The Annals of Gor

A Dinosaur or Just a Large Lizard?

The tharlarion perhaps can be called the thunder lizard of Gor, however "tharlarion" is a general term for various species of this beast, both carnivorous and herbivorous, from the very tiny to the very large .

Tharlarion of the larger variety, the broad tharlarion and the high tharlarion, are two disctinct species and serve useful to the peoples of Gor. The broad tharlarion is used to pull heavy wagons, as well as draw the large ferries across the rivers. The high tharlarion is ridden, and utilized by individuals to great armies. Other varieties of tharlarion are wild and serve no real purpose except perhaps to test the wiles of people upon the planet itself.

Conjecture

There is no doubt that the tharlarion are species of dinosaurs, which includes the crocodile, that were brought to Gor. Were these dinosaurs originally from Earth? If so, then that meant that the Priest-Kings have long been setting up this world they named Gor. However the beasts were developed and evolved is truly unimportant. I just thought it might be fun to offer some basic dinosauric facts and offer some possibilities, with the comparison of their size and general make-up and demeanor. From here, we can get a more accurate view of what the tharlarion truly was bred from.

Allosaurus
A 1993 issue of National Geographic appropriately described this remarkable animal as follows:

"A 15 foot-tall, 30-foot-long, two-legged cross between a crocodile and a mountatin lion. Add a huge skull and the predatory behavior of a shark. That's Allosaurus"

The Allosaurus was the most common and successful predator of the late Jurassic period (154-144 million years ago). These theropods are often referred to as "the wolves of the Jurassic" because they so were so widespread (A. fragilis is the only theropod species positively identified on more than one continent) and they are believed to have been pack hunters. Thousands of fossilized bones (in a few cases,nearly complete skeletons) found throughout North America has made Allosaurus one the most well understood of all predatory dinosaurs.

Based on the size of this beast, the Allosaurus seems the most compatible with the size of the larger high tharlarions used by the military. Too, this dinosaur is most closely related to the crocodile, which Tarl Cabon surmised these beasts derived. However, based on the aggressiveness of this beast, it more than likely had been genetically altered, perhaps with another similar dinosaur.

Iguanodon
The Iguanodon stood about 16 feet tall, measured 30 feet long and weighed close to five tons. It roamed the warm, humid Cretaceous landscape and fed on the rich abundance of plant life covering the land. Iguanodon had small "hooves" on its hands and feet, and its legs were long and sturdy. This giant dinosaur could have stood on its back legs to reach for higher bushes and plant life. Large numbers of Iguanodon skeletons have been found in England, Belgium and Germany, indicating to paleontologists that Iguanodon probably traveled in large herds. In 1809, part of an Iguanodon's giant shinbone was found in southern England, and in 1819, teeth and other bones were discovered. Scientists at the time thought that they probably belonged to a gigantic mammal, like a rhinoceros. However, the geologist Gideon Mantell noticed that the teeth resembled those of a modern iguana, so he named the creature Iguanodon.

Based on the size of this beast, the Iguanodon could certainly have been initially brought to Gor, and perhaps between the Allosaurus and the Iguanodon, the creation of the high tharlarion was completed.

Velociraptor
The Velocipraptors Velociraptor lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 85-80 million years ago. It was a fast-running, bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur. This dinosaur had about 80 very sharp, curved teeth in a long, flat snout; some of the teeth were over an inch (2.5 cm) long. This predator had an s-shaped neck, arms with three-fingered clawed hands, long thin legs, and four-toed clawed feet; the head was about seven inches (7") (18 cm) long. The Velociraptor itself was about five to six feet (5'-6') long (1.5-2 m), and three feet (3') tall (1 m), and weighed about 15 to 33 pounds (7 to 15 kg). It had a stiff tail that worked as a counterbalance and let it make very quick turns. The Velociraptor may have been able to run up to roughly 40 mph (60 km/hr) for short bursts. Among the contemporaries of Velociraptor were Protoceratops, Gallimimus, Oviraptor, Edmontosaurus, Maiasaura, and Saurolophus. The Velociraptor lived in a hot, dry, desert-like environment that had some streams. Velociraptor, along with the other Dromaeosaurids, were the smartest dinosaurs, as calculated from their brain:body weight ratio. This made them very deadly predators. Velociraptor may have hunted in packs, perhaps attacking even very large animals.

Clearly this dinosaur was too small to be bred for riding, however, again, this beast may well have initially been brought to Gor, and genetically altered with that of another dinosaur to produce a stabler, slightly larger, yet still swift and agile beast, the smaller high tharlarion.

Suchomimus
The Suchomimus was another carnivorous theropod that roamed the Earth 110 million years ago. Twelve feet (12') in height, thirty-six feet (36') in length, is another crocodile-like dinosaur. The Suchomimus was discovered in 1997 in the heart of the Sahara desert of Niger and was named for is bizarre, narrow, 4-foot long skull, which ends in a cage of long, curved teeth, suggesting that, like crocodiles, this dinosaur ate fish. The Suchomimus had powerful forelimbs and foot-long thumb claws. Suchomimus was the largest and most common predator of its day in Africa. Suchomimus belongs to the Spinosaur family of dinosaurs. Its closest relative is Baryonx, a spinosaur dinosaur discovered in England.

Another possibility for the breeding of high tharlarion, however, because of the odd shaping of it's head, likely the Suchomimus was not the predecessor of the high tharlarion.

