The following is a list of hybrid entities from the folklore record grouped morphologically. Hybrids not found in classical mythology but developed in the context of modern popular culture are listed in § Modern fiction. Wolf-Cat Hybrid
Mythology
Head of one animal, body of another
Mammalian bipeds
Ganesha, with Elephant's head
Anubis – The jackal-headed Egyptian God.
Bastet – The cat-headed Egyptian Goddess.
Cynocephalus – A dog-headed creature.
Daksha – His head was replaced by a goat's head after a beheading.
Horus, with Falcon's headA medieval depiction of a harpy as a bird-woman
Alkonost – A creature from Russian folklore with the head of a woman with the body of a bird, said to make beautiful sounds that make anyone who hears them forget all that they know and not want anything more ever again.
Bird goddess – Vinca figures of a woman with a bird head.
Cuca - A creature from Brazilian folklore and female counterpart of the Coco that is depicted as a witch with the head of an alligator. It will catch and eat children that disobey their parents.
Gamayun – A Russian creature portrayed with the head of a woman and the body of a bird.
Draconcopedes (snake-feet) – "Snake-feet are large and powerful serpents, with faces very like those of human maidens and necks ending in serpent bodies" as described by Vincent of Beauvais.[7]
Gajamina – A creature with the head of an elephant and body of a fish.
Merlion – A creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish.
Nure-onna – A creature with the head of a woman and the body of a snake.
Tam Đầu Cửu Vĩ or Ông Lốt - is a divine beast with 3 human heads and a 9-tailed snake body, the mount of the god Ông Hoàng Bơ in Đạo Mẫu in Vietnamese folk religion.
Glaistig – A Scottish fairy or ghost who can take the form of a goat-human hybrid.[8][9]
Griffin – A creature with the front quarters of an eagle and the hind quarters of a lion. Some depictions also depict it as having a snake-headed tail.
Harpy – A half-bird, half-woman creature of Greek mythology, portrayed sometimes as a woman with bird wings and legs.
Hippalectryon – A creature with the front half of a horse and the rear half has a rooster's wings, tail, and legs.
Hippocampus (or Hippocamp) – A Greek mythological creature that is half-horse half-fish.
Hippogriff – A creature with the front quarters of an eagle and hind quarters of a horse.
Pegasus, as the horse of Muses, was put on the roof of Poznań Opera House (Max Littmann, 1910)Detail of the embroidered dress of an Apkallu, showing a pair of 4-legged winged animals. From Nimrud, Iraq. 883-859 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
Angel – Humanoid creatures who are generally depicted with bird-like wings. In Abrahamic mythology and Zoroastrianism mythology, angels are often depicted as benevolent celestial beings who act as messengers between God and humans.
Bat – An Egyptian goddess with the horns and ears of a cow.
Satyr – Originally an ancient Greek nature spirit with the body of a man, but the long tail and pointed ears of a horse.[11][12] From the beginning, satyrs were inextricably associated with drunkenness and ribaldry, known for their love of wine, music, and women.[11][12][13] By the Hellenistic Period, satyrs gradually began to be depicted as unattractive men with the horns and legs of goats, likely due to conflation with Pan.[11][12] They were eventually conflated with the Roman fauns and, since roughly the second century AD, they have been indistinguishable from each other.[11][12][14]
Silenos - A tutor to Dionysus who is virtually identical to satyrs and normally indistinguishable, although sometimes depicted as more elderly.[13][12]
Bes – An Egyptian god with the hindquarters of a lion.
Lilitu – A woman with bird legs (and sometimes wings) found in Mesopotamian mythology.
Faun – An ancient Roman nature spirit with the body of a man, but the legs and horns of a goat.[11][12] Originally they differed from the Greek satyrs because they were less frequently associated with drunkenness and ribaldry and were instead seen as "shy, woodland creatures".[14] Starting in the first century BC, the Romans frequently conflated them with satyrs and, after the second century AD, the two are virtually indistinguishable.[11][12][14]
Goat people are a class of mythological beings who physically resemble humans from the waist up, and had goat-like features usually including the hind legs of goats. They fall into various categories, such as sprites, gods, demons, and demigods.[15]
Krampus – A Germanic mythical figure of obscure origin. It is often depicted with the legs and horns of a goat, the body of a man, and animalistic facial features.
