It’s not just D&D, Mimics are present in many well known video games (mainly RPG), such as the Final Fantasy series.
Saying Mimics were invented by Dark Souls is like saying shooters were invented by Crysis. “I never played Doom” will not excuse you on this one.
Depictions of mimics have actually been found in early neolithic cave paintings. They show groups of men returning from the hunt only to be devoured by a treasure chest made of sticks and rocks.
I stand corrected. My first experience with mimics was dark souls. My bad
All good. Wasn’t meant as an attack. 
I’m honestly not sure where it originated, but I think the earliest known reference is in D&D. A quick google search tells me it was in the original AD&D manual, which would put it at 1977. I know it appears in the SRD, which means it’s not a D&D-original “trademarked monster” (like a Beholder, for example). It was thus probably somewhere in the collective consciousness of the miniatures/wargarming enthusiasts that gave birth to D&D.
That or cave paintings. Though I think the evidence is controversial. 
So, bonny rose, she is a nice pirate captain, that one is. Is she based on Anne Bonny?
What are those 6 legged animals on the left picture side? 
As I said, controversial 
That Rock Noms looks like someone crossed Woola with an armadillo.
Woola for the uninitiated.
If memory serves, the original land shark looked a lot like Chevy Chase.