Tyrannosaurus Rex
The Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) was a huge meat-eating dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 85 million to 65 million years ago. The Tyrannosaurus rex lived in a humid, semi-tropical environment, in open forests with nearby rivers and in coastal forested swamps. The seasons were mild. Until recently, Tyrannosaurus rex was the biggest known carnivorous dinosaur; Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus are slightly bigger. The Tyrannosaurus rex was a fierce predator that walked on two powerful legs, and had a huge head with large, pointed, replaceable teeth and well-developed jaw muscles, tiny arms, each with two fingers. Each bird-like foot had three large toes, all equipped with claws (plus a little dewclaw on a tiny, vestigial fourth toe). The Tyrannosaurus rex had a slim, stiff, pointed tail that provided balance and allowed quick turns while running. The Tyrannosaurus rex's neck was short and muscular. Its body was solidly built but its bones were hollow. The Tyrannosaurus rex stood up to 40 feet (12.4 m) long and about 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 m) tall. The arms were only about 3 feet (1 m) long. The Tyrannosaurus rex was roughly 5 to 7 tons in weight. The Tyrannosaurus rex left footprints 1.55 feet (46 cm) long (although its feet were much longer, about 3.3 feet (1 m) long; T. rex, like other dinosaurs, walked on its toes). It had a stride length of up to 12 to 15 feet (3.7-4.6 m). The Tyrannosaurus rex may have run at up to 15 mph (24 kph). The Tyrannosaurus rex's jaws were up to 4 feet (1.2 m) long and had 50 to 60 thick, conical, bone-crunching teeth that ranged in size from very small to over 9 inches (23 cm) long. Adult had a variety of sizes of teeth in their jaws at one time, as teeth were broken and new (smaller) ones grew in to replace them. One T. rex was found with some teeth up to 13 inch (33 cm) long. The Tyrannosaurus rex could eat up to 500 pounds (230 kg) of meat and bones in one bite! The Tyrannosaurus rex had a wrap-around overbite; when T. rex closed its mouth, the upper parts of the lower jaw's teeth fit inside the upper teeth. Fossilized specimens of T. rex's rough, scaly skin have been found. It was bumpy, like an alligator's skin, and has been described as a "lightly pebbled skin."

This certainly sounds a lot like our large high tharlarion, too, doesn't it? The scales thick that could tear flesh from a man's bones. The useless front legs.

So, which dino is it? Only the mind of John Norman truly knows …

Take a trip on my Time Machine and visit the beasts that lived millions of years ago on Earth, The visit is free of course. Please take a peek at the "Blast to the Past" page.

Species of Tharlarion

What we do know about the tharlarion is fairly broad. For example, some species are herbivorous, others are dangerously carnivorous. One commonality shared among these great lizards, is that all species are hatched from leathery eggs. We'll visit with breeding and training further down, but first, let's examine each species named.

Land Dwelling Tharlarion

Broad [Draft] Tharlarion
The broad tharlarion, or sometimes known as the draft tharlarion, is a quadrupedal, lizard, used to haul wagons on land, as well as help clear the land to make canals, as evidenced in the Ushindi region. Less aggressive of the breed, the broad tharlarions are herbivores. The size of these great beasts can sometimes reach that of a city bus on Earth. The broad tharlarion can be used to haul barges across the rivers, however, they are not as efficient at such as their water-dwelling cousins. The driver of these beasts are known as strap masters and often these beasts are utilitized by cavalrymen. Known for their sluggish nervous system and their near-imperviousness to pain, the handling of such a beast is spent dealing a great deal of beating about the head and neck. Most larger breeds of tharlarion have two brains, or perhaps better explained, a brain, located in the head, and a smaller brain-like organ, which is located near the base of the spine.

"Behind them, stretching into the distance, came a long line of broad tharlarions, or the four-footed draft monsters of Gor. These beasts, yoked in braces, were drawing mighty wagons, filled with merchandise protected under the lashings of its red rain-canvas" — Tarnsman of Gor, page 118.

"I can handle high tharlarion," I said. Long ago I had ridden guard in a caravan of Mintar, a merchant of Ar.
       "I mean the draft fellows," said the driver.
       "I suppose so," I said. It seemed likely to me that I could handle these more docile, sluggish beasts, if I had been able to handle their more agile brothers, the saddle tharlarion.
       "They take a great deal of beating about the head and neck," he said.
       I nodded. That was not so much different from the high tharlarion, either. They are usually controlled by voice commands and the blows of a spear. The tharlarion, incidentally, at least compared to mammals, seems to have a very sluggish nervous system. It seems almost impervious to pain. Most of the larger varieties have two brains, or, perhaps, better a brain and a smaller brain-like organ. The brain, or one brain, is located in the head, and the other brain, or the brain-like organ, is located near the base of the spine. — Mercenaries of Gor, page 34.

"A bejeweled, curtained platform slung beneath the slow, swaying bodies of two of the broad tharlarions appeared. The beasts were halted by their strap-master, and after some seconds the curtains parted." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 119.

"The high tharlarions, unlike their draught brethren, the slow-moving, four-footed broad tharlarion, were carnivorous." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 125.

"At last I reached the section of the tharlarion corrals. Glancing about to see that no one was watching, I lightly climbed the fence of woven branches and dropped down inside among a group of the broad tharlarions. I had carefully determined that the corral into which I had dropped did not contain the saddle lizards, the high tharlarions, those ridden by Kazrak and his tharlarion lancers. Such lizards are extremely short-tempered, as well as carnivorous, and I had no intention of attracting attention to myself by beating my way through them with a spear butt. Their more dormant relatives, the broad tharlarions, barely lifted their snouts from the feed troughs. Shielded by the placid, heavy bodies, some as large as a bus, I worked my way towards the interior side of the corral. " — Tarnsman of Gor, page 166.