Kusarikku – A demon with the head, arms, and torso of a human and the ears, horns, and hindquarters of a bull.
Lamia – Woman with duck feet.
Pan – The god of the wild and protector of shepherds, who has the body of a man, but the legs and horns of a goat. He is often heard playing a flute.
Sylvań – A satyr like creature with a deer’s hooves, a fox tail, and a white coat that is woven to make their clothing.
Other hybrids of two kinds
Garuda carrying his master Vishnu. Garuda has an eagle's head, wings and legs
Alebrije – A brightly colored creature from Mexican mythology.
Anansi - A West African god, also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy. In the Americas he is known as Nancy, Aunt Nancy and Sis' Nancy. Anansi is considered to be the spirit of all knowledge of stories. He is also one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. Anansi is depicted in many different ways: sometimes he looks like an ordinary spider, sometimes he is a spider wearing clothes or with a human face, and sometimes he looks much more like a human with spider elements, such as eight legs.
Avatea – A Mangaian god that has the right half of a man and the left half of a fish.
Cerberus – A Greek mythological dog that guarded the gates of the underworld, almost always portrayed with three heads and occasionally having a mane of serpents, as well as the front half of one for a tail.
Drakaina – A female species from Greek mythology that is draconic in nature, primarily depicted as a woman with dragon features.
Feathered serpent - A Mesoamerican spirit deity that possessed a snake-like body and feathered wings.
Garuda – A creature that has the head, wings, and legs of an eagle and body of a man.
Gorgon – Each of them has snakes in place of their hair; sometimes also depicted with a snake-like lower body.
Jorōgumo - Type of Japanese yōkai, depicted as a spider woman manipulating small fire-breathing spiders.
Uchek Langmeidong - A half-woman and half-hornbill creature in Manipuri folklore, depicted as a girl who was turned into a bird to escape from her stepmother's torture in the absence of her father.
Werecat – A creature that is part cat, part human, or switches between the two.
Werehyena - A creature that is part hyena, part human, or switches between the two.
Werewolf – A creature that becomes a wolf/human-like beast during the nights of the full moon, but is human otherwise.
Wyvern – A creature with a dragon's head and wings, a reptilian body, two legs, and a tail often ending in a diamond- or arrow-shaped tip.
Hybrids of three kinds
Assyrianlamassu dated 721, BCE Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago.
Ammit – An Egyptian creature with the head of a crocodile, the front legs of a lion, and the back legs and hindquarters of a hippopotamus.
Baphomet – Traditionally depicted as an anthropomorphic creature with goat's head.
Buraq – A creature from Arabic iconography that has the head of a man and the body of a winged horse.
Chimera – A Greek mythological creature with the head and front legs of a lion, the head and back legs of a goat, and the head of a snake for a tail. Said to be able to breathe fire from lion's mouth.
Manticore - A creature with the face of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion. Some versions also depict it with the wings of a dragon.
Opinicus - A griffin variant with the head and wings of an eagle, the body and legs of a lion, and the neck and tail of a dromedary.
Sharabha – A Hindu mythological creature having the head of a lion, the legs of deer, and the wings of bird.
Sphinx – A creature with the head of a human or a cat, the body of a lion, and occasional wings of an eagle.
Hybrids of four kinds
Horns of a goat and a ram, goat's fur and ears, nose and canines of a pig, and mouth of a dog, a typical depiction of the devil in Christian art. The goat, ram, dog and pig are animals consistently associated with the Devil.[17] Detail of a 16th-century painting by Jacob de Backer in the National Museum in Warsaw.
Abraxas – A god-like Gnostic creature with many different types of portrayals, many of which as different types of hybrids.
Enfield – A Heraldic creature with the head of a fox, the forelegs and sometimes wings of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the tail of a wolf.
Qilin – A Chinese creature with the head and scales of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the hooves of an ox, and the tail of a lion. The Japanese version is described as a deer-shaped dragon with the tail of an ox.
