Merlin34 wrote:One thing I've noticed is that in a lot of fantasy worlds, the ordinary, non-magical animals, are all ripped directly from Earth. Rarely do I see an author make their own animals, and a made-up animal that isn't a terrifying predator (like Wargs) is almost non-existent. What about electric blue snails with wings?
THIS, so hard.
It does get troublesome if you start creating ecosystems from wholecloth, because usually you run the risk of making the ecosystem far too simple (read Orson Scott Card's "Speaker for the Dead" for a good example of this done well and justified). But making a smattering of unusual ordinary animals is good for local flavor. For instance, I usually make a substitute race for horses becaus I just don't like horses much. This is really a chance to let your imagination shine (especially in fantasy, when it doesn't have to be 100 percen logical), so it's odd that more writers don't do it.
