Harinezumi

The harinezumi is a form of Cybertronian wildlife from the The Headmasters portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

"Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist."

Harinezumi (ハリネズミ, "hedgehog") are ferocious rat-like creatures, large even by Transformer standards, that dwell in groups in the tunnels underneath Cybertron's surface. Perhaps they are related to retrorats, perhaps they are leftover Trans-Organics; either way, it is advised not to approach them.

Fiction

The Headmasters cartoon

Shortly after his resurrection, Optimus Prime went on a search with ghost-Alpha Trion for the chamber of Vector Sigma deep within the bowels of Cybertron. In one corridor, Alpha Trion was telepathically warned by Fortress Maximus not to continue that way, but since Optimus hadn't heard anything, they did not turn around immediately. Next Optimus knew, he was under attack by a harinezumi. The creature wasn't a problem to defeat on its own, but others of its kind swiftly followed. Smashing the creatures off him, Optimus suggested trying a different tunnel and promptly made a run for it. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime

Notes

• The harinezumi were not named in the episode. The term comes from the model sheet for the creature.