Editing Forerunner fauna and flora

{{Era|Forerunner|HCW}}
{{FOF-1}}
{{quote|I'm reading thousands of types of flora. The [[Installation 04|ring]]'s ecosystem is incredibly sophisticated.|[[Cortana]]}}

Many [[Forerunner]] installations and megastructures boast naturalistic environments, complete with diverse populations of plants and animals. In the case of the Halo Array, this was by design of the Librarian, who allowed the population of ringworlds so as to research on the effects of a flood outbreak in a controlled environment.<ref>''Halo: Cryptum'', page 334</ref>

==Fauna==
===Avian===
[[File:possible halo dinosaurs.JPG|thumb|right|The 'birds' of [[Installation 05]]]]
{{Main|Forerunner bird}}
On Installation 05 and Installation 00, strange bird-like flying creatures can be seen flying in certain locations. They have four wings, long trailing tails, and elongated beaks.

On the unknown shield world in ''[[Halo Wars]]'', there are creatures resembling sea gulls and [[list of animals|eagles]].

===Insects===
{{Seealso|Moth}}

Moth-like insects are seen in the dark swamp areas of ''[[Installation 04|Alpha Halo]].''

The Halo 2 level [[Backwash]] contains fireflies.

===Sea worms=== 
{{Main|Sea Worm}}

Sea worms are found in the oceans of Installation 04. They float harmlessly on the surface of the water. When exploring the water, the worms can often be seen in the waters edge, floating.

===Other===
Various animal calls can be heard in the level ''343 Guilty Spark'' along with the moths. The most common sounds were the sound of an [[list of animals|owl]] hooting and cricket chirping.  

On Shield 0459, many of the Flood forms infesting the surface appear to be infected wildlife.

Some Forerunners grew [[Merse]], a species of aquatic carnivore, as pond decorations. One Forerunner planet, home to [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], was briefly host to a species of tri-torsoed aquatic reptiles, which a Lifeworker had imported for his experiments.

In the Onyx shield world there were lizards with narrow, almost birdlike faces and frilled crests. Also there is some for of avian creature resembling a bird or bat. Olivia found a a beetlelike insect about ten centimeters long with bright orange stripes and a long tapering spike of a tail, crawling on Dr. Halsey. <ref>[http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/10/halo-glasslands-excerpt?start=1 '''Tor.com-''' Halo: Glasslands- Prologue and Chapter 1'']</ref>

==Flora==
[[File:FTrees.jpg|thumb|110px|Various species of trees found on Forerunner installations.]]
===Stalk plants===
Stalk Plants can be commonly seen in the multiplayer map ''[[Backwash]]'', and seen often in the campaign levels ''[[343 Guilty Spark (level)|343 Guilty Spark]]'', ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]'' and ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''. These plants appear as large, thick stalks, as the name suggests and are often bulbous towards the base, tapering upwards into a thinner trunk, in a similar fashion as an onion grown on Earth. The bulb of the plant has been observed to possess some sort of photoluminescence and emits a neon green glow that repeats in a rhythmic pattern. This same property can be observed on the [[human]] [[Human Combat Form#Human Form|Combat Form]] in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''.

===Forerunner trees===
Forerunner trees are aesthetically similar to modern trees on [[Earth]]. They are found on Forerunner Installations and seem to be quite abundant.<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', campaign levels, ''[[Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo]], [[Assault on the Control Room]]'', and ''[[Two Betrayals]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign levels, ''[[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]], [[Regret (level)|Regret]], [[Uprising]],'' and ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign levels, ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]], [[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]'', and ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]</ref> The trees would help keep a balanced ecosystem and make [[Halo]] seem more natural. There are many different trees seen on Halo throughout the trilogy.

Given their strong resemblance to trees found on Earth, it is entirely possible that the Forerunners intentionally transplanted flora from Earth to the Halo Installations, as an attempt to make them habitable and hospitable to their human inheritors.

==Deleted fauna==
===Land animals===
[[Image:Dinosaurs.jpg|thumb|200px|Photos of some Thorn Beasts that didn't make it into the original game.]]

In original trailers for ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', Installation 04 was inhabited by [[Thorn Beast]]s and a species of bipedal animal known as a [[Blind Wolf]]. <ref>[[Halo 2#Halo 2 versions|''Halo 2'' Collectors Edition Disc]]</ref> The Blind Wolf was also meant to be rideable by the player as well as have the ability to bite as an attack. They can also be seen in large packs in the [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3 2000]] Halo trailer.

The main reason these creatures did not make it into the final game was because the developers wanted the surprise introduction of the [[The Flood|Flood]] to be shocking to the player, who had seen no hint of them before encountering them. It was determined that ultimately the presence of other non-Covenant aliens lessened the impact of the Flood's arrival. 

===Sea creatures===
Originally, there were unfinished plans for sea creatures to inhabit the water- as seen in [[The Silent Cartographer]], where the water will not kill the player.  In [[Pre-Xbox Halo|early ''Combat Evolved'' production]] there was also a spear gun which could be used on the sea creatures and underwater enemies. A few sea creatures have been seen in early videos like sea monsters and fish. The creatures and spear gun did not appear due to balancing problems.

==Sources==
<references/>

[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:The Forerunner]]