Fallout Taxonomy: Deathclaws
Many human cultures inhabiting realities along the Anthrophilic Cluster exhibit a tendency towards the reuse of names for creatures that may or may not be of the same kind. In the Earth of the Black Isle, the clearest example of this is the notorious Deathclaw - a cluster of five confirmed species and two cryptids with variably divergent traits that all occupy the same role of apex predator. The relation of the Deathclaw species to one another is unclear, and their origin is itself ambiguous.
Beneath the cut - the seven known species of Deathclaw.
ORIGINS
It is broadly understood by the local populations that the Deathclaws of the West and East Coast - but not the Midwest - descend from the Jackson's Chameleon, altered by a combination of deliberate genetic engineering, radiation exposure, and FEV exposure. However, the evidence for this belief is minimal, and it appears to trace back to a claim made by a single individual, a Wasteland healer and herbalist adopted by a community of Deathclaws [Joseph, 2241.] This source's other observations include the widely cited belief that Deathclaws utilize a syrinx rather than vocal cords for speech, and that at least one subpopulation exhibited patriarchal rather than matriarchal tendencies at odds with other known populations. However, the Pedant notes that this local source had no medical or zoological training, and no access to gene sequencing equipment, and accordingly, is not overly inclined to consider his testimony as especially convincing on either issue.
Let us consider, briefly, the Jackson's Chameleon. This species exhibits certain distinctive characteristics:
☢ Three straight or slightly curved horns present on males of the species - one on each brow, and one on the nose - and a casque. ☢ Generally small size. ☢ Lack of violent territoriality. ☢ High humidity tolerance and low humidity intolerance. ☢ Ovoviviparous (non-egg-laying), though other chameleons are oviparous. ☢ Five toes on each foot, fused into a zygodactyly arrangement. ☢ Chameleonic colour changing. ☢ A prehensile tail. ☢ Projectile tongue. ☢ Large, side-mounted eyes. ☢ Small, acrodontic teeth - that is, teeth fused directly to the jaw without root or socket. ☢ A laterally compressed body.
FIGURE 1: A typical Jackson's Chameleon. [Rich Torres, c. 2008.]
Few of these features are present in an uncomplicated fashion among Western Deathclaws. In fact, none of these traits are known to be present in Western Deathclaws. It is of course plausible that the sheer extent of genetic meddling is sufficient to obscure all these distinctive features, but the Pedant is unconvinced that this is a sufficient explanation, especially as there is no apparent reason to utilize the Jackson's Chameleon as a genetic base over that of a variety of Agamidae or Iguania. Accordingly, we tentatively reject the claim as insufficiently evidenced. We are aware this may prove controversial, but believe the evidence must be accepted on its own face.
This then raises the question of the actual origin of the Deathclaw. In fact, little is known for each species. They are believed to be reptiles, though this is not certain. They incorporate a number of other genetic sources. They are, it follows, necessarily chimeric entities, producing considerable complexity in the matter of cladistic analysis, though no particular barrier to our taxonomic efforts. Accordingly, we posit - and for the purposes of classification, accept - the following hypothesis:
Creatures known as Deathclaws are the product of genetic engineering, combining influences from multiple classes and orders of life. Most Deathclaws, but not the Hairy Deathclaw, are mesothermic, endothermic, or selectively endothermic reptilians.
We will test this against the known populations of Deathclaw:
FIGURE 2: The distribution map of known Deathclaw species, including the largely apocryphal Texas Deathclaw.
We will now proceed with the assessment of the Western or Classical Deathclaw.
WESTERN DEATHCLAW
FIGURE 3: A typical Western Deathclaw specimen, first described by Cain et al, 1997. Note the relatively small horns and claws for a Deathclaw species, and the presence of four digits on hands and feet (one of them a dewclaw.)
The Western Deathclaw is the type species of the Deathclaw genus, Homicida, and family, Neodeinonichidae, and we take its features to be broadly indicative of what constitutes its genus.
Western Deathclaws are tetrapodal oviparous obligate carnivores with prominent claws, two forward-facing horns, no nasal horn, opposable thumbs, a somewhat simian bipedal gait, and no gastralia. It is unclear from the available evidence if the Western Deathclaw possesses a sternum plate of any kind, or if the sternum plate is primarily cartaliginous or osseous. An enlarged, muscular tail provides both a weapon and counterbalance to their top-heavy, highly muscular build. They have small, forward-facing eyes and highly developed limbs. They exhibit four digits on each foot and hand, with a dewclaw on each foot, all fairly evenly developed without marked disparities in size or function. The horns are smooth and relatively slender compared to other Deathclaw species, and the features of the Deathclaw are displeasingly simian.
FIGURE 4: A deceased Western Deathclaw. Observe the lack of a sternum. It is unclear whether this is due to damage to the carcass. There is no gastralia present, though this is common among many squamata species.
Notably, few of these traits resemble the Jackson's Chameleon, which we take as further evidence against the Trioceros as primary genetic donor. More likely candidates include agamids or even crocodilians. If dinosaur DNA was available, this would be the easiest explanation, as a wide variety of theropods exhibited the same four-digit pattern, but we are unaware of any successful recovery. The generally simian or ape-like appearance of the gait and build might suggest primate genetics, or merely reflect the consequences of over-developing the upper body without adequate lower body support. Without sufficient information, we cannot trace an origin point of any particular feature to a donor species, but we proceed nonetheless.
Like all known Deathclaws, the Western Deathclaw lays eggs. They are large, durable, and leathery, weighing up to six or seven kilograms. We submit this is an important criteria of the genus Homicida.
FIGURE 5: The known range of the Western Deathclaw.
The Western Deathclaw's range is largely confined to the central Valley of California, with limited projection into Western Nevada. A population of Deathclaws was known as far south as Los Angeles, but is believed to have been exterminated by local hunters, though we have indicated their presence on the distribution map. Apocryphal accounts of the species being sighted as far West as Colorado are unverifiable.
We nominate the Western Deathclaw as follows, using the standard tripartite schema of the Temple - phylogenic taxon, niche taxon, and mythotaxon: Neodeinonichidae Homicida california Apocoreptilia carnivora apexus Demonica primitiva terminoludic challengarius
We note also that the Neodeinonichidae are a genetically modified Squamata - presumably - and we tentatively place the Neodeinonichidae within the Iguania suborder. We thus nominