Dino Piranha

The Dino Piranha 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, exposing its tail. The Dino Piranha then starts moving around from inside the egg, and when Mario attacks its tail, the eggshell completely breaks, starting a battle.

Dino Piranha, along with King Kaliente, Major Burrows, Bouldergeist, and Fiery Dino Piranha, appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in Boss Blitz Galaxy. Also a new version similar to the Dino Piranha called Peewee Piranha appears in Sky Station Galaxy. Dino Piranha must be fought up to 4 times in this game.

Appearance
Dino Piranha's head looks like that of Petey Piranha, besides its color being purple with white spots when relaxed, instead of red with white spots. Its body is much different. The Dino Piranha's body beneath the giant 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 a texture like 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 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 hit Dino Piranha's tail using the Star Spin so that it hits itself and cracks the shell. Dino Piranha will then start to run around the planet and Mario must run behind it and hit its tail again which will hit himself which will make it very angry. Its head will turn red like Petey Piranha's head and it will chase Mario very quickly. To defeat it, Mario must once again get behind it and hit 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.
 * 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.