"And, from Lydius, of course, goods of many sorts, though primarily rough goods, such things as tools, crude metal and cloth, brought on barges, towed by tharlarion treading on log roads, following the river, are brought to Laura, for sale and distribution inland." — Captive of Gor, page 59.

"Those approaching were drawn by land tharlarion, plodding on log roads along the edges of the river. The land tharlarion can swim barges across the river, but he is not as efficient as the vast river tharlarion." — Captive of Gor, page 81.

"Tharlarion cavalrymen, of both bipedal and quadrupedal tharlarion, flanked the lines. The street shook under the tread of these beasts. Turned on the crowd they might, in their passage, have trampled hundreds." — Magicians of Gor, page 89.

"Waters from the overflow of Lake Ngao entered the great marsh between Ngao and Ushindi, and, thence, made their ways to Ushindi, which, by means of the Kamba and Nyoka, drained to gleaming Thassa, the sea. The intent of the engineers of Bila Huruma was to set in place two parallel walls, low walls, some five or six feet high, placed about two hundred yards apart. The area between these walls, the marsh waters diverted on either side, was then to be drained and readied for the digging of the main channel. In this work draft tharlarion and great scoops, brought from the north, as well as gigantic work crews, would be used." — Explorers of Gor, page 220.

High Tharlarion
Also: Saddle Lizard
The high tharlarion is a bipedal lizard and is commonly used as a mount, generally by Gorean warriors belonging to great armies. It's two forelegs are useless appendages which dangle. This particular species of tharlarion is absolutely carnivorous and aggressive. The high tharlarion, or riding tharlarion as it is sometimes referred to, seems to come in two distinct sizes; one, which is the mount of the great armies, is, by descriptions of its gait (great bounding strides) is without a doubt most closely related to the Allosaurus of Earth. The smaller riding tharlarion, is most likely the size of a velociraptor, and is known for its swiftness. Such beasts are popularly raced in competitions. Beasts such as these were quite valuable, and said to be worth their weight in gold. As with their cousins, the broad tharlarion, they are known for their sluggish nervous system and their near-imperviousness to pain, the handling of such a beast is spent dealing a great deal of beating about the head and neck. Most larger breeds of tharlarion have two brains, or perhaps better explained, a brain, located in the head, and a smaller brain-like organ, which is located near the base of the spine.

"I can handle high tharlarion," I said. Long ago I had ridden guard in a caravan of Mintar, a merchant of Ar.
       "I mean the draft fellows," said the driver.
       "I suppose so," I said. It seemed likely to me that I could handle these more docile, sluggish beasts, if I had been able to handle their more agile brothers, the saddle tharlarion.
       "They take a great deal of beating about the head and neck," he said.
       I nodded. That was not so much different from the high tharlarion, either. They are usually controlled by voice commands and the blows of a spear. The tharlarion, incidentally, at least compared to mammals, seems to have a very sluggish nervous system. It seems almost impervious to pain. Most of the larger varieties have two brains, or, perhaps, better a brain and a smaller brain-like organ. The brain, or one brain, is located in the head, and the other brain, or the brain-like organ, is located near the base of the spine. — Mercenaries of Gor, page 34.

Tharlarion claws are commonly shod, not so much to protect its claws, but as a display of show and beauty, much like the way the Wagon Peoples place gold nose rings on their bosk. Wild tharlarion are not captured and tamed; these great beasts must be raised from the moment it hatches from its shell. Their metabolism is slower than that of a tarn, with the constant focus on food; a tharlarion likely could consume half its weight in a single day. They require water far less than a tarn, as well. Their stamina, however, is incredible; when this beast moves slowly, its stride is best described as a proud, stalking movement, and when urged to move faster, its great leaping strides equals about twenty (20) paces. Highly aggressive, the tharlarion lance is not only a weapon of men against men, but as a means of controlling these beasts. Though their general coloring is never mentioned, it is mentioned that the color of black is especially rare. Pa-Kur, the assassin, rode such a beast.

"The tarn is one of the two most common mounts of a Gorean warrior; the other is the high tharlarion, a species of saddle-lizard, used mostly by clans who have never mastered tarns. No one in the City of Cylinders, as far as I knew, maintained tharlarions, though they were supposedly quite common on Gor, particularly in the lower areas — in swampland and on the deserts." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 52.

I listened carefully, hearing the distant clank of a shod tharlarion on the road. "A warrior," I guessed. … The ringing of the tharlarion's shod claws on the road grew louder. In a minute the rider appeared in view — a fine, bearded warrior with a golden helmet and a tharlarion lance. He drew the riding lizard to a halt a few paces from me. He rode the species of tharlarion which ran on its two back feet in great bounding strides. Its cavernous mouth was lined with long, gleaming teeth. Its two small, ridiculously disproportionate forelegs dangled absurdly in front of its body. — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 115.

"Pa-Kur himself rode a black tharlarion, one of the few I had seen. The beast was bejeweled and moved with a grave, regal stride." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 189.

