????

????
Sand-Cheep's sprite in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Chronological information
First game	Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003)
Latest game	Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions (2017)
Game appearances	Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Biological information
Located	Gwarhar Lagoon
Species	Cheep Cheep
Association
Related	Blurp Fish Bone
Game information
Attacks	Shuffle Varies
Defeated by	See below.

Shark Bones and Sand Cheeps, also called ???? (four question marks), is an enemy encountered in Gwarhar Lagoon in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its remake Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. They commonly appear in battle alongside Beanerang Bros.

Profile

The ???? enemies are found at Gwarhar Lagoon. Out of battle, they move under the sand and pop out as a Sand Cheep or a Sharkbone. They can be stomped before battle and are likely to be stunned.

Battle

The ???? enemies appear in two forms, Sharkbones, and Sand Cheeps, only exposing their blue fins under the sand until the last second of their attack. The enemy uses an attack where it "swims" through the sand towards the brothers. They always appear in sets of two, one being a Sharkbone and the other being a Sand Cheep. The ???? has two attacks, depending on which type it is:

• Sharkbones burrow under and attack Mario or Luigi for large damage and possible Poison.

• Sand-Cheeps will jump right over Mario or Luigi, but if the Mario Bros. jump, they will get hurt.

This combination can be annoying, since the ????s shuffle places each time one of them attacks, making it quite difficult to tell whether an attacker will be above or below Mario or Luigi. Therefore, the Mario Bros. could get hurt by a Sand-Cheep, expecting it to be a Sharkbone, and vice versa. In the remake, the shown levels of the two types (Sharkbones are at Level 25 while Sand-Cheeps have Level 24) make it easier to tell which one's which.

Sharkbones have 25 HP while Sand Cheeps have 50 HP. Both have the same Attack power (72), Defense (40), Speed (80), and fire/thunder resistance stats. Sand Cheep ????s give you 80 Exp and Sharkbone ????s give you 120 Exp. Sand Cheeps drop 10 coins and have a chance of dropping Super Syrup, Super Mushroom, and Green Pepper. Sharkbones drop 10-14 coins and have a chance of dropping Ultra Syrup, Super Syrup, and Red Pepper. Keep in mind that Sharkbones counterattack if struck. In the remake, they get exclamation marks, like Rookie, who is encountered at various points during the game, and Jojora, who is found in the Joke's End area, does.

Sharkbones return in Mario & Luigi: Brothership, where they appear in the Allsand area. Sharkbones can now be seen clearly in the overworld, not just their fin. Their stats have been drastically increased, with the creature being Level 40 with extremely high health, power, and defense, and the Bros. are advised to avoid them at all costs. Unlike most foes, Sharkbones have their health bars hidden.

Sharkbones attack by sliding their fins against both Bros., which can be avoided by jumping, though if they briefly rise above the sand, they jump over the target, which must be ducked under (no input required) instead. They can also cause a tremor before biting a Bro. from below, which must be jumped. Sharkbones also have a ram attack that can be avoided with a hammer strike. If not attacked, they run from the battle, leaving no rewards. Sharkbones can give Sharkbone Bones when slain, which is necessary for the The Fossil and the Bones sidequest. There is a rare reef in the form of several Sharkbones known as Ominous Reef.

Stats

• Sand Cheep
• Sharkbone

????
	LVL	28 (26)	HP	50	POW	72	DEF	40	SPEED	80
	EXP	80 (50)	COINS	10	Fire	Normal	Thunder	Normal	Jump	Normal
	Hammer?	Normal	Hand?	Normal	Stun?	30%	Burn?	60%	Stat Down?	100%
Item drop					Location(s)
•Supersyrup Jar – 12.9% (Super Mushroom - 19.35%) •None – 0% (Green Pepper - 38.71%)					Gwarhar Lagoon
Notes Parentheses indicates statistics applying only to the Japanese version. Numbers and words in gray indicate coding unavailable in normal gameplay.

????
	LVL	29 (27)	HP	25	POW	72	DEF	40	SPEED	80
	EXP	120 (80)	COINS	14 (10)	Fire	Normal	Thunder	Normal	Jump	Normal
	Hammer?	Normal	Hand?	Normal	Stun?	30%	Burn?	0%	Stat Down?	100%
Item drop					Location(s)
•Ultrasyrup Jar (Supersyrup Jar) – 16.13% •None – 0% (Red Pepper - 35.48%)					Gwarhar Lagoon
Notes Parentheses indicates statistics applying only to the Japanese version. Numbers and words in gray indicate coding unavailable in normal gameplay.

Gallery

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga sprite (fin)

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions (Sharkbone)

Names In Other Languages

• Sharkbone:
  • Spanish: El Huescualo (Pun on El Hueso (bone) and El Escualo (shark)) (Hidden Form: Sango Pió (From Korean Sang-eo (shark) and Ppyeo (bone)))
    • Genitive Singular: Lois Huescualis (Sanguis Pionus)/Lósio Huescalósio (Sangósio Pionus)
    • Dative Singular: Loy Huescuali (Sangui Pioni)
    • Accusative Singular: El Huescualo (Sango Pionem)
    • Ablative Singular: Lod Huescuálod (Sángod Pióned)
    • Nominative/Accusative Plural: Los Huescualos (Sangos Piones)
    • Genitive Plural: Loro Huescualoro (Sangoro Piónum)
    • Dative/Ablative Plural: Loyes Huescuálois (Sángois Piónibus)
  • Portuguese: O Ostubarão (Pun on O Tubarão (shark) and O Osso)
    • Genitive Singular: Lósio Ostubaronos
    • Dative Singular: Loi Ostubaroni
    • Accusative Singular: Lão Ostubarõem
    • Ablative Singular: Lode Ostubaróned
    • Nominative/Accusative Plural: Os Ostubarones
    • Genitive Plural: Lorom Ostubaronom
    • Dative/Ablative Plural: Loies Ostubarónibus
    • Accusative Plural: Lóns Ostubarons