In the days before evolutionary theory and modern taxonomy, people were already describing species and their relationships. This helped with identifying and grouping useful or dangerous plants and animals. Early taxonomy was largely focused on broad observations. Scholars often placed species into groups like trees, fish and even invertebrates. But these scholars were still figuring out where those species came from and how they were related, which led to some interesting hypotheses. This is why so much sea life is called “sea (land animal)”: it was a long-held popular belief that all land animals had specific undersea counterparts.
Another hypothesis gave rise to some giraffe-related words, like the constellation Camelopardalis and the Nubian giraffe’s species name, also camelopardalis. In fact, camelopard, or “camel-leopard,” is an archaic English term for the giraffe. This is because giraffes are such unusual animals that many people once thought they either looked like or literally were a cross between a camel and a leopard. The giraffe is a great example of a proposed real-life “hybrid monster.”
Of course, scientists these days know that hybrids don’t quite work that way. Part of the definition of a species is that it (mostly) doesn’t breed with other species. And when exceptions occur, they are always among very close relatives and the results are almost always weak and/or infertile.
But what if you, as a writer, want a hybrid monster in your world? Where are the gryphons, the merfolk, and the classical chimeras going to fit into our hypothetical taxonomy? Not to mention any composite critters you might want to make up yourself.
Luckily, we have two fairly straightforward methods to make “hybrid” monsters work. Read on to find out some ways to get funky beasties into your funky beastiary!
The camelopard method
Our first solution is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is follow our real life examples of not-so-composite animals and make that the crux of your fantasy species. Maybe there are myths and legends in your world that a given monster is made up two or more animals, but in reality it just looks that way. After all, just because your setting is fantastical (or science fictional) doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have myths of its own! And with the wealth of real life weird animals that look like they defy classification, there’s no reason not to suggest that fantasy animals could behave the same way.
To give an example, there’s this particular fantasy setting that I’ve been playing around with. In it, there are three different clades of animals that have some kind of connection to magic. One of these clades, with a working title of “greater raptors,” are birds that managed to develop a six-limbed body plan. And in one of the greater raptor families are none other than gryphons. They look similar to your classic eagle-lion gryphon, and have a lot of similar qualities. But in reality, their closest relatives outside of their unique clade are falcons and parrots.
Considering there’s a real life bird of prey called the “griffon vulture” and Old French used the word “grifon” to mean “bird of prey,” this wouldn’t be too far off.
The chimera method
But let’s say you want your critters to be true “hybrid” monsters. Believe it or not, there’s a scientific basis for that, too! In the scientific community, a chimera is a single organism made up of cells with two or more different sets of DNA. This can happen naturally within the same species, such as a developing baby absorbing the cells of a twin who died early in development. It’s also found in plant grafting, which can produce plant chimeras of multiple species by connecting or grafting parts of one species to the main “body” of another. The use of chimeras is even being studied for possible medical applications, such as organ transplants. The idea there is to use stem cells to grow human organs needed for transplants in a developing pig or other livestock animal.
Of course, you’ll have a lot to consider if you want to create a fictional chimera. These organisms can only pass on the DNA of whichever set of cells makes up the reproductive organs, for one thing. Will this make them artificial and effectively infertile, or did the local wizard find a workaround? Not to mention the chimera needs to be able to function in the first place. How does your classic lion-goat-snake eat, if it has three heads? Where do the esophagi go? How do their vertebrae and brain stems all connect to the spine? And if your beastie has bird or bat wings, does it have the right shape and muscles to fly?
Answering these questions can help with the design of your “hybrid” monsters and their place in the world. Answering both the how and the why can also give some insight into the mad scientists, quirky wizards, or arcano-natural processes that made the monsters in the first place. After all, a surly lion-goat probably isn’t going to have a lot of uses in medicine.
Mad magicians and baffled scholars
At the end of the day, which approach you take depends on your preference. Not-so-hybrid monsters provide a more “natural” feel, opportunities to dive into your world’s myths, and a chance to break the mold. Chimeric monsters let you explore the classics, ask “why does this exist, anyway?” and explore the individual, culture, or magical system that created them. Who knows? Maybe your hybrid monsters come in both forms.
Sources: History of Taxonomy