"We were astride rented tharlarion, high tharlarion, bipedalian tharlarion. Although our mounts were such, they are not to be confused with the high tharlarion commonly used by Gorean shock cavalry, swift, enormous beasts the charge of which can be so devastating to unformed infantry. If one may use terminology reminiscent of the sea, these were medium-class tharlarion, comparatively light beasts, at least compared to their brethren of the contact cavalries, such cavalries being opposed to the sorts commonly employed in missions such as foraging, scouting, skirmishing and screening troop movements. Rather our mounts were typical of the breeds from which are extracted racing tharlarion, of the sort used, for example, in the Vennan races. To be sure, it is only select varieties of such breeds, such as the Venetzia, Torarii and Thalonian, which are commonly used for the racers. As one might suppose, the blood lines of the racers are carefully kept and registered, as are, incidentally, those of many other sorts of expensive bred animals, such as tarsks, sleen and verr. … We were some pasangs outside Ar. We wore wind scarves. Dust rose up for feet about us. The season was dry. Where our beasts trod the prints of their feet, and claws remained evident in the dust. In places the earth cracked under their step. " — Magicians of Gor, page 290.

"In those days I learned to master the high tharlarion, one of which had been assigned to me by the caravan's tharlarion master. These gigantic lizards had been bred on Gor for a thousand generations before the first tarn was tamed, and were raised from the leathery shell to carry warriors. They responded to voice signals, conditioned into their tiny brains in the training years. Nonetheless, the butt of one's lance, striking about the eye or ear openings, for there are few other sensitive areas in their scaled hides, is occasionally necessary to impress your will on the monster. The high tharlarions, unlike their draught brethren, the slow-moving, four-footed broad tharlarion, were carnivorous. However, their metabolism was slower than that of a tarn, whose mind never seemed far from food and, if it was available, could consume half its weight in a single day. Moreover, they needed far less water than tarns. To me, the most puzzling thing about the domesticated tharlarions, and the way in which they differed most obviously from wild tharlarions and the lizards of my native planet, was their stamina, their capacity for sustained movement. When the high tharlarion moves slowly, its stride is best described as a proud, stalking movement, each great clawed foot striking the earth with a measured rhythm. When urged to speed, however, the high tharlarion bounds, in great leaping movements that carry it twenty paces at a time." — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 124-125.

"At last I reached the section of the tharlarion corrals. Glancing about to see that no one was watching, I lightly climbed the fence of woven branches and dropped down inside among a group of the broad tharlarions. I had carefully determined that the corral into which I had dropped did not contain the saddle lizards, the high tharlarions, those ridden by Kazrak and his tharlarion lancers. Such lizards are extremely short-tempered, as well as carnivorous, and I had no intention of attracting attention to myself by beating my way through them with a spear butt." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 166.

"Tharlarion, and such transportation, were now said to be worth their weight in gold. I had heard that certain rich men had exchanged as many as fifteen high slaves, choice "flowers" from their pleasure gardens, trained even to Curulean quality, for a single tharlarion and wagon." — Magicians of Gor, page 68.

"Tharlarion cavalrymen, of both bipedal and quadrupedal tharlarion, flanked the lines. The street shook under the tread of these beasts. Turned on the crowd they might, in their passage, have trampled hundreds." — Magicians of Gor, page 89.

"In a moment a large bipedialian saddle tharlarion, in golden panoply, its nails polished, its scales brushed bright, wheeled to a halt before the standard bearers. Behind it came several other tharlarion, resplendent, too, but lesser in size and panoply, with riders." — Magicians of Gor, page 90.

Horned Tharlarion
There is little mentioned of this quadrupedal tharlarion. No doubt it is a smaller version of the broad tharlarion. These beasts were used to draw small carts.

"Kuurus pointed to a fruit on a flat-topped wagon with wooden wheels, drawn by a small four-legged, horned tharlarion." — Assassin of Gor, page 7.

Eight tarns were flying in this race, and, hooded, they were brought forth on low, sideless wheeled platforms, drawn by horned tharlarion. The carts were painted in faction colors. The rider rode on the cart beside his bird, dressed in the silk of his faction. — Assassin of Gor, page 143.

"Then, on carts, drawn by small, horned tharlarion, there came cages, and poles of trophies." — Captive of Gor, page 210.

Rock Tharlarion
There is only one mention in the books regarding this particular species of tharlarion. Most likely, a type of small monitor lizard.

"… the tiny, six-toed rock tharlarion of southern Torvaldsland, favored for their legs and tails, which are speared by children." — Marauders of Gor, page 152.

Water Dwelling Tharlarion

Marine Saurian
Collective term for the many water lizards, of varying sizes and degrees of danger to man, that inhabit the Thassa. Most probably, the tharlarions of the water, from the tiny tharlarion to the gigantic sea-tharlarion. It's also possible that the Sea Sleen falls into this category as well. See also: "Sea Sleen" on the Sleen page.

Etymology: New Latin Sauria, from New Latin saurus lizard, from Greek sauros; Date: circa 1829;
"Any of a suborder (Sauria) of reptiles including the lizards and in older classifications the crocodiles and various extinct forms (as the dinosaurs and ichthyosaurs) that resemble lizards." — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2002-2006

I had seen, yesterday, the long neck of a marine saurian lift from the waters of gleaming Thassa, It had a small head, and rows of small teeth. Its appendages were like broad paddles. Then it had lowered its head and disappeared. Such beasts, in spite of their frightening appearance, are apparently harmless to men. They can take only bits of garbage and small fish. Certain related species thrive on crustaceans found among aquatic flora. Further, such beasts are rare. Some sailors, reportedly, have never seen one. Far more common, and dangerous, are certain fishlike marine saurians, with long, toothed snouts; they are silent and aggressive, and sailors fear them as they do the long-bodied sharks." — Slave Girl of Gor, page 360.