Yali – A Hindu creature with the head of a lion, the tusks of an elephant, the body of a cat, and the tail of a serpent.
Ypotryll – A Heraldic creature with the tusked head of a boar, the humped body of a camel, the legs and hooves of an ox or goat, and the tail of a snake.
Hybrids of more than four kinds
Navagunjara, has limb representing eight animals, including a human hand.
Baku – A Japanese creature with the head of an elephant, the ears of a rhinoceros, the legs of a tiger, the body of a bear, and the tail of a cow.
Calygreyhound – A mythical creature described as having the head of a wildcat, the torso of a deer or antelope, the claws of an eagle as its forefeet, ox hooves, antlers or horns on its head, the hind legs of a lion or ox, and its tail like a lion or poodle.
Scylla – A monster from Greek mythology which has the body of a woman, six snake heads, twelve octopus tentacles, a cat's tail and four dog heads in her waist.
Kotobuki - A Japanese Chimera with the head of a rat, the ears of a rabbit, the horns of an ox, the comb of a rooster, the beard of a sheep, the neck of a Japanese dragon, the mane of a horse, the back of a wild boar, the shoulders and belly of a South China tiger, the arms of a monkey, the hindquarters of a dog, and the tail of a snake.
Meduza – A sea creature from Russian folklore with the head of a maiden and the body of a striped beast, having a dragon tail with a snake's mouth and elephant legs with the same snake mouths.
Navagunjara – A Hindu creature with the head of a rooster, the neck of a peacock, the back of a bull, a snake-headed tail, three legs of an elephant, tiger and deer or horse with the fourth limb being a human hand holding a lotus.
Nawarupa – A Burmese creature with the head, trunk, and tusks of an elephant, the eyes of a deer, the horns of a rhinoceros, the wings and tongue of a parrot, the body and legs of a lion and the tail of a peacock.[19]
Tarasque – A French dragon with the head of a lion, six short legs similar to that of bear legs, the body of an ox, the shell of a turtle, and a scorpion stinger-tipped tail.
Modern fiction
The following hybrid creatures appear in modern fiction:
Cecaelia is a half human, half octopus.Beast (Beauty and the Beast) - The Beast, from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, has the head structure and horns of a bison, the arms and body of a bear, the eyebrows of a gorilla, the jaws, teeth, and mane of a lion, the tusks of a boar, and the legs and tail of a wolf.
Cecaelia – Half-human, half-octopus. The term was coined by fans in the late 2000s to describe characters such as Ursula from The Little Mermaid[20] and may also apply to Harry Styles in the music video of "Music for a Sushi Restaurant".[21]
Cervitaur – A deer-type centaur. This description was also used for the Golden Hind from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Cheetaur – Half-man, half-cheetah. They are featured in the Quest for Glory video games.
Dracotaur – Half-man, half-dragon. It debuted in Dungeons & Dragons. It also has a counterpart in the form of the Dragonspawn from the Warcraft franchise. Dragoon from the Monster Rancher franchise also fits this description due to it being a fusion of a Dragon and a Centaur.[citation needed]
Gnoll – Vicious hybrid with human-like body and hyena-like head. It debuted in Dungeons & Dragons and then spread to other franchises including Warcraft and Pathfinder. It is inspired from but not resembling the gnoles conceived by Lord Dunsany.[22] Considered one of the "five main "humanoid" races" in AD&D by Paul Karczag and Lawrence Schick[23] and a classic of D&D by reviewer Dan Wickline.[24] Within D&D, the demon lord Yeenoghu is worshipped by gnolls.[25]
Gorilla bear – A creature with the head, body, and legs of a gorilla, and the teeth and arms of a bear. It debuted in Dungeons & Dragons'Fiend Folio as one of the, according to TheGamer, more "silly monster designs".[26]
Jackalote - A hybrid of a jackal and a coyote. They appear in The Christmas Chronicles 2 where Belsnickel created them through an unknown method so that they would pull his sleigh.
Jaquin – A creature that resembles a jaguar with the wings and feathers of macaws. It is featured in Elena of Avalor.[citation needed]
The Jurassic Park franchise had these hybrids in the films, toylines, and video games.
Amargosaurus - A hybrid of an Amargasaurus and a Spinosaurus. It appeared in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline.
Ankylodocus - This dinosaur was made from the DNA of a Diplodocus and an Ankylosaurus. It debuted in Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape and appeared in Jurassic World: The Game and Jurassic World Evolution.
Ankyloranodon - A hybrid of a Pteranodon and a Ankylosaurus. It appeared in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline.
Carnoraptor - This dinosaur was made from the DNA of a Pyroraptor and a Carnotaurus. It debuted in Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape (where it was mistakenly claimed that Velociraptor DNA was used to make it) and appeared Jurassic World: The Game and the Jurassic World: Dino Hybrid toyline.
Compsteganathus - A hybrid of a Compsognathus, a Stegosaurus, and a tree frog. It debuted in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline.
Sino-Spino - This dinosaur was made from the DNA of a Sinoceratops and a Spinosaurus. It debuted in Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous where it was created by Mantah Corp and also appeared in Jurassic World: Alive.
Spinoraptor - This dinosaur was made from the DNA of a Spinosaurus and a Utahraptor. It debuted in Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape and appeared in Jurassic World: The Game and Jurassic World Evolution (the latter had the Utahraptor DNA substituted with Velociraptor DNA).
Stegoceratops - This dinosaur was made from the DNA of a Stegosaurus and a Triceratops. It was cut from Jurassic World, but it appeared in the toyline, Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape, and the associated video games.
Tanaconda - A hybrid of a Tanystropheus and an anaconda. It debuted in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline.
Tyrannonops - A hybrid of a Tyrannosaurus and a Lycaenops. It debuted in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline.
Ultimasaurus – This dinosaur has the head and body of a Tyrannosaurus, the frill and horns of a Triceratops, the arms and legs of a Velociraptor, the back armor and the tail club of an Ankylosaurus, and the thagomizer and dermal plates of a Stegosaurus. This hybrid dinosaur is featured in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline, but the action figure of the adult was not released.
Velocirapteryx - A hybrid of a Velociraptor and an Archaeopteryx. It debuted in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline.
Kars - The leader of the Pillar Men and the main villain of Battle Tendency, the second part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. After putting on the Aja mask and transforming into the ultimate being, Kars gains bird-like wings with sharp feathers he uses as projectiles, tentacles like an octopus which he uses to fight, and a shell like an armadillo which he uses to shield himself from attacks!
Kimkoh (Contra) – A large arthropod-like alien creature that has two large frog-like legs, its upper head possesses a snout similar to that of a tapir with fangs. the upper head's fangs and nose are directly connected to the main head, giving the impression of biting it. This main head is human, surrounded by elephant tusks. it features hermit crab-like legs sprouting out from underneath the human face and a shell of an armadillo.
ManBearPig – Half-man, half-bear, half-pig. Debuted in the titular episode of the animated television series South Park.
Sumi – An animal guardian spirit with the wings of a Thunderbird and the legs of an American black bear who is the mascot of the 2010 Winter Paralympics.
Toodee – A blue creature with the face, ears and whiskers of a cat, the body and skin of a dinosaur, and the scales and spikes of a dragon. She is debuted in Yo Gabba Gabba!.
Unitaur – A unicorn-type centaur.[citation needed]
Ursagryph – A creature with the head, claws, and wings of an eagle, the body of a bear, and a short reptilian tail. The Predacon Darksteel from Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising transforms into a mechanical Ursagryph.
Vampire-werewolf hybrid – These half-vampire half-werewolf hybrids had been shown in various media appearances like AdventureQuest (as a Werepyre), AdventureQuest Worlds (also as a Werepyre), Axe Cop (as a Wolvye), Supernatural, The Elder Scrolls, The Vampire Diaries, the Underworld franchise (as a Lycan-dominant vampire hybrids and a Lycan-Corvinus strain hybrid), and Werewolf: The Apocalypse.
Wereape - Half-man, half-ape. They have been featured in Dungeons & Dragons, Forgotten Realms and The Wereworld Series. They come in different varieties.
Weregorilla - A gorilla-type wereape. Two appeared in The Wereworld Series and a monster mask of a weregorilla was advertised in episode 1 of Creepshow.
