Pond creatures (f79v)

[Koen G]

They do look like they share a natural habitat though. If the green one is a crocodile, the blue one a hippo and the yellow one a lion, then it makes sense to see this as a Nile scene, since the Nile is where the habitats of these three creatures overlap. Depictions of Nilotic wildlife were quite popular in antiquity.

Giraffes were known in Egypt, but only as tributes from southern peoples. I think they would mostly be seen as zoo animals or weird things from faraway lands.



The okapi was even more of a legendary creature, though I do see where you get the idea 

Hippos and crocodiles were among the most common creatures depicted in Nile scenes, often shown together. The famous You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. offers an idea of which other creatures we might expect. The top parts of the mosaic represent southern areas and contain more "hearsay" creatures, including even something like a giraffe.

Lions are a possibility for the yellow one. Here's Ethiopians hunting a lion, with a crocodile-faced hippo looking on:




For the red one, many possibilities remain. My current favorite is the Egyptian mongoose, since it was often depicted in a confrontation with its nemesis, the cobra:




Was the red creature in the VM originally supposed to be a mongoose wrestling a snake in the water, and is that why there's an additional snake tail?