Dino Piranha

Dino Piranhas are giant Piranha Plants resembling Petey Piranha with a dinosaur-like body that hatch from eggs. They appear as bosses in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. The most basic one, simply called Dino Piranha, resides in the Good Egg Galaxy. 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. 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 Dino Piranha, initiating the battle. The theme music while fighting Dino Piranha is the same as while fighting Tarantox and Fiery Dino Piranha.

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 different Dino Piranha called Peewee Piranha appears in the first level of the Sky Station Galaxy. The original Dino Piranha must be fought a total of four times in both games.

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. 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 club at the end which may be inspired by the club of a real life. 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 the castle gardens.

Battle
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 get behind it and hit its tail two more times. After being hit a final time, it falls over, screams and explodes in a cloud of purple dust, releasing a Power Star.

The player must fight 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 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 Peewee Piranha's 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. The players must execute these methods repeatedly to defeat Dino Piranha and complete the event.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Dino Piranha is mentioned briefly by Viridi during Palutena's Guidance dialogue for Piranha Plant. It is referred to in the plural form, implying it is a species rather than a character.

Super Mario Galaxy trading card description
''To collect the first Power Star, battle Dino Piranha in the Good Egg Galaxy. This boss is awakened when Mario breaks open its egg and forces it into battle. Even though Dino is gigantic, Mario can defeat it by star spinning the ball at the end of its tail. Do this three times in order to win and collect the Power Star!''

Names in other languages
Dino Piranha Dino-Piranha