Dino Piranha

The Dino Piranha ("Dino Pakkun" in Japan) is a large boss in the video game Super Mario Galaxy. The boss lives in the Good Egg Galaxy. It is inside an egg when Mario first encounters it. Its egg is cracked when Mario crashes into it with the power of a Launch Star. The Dino Piranha then starts moving around from inside the egg, and when Mario attacks its tail, this will start a battle.

Appearance
Dino Piranha's head looks like that of Petey Piranha, though its body is much different. The Dino Piranha's body beneath the Piranha Plant head is that of a dinosaur's, with a green hue and has light green lips. Its tail has a brown orb at the end of it with texture like a seed. When it first breaks out of the egg its head is purple, but when enraged it turns red with anger, and when it is defeated it turns back to its original color.

Strategy
This battle practices the use of the star spin. When Mario arrives on Dino Piranha's planet, he will land on Dino Piranha's egg, cracking it. Dino's tail and legs will pop out and it will start walking around. To fully crack open the egg, Mario must Star Spin Dino Piranha's tail so that it hits itself and cracks the shell. Dino Piranha will then start to run around the planet and Mario must sneak up behind it and star spin its tail again which will make it very angry. Its head will turn red and it will chase Mario extremely quickly. To defeat it, Mario must once again get behind it and Star Spin its tail. It will fall over and explode, releasing a Power Star.

The player fights the Dino Piranha twice, with the second fight being part of the Speedy Comet run. Also, another Dino Piranha, known as the Fiery Dino Piranha, is fought later in the game.

Trivia

 * In the game's ending, the Dino Piranha appears on the castle grounds next to a circle of Goombas with pumpkins on them and Toads playing.
 * The theme music while fighting Dino Piranha is the same as while fighting Tarantox and Fiery Dino Piranha.