Animal



Animals are a type of minor creature in the Splatoon series. They are distinguished from other species by the fact that they seem to have undergone little to no changes compared to their ancestors. This is in contrast to intelligent, human-like creatures such as Inklings and Octarians, which have changed dramatically.

Ducks


Ducks, likely mallards, appear in Splatoon 2, only at Snapper Canal. On each side of the stage, to the right of the spawn point, eight ducklings can be seen following what appears to be a male adult, indicated by its bright green neck feathers. If the player is close enough, quacking sounds can be heard. The ducks do not react to their presence.

Gulls


Gulls are found near bodies of water, gliding in large circles in the air, usually in small groups. They appear to be some type of herring gull.

They do not react to the player's presence, but upon being hit by ink, they flap their wings and squawk. This is mentioned by Callie in regards to Saltspray Rig, stating she feels bad for them when they get inked. On the same stage, Marie remarks that "seagulls are natural predators of squid", but there are no gulls in the series that act aggressively towards Inklings.

Octo Valley

 * A small group of gulls flies around the Inkrail from Area 3 to Area 4.

Stages

 * A group of gulls flies in a "V" formation around the outside of Kelp Dome, seen through the windows.
 * Individual gulls are found flying at Saltspray Rig, Hammerhead Bridge, Starfish Mainstage, Sturgeon Shipyard, Manta Maria and Skipper Pavilion.

Octo Canyon

 * There is a singular seagull flying over Tentakeel Outpost.

Pigeons


Pigeons, appearing in Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3, are visually similar to rock doves. They are found sitting or standing in various urban areas, and sometimes look around or peck the ground. Every few seconds, pigeons alternate between having their feathers fluffed up and having them close to their body, making them appear to change in size.

They immediately take off into the air if the player approaches or attempts to ink them. If the player moves a sufficient distance away and has their camera turned away from where the pigeons were, they will return to the same spot.

All pigeons are absent in Octoling Strike as well as the nighttime version of stages used in Splatfests, except for Inkblot Art Academy Splatfest mode.

Stages

 * At Inkblot Art Academy, there is a pair on the ground next to the tree-like sculpture in front of each spawn point.
 * In The Reef, there are two pigeons on the ledge below the spawn point, and two more on the ledge below that.
 * In Skipper Pavilion, there is a pair of pigeons on the walkway, one on the raised platform near the big statue, and one on the platform in front of the spawn point.
 * In Eeltail Alley, a few pigeons can be found there.

Octo Canyon

 * In Tentakeel Outpost, there is a pair near the boss kettle.
 * In Suction-Cup Lookout, there is a pair near the brick wall that is closest to the boss kettle.

Sparrows
Sparrows are a common animal in both Splatoon and Splatoon 2. They appear very similar to Eurasian tree sparrows but are much more round. This may be because of fatness, thick feathers, or simply stylization.

They sit chirping and looking around at various locations, and immediately take off into the air if the player approaches or attempts to ink them. If the player moves a sufficient distance away and has their camera turned away from where the sparrows were, they will return to the same spot and resume chirping.

Callie finds sparrows very cute, as she mentions one's appearance near Cuttlefish Cabin in Octo Canyon. This is possibly the only in-game confirmation of them being sparrows compared to other types of birds.

Inkopolis Plaza

 * One sparrow perches on the first small pole to the east of the arcade machine.
 * A sparrow sits among the plants at the southern edge of the Plaza.
 * Just south of Judd, a sparrow sits on the ground next to a railing.
 * A pair of sparrows sit on the ground in front of Spyke.
 * A sparrow perches above the middle part of the Shooting Range.

Stages

 * Two pairs of sparrows sit near each spawn point in Flounder Heights.
 * Sparrows usually sit around the trees and grass areas of Urchin Underpass. There is also a lone sparrow on a power line near the spawn point.

Octo Valley

 * A sparrow perches on the edge of the roof of Cap'n Cuttlefish's shack.
 * Two sparrows sit on the corner of a wall next to DJ Octavio's snowglobe.
 * Two sparrows perch on a small railing on the edge of a grated walkway, next to the Kettle for Lair of the Octoballs.
 * Sparrows can also be found in various missions, such as Floating Sponge Garden and Flooder Junkyard. It is unknown how they get into the Octarians' underground caves, as it is unlikely that they can enter Kettles.

Inkopolis Square

 * A sparrow perches on a power line in front of Deca Tower, near the post box. While the sparrow casts a shadow, the power line does not, making the sparrow's shadow on the ground appear to be floating.
 * Two sparrows sit near the Crust Bucket, one on a table and the other one on the ground.

