I love the ocean and of course, Avatar, so the fact Avatar 2 is combining two things I love the most--I have to say I am very excited! Mostly for the upcoming fauna and flora we'll be introduced to during the course of the movie.
So, what do we know about so far?
Thanks to a couple of sources, namely the trailer and Disney World's Pandora: The World of Avatar in Animal Kingdom, we have met quite a few animals already!
In general, I want to go in order of which they're introduced to us, starting with the Flight of Passage ride at Disney. I'll then go over creatures seen in the trailer, and finally those from other sources.
ILU
These nimble creatures are our very first glimpse into Pandora's ocean creatures, as a dozen or so are seen leaping out of the water! Our human minds immediately link this visual to dolphin pods moving through the ocean, and ilu seem to move just as quickly, but whether they breathe air or not remains to be seen.
They were referenced in the "Guide to the Flora & Fauna of the Valley of Mo'ara" you can receive at Disney's Pandora:
Ilu were also seen in concept art released by the official Avatar page on social media, and most recently, the upcoming (or already released, depending on where you are) The World of Avatar: A Visual Exploration also has a nice picture of one on the very last page.
Ilu seem very much like a Tuarangisaurus, a dinosaur-era marine animal that breathes air and gives birth to live young. The only general physical difference is the fin shape, and the fact our Tuarangisaurus had four fins, not six, and ilu seem to have a shorter neck. Actually, this animal was just featured on the wonderful new documentary "Prehistoric Planet", airing on Apple TV.
I do find it very interesting also that the Tuarangisaurus is known to have been around New Zealand and they are named "from a combination of the Maori word for 'ancient' and the ancient Greek for 'lizard'".
I mentioned above about ilu perhaps breathing air, and I am still not sure, but the trailer gives us our best view yet. They're wide eyed and beautiful, friendly looking creatures. One shot while they're above water seems to show a possible blowhole on top of their head next to their queue, but again I don't wish to assume it breathes air, though it would certainly increase its closeness to its obvious inspirations--dolphins and the Tuarangisaurus.
NALUTSA
Another creature that is going to be an immediate favorite, the nalutsa leaps high from the shallow waters and into the air to snatch at an ikran! It gives off the vibes of a shark with its mouth, but its pectoral fin shape immediately remind me of a humpback whale.
The "Guide to the Flora & Fauna of the Valley of Mo'ara" says this about the nalutsa:
It seems the nalutsa is almost half-shark half-cetacean, and I can't wait to learn more about it! We do know it doesn't breathe air though, since it is described as six-gilled. It also has very interesting plating on its body. If you haven't seen it close up a la "Flight of Passage", here is a picture below also from the "A Visual Exploration" book.
It looks fierce, but it might not be as scary as it looks, since the Metkayina clan don't seem to make a very big deal out of seeing them swimming nearby. At least so far! Now, the akula on the other hand...
AKULA
We have no visuals for this creature yet, and I have a feeling we won't see it at all until Avatar: The way of Water is released. Since it is related to the nalutsa, though, I wonder if it is a bigger, meaner version of it--"A Visual Exploration" does mention the akula is "even larger" than the nalutsa.
TULKUN
If you've seen The Way of Water trailer, you could not miss a gigantic, apparently friendly creature floating just below the surface in one shot while a young Na'vi, Jake's son, reaches out to touch it. While you might mistake this at first for the nalutsa, looking closely at both reveals the essential differences: the fins are not shaped anything alike, this creature has two queues where the nalutsa does not seem to have any, and perhaps very telling is a face that looks very much like a baleen whale's--specifically the gray whale. Its face is seen when Jake's son tags along for a ride by grabbing its flipper.
So, why might this be named the tulkun? Like the akula, it's the only other name we have have an upcoming ocean creature, but we are lacking any description for it. However, it seems at least one media site that was given pictures along with descriptions says this is "Lo'ak and a tulkun" below.
I did not really want to 100% say that's what it is, but I have to think the media sites are right, seeing as these pictures came directly to them from 20th Century Studios. I always like to name my sources,as I don't want to be one of those bloggers where you just "have to take their word for it", that way you can judge the authenticity of information for yourself!
Curiously, the upcoming Avatar 4 is called "Avatar: The Tulkun Rider" -- perhaps it is Lo'ak and this shot might be some foreshadowing!
SKUKA - SAGITTARIA
Called skuka in Na'vi, this creature is a cephalopod-type animal evidenced by its long tentacles. I am reminded of scaphitid ammonites (a type of mollusk), but these ones seem much larger. With three "spouts" rising out of the head, I am excited to see it in action. We are first introduced to this animal at Disney, where you can come across a pond of them.
This lovely image was taken by my late friend Alec Frazier, whose big heart held all the love for Avatar and Pandora!
While placed in fresh water at Disney, considering the next movie is "in and around Pandora's oceans", I can't help but think this is actually a salt water creature. We shall see!
We do know they use their spouts to shoot down flying creatures, their preferred prey. Which brings me to another animal...
REEF TICK
2-feet long and bright, shiny blue, these ticks are seen in the same pool as the Sagittaria and featured in the "A Visual Exploration" book, reef ticks seem to have a symbioctic relationship with the sagittaria, "feeding off scraps that the cephalopods leave behind." ("AVE" book). The reef tick is also referenced in the same way in the "Wilderness Explorers Handbook", a children's exploration guide at Disney. There is also a unique drawing of both creatures inside it.
It gives its scientific name as cerebellis scapularis, and names the sagittaria as pluropoda sagittaria. Additionally, the name "reef tick" also makes me think this animal, and the sagittaria, are indeed salt water creatures.
MARINE IKRAN
When first watching the trailer, I didn't get a good look at them, but subsequent views showed an animal that made me express, "Look, a mini ikran!" I wasn't really sure this is what it was, but the wings and feet and most of the body sure made it look like it!
Their heads look very bird-like, which I think makes sense for an animal that most lively dives into the water to snatch out fish or other small creatures for a meal. The name "Marine Ikran" comes from "A Visual Exploration" book, but says nothing about them except their name and a picture which is more like a colorful, regular ikran outline than anything really detailed. However, I'm going to "safely" call it as such and assume this is the same animal.
PINCER FISH
Not seen in the trailer but pictured in the "Visual Exploration" book, the pincer fish very obviously gets its name from a pincer-like head! It's bright blue and gives me some serious piranha vibes with its sharp little teeth!
TURTAPEDE
This funnily-named animal was actually firstr introduced in "TORUK: The First Flight" Cirque du Soleil play, and it is referenced again in the "A Visual Exploration" book. It seems this particular creature is often found in freshwater but has adapted to salt water, as well! Its face is reminiscent of a duck-billed platypus, and it has a large shell like a turtle, hence its naming inspiration. It also seems to look radically different as a juvenile and as an adult!
[UNKNOWN]
There is a school of horizontally-finned fish with somewhat fat mouths swimming behind Kiri, a young Na'vi girl, as she explores the reef beneath the waves. I wanted to list them despite having no name for them because I feel it is important to recognize any creature we see!
For now, this is it for ocean animals. Other aquatic animals include the dinicthoid, or srakat in Na'vi, but the available information on it indicates it is a fresh water creature, thus not included in my list. I hope you enjoyed this read!
