| Devalant | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General information | |||
| Universe | Legend of Zelda | ||
| Aliases | デビランド (Debirando) Devilhand Devilant | ||
| Classification | Debirando azul | ||
| Species type | Antlion | ||
| Homeworld | Earth | ||
| Environment | Desert of Mystery (Desert Palace specifically) | ||
| Intelligence | Non-sapient | ||
| Biochemistry | Carbon-based lifeform | ||
| Biological information | |||
| Locomotion | Hexapodal, but generally remains in its den | ||
| Feeding behavior | Carnivorous | ||
| Prey | Leever (presumed), opportunistic | ||
| Lineage information | |||
| Related species | Blood Maggot, Devourer, Giant Lamprey, Rock Worm, Sand Maggot | ||
| Cultural information | |||
| Alignment | True Neutral | ||
| Personality | Ambush predator | ||
| Organization | Solitary | ||
| Sociocultral characteristics | |||
| Scientific taxonomy | |||
| Planet | Earth | ||
| Domain | Eukaryota | ||
| Kingdom | Animalia | ||
| Subkingdom | Eumetazoa | ||
| Infrakingdom | Bilateria | ||
| Superphylum | Deuterostomia | ||
| Phylum | Euarthropoda | ||
| Class | Insecta | ||
| Order | Neuroptera | ||
| Superfamily | Myrmeleontoidea | ||
| Family | Myrmeleontidae | ||
| Genus | Debirando (Somarinoa, 2018) | ||
| Species | azul (Blue Devalant) arcanum (Red Palace Devalant) dubium (Red Doubt Devalant) | ||
| Other information | |||
| Status | Endangered (Not often seen in games and stuck in very specific, small locations) | ||
Devalants are giant antlions that inhabit the deserts encircling the kingdom of Hyrule, specifically within the Desert Palace in the Desert of Mystery and in the overall area of the Desert of Doubt, both of which are thought to be remnants of the much larger Gerudo Desert.
Etymology[]
The original Japanese name, Debirando, is believed to be a compound of デビル (Debiru) and ハンド (Hando), meaning "Devilhand". Likewise, the name Devalant is an obvious play on the words "devil" and "ant".
Physiology[]
An exposed Devalant, showing their total physiology, including legs and eye-like abdomen.
Devalants are large and grub-like insects, with an enlarged abdomen that possible serves to anchor them into their burrow, and six stubby legs attached to the thorax. The end of their thorax is tinted purple and looks somewhat like a large eye, reminiscent to the spider-like family of Gohmas. Despite the appearance of their large mandibles, their actual mouth is little more than a snout. The Red Devalant species are even more formidable than their lesser siblings, able to spit fireballs at range to bring down threats.
A "Doubt" Devalant.
There are three known species of Devalant: The Blue Devalant, and two species of Red Devalant. The single Blue Devalant species is easily recognizable by its blue-hued exoskeleton and its red compound eyes. Red Devalants are distinguishable primarily by the shape of their mandibles, with those in the Desert of Doubt having much more curved and almost "sinister" looking ones than the more generalized appearance of those found in the Desert Palace region. Doubt Devalants also can be differentiated by their yellow attachment points for their mandibles and red eyes, whereas Palace Reds do not have a different color on their attachment points and also have golden-hued eyes.
It is unknown if Devalants have evolved a form of neoteny that allows them to remain in an instar state for the entire lifespan or if, like Aracha they simply take such a long time to mature (in the Aracha's case, 1,000 years) that their imago state is simply rarely or perhaps even has never been seen by the likes of sapient races.
Ecology[]
They are ambush predators, submerging themselves deep in a sandy burrow where they use a sandy, sinkhole-like pit to pull in unsuspecting prey to grasp with their enlarged mandibles. To protect themselves, they are able to retreat beneath the sand in a similar manner to a Leever, although they are unable to burrow from down there and will instead stay where they are.
Adventurers must take caution when dealing with Devalant-infested areas. Not only can they spring up seemingly out of nowhere to the unobservant passerby, but if one slips into their pit it is virtually impossible to escape without dealing with the Devalant itself in close quarter combat.
Their bodies are unable to withstand the freezing effect of an Ice Rod, but a Sand Rod will also extract them from the substrate and make them vulnerable for enough time to dispatch them quickly.
Appearances[]
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (First appearance)
- BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets
- The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds