Gryphon

Basic Information

Anatomy

The typical vision of a gryphon is a graceful amalgamation of lion and eagle. This is, in fact, the most common morphology of the species but it is not ubiquitous. Gryphons can be found in varieties matching nearly every combination of feline and raptor. Every known variety of gryphon has an avian head and feline hindquarters, but forelimbs vary by subspecies. There is an argument that the reason the leonine eagle (possessing of avian forelimbs) subspecies is more thought to be more common is that it inhabits areas more hospitable to civilization and are almost exclusively the subspecies that is domesticated, but none of the others have been discovered in large enough numbers to corroborate the theory.

Genetics and Reproduction

Interestingly, although all subspecies of gryphon possess the hindquarters of a feline, they also all build nests and lay eggs. This fact is one of the primary distinctions used to differentiate them from hippogriffs and other similar magical beasts, which birth live young. It is also extremely fortunate for domestication efforts, as the track record for taming a gryphon even quite recently hatched is utterly abysmal while raising them from an egg has one of the highest success rates of any magical beast.

Growth Rate & Stages

Gryphons share the trend of other natural beasts in maturing fairly slowly, they can spend a year or even longer in the nest, and even once they leave they won't reach sexual maturity for several more years. Like dragons, gryphons never stop growing, but they do slow much earlier. For some subspecies their growth can slow so much to become effectively inconsequential, but the archetypal leonine eagle subspecies is not one of these, their growth slows but if they live long enough they can reach tremendous size.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

It's a common adage about gryphons that they have all the advantages of both their component species, and one of the strongest arguments for this is in their perception abilities. A gryphon's eyes have as keen acuity over distance as an eagle which simultaneously function as well as a cat. The same is true of their auditory and olfactory senses.