pretty sure that the game developers went with this aspect:
In South American folklore, the carbuncle is a small elusive animal containing a mirror, shining gemstone or riches like gold.[4][5] The description of the carbuncle vary, some saying it looks like a firefly in the night, or like having a bivalve-like shell and maize ear shape.[4] According to the Book of Imaginary Beings "nobody ever saw it well enough to know whether it was a bird or a mammal, whether it had feathers or fur."[5] A Chilean man known as Gaspar Huerta is said to have encountered a carbuncle while digging an irrigation canal, but reportedly he could not see what its shape was because he killed it on the spot to recover its riches.[4] In Chilote mythology it is variously described as green-red shining animal such as a dog, cat, bivalve or simply a flame that is the "guardian of the metals".[4][6]
which is why it's a red-gemmed little cat fox creature. very meta for final fantasy.
Re: da
In South American folklore, the carbuncle is a small elusive animal containing a mirror, shining gemstone or riches like gold.[4][5] The description of the carbuncle vary, some saying it looks like a firefly in the night, or like having a bivalve-like shell and maize ear shape.[4] According to the Book of Imaginary Beings "nobody ever saw it well enough to know whether it was a bird or a mammal, whether it had feathers or fur."[5] A Chilean man known as Gaspar Huerta is said to have encountered a carbuncle while digging an irrigation canal, but reportedly he could not see what its shape was because he killed it on the spot to recover its riches.[4] In Chilote mythology it is variously described as green-red shining animal such as a dog, cat, bivalve or simply a flame that is the "guardian of the metals".[4][6]
which is why it's a red-gemmed little cat fox creature. very meta for final fantasy.