Octo Canyon

 * A sparrow sit near the tree and the sofa.
 * Two sparrows sit near the Octotrooper Bumper.
 * Three sparrows sit near the crates that block the access to Sunset Octocopter.
 * Three sparrows sit near the brick wall that's closest to the Boss Kettle The Showdown.

Butterflies


Butterflies are always seen flying about in groups. They can be white or yellow and do not make noise nor react to the player's presence. They are always found near vegetation.

Butterfly groups stay in a fixed area, but the individuals flying around within them are always changing; some disappear and others appear to take their place. The number of butterflies within a group at any given time is also not fixed and can range from one to six depending on the location.

Inkopolis Plaza

 * Many butterflies are found among the plants at the southern edge of the Plaza.

Octo Valley

 * Some butterflies fly around under the western-most tree in Area 2.

Stages

 * A small group of butterflies is found at the patch of grass on each of the central areas of Bluefin Depot.
 * A group of butterflies can be found near the sunflowers in Undertow Spillway.

Moths
Like butterflies, moths are always seen flying about in groups. They do not make noise nor react to the player's presence. They are always found near a lamp.

Moth groups stay in a fixed area, but the individuals flying around within them are always changing; some disappear and others appear to take their place. The number of moths within a group at any given time is also not fixed and can range from one to six depending on the location.

Stages

 * A group of moths can be found near the street lamp in Eeltail Alley during a Splatfest.
 * Some groups of moths can be found near the lamps in Flounder Heights during a Splatfest.
 * A group of moths can be found near a lamp at the spawn of Um'ami Ruins during a Splatfest.

Cicadas
Cicadas are not seen but heard singing in the background. They are present during the day and only at Flounder Heights.

The audio used for cicada songs is similar, if not identical, to that of the Brown Cicada, Walker Cicada, and Robust Cicada from the Animal Crossing series.

Crickets
Crickets, like cicadas, cannot be seen but are heard singing in the background.

Appearances

 * During Splatfests, which take place at night, crickets replace cicadas at Flounder Heights.
 * At Camp Triggerfish, crickets can be briefly heard when the player spawns.

Glowflies
"Orange S2. That explains why the Salmonids are restless. If you start glowing...well, good luck."

- Mr. Grizz when a Rush wave starts

Glowflies are luminescent insects reminiscent of fireflies that appear in Rush waves in Salmon Run and Salmon Run: Next Wave, which swarm a single player at a time, causing a stampede of enraged Salmonids to target them.

It is uncertain how closely linked the Salmonid Rush is to the flies themselves - it is stated in the Salmonid Field Guide that the Salmonids' increased aggression may be due to gravitational shifts due to the planet's celestial course, and many cities in pre-medieval times fell to these rushes.

Clownfish
Clownfish (or anemonefish) are fish present in the Splatoon games as companions to the sea anemones Annie and Harmony, living in their hair, in reference to the fact that in reality these two animals have a symbiotic relationship. The two instances of this species are rather different: Annie's companion, Moe, is orange with black and white stripes, has bulging eyes and a more realistic shape and pattern on his body, and is sapient and capable of speech. Harmony's unnamed companion is a yellowtail clownfish (or Clark's anemonefish), which, despite its name, is mostly dark grey with a white stripe, and has a more round and stylized look, with stylised flat facial features; it does not talk and is dying due to neglect.

Clownfish are also referenced by the Clownfish Basics shoes. Maya from Ink Theory is also a sea anemone, but she does not have a clownfish companion.

Gallery

 * See more: Harmony and Moe

Nudibranchs


While nudibranchs themselves do not make a direct appearance in the games, they are featured in many pieces of art at Museum d'Alfonsino. No two shown are exactly alike, but they share two common features, the first being a pair of large appendages similar to rabbit or dog ears. While real-life nudibranchs do have these (called rhinophores), they are often smaller and almost always thinner, looking more like horns or eyestalks than ears. Their other common feature is their eyes; while real nudibranchs have small, very simple eyes, all nudibranchs depicted in Splatoon have large eyes similar to those of jellyfish. However, both of these traits may be a result of artistic license; the other artwork in the museum is already quite stylized.

One piece of art shows an Inkling-like creature with a nudibranch on a leash, suggesting that they are kept as pets. In Inkopolis Square, there is a missing poster for a nudibranch, similar to the style of a missing pet poster. In Inkblot Art Academy, there is a poster of a nudibranch eating with a cross, likely meaning "do not feed the nudibranch".

Interestingly, nudibranchs are molluscs, just like squids and octopuses, yet they do not seem to have developed to a humanoid form unlike those other two (though, they are not in the cephalopod class unlike the aforementioned orders)

Turtles
Turtles are mentioned in news dialogue for Ancho-V Games, where Pearl states that employees have a room full of baby turtles to cheer them up, which implies that turtles could be pets.