"Suddenly I screamed with fear as something, long-snouted, with rows of tiny teeth, closed upon my leg. I began to scream with misery trying to hold the mast… I saw a round eye, lidded and lensed… Then the beast, suddenly, startling me, twisted, and swam a tight, angry circle, its long tail thrashing… A few feet from the raft, rolling lifeless in the water, was a grotesque marine saurian, fishlike but reptilian, more than twenty feet in length." — Slave Girl of Gor, pages 370-371.

Marsh Tharlarion
The marsh tharlarion is a web-footed, highly aggressive and carnivorous beast, and is indigenous to the swamplands, such as the Vosk delta. From the descriptions of the beast, it sounds much like a large crocodile; Tarl Cabot thought that it was possible these may have originally descended from the crocodiles of Earth, but were genetically altered by the Priest-Kings.

We had proceeded for perhaps an hour when Nar, the spider, abruptly stopped and lifted his two forelegs into the air, testing the odors, straining to sift out something in the dense, humid air. "There is a carnivorous tharlarion, a wild tharlarion, in the vicinity," he said. "Hold tightly." Luckily I did immediately as he had advised, fixing my grip deep in the long black hairs that covered his thorax, for Nar suddenly raced to a nearby swamp tree and scuttled high into its branches. About two or three minutes later I heard the hunger grunt of a wild tharlarion and a moment afterwards the piercing scream of a terrified girl. … Scarcely had she broken into the clearing, splashing through the shallow greenish waters near us, than the fearsome head of a wild tharlarion poked through the reeds, its round, shining eyes gleaming with excitement, its vast arc of a mouth swung open. Almost too rapid to be visible, a long brown lash of a tongue darted from its mouth and curled around the slender, helpless figure of the girl. She screamed hysterically, trying to force the adhesive band from her waist. It began to withdraw towards the mouth of the beast. … — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 84-85.
In an instant I had splashed into the marsh at the foot of the tree and raced towards the tharlarion, my sword raised. I rushed between its mouth and the girl, and with a swift downward slash of my blade severed that foul brown tongue. A shattering squeal of pain rent the heavy air of the swamp forest, and the tharlarion actually reared on its hind legs and spun about in pain, sucking the brown stump of its tongue back into its mouth with an ugly popping noise. Then it splashed on its back in the water, rolled quickly on to its legs, and began to move its head in rapid scanning motions. Almost immediately its eyes fixed on me; its mouth, now filled with a colorless scum, opened, revealing its teeth ridges. It charged, its great webbed feet striking the marsh water like explosions. In an instant the mouth had snapped for me, and I had left the mark of my blade deep in the teeth ridges of its lower jaw. — Tarnsman of Gor, page 85.

"My leg was out of the water, but now the water seemed yellow with the flashing bodies of tiny tharlarion, and beyond them, I heard the hoarse grunting of the great marsh tharlarion, some of which grow to be more than thirty feet in length, weighing more than half a hundred men." — Raiders of Gor, page 58.

"The marsh tharlarion and river tharlarion, of Gor are, I suspect, genetically different from the alligators, caymens, and crocodiles of Earth. I suspect this to be the case because these Earth reptiles are so well adapted to their environments that they have changed very little in tens of millions of years. The marsh and river tharlarion, accordingly, if descended from such beasts, brought long ago to Gor on Voyages of Acquisition by Priest-Kings, would presumably resemble them more closely. On the other hand, of course, I may be mistaken in this matter. It remains my speculation, however, that the resemblance between these forms of beasts, which are considerable, particularly in bodily configuration and disposition, may be accounted for by convergent evolution." — Explorers of Gor, page 326.

"The delta of the Vosk, for most practical purposes, a vast march, an area of thousands of square pasangs, where the Vosk washes down to the sea, is closed to shipping. It is trackless and treacherous, and the habitat of marsh tharlarion and the predatory U1, a winged lizard with wing-spans of several feet." — Explorers of Gor, page 26.

"We saw the body of one of the raiders, seized in the jaws of a tharlarion, pulled beneath the surface. It had been drawn to the area probably by the smell of blood in the water, or by following other forms of marine life, most likely the bint or blue grunt, who would have been attracted by the same stimulus. It is not unusual for tharlarion to follow bint and grunt. They form a portion of its diet. Also they lead it sometimes to larger feedings. … Some forty yards behind I could not hear the water churning. The tharlarion, when it takes large prey, such as tabuk or tarsk, or men, commonly drags the victim beneath the surface, where it drowns. It then tears to pieces in the bottom mud, engorging it, limb by limb. … I looked back again to the vicinity of the mud raft. I saw one body move as though leaping out of the water and then saw that it was caught in the jaws of two rearing tharlarion, who fought for it. Each would keep part of it. … I saw four more tharlarion, low on the surface, eyes and nostrils above the surface, knifing toward the feast. … With a tiny, almost imperceptible movement, the tiniest motion of their short legs, the four tharlarion, almost ringing the girl, seemed to drift again toward her, like half-submerged, meaningless logs, save for the methodicality of their convergence. There would then be a sudden lunge, and the snapping of the great jaws, the fighting for the prey. … At the same time, sensing the sudden movement of the prey, the four tharlarion, lashing the water with their tails, cut toward her. Two of them struck toward the stern of the canoe. Another uttered an explosive cry, half grunt, half bellow, which, in rage and frustration, sounded across the marsh. The fourth, jaws distended, more than a yard in width, attacked the side of the canoe. I beat it back with the paddle. — Explorers of Gor, pages 270-273.

