A Gryphon, also known as Gryffin, Gryphen, Griffin, Griffon, or Gryphin, is a legendary creature. Traditionally, it is a combination of an eagle and a lion. However, many different bird-mammal combinations are recognized in the furry fandom, as well as more unusual variations.
A typical gryphon has the head, fore half, front legs and wings of an eagle, and the hind legs and rear half of a lion. The wings are attached at the shoulders and typically fold against the gryphon's back or sides when not in use. The avian and mammalian parts are scaled to compatible proportions. Being winged, gryphons are generally capable of flight, although like dragons, they may be too heavy to be physically able to fly and may use magical means.
A common feature of gryphons in the furry fandom is to have lion-like ears (matching the gryphon's half species) rather than the avian ears, which are hidden under the feathers. Gryphon genitalia corresponds to that on mammals.
Gryphon tails often lie on the boundary between eagle and lion and are subject to interpretation. Different variations include:
- Fully avian tail
- Fully mammalian tail
- Mammalian-avian hybrid tail (generally a mammalian tail ending in a fan of feathers)
- Feathered dinosaur tail (a thick, meaty tail with a fan of feathers down part of its length)
- Two tails, avian and mammalian
- Rarely, the Gryphon may have a snake for a tail