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.......