Wereorangutan - An orangutan-type wereape. One appeared in The Wereworld Series.
Wolftaur – Half-man, half-wolf. It debuted in Dungeons & Dragons. Some depictions of this creature also have wolf heads like Celious from the Monster Rancher franchise (who is depicted as a fusion of a Tiger and a Centaur) and AdventureQuest 3D (as a Lychimera).[citation needed]
^S Sanatombi (2014). মণিপুরী ফুংগাৱারী (in Manipuri). p. 57 – via archive.org.
^Regunathan, Sudhamahi (2005). Folk Tales of the North-East. Children's Book Trust. ISBN 978-81-7011-967-8.
^Singh, Moirangthem Kirti (1993). Folk Culture of Manipur. Manas Publications. ISBN 978-81-7049-063-0.
^Devy, G. N.; Davis, Geoffrey V.; Chakravarty, K. K. (2015-08-12). Knowing Differently: The Challenge of the Indigenous. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-32569-7.
^Krasner, David (2008). Theatre in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-4051-4043-0.
^Franklin-Brown, Mary (2012). Reading the world : encyclopedic writing in the scholastic age. Chicago London: The University of Chicago Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780226260709.
^Rev. J. G. Campbell, "Superstitions of the islands and Highlands of Scotland", Scottish Celtic Review4 (1885), pp155, 157, noted in J. G. McKay, "The Deer-Cult and the Deer-Goddess Cult of the Ancient Caledonians" Folklore43.2 (June 1932), pp. 144–174). p. 152.
^Sue Weaver (16 April 2011). The Backyard Goat: An Introductory Guide to Keeping and Enjoying Pet Goats, from Feeding and Housing to Making Your Own Cheese. Storey Publishing, LLC. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-1-60342-699-2.
^Axel, Olrik; Falbe-Hansen, Ida (1909). Danske Folkeviser i Udvalg [Danish] (in Danish) (3rd ed.). Copehagen: Gyldendal.
^ abcdefRiggs, Don (2014). "Faun and Satyr". In Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (ed.). The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. New York City, New York and London, England: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 233–236. ISBN 978-1-4094-2563-2.
^ abcdefgHansen, William F. (2004). Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 279–280. ISBN 978-0-19-530035-2.
^ abWest, Martin Litchfield (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.
^ abcMiles, Geoffrey (2009) [1999]. Classical Mythology in English Literature: A Critical Anthology. New York City, New York and London, England: Routledge. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-203-19483-6.
^Nathan Robert Brown (30 September 2014). The Mythology of Grimm: The Fairy Tale and Folklore Roots of the Popular TV Show. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 195–. ISBN 978-0-698-13788-2.
^Fritscher, Jack (2004). Popular Witchcraft: Straight from the Witch's Mouth. Popular Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-299-20304-2. The pig, goat, dog, ram — all of these creatures are consistently associated with the Devil.
^Stratton, Carol (2004). Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand. Serindia Publications, Inc. ISBN 9781932476095.
^"Quest for Glory Shrine - Monsters". tartarus.rpgclassics.com. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
^Hayward, Philip (2017). Making a Splash. Indiana University Press. p. 37. ISBN 9780861969258.
^Giuffre, Liz; Hayward, Philip (2023-11-27). "Harry Styles as a Cecaelia: Sexuality, Representation and Media-lore in "Music for a Sushi Restaurant"". Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture (13): 442–461. doi:10.18778/2083-2931.13.23. hdl:11089/48985. ISSN 2084-574X.
^Forest, Richard W. (2014). "Dungeons & Dragons, Monsters in". In Weinstock, Jeffrey (ed.). The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Ashgate Publishing.
^Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 92. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
^Wickline, Dan (2016-11-16). "New Dungeons & Dragons Monster Guide Has Limited Edition Cover Option". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
^Kunzelman, Cameron (2016-12-06). "Volo's Guide to Monsters isn't a Typical Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual". Paste. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
^Bair, Scott (2019-12-12). "Some Of Dungeons & Dragons' Weirdest First Edition Monsters Are Coming Back". TheGamer. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
