Definitely my favorite factoid so far is this. B and C are Dwarf Giraffes. An extremely rare occurrence for what is probably obvious reasons: their dwarfism puts them at a height of about 8½ feet tall compared to most Giraffes, such as A, in the far left picture who tend to measure in right around 16 feet tall, when plenty of a giraffe’s fitness is based on their height.
B in particular is doing something for me, and he’s a strong contender for figuring out the bottom halves of my centaurs. His skeletal dysplasia-ish symptoms are flattening his back more than the common conformation you see in giraffes.
One of the things I like in Giraffes and their ancestors such as Decennatherium
and Sivatherium
Is their high withers, that bulge of shoulder muscles behind the neck, which is something I’ve frequently thought Centaurs should have. It’s not so much the extreme bend of the spine for me
I figure, even if that isn’t around so much in nature, nature could figure that out ok. I just figure that the problem is then going to be
Plop. Without some serious musculature to hold that weight in place. I think I just can’t see it without “look the reason we don’t fall over is magic. We each generate our own field to stay upright AND narrow waisted.” Because it’s not enough to make the centaurs, they have to live as centaurs, too. I can see a god, wizard, or whatever creating a Centaur. But having to keep it upright and functioning everyday? That’s grunt work.
Or you can make their back less a smooth plane and put some serious spinal attachments such as Paraceratherium
and serious muscle and tissue ala the giraffe and things like it’s nuchal ligament
back there. With a lot of power to hold up a lot of weight all the time
So, I’m figuring these things are actually fairly stocky and just big. A neanderthal on a draft horse that’s got a back like a giraffe. Human on a horse if you’re seeing it from far away and just not if you get up close.
And I may just be concentrating more than I should on “monster building” but whatever. I’m having fun with it. On to lungs and heart next. Whee!