Interestingly, as the shark has a relationship with the remora, the marsh tharlarion have a similar relationship with a fish known as the gint.

"I was interested in the fauna of the river and the rain forest. I recalled, sunning themselves on exposed roots near the river, tiny fish. They were bulbous eyed and about six inches long, with tiny flipperlike lateral fins. They had both lungs and gills. Their capacity to leave the water, in certain small streams, during dry seasons, enables hem to seek other streams, still flowing , or pools. This property also, of course, makes it possible for them to elude marine predators, and on the land, to return to the water in case of danger. Normally they remain quite close to the water. Sometimes they even sun themselves on the backs of resting or napping tharlarion. Should the tharlarion submerge the tiny fish often submerges with it, staying close to it, but away from its jaws, its proximity to the tharlarion affords it, interestingly, an effective protection against most of its natural predators, in particular the black eel, which will not approach the sinuous reptiles. Similarly the tiny fish can thrive on scraps from the ravaging jaws of the feeding tharlarion. They will even drive one another away from their local tharlarion, fighting in contests of intraspecific aggression, over the plated territory of the monster's back. The remora fish and the shark have what seem to be, in some respects, a similar relationship. These tiny fish, incidentally, are called gints." — Explorers of Gor, pages 299-300.

River Tharlarion
Large, web-footed lizards that are utilized as their land-dwelling cousins, the broad tharlarion, pulling barges and ferries across rivers. Tarl Cabot thought that it was possible these may have originally descended from the crocodiles of Earth, but were genetically altered by the Priest-Kings. However, unlike the marsh tharlarion, the river tharlarion is a herbivore. Bargement use a whipping stick to help serve in their commands of these great beasts.

"I crossed the Cartius on a barge, one of several hired by the merchant of the caravan with which I was then seeing. These barges, constructed of layered timbers of Ka-la-na wood, are towed by teams of river tharlarion, domesticated, vast, herbivorous, web-footed lizards raised and driven by the Cartius bargemen, fathers and sons, interrelated clans, claiming the status of a cast for themselves. Even with the harnessed might of several huge tharlarion drawing toward the opposite shore the crossing took us several pasangs downriver. The caravan, of course, was bound for Turia." — Nomads of Gor, pages 3-4 (footnote).

"A broad, low-sided barge began to back toward the pier. It had two large steering oars, manned by bargemen. It was drawn by two gigantic, web-footed river tharlarion. There were the first tharlarion that I had ever seen. They frightened me. They were scaled, vast and long-necked. Yet in the water it seemed, for all their bulk, they moved delicately. One dipped its head under the surface and, moments later, the head emerged, dripping, the eyes blinking, a silverish fish struggling in the small, triangular-toothed jaws. It engorged the fish, and turned its small head, eyes now unblinking, to regard us. They were harnessed to the broad barge. They were controlled by bargemen, with a long whipping stick, who was ensconced in a leather basket, part of the harness, slung between the two animals. He would also shout at them, commands, interspersed with florid Gorean profanity, and, slowly, not undelicately, they responded to his cries. The barge grated against the pier. … — Captive of Gor, pages 79-80.
The bargemen in the leather basket shouted out and slapped the two tharlarion on the neck with the whipping stick. — Captive of Gor, pages 81.

"The marsh tharlarion and river tharlarion, of Gor are, I suspect, genetically different from the alligators, caymens, and crocodiles of Earth. I suspect this to be the case because these Earth reptiles are so well adapted to their environments that they have changed very little in tens of millions of years. The marsh and river tharlarion, accordingly, if descended from such beasts, brought long ago to Gor on Voyages of Acquisition by Priest-Kings, would presumably resemble them more closely. On the other hand, of course, I may be mistaken in this matter. It remains my speculation, however, that the resemblance between these forms of beasts, which are considerable, particularly in bodily configuration and disposition, may be accounted for by convergent evolution." — Explorers of Gor, page 326.

Water Tharlarion
The water tharlarion are yellowish in color and are tiny, about six inches (6") in length. They are swift water lizard and voraciously carnivorous. The water tharlarion are the piranha of Gor in lizard form.

"To my right, some two or three feet under the water, I saw the sudden, rolling yellowish flash of the slatted belly of a water tharlarion, turning as it made its swift strike, probably a Vosk carp or marsh turtle. Immediately following I saw the water seem to glitter for a moment, a rain of yellowish streaks beneath the surface, in the wake of water tharlarion, doubtless its swarm of scavengers, tiny water tharlarion, about six inches long, little more than teeth and tail." — Raiders of Gor, page 1.

"My leg slipped from the island into the water and suddenly a tiny tharlarion struck it, seizing his bit of flesh and backing, tail whipping, away. My leg was out of the water, but now the water seemed yellow with the flashing bodies of tiny tharlarion, and beyond them, I heard the hoarse grunting of the great marsh tharlarion, some of which grow to be more than thirty feet in length, weighing more than half a hundred men." — Raiders of Gor, page 58.

