The amphituber family is a family of frog-like amphibians in all of the Pikmin games. Nearly every member has the ability to crush Pikmin, either by floating upwards and slamming down, or by just jumping. Also similar to frogs, tadpole variants exist, although the only one seen in-game is the Wolpole. Members belong to the amphicaris and volcanus amphicaris genus.
Members
Chillyhop
- Main article: Chillyhop.
Scientific name: Amphicaris frigidae
The Chillyhop is a variation of the Yellow Wollyhop found in Pikmin 4. It creates patches of ice when it lands after a jump, which will freeze any Pikmin type other than Ice Pikmin on contact. Its skin is not icy however, and can be safely attacked by any type of Pikmin.
Fiery Young Yellow Wollywog
- Main article: Fiery Young Yellow Wollywog.
Scientific name: Volcanus amphicaris frodendum
The Fiery Young Yellow Wollywog is a variation of the Young Yellow Wollywog found in Hey! Pikmin. It has an orange color with dark red markings, and its entire body is lit on fire, meaning it can only be defeated by Red Pikmin. The adult form has never been seen in any Pikmin game.
Masterhop
- Main article: Masterhop.
Scientific name: Amphicaris frondiferorum (advanced age)
The Masterhop is a giant Yellow Wollyhop which has survived into advanced old age. It can jump with enough force to leave a visible indent in certain, malleable environments.
Wolpole
- Main article: Wolpole.
Scientific name: Amphicaris frondiferorum (larva)
Wolpoles resemble tadpoles, and are in fact the juvenile form of amphitubers. Wolpoles are one of the weakest enemies in the Pikmin series. In the first game, they only appear in the The Forest of Hope and The Distant Spring. They are typically a hard-to-get, low-reward enemy in that they are fast swimmers that run away and only produce one seed when carried to the Onion. In Pikmin 2, they are found in the Awakening Wood and Perplexing Pool areas, as well as being found in the sublevels of some caves. Also, they can occasionally get out of the water. When they do this, they will flop high in the air and their speed is drastically reduced. The creature's name was previous known as "Wogpole" in North America, but was changed starting with Pikmin 1 (Nintendo Switch) and Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch) to make it so the offensive term "wog" is not used in any Amphituber species.
Wollyhop
- Main article: Wollyhop.
Scientific name: Amphicaris albino
Wollyhops are a species of mature amphituber that live in the bowels of subterranean areas. They are gray and have red eyes with orange feet and an orange underside, and are usually found in watery cave-live areas, such as caves and The Forest Navel in Pikmin. They are defeated in the same manner as Yellow Wollyhops, but are more aggressive, and attack with a jump more readily. The lack of skin coloration is due to living in sunlight-free places. In early Pikmin games, the creature's name was Wollywog in America but since Pikmin 1+2, the creature's name has been changed worldwide to make it so the offensive term "wog" is not used in any Amphituber species.
Yellow Wollyhop
- Main article: Yellow Wollyhop.
Scientific name: Amphicaris frondiferorum
Yellow Wollyhops are more slender, taller, yellow versions of Wollyhops that live near bodies of water out in the open like in The Distant Spring or Perplexing Pool as opposed to underground areas, though this is not always true. Like Wollyhops, they try to crush Pikmin by jumping into the air. To defeat them, it is best to approach from behind and throw Pikmin on top, calling them back before the creature falls. In Pikmin 1+2, the name has been changed from "Yellow Wollywog", to make it so the offensive term "wog" is not used in any Amphituber species.
Young Yellow Wollywog
- Main article: Young Yellow Wollywog.
Scientific name: Amphicaris frondendum
Young Yellow Wollywogs are Yellow Wollywogs in an earlier part of their life cycle, as seen in Hey! Pikmin. It is much smaller, with only one pair of legs, and part of its tail is still attached. It can be defeated by throwing a single Pikmin onto it.
In Pikmin Adventure
The following enemies exist in Pikmin Adventure, and are said in-game to belong to the amphituber family. They are, however, not canon.
Large-Mouth Wollywog
- Main article: Large-Mouth Wollywog.
The Large-Mouth Wollywog is the second boss fought in Pikmin Adventure. It has eyes on stalks, a large mouth (as the name would imply) and can only be attacked at specific parts of its body at specific parts of the fight (i.e. the tongue at the start of the fight, its cheeks at the middle of the fight, and its back at the end of the fight). The Large Mouth Wollywog does not attack by jumping, but rather by extending its spike-ball-tongue at the player. This tongue will do damage whether or not it is the boss's current weak spot.
Translucent Wollywog
- Main article: Translucent Wollywog.
The Translucent Wollywog is the second boss to be fought in the extra challenges of Pikmin Adventure. Its nearly identical to the Large-Mouth Wollywog from the 16 standard challenges. The only differences is that it is see-through, and shoots its tongue out three times in a row instead of just once. Its movement and attacks also have increased in speed, making it much more difficult. When stunned, it becomes white and opaque.
Naming
Amphituber is a portmanteau of "amphibian", the real world class that frogs are a part of, and "tuber", due to their potato-shaped body. Originally, members of this family used the name "Wollywog" or some variation. The Wollywog name is a likely play on the pollywog, which means tadpole. It's likely that Wollywogs were renamed to Wollyhops because "wog" is an offensive word in the United Kingdom and Australia. and the Wogpole to Wolpole, in the European versions of New Play Control! Pikmin, New Play Control! Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 3. Starting with the Nintendo Switch HD rereleases of Pikmin and Pikmin 2, all were renamed to the European variants in all English regions. "hop" references these creatures' powerful leaps.
Amphicaris is the genus for most members of this family, and likely comes from "amphibian". Volcanus amphicaris is another genus shared by some members, with Volcanus coming from volcano. This distinguishes the fire-based members from the rest. In the real world, the genus Volcanus amphicaris is taxonomically incorrect as the genus of an animal can only be a single word due to the binomial nomenclature we follow today. This could indicate that a polynomial system is used in the Pikmin universe.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
イモガエル科? Imo Gaeru Ka |
Potato frog family |
 Chinese(traditional) |
薯薯蛙科 | |
 Dutch |
Amfipiepers | From "amfibie" (amphibian) and "piepers" (potatoes) |
 French |
amphibercules | From "amphibien" (amphibian) and "tubercule" (tuber). The idea behind this portmanteau is that it is referencing how Wollyhops usually live underground and don't get any sun, like tubers. It could also be referring to the fact that they suck their prey's body fluids through their undersides, similarly to how roots get their nutrients from the ground. |
 German |
Amphituben | |
 Italian |
Anfituberi | |
 Korean |
덩이줄기개구리 과 | |
 Portuguese |
Anfiberulídeos | From "anfíbio" (amphibian) |
 Spanish |
Anfibérculos | From "anfibio" (amphibian) and "tubérculo" (tuber) |
Trivia
- In Pikmin, the Wollyhop and the Yellow Wollyhop share almost exactly the same bottom. Besides a small bit of the belly, front legs and "chin", as well as the Wollyhop's "tail", the geometry of the bottom half of the model is exactly the same.
