Terrene Toothed Tsuchinoko - Yu-Gi-Oh!

Watch out for snakes.

This is an odd case. The English name, as shown above, is Terrene Toothed Tsuchinoko. The Japanese name however is Tsuchinoko. The TCG actually added adjectives to this card's name. What. Just what. Why in heaven's name would you do this? Usually the TCG is removing words from a name, either because it's too long for English or because the Japanese name is redundant, listing the name in both Japanese and Engrish. For example, if you translate the name of Jellyfish from the OCG, you end up with Jellyfish - Jellyfish, since the card has both the Japanese word for jellyfish, followed by a pronunciation of the English word jellyfish. This card is the complete opposite though. The TCG is adding words that were never there.

The words they added are equally strange. The first word is terrene. I actually had to look this word up, that's how often it's used. The definition I got links it to the word terra, meaning earth, making the definition worldly or earthy. Yes, it was very important that they tell us this monster is earthy, less we look at the art and it's attribute and confuse it for a sea-dwelling monster. The second word is toothed. Well, you can see the two top fangs. Barely qualifies as toothed though. Maybe the toothed part refers to the spikes this version have, but then why not just say spiked? Is the alliteration that important? I would have been fine if it was just Spiked Tsuchinoko, since the illustrations and descriptions I'm finding don't usually depict this guy with spikes.

Now, what exactly is a tsuchinoko. The tsuchinoko is a mythological snake-like creature, different from snakes in that it's often depicted with a bulge following the head. After that description, reports of the tsuchinoko start to wildly diverge. Some say it can actually jump. Others say it can speak. Some say its poisonous. Others say it has a propensity for alcohol. The claim that's my favorite is that it can swallow its own tail, then travel around by rolling in a hoop shape. Unfortunately, the tsuchinoko has reached cryptozoological status, meaning amateurs with cameras go hunting for it and report seeing it when alone or in blurry photos. I don't wish to sound demeaning, since things like the coelacanth do pop up, but sadly most people in the field of cryptozoology have no idea what they're doing and only have the vaguest notions about what science actually is.