Animals

For other things named "animal" or "animals", see the disambiguation page
Animals are LEGO pieces and figures which are designed to represent and resemble animals. Just as regular minifigures portray humans, there are also specific figures and parts which depict animals in the LEGO Universe, which are usually made up of specific or custom LEGO elements instead of being composed of standard pieces. Animal figures may consist of just one single element or piece, or can consist of a whole complement of special parts.
Not all LEGO animals were made up of special pieces or even one single dedicated element. There were also some animals that were build of universally usable pieces. But those creatures would usually appear in only one set while the other animals could be reused more often due to their more simple and standardized design.
== History ==
The first purpose built animals designed for and to scale of minifigures were the horses introduced in several Castle sets in 1984. These first horses were only available in white and black. A brown version was introduced in 1988. Over the course of the next decade another two with different colouring were released but the basic form is still the same.
There were no new animals until the advent of the Pirates theme in 1989, when the monkey, the first shark, the first bird,and the first octopus were introduced. The bird was printed with a parrot pattern and also its shape had the basic appearance of a parrot. Nevertheless, the same piece also served as generic "bird piece" and was released in various colours to suit its many different functions. It is still in use today.
In the 1990s a greater variety of animals were introduced. Many of them, such as cats and dogs, initially appeared in Belville sets but were later also used in normal LEGO System themes. There was also a growing number of sea creatures like octopi, available in Aquazone sets, and dolphins, both introduced in 1995, and also the manta ray and the sawfish, both included in Divers sets. Smaller single-piece creatures such as crabs, scorpions, spiders, snakes, starfish, and bats also made their first appearances in the 1990s. There was also a small pony that was released in just two Paradisa sets in 1996. All of these new animals, except the sawfish (which was basically a shark with a new head-piece) consisted of only one single piece. The only more complex new animals from the 1990s were the dragon and the crocodile.
The introduction of the Harry Potter theme added the first owls to the complement of LEGO animals, as well as several mythical creatures, such as the Hippogriff, a 3-headed dog, and a Hungarian Horntail dragon. Another new dragon was introduced in the new Castle line from 2007.
The new Vikings line from 2005 brought three different dragons, the Fenris wolf and the Midgard serpent, but those creatures rather fall in the category of non-reusable designs that were only designed for the respective set they appear in. The same can be said for the bigger sea creatures included in the Aqua Raiders sets from 2007.
There were also several dinosaurs released in sets of the Dino Island, Studios, Dino Attack, and Dino lines.
More conventional animals introduced in the 2000s include two versions of a rat, a frog, an elephant, a Polar Bear, and a wolf, that would later become a police dog. A very rare animal was a lemur that was only available in the Shop-at-home set 3828 Air Temple. All of these animals except the elephant are single-piece designs.
2009 brought some new animals, such as the first LEGO cows (available in either Reddish Brown or Black and White), a small fish and a new shark, that is substantially bigger than its predecessor from 1989 and can now swallow a whole minifigure.
== List of LEGO System Animal figures ==
=== Figures of existing Animals ===
;Amphibians & reptiles
* Crocodile
* Frog
* Snake
* Turtle
;Arachnids & insects
* Ant
* Butterfly
* Scorpion 
* Spider
;Birds
* Bird 
* Ostrich
* Owl
* Chicken
* Duck
* Parrot
* Crow 
;Land mammals
* Bat
* Bear
* Bison 
* Bunny
* Cat
* Camel
* Cow
* Dog
* Elephant
* Fawn
* Foal
* Goat
* Horse
* Monkey
* Pig
* Polar bear
* Pony
* Rabbit 
* Rat
* Skunk
* Squirrel
* Lemur
;Sea creatures
* Clam
* Crab
* Dolphin
* Fish
* Jellyfish 
* Lobster 
* Octopus
* Sawfish
* Shark 
* Starfish
* Sting ray
=== Dinosaurs ===
LEGO dinosaur were originally introduced in the Adventures line in 2000. Later variations of dinosaurs would come to follow.
* Baby Tyrannosaurus rex or "Baby T-Rex" 
* Raptor 
* Stegosaurus 
* T-Rex 
* Triceratops 
* Pteranodon 
* Coelophysis 
=== Fictional & Mythological Animals ===
* Dragon 
* Jun-Chi 
* Lava Monster 
* Flying Lemur 
* Baby Dragon 
* Rock Monster (Power Miners) 
* Rock Monster (Rock Raider) 
* Skeletal Horse 
* Tygurah 
* Yeti 
;Harry Potter Animals:
* Buckbeak the Hippogriff 
* Fluffy the three headed dog 
* Fawkes the Phoenix 
* Thestral
;Star Wars Animals:
* Dewback 
* Kaadu 
* Sarlacc
* Varactyl
* Tauntaun 
* Wampa 
* Dianoga
* Rancor
;Lord of the Rings creatures:
* Cave Troll
* Fell Beast
* Shelob
* Warg
;Ninjago creatures:
* The Great Devourer
* Serpentine
* Ultra Dragon
* Treehorn
* Treehorn Queen
* Falcon (Ninjago)
* Mud Monster
* Cragling
* Grundal
* Starteeth
* Leviathan
== Virtual animal figures ==
Many LEGO software programs and games feature virtual animal minifigures which have never been physically created or released, such as a Llama or a Lion.
== DUPLO animal figures ==
LEGO's DUPLO line also includes animal figures which are not considered to be minifigures since they are traditionally not included in the LEGO System Line. Unlike regular LEGO minifigure animals, DUPLO animal figures are designed to be big enough as to not pose a chocking hazard to small children, much like the rest or the pieces in the DUPLO line. DUPLO animal figures usually consist of only one piece. Many DUPLO adult animal pieces include a baby counterpart.
=== List of DUPLO animal figures ===
;Figures of existing animals
* Cat
* Cow
* Dog
* Giraffes
* Lions
* Monkeys
* Panthers
* Pigs
* Seals
* Sheep
* Tigers
* Zebras
;Dinosaur figures
* Brachiosaurus
* T-rexs
* Triceratops
* Pteranodon
;Mythological creatures
* Dragon 
== See also ==
* Minifigure
* Fabuland
* Dinosaurs
 
Category:Minifigures