This page is an umbrella term species. Not to be confused with Common Griffin.
An example of a griffin art
The Griffin, (scientific name: Mammalia avianus) also called Griffon, Gryphon or shortly known as Griff and Gryph (Ancient Greek: γρύψ, grū́ps; Classical Latin: grȳps or grȳpus; Late and Medieval Latin: gryphes, grypho etc.; Old French: griffon - the word “griffin” comes from the Greek word "gryphos", which means curved or hooked, most likely in reference to their curved beak or talons) is a creature with the forequarters and wings of a bird and the hindquarters of a mammal and sometimes, long tuft-like ears. The griffins basically look like hybrids of mammalians and avians, with the forequarters, heads, talons as front-legs, and wings of birds, and the hindquarters, tail, and hind-legs of mammals. However, griffins have a couple of features that combine mammalian and avian features, such as beaks with fangs, a beast-like tail with bird’s tail feathers at the end, mammal or bird eyes, and mammalian ears with feathers rimming them.
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There are 6 different versions of griffins that exist within art depiction:
- The more common ones with bird's talon as forelegs, feathers and wings and mammal's hindlegs and tail.
- The slightly rare ones with mammal's limbs, paws, hooves, tail, and ears (and even eyes), but it stills more avian-like.
- The rare ones with no wings.
- The few known ones with many different tails such as reptilian, mammalian, avian, plant, and other creatures' tails.
- The rarest ones with only bird's wings, tail, head, body, and four talons as limbs from the origin of Welsh griffins, known as the Adar Llwch Gwin.
- The uncommon ones with bird's head, body, tail, hind talons as legs, and mammal's front legs, and some traits.
To see a list of all griffins, view Griffin. And also the List of Hybrid Griffins in Mythical Bestiary Wikia.
Griffin types[]
Types of Griffin by Cyclone62 or Mythologysleuth
They are so many different types of griffin or griffin-like creatures from many mythologies:
- Axex - more slender body, curly head feathers, and cat like tail.
- Common gryphon - Eagle front half, lion back half, and even ears.
- Gwin - Quadruped bird with four talons as limbs to walk or run like a quadrupedal mammalian animal.
- Hieracosphinx - Falcon head and lion body.
- Keythong - Eagle front half and lion hind-half has spikes.
- Opinicus - Eagle head and longer neck, lion body (no tuft-like ears), but front paws are talons and a little camel tail.
- Sak - Hawk head, lion body, and lotus tail.
- Sea gryphon - Eagle front half and fish back half.