Following on from my Unicorn picture, here comes a sketch of a Gryphon. Please be prepared for a lengthy explaination.

My theory of Gryphons has been around for some time, but the idea of "fleshing-out" this theory is only recent.

For those that do not know birds are derived from reptiles and modern day birds evolved from dinosaurs. This theory comes from the fossil of a creature known as Archaeopteryx [link] a dinosaur-like creature with a long tail and claws that had developed a early wishbone and feathers along it’s entire body.

With that in mind, imagine if over time the wings and claws of the arm separated into individual limbs. Now we have a creature with functioning arms that are separated from the wings. To be able to fly this creature would need extensive muscle mass in the chest area. This brings the chest down closer to the ground to enable the forelimbs to touch the ground and enables a four-limbed walking stance.

To counteract the heavy chest a long tail then evolved equipped with stiff lateral feathers to aid balance when the creature is in flight. Much of the body is covered in light downy feathers that give the appearance of fur while the reptile hands remain scaled like that of a bird. Despite appearances the Gryphon is not a long distance flyer as it cannot sustain its heavy body in the air for long periods of time.

The toothed mouth is lost to enable a lightweight beak to evolve, although the creature keeps a serrated edge to aid in tearing at prey. The forelimbs are free and not needed for walking and can evolve to handle food, most likely fish as the lightweight body is far to delicate to allow the Gryphon to handle larger prey such as horses which it was legend to feed on.

Yes I seem to have gotten over my drawers block, although the only inspiration for drawing seems to lie in Gryphons. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next…