Cataquack

Cataquacks are duck-like enemies that appear in Super Mario Sunshine in Gelato Beach. These enemies try to approach Mario to hurl him up into the air and attack him. They come in a blue, red, green, or even a purple variety. They also make an appearance in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as obstacles in Peach Beach and in Super Mario Galaxy in Gold Leaf Galaxy and Beach Bowl Galaxy. They are mainly located on beaches.

Super Mario Sunshine
Cataquacks mark their first appearance in Super Mario Sunshine as enemies found in Gelato Beach. There is a blue and a red one in this game. A blue one doesn't approach Mario to harm and when Mario touches it, he gets harmed. While the red Cataquacks approach Mario and try to fling him up into the air to harm him. As Mario advances more throughout the level, he will find more red Cataquacks and a single blue Cataquack. They are useful for reaching coins that are high up in the air that Mario cannot usually get via using F.L.U.D.D. In Episode 8 of Gelato Beach, the Cataqaucks have moved to higher areas in Gelato Beach. They can only be defeated by Yoshi, a nearby Dune Bud, or even a watermelon. Cataquacks can also randomly appear in the boss battle with King Boo when King Boo spins the roulette to Cataquacks. In Episode 2 of Gelato Beach, Plungelos, a sub-species of Cataquacks appear as mini-bosses.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Cataquacks reappear as obstacles in Peach Beach and are alert of when Kart racers pass them. Two new color varieties of them are revealed in this game, green and purple. They also have the returning red and blue varieties. When drove into, the Cataquacks will fling the racers high up into the air and make them drop their items. They can be defeated by Green Shells, Red Shells, or using a Lightning.

Super Mario Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy, the Cataquacks make their latest appearance as enemies found in Gold Leaf Galaxy and Beach Bowl Galaxy. Only the blue version of Cataquacks are found in this game. They fling Mario into high places throughout the galaxy which helps Mario discover new areas of the galaxy. In this game, Cataquacks are strangely known to be harmless and they are also known to be owned by the Bees. They can be defeated by being led into the water (which they will appear a while later). They can be defeated for a few seconds if Mario uses his Star Spin attack on their tail.

Trivia

 * Their name is supposedly a pun on catapult and quack, due to them being used as catapults and having a rather duck-like appearance.
 * Heave Hos from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS act similarly to Cataquacks with them heaving Mario into their air which can harm of not harm him.