A lot of them are derivative. But that's because of demand, really. Most people *want* a race they're familiar with. They fall back on known archetypes because it's easier to get into their heads.
I've introduced a quadrapedal pack race on one of my games, which actually requires at least three or four people to play, and it's hardly ever tried. But people will play the dickens out of a bipedal felinoid or a standard humanoid.
At some point, as a game designer, it's understandable that you might just say: Give them what they want, not what you think would be cool for them to try.
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