The preferred mount of
Green Martian warriors as imagined and described by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his 1912 sci-fi classic "Princess of
Mars".
"...and his mount! How can earthly
words describe it! It towered ten
feet at the shoulder; had four legs on either side; a broad flat tail, larger at the
tip than at the root......Like its master, it was entirely devoid of hair, but was of a dark slate color and exceedingly smooth and glossy. Its belly was white, and its legs shaded from the slate of its shoulders and hips to a vived yellow at the
feet."
More recent writers and filmakers have borrowed heavily from Burroughs' Mars series. Jabba's sail barge, land speeders, and everpresent swordplay in Star Wars being notable examples.
Two of these animals had fallen to me from the warriors whose metal I wore, and in a short time I could handle them as well as the native warriors........If the thoats did not respond with sufficient celerity to the telepathic instructions of their riders, they were dealt a terrific
blow between the ears with the
butt of a pistol.......