Dino Piranha

Not to be confused with Peewee Piranha

The Dino Piranha is a large boss in Super Mario Galaxy. It resides in the Good Egg Galaxy. It is found inside an egg when Mario first encounters it. The top of its egg becomes cracked when Mario crashes into it after being shot from a Launch Star on the preceding planet, thereby exposing its tail. The Dino Piranha then begins moving slowly around the planetoid from inside the egg, and when Mario Spins the large ball on the end of its tail, the shell breaks, revealing the Dino Piranha, initiating the battle.

Dino Piranha, along with King Kaliente, Major Burrows, Bouldergeist, and Fiery Dino Piranha, also appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in the Boss Blitz Galaxy. A boss that very closely resembles Dino Piranha called Peewee Piranha appears in the first level of the Sky Station Galaxy. Dino Piranha must be fought a total of four times in this game counting his fiery form.

Appearance
Dino Piranha's head looks similar to Petey Piranha, despite the fact that the color of its head is purple with white spots when relaxed, as opposed to red with white spots. Its body is much different than Petey Piranha. The Dino Piranha's body beneath the giant Piranha Plant head is that of a dinosaur's, (as would be expected given the name) with a green hue. Its tail has a brown ball at the end of it that slightly resembles a large seed. When it first breaks out of its egg its head is purple, but when enraged it turns red with anger. Dino Piranha also can be seen in the ending celebrating the Universe being recreated in Toad Town.

Strategy
This battle requires that Mario (or Luigi) skillfully use the Spin move to progress. When Mario arrives on Dino Piranha's planet, he will land on Dino Piranha's egg, cracking it. Its tail and legs will pop out and begin to walk slowly around the planet. To fully crack open the egg, Mario must hit the large ball on the end of the Dino Piranha's tail using the Star Spin so that it hits its own egg and cracks the shell. Dino Piranha will then start to run around the planet attempting to attack Mario. Mario must run behind the Dino Piranha and Spin its tail once again, causing it to hit itself a second time, which will make it very angry. Its head will turn bright red like Petey Piranha's head and it will chase Mario even faster than before. To finally defeat it, Mario must once again get behind it and hit its tail. After being hit a final time, it will fall over and explode in a cloud of purple dust, releasing a Power Star.

The player must fight the Dino Piranha twice in the Good Egg Galaxy. The second fight will only be available when a Speedy Comet orbits the Good Egg Galaxy. In addition, a fiery version of the Dino Piranha known as the Fiery Dino Piranha is fought in the Melty Molten Galaxy later in the game.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Dino Piranha appears as an opponent during the Dream Spacewalk event in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. It resides on the Geo Planet from the Sky Station Galaxy. The player's main objective is to pass through the rings provided by the Lumas, then perform a Rolling Attack toward Dino Piranha. After taking several hits, Dino Piranha will spit fireballs at players who must perform a Spin Attack to send them back at it. Players must execute these methods repeatedly to defeat Dino Piranha and complete the event.

Trivia

 * The theme music while fighting Dino Piranha is the same as while fighting Tarantox and Fiery Dino Piranha.
 * Dino Piranha's beta name was Piranha Plant Dinosaur.
 * The Super Mario Galaxy PRIMA guide says that Dino Piranha and Fiery Dino Piranha are related.