Dino Piranha

The Dino Piranha is a large boss in the video game Super Mario Galaxy. He 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 Staron 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 completely breaks, revealing the Dino Piranha and 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.

Appearance
Dino Piranha's head looks a lot like that of 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 in color, but when enraged it turns red with anger, and when it is defeated it changes back to its original color.

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. The player 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.

Trivia

 * In the game's ending sequence, the Dino Piranha appears in the castle grounds next to a circle of Jack O' Goombas and Toads playing.
 * He seems to bear an odd resemblance to Petey Piranha, a boss from the game Super Mario Sunshine.
 * It is possible that Dino Piranha is indeed related not only to Fiery Dino Piranha (from the Melty Molten Galaxy), but also Peewee Piranha (from the Sky Station Galaxy) from Super Mario Galaxy 2 as well.
 * The theme music while fighting Dino Piranha is the same as while fighting Tarantox and Fiery Dino Piranha.