King Totomesu

King Totomesu is the first boss in the game Super Mario Land. He is a large sphinx- or lion-like creature who resembles a Gao but, unlike this enemy, is capable of moving in addition to breathing fire. King Totomesu leads the Birabuto Kingdom under Princess Daisy. During Tatanga's invasion of Sarasaland, King Totomesu fell under Tatanga's control.

Mario faces King Totomesu at the end of the pyramid in which the third level of Birabuto Kingdom takes place. His fight works like the battles with Bowser and his copies in Super Mario Bros. In battle, he attacks by attempting to jump on and shoot fire at Mario. To defeat King Totomesu, Mario has to wait for him to jump and then dash to activate the switch behind him or simply shoot five superballs at him. Dashing and jumping over him works as well. Either way, Mario is awarded 5000 points for defeating King Totomesu and is allowed to progress into the Muda Kingdom.

Trivia

 * "Totomesu" is the katakana rendering of Thutmose (also spelled Tuthmosis), the name of several pharaohs of ancient Egypt. This is appropriate, considering the Egyptian theme of World 1 and that King Totomesu looks like the Great Sphinx of Giza (though it was built in honor of Pharaoh Khafre, not any Thutmose).
 * Totomesu's in-game sprite depicts him with a goatee, yet his artwork lacks this feature.