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Trying to come up with a list of vague words for different "kinds of animals". Help? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm fiddling with a card game concept, and a very important part of it is creatures interacting with other specific kinds of creatures. This necessarily means I need to come up with lots of type names that are descriptive but vague enough to shove literally anything in them. Here's some good examples: "bug" containing ants, shrimps, pillbugs, bees, and literally anything that could be called a creepy crawly; "fish" containing everything from salmon to sharks to eels to octopi; "trees" containing all the stuff you are thinking of as well as those precambrian 6-foot fungi pillars; and "cats" including housecats, big cats, cheetah, and carcals.

And that's everything I can think of that would be useful. You see my problem? I know there are other casual-usage words for big categories of critters, but my grasp of the Enlgish language is fickle and leaves me whenever it is most inconvenient. If there is a list I could work from, that would be very helpful. Otherwise, volunteer as many words as you think would be useful.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Canid and canine generally mean any of the dog-like animals: domestic dogs, wolves, fox, coyotes, dingoes, jackals, wild dogs

Parrot applies to members of the Psittacine family: parrots, macaws, parakeets, cockatiels, cockatoos, parrotlets, lorikeets

Herps and herpetofauna are used to collectively refer to amphibians and reptiles: frogs, salamanders, newts, lizards, turtles, snakes

Bear means all actual bear species but is also often used in reference to pandas and koalas (just don’t say it in front of my scientifically accurate kid)

Waterfowl is ducks, geese, swans

Depending on why or how you’re using categories, you can also group by characteristics: Do they have fur, feathers, or scales Do they lay eggs or give birth Are they predator or prey Do they eat meat, plants, fruit, pollen, or some combination