Vulturine Cheval

General concept:
Based off of the concept of the Kelpie, the Fanged Gelding is a land-dwelling creature that bears a resemblance to Earth's horses; the main difference is that these creatures are carnivorous. Due to this nature, their general make-up encourages predatory stealth, although speed is their greatest asset when going in for the kill. They are forest-dwelling creatures, and have adapted to have mottled green pelts to better blend in with the dappled sunlight in the summer-time, and they are known to migrate to green forests in the winter. They maintain their resemblance to Earth's horses in nearly every aspect but two: their hooves have adapted to develop a pad-like growth on the bottom of them, allowing them to move quietly through their forest setting to sneak up on prey unannounced, and their muzzles are shaped like a bear's to fit their carnivorous teeth, which is better for ripping and tearing rather than grazing. They aren't adept pouncers, and instead rely on their speed to tire down the prey, and their larger size to trample them before going in for the kill.

Stage Descriptions:
Infant
A horse foal with a black coat, although there is a slight green hue to it. They appear foal-like in all aspects but their muzzle, which appears to be very bear-like indeed.
Stage One
The foal's coat is now more green than black, although it is still too dark to provide perfect camouflage in a forest setting.
Stage Two
The foal still appears the same way as it did in the previous stage, although it now has two canines appearing beneath its upper jaw.
Adult
It's pelt is a mottled green coloring that would fit beneath a forest canopy and provide just the right amount of disguise when in a lower position. The canines in its upper jaw are now nearly below the lower, and it holds a feral appearance.

Site Stage Descriptions:
Infant
This foal appears to have a green hue.
Stage One
The foal's coat has gotten darker. You aren't sure what's wrong with its muzzle.
Stage Two
The foal's coat has gotten darker. Fangs have appeared from its upper jaw - this obviously isn't a regular horse.
Adult
Fanged Geldings are well-known for their carnivorous lifestyle despite bearing a resemblance to Earth's horses. Their mottled green coats and soft hooves allow them to stalk their prey in the forest. They are generally solitary creatures, but migrate to green forests in large groups during the fall. Een though their bodies are bulkier compared to other predators, Fanged Geldings can move quite swiftly and use this as an advantage to overpower their prey.



This is still in the conceptual stage, and I'm looking for suggestions for new names if this one isn't liked, ideas on how to improve upon the appearances and descriptions, and flaws in the species' design. Lacking artistic abilities myself, I'm also seeking sketches/sprites. Criticism on this concept is appreciated so I can review it for any future ideas I may/may not have.

New update:
Working on changing the on-site descriptions for each stage; these will be finalized when/if these are sketched/sprited.

I'm going to assume this species hasn't taken up much interest since it hasn't gotten a response. Still though, I'm curious as to what I could do to improve upon it and/or ideas for new names if the current one isn't liked. ((If I need to bump this thread again directly after this post, I'll just merge this into the previous post so I don't bring up a ton of double-post spam.))

I like the idea of a carnoivorous horse, but I think you should keep the references to earth horses to an absolute minimum, since we're talking about an enirely different planet. It could well be possible that the fanged gelding only looks like a horse but that's where the similarities end and the anatomy and physiology could be completely different.
Maybe the part about the equestrians should be left out as it is unclear whether this family even exists on any other planet than earth.

Just my opinion though.

Narli wrote:I like the idea of a carnoivorous horse, but I think you should keep the references to earth horses to an absolute minimum, since we're talking about an enirely different planet. It could well be possible that the fanged gelding only looks like a horse but that's where the similarities end and the anatomy and physiology could be completely different.
Maybe the part about the equestrians should be left out as it is unclear whether this family even exists on any other planet than earth.

Just my opinion though.

Mmmm, good point. I could edit it so they seem similar to Earth's horses rather than evolving from equestrians. Then it could just be assumed that these creatures were born as carnivores and never evolved from a herbivorous race. I'll go ahead and change the concept descriptions to reflect this.

EDIT: removed the bits implying that these were evolved from horses.

just one thing: a gelding is a neutered male horse, which means it's only male and it can't breed. so you might want to change the name.

sapphiredragon73 wrote:just one thing: a gelding is a neutered male horse, which means it's only male and it can't breed. so you might want to change the name.

It was more word-play than anything; I wanted to give it a name relating to horse, but Fanged Horse wasn't exactly creative. xD

I can see your point, though, and I'll go through some other ideas to prevent users from thinking they're adopting neutered horses.

Drakkon wrote:
It was more word-play than anything; I wanted to give it a name relating to horse, but Fanged Horse wasn't exactly creative. xD

I can see your point, though, and I'll go through some other ideas to prevent users from thinking they're adopting neutered horses.

Concerning the name, well, you said in your description that you based the idea on the kelpie. There's at least a dozen different names in two or three languages for it or similar fable creatures. You could take one of those, if you find one you like.

It's very loosely based on the Kelpie; mainly on the carnivorous fact (Kelpies lure men and children to the bottom of lakes to devour them.)

Here are a few options for names; I'll probably be putting up a poll soon:
Fanged Gelding
Predatory Nag
Vulturine Plug
Vulturine Cheval

Fanged/Predatory/Vulturine can be swapped between Gelding/Nag/Plug/Cheval for other name options. Does anybody else have any ideas?

This could be interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceffyl_D%C5%B5r

I know there's the mention of the habitat being in or near water, but the description is a pretty good fit otherwise.

Also found this on http://www.lizaphoenix.com/encyclopedia/horses.shtml:
Karkadann - A carnivorous unicorn found in the desert regions of North Africa and India.
What about this?

Narli wrote:This could be interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceffyl_D%C5%B5r

I know there's the mention of the habitat being in or near water, but the description is a pretty good fit otherwise.

Also found this on http://www.lizaphoenix.com/encyclopedia/horses.shtml:
Karkadann - A carnivorous unicorn found in the desert regions of North Africa and India.
What about this?

I'd prefer if the names weren't completely taken from an existing creature (mythological or not). Possibly if a new twist were added to them? Added to poll nevertheless.

You could call it a Fanged Karkadann, or Karkadann Stalker, something like that.

I would add Fanged Karkadann to the poll if I could figure out how. Dx

Thus far, it seems as though these are going to be Vulturine Chevals. Any sketchers/spriters interested in this?

Bump