally, the animation data for the Dark Phlogus is configured for two variants, one titled "PuddleSpore" and one titled "Dark PuddleSpore". While the model associated with the "Dark PuddleSpore" configuration is the Dark Phlogus model, the "PuddleSpore" configuration refers to a model that doesn't exist in the game's files. Although the reason for the Phlogus' removal is unknown, it may have been because it was too similar to the dark version, or because there was no suitable location for it.
The Phlogus's Logbook entry is present within the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc. The name of the creature in the Data Network is Puddlespore and its scan is identical to the the Dark Phlogus's scan seen in the final. Besides punctuation, the only minor change in the final entry is "murky waters", which was originally "the bog" in the Bonus Disc. This change was likely made to fit with the Dark Phlogus's Dark Torvus Bog setting. There does not appear to be a Logbook entry of a Dark Phlogus within the Data Network. Therefore, it is highly likely the Phlogus was simply rebranded as a Dark Phlogus early on, with its scan simply carried over to the final with a one line change. This would explain why the creature is simply named Phlogus in the final's entry, though it is rather odd this name wasn't updated along with the rest of the text.
==Gallery==
Bonus Disc Puddlespore Logbook.png|The Phlogus model seen in the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc.
Category:Species
Category:Aether
Category:Unused Content