"One of the guards, carrying a long, wooden pole, thrust it down, into the water. The water, judging by the pole, must have been about eight feet deep. The other guard, then, thrusting a heavy piece of meat on one of the hooks, to which a rope was attached, held the meat away from the platform and half submerged in the water. Almost instantly there was a frenzy in the water near the meat, a thrashing and turbulence in the murky liquid. I felt water splashed on my legs, even standing back as I was. Then the guard lifted the roped hook from the water. The meat was gone. Tiny tharlarion, similar to those in the swamp forest south of Ar, dropped, snapping from the bared hook. Such tiny, swift tharlarion, in their thousands, can take the meat from a kailiauk in an Ehn. … — Explorers of Gor, page 22.
"She looked up at us, piteously, blinking against the light of the torch. She clutched the pole helplessly. She could not have been bound to it more closely if she had been fastened in close chains. The small eyes of numerous tharlarion, perhaps some two or three hundred of them, ranging from four to ten inches in length, watching her, nostrils and eyes at the water level, reflected the light of the torch." — Explorers of Gor, page 23.

Tack and Equipment

Tharlarion Saddle
This particular saddle is made to absorb shock, due to the bounding strides of these gigantic lizards. The seat of the saddle is mounted on a hydraulic fitting ,which floats in a lubricant.

"The tharlarion saddle, unlike the tarn saddle, is constructed to absorb shock. Primarily, this is done by constructing the tree of the saddle in such a way that the leather seat is mounted on a hydraulic fitting which actually floats in a thick lubricant. Not only does this lubricant absorb much of the shock involved, but it tends, except under abnormal stress, to keep the seat of the saddle parallel to the ground." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 125.

Riding Dress
Despite the invention of the shock-absorbing saddle, special dressage for the rider is worn as further protection against the rough scales of the tharlarion.

" In spite of this invention, the mounted warriors always wear, as an essential portion of their equipment, a thick leather belt, tightly buckled about their abdomen. In addition, the mounted warriors inevitably wear a high, soft pair of boots called tharlarion boots. These protect their legs from the abrasive hides of their mounts. When a tharlarion runs, its hide could tear the unprotected flesh from a man's bones." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 125.

Girth Cloth
Used by tharlarion breeders; generally slaves take grain sacks, made of rough cloth such as the wool of the hurt, cut them into strips, then sew the pieces together to create a length of cloth, usually ten feet (10') long and one (1) yard wide; used to wrap newly hatched tharlarions as they emerge from the hot sand.

"He threw the girls feed sacks. To Tuka he gave a pair of scissors. To all of them he gave a needle and thread. The sacks were to be used to make girth cloths for the expected hatchlings. … The stitching on the sacks is opened, and then the sacks are cut into appropriately sized strips, which are then joined and hemmed. … The finished girth cloth is about ten feet in length and a yard in width." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 262.

"Bares and I threw the hatchling on its back and, rolling it, then, wrapped its torso in the folds of the girth cloth. This tends to protect it against the tunnel air when it is carried to the nursery. I bent down and, with the help of Bares, got the hatchling to my shoulders." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 272.

Snout Strap
Used on the newly hatched tharlarion to draw the small beasts from their shells, the snout strap is about eight inches (8") wide and a foot or more in length, and is secured about their jaws, as tharlarions are hatched with fully functional — and sharp — teeth.

"Snout strap," said Bares. I picked up one of the long, leather, coiled snout straps lying at hand. The head of the tiny hatchling, some eight inches wide, some foot or so in length, was now fully emerged from the sand. I saw one clublike foot, clawed, strike up out of the sand. It hissed. I looped the snout strap about its jaws and tied them shut. It squirmed and half pulled itself from the leathery casing which had contained it, drawing it up, half out of the sand." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 271-272.

Tharlarion Lance
A weapon used not only against men, the tharlarion lance serves as a means of protecting the warrior from the beast itself, as well as controlling it.

"In those days I learned to master the high tharlarion, one of which had been assigned to me by the caravan's tharlarion master. These gigantic lizards had been bred on Gor for a thousand generations before the first tarn was tamed, and were raised from the leathery shell to carry warriors. They responded to voice signals, conditioned into their tiny brains in the training years. Noneth less, the butt of one's lance, striking about the eye or ear openings, for there are few other sensitive areas in their scaled hides, is occasionally necessary to impress your will on the monster." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 124-125.

Whipping Stick
A long heavy stick used by bargemen in the control of the river tharlarions.

"The bargemen in the leather basket shouted out and slapped the two tharlarion on the neck with the whipping stick. — Captive of Gor, page 81.

Incubation Shed
Heated shed used in the incubation and hatching of the tharlarion.

"I must go to the incubation shed," I said. "I think it will be quite warm there, perhaps even uncomfortable: You need not accompany me there." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 269.

Tharlarion Corrals
Corrals for the keeping of the giant lizards, both the high tharlarion as well as their draft cousins; usually made of woven branches.

"At last I reached the section of the tharlarion corrals. Glancing about to see that no one was watching, I lightly climbed the fence of woven branches and dropped down inside among a group of the broad tharlarions." — Tarnsman of Gor, page 166.

Breeding

The breeding of the tharlarion began at least a thousand generations prior to Tarl Cabot's arrival to Gor. As with most reptiles, the tharlarions are egg-hatched, the egg itself leathery and tough. Eggs are kept in incubation sheds until time for hatching. The sheds are quite warm, the eggs sunk deep in the heated sand. At the time of hatching, (the average weight of a newly hatched is about 140-200 pounds), the snouts are tied shut and the beasts pulled from the eggs, wrapped quickly in a cloth to protect them, then taken to a nursery, where it will be domesticated as best such a beast can be, and starts its training. Unfortunately, we are never given any sort of clues what the training of such a beast would entail.

