Spiked Beetle

Spiked Beetles are turtle-like enemies first encountered on Koholint Island in Link's Awakening. Under normal conditions a Spiked Beetle will crawl around a room at a leisurely pace, but when it spots an intruder it will charge toward the adversaries in hope of crashing into them with it's spiked shell. However, if Link can defend himself using an object such as a Shield he can flip it over, exposing its weak underbelly. A little known trick that can also be used against these creatures is recounted to Link by a Cukeman in either Oracle of Seasons or Oracle of Ages: Link can also flip these foes by using the Shovel. This is one of the few offensive uses for this tool. Also in these games, Link is also able to rid the monsters from his path by use of Gale Seeds.

Spiked Beetles are partly based on and share their Japanese name with Spiny, an enemy from the Mario games. As such despite their name their status as beetles is very questionable, as Spinies are turtles. Spinies commonly appear as red, but they do have green and blue variations akin to those seen in the Zelda franchise.

When these enemies appeared later in Four Swords and The Minish Cap, they underwent a design change that brought them closer to their Mario counterparts by revealing their faces, or at least their eyes hidden under their shells, and giving them a more reptilian appearance. They also now spin at Link, homing in on him rather than charging in straight lines. Using the shield is still an effective technique, but in The Minish Cap, Link can use the Cane of Pacci to flip them over.

Trivia

 * In terms of appearance and weakness, Spiked Beetles are very similar to Terrorpins appearing in A Link to the Past and Four Swords Adventures and appear to be partially based on them.
 * Snappers in Majora's Mask also shares similarities with Spiked Beetles, particularly their spinning method of attack and their weakness.
 * The Japanese name for this enemy, "Togezō" comes from the word, meaning thorn. Other enemies that use this word in their names include Spiny Chuchu and Mulldozer.
 * The reason for this enemy being named as a beetle in the English versions of the games may relate to the name of Buzzy Beetle, a similar turtle enemy in the Mario series.
 * Beetles and Spiny Beetles were confused with Spiked Beetles in the Enemy Roster of the Nintendo Player's Guide for Link's Awakening, both being given the same method of defeat (by flipping them over) despite not having any relation to this enemy.