[6] It has been proposed that he was originally the personification of its gate, and the cuneiform sign alim ("bison") in his name metaphorically referred to Ningirsu, rather than to a real animal.

[1] The iconography of Igalim is not known, as while it has been proposed that depictions of a bull carrying a winged gate on its back are his symbol, this view found no universal support due to lack of examples from the area he was worshiped in.

[10] However, Grégoire Nicolet points out that in later god lists Igalima appears first instead, which he attributes to his greater importance in the eyes of their compilers, resulting from his connection to the temple E-ninnu.

[14] The oldest dedicatory inscription mentioning him comes from the reign of Uru'inimgina and commemorates the construction of his temple Emeḫušgalanki, "house which holds the terrible me of heaven and earth".

[3] According to Tonia Sharlach, the temples of Igalim and Shulshaga in the state of Lagash in the Early Dynastic period, as well as their various dependencies (such as fields or fisheries) were maintained by the sons of the reigning monarch or, if they were too young to fulfill this role, by their mother.

[16] Igalim is attested in various Early Dynastic offering lists from Lagash focused on the deities from the circle of Ningirsu and Bau, for example as a recipient of sheep or goats, in some cases alongside Shulshaga.

[4] He was celebrated during the festival of his mother in Girsu (alongside deities such as Ninshubur, Ninazu or Ḫegir)[17] and during another, focused on his father, which might have taken place in the city of Lagash.