In those days I learned to master the high tharlarion, one of which had been assigned to me by the caravan's tharlarion master. These gigantic lizards had been bred on Gor for a thousand generations before the first tarn was tamed, and were raised from the leathery shell to carry warriors. They responded to voice signals, conditioned into their tiny brains in the training years. None the less, the butt of one's lance, striking about the eye or ear openings, for there are few other sensitive areas in their scaled hides, is occasionally necessary to impress your will on the monster. The high tharlarions, unlike their draught brethren, the slow-moving, four-footed broad tharlarion, were carnivorous. However, their metabolism was slower than that of a tarn, whose mind never seemed far from food and, if it was available, could consume half its weight in a single day. Moreover, they needed far less water than tarns. To me, the most puzzling thing about the domesticated tharlarions, and the way in which they differed most obviously from wild tharlarions and the lizards of my native planet, was their stamina, their capacity for sustained movement. When the high tharlarion moves slowly, its stride is best described as a proud, stalking movement, each great clawed foot striking the earth with a measured rhythm. When urged to speed, however, the high tharlarion bounds, in great leaping movements that carry it twenty paces at a time. — Tarnsman of Gor, pages 124-125.

"Harold got up and went to the shattered, stiff shards of the egg. From it, wet, wrinkled. rotted, dead for perhaps months or years, he drew forth the body of an unborn tharlarion." — Nomads of Gor, page 320.

"I must go to the incubation shed," I said. "I think it will be quite warm there, perhaps even uncomfortable: You need not accompany me there." — Fighting Slave of Gor, page 269.

"Here, Jason," said Bares. "Come here! Listen!"
       I went to where he now knelt in the sand. The sand there began to sink down slightly. I saw it stir. Then, suddenly, the horny snout of a tharlarion thrust up from the hot sand. Its eyes blinked. Its tongue darted in and out of its mouth, licking sand from about its jaws. Its head was some eight inches in width.
       "Snout strap," said Bares.
       I picked up one of the long, leather, coiled snout straps lying at hand. The head of the tiny hatchling, some eight inches wide, some foot or so in length, was now fully emerged from the sand. I saw one clublike foot, clawed, strike up out of the sand. It hissed. I looped the snout strap about its jaws and tied them shut. It squirmed and half pulled itself from the leathery casing which had contained it, drawing it up, half out of the sand.
       "Girth cloth, Taphris!" called Bares. Together Bares and I drew the hatchling out of the sand. With my foot I thrust back the clinging shell. "Watch out for the tail!" said Bares to Taphris. She stepped back.
       Bares and I threw the hatchling on its back and, rolling it, then, wrapped its torso in the folds of the girth cloth. This tends to protect it against the tunnel air when it is carried to the nursery. I bent down and, with the help of Bares, got the hatchling to my shoulders. The head, with its strapped-shut jaws, rotated on the neck, some two feet in length. It struck against my thigh. The young beast weighed, I conjecture, some one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty pounds. Bares slid back the bolt and lifted up the large trap door at one side of the shed and I, carefully, in the light of the fires of the incubation shed, descended the dirt ramp. At the bottom the tunnel, in its center, is floored by a set of single boards, laid end to end. This permits it to be traversed in the darkness. One need only keep one or both feet on the board. With the help of the boards, and a bit of practice, usually following a torch the first time, it is not difficult to find one's way about the tunnels in the darkness. Strings, depending from the ceiling, through which one brushes, indicate side tunnels. Inclines indicate exits. The strings contain knots on the side on which the side tunnel occurs. If one encounters, as in side tunnels, approaching the main tunnel, a fully knotted, dependent wall of strings, then one knows that a left-and-right branching is imminent. This occurred in the tunneling under the domain of the Lady Florence only where the main tunnel was approached." — Fighting Slave of Gor, pages 271-272.

A Beast of Many Uses

As previously evidenced in quotes annotated above, tharlarion serve many purposes for the people of Gor. The broad tharlarion is used as a draft beast, drawing carts, wagons, barges and ferries, as well as helping move the soil in the making of canals. The high tharlarion, a bipedal beast, serves as a mount from the smallest of this species serving as a mode of transportation, to the great beasts which serve the armies.

But, the tharlarion has another purpose as well. As with the kaiila, the tharlarion can be trained in the capturing of women.

"We halted the beasts some feet from her. She trembled. It would have done her no good, of course, to have run, even would it have been permitted that she do so. She could have been easily overtaken or ridden down, even trampled. It would not have been difficult to head off or turn her back, or to have her between us in sport, like some object in a game, a terrified, confused quarry, buffeted, or struck to the ground, again and again, until perhaps she lay quietly in the dust, trembling, and the tharlarion would come and gently, firmly, place its great clawed foot on her back, holding her in place for our binding fiber. Also, had we been slavers, she might, in her hasty flight, as we overtook her, have been roped or netted. In the south, the Wagon Peoples sometimes use the bola in such captures, the cords and weights, whipping about the girls legs and ankles, pinning them together, hurling her to the ground, where, in an instant, before she can free herself, the captor, leaping from the saddle, is upon her." — Magicians of Gor, page 299.

Special Note

Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:

Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)

Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)

Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)

Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)

Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)

Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)

Disclaimer

These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.

The Tharlarion

Leaping Lizards!