| Amabie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Original | アマビエ | ||
| Romanization | Amabie | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Ichthyoid | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | Harmless | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Japan | ||
| Habitat | Sea | ||
| Locomotion | Tripedal | ||
| Subspecies | Amabiko | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Real | ||
The Amabie is a peculiar sea creature originating from Japanese legends, where it emerges from the sea to deliver prophesies. Seeing a picture of an Amabie can sometimes cure diseases or prevent them.
Biology
Amabies are strange-looking creatures. Considered a type of mermaid, they have long feminine hair and are covered in scales, but possess a bird-like beak on their faces and three legs with which they can move around on land. Their bodies glow with a mysterious light which can sometimes be seen from the shore, even as the Amabie remains hidden in the sea.
Amabies are well known for their prophetic nature and, despite their inhuman appearance, seem to be quite friendly. The most well-known story tells of an Amabie who visited the Higo Province in the year 1846 and prophesied good harvests for the following six years. She also warned that a plague could spread out, but showing an image of the Amabie to the sick would cure them. As such, the town's official sketched a picture of the creature for that purpose before she returned to the sea.
The Amabie is almost identical to the Amabiko, which also delivers prophecies and whose image can also prevent disease. The only differences are that the Amabiko's body is entirely covered in hair, rather than scales; its face is more ape-like, without a beak; and it sometimes has four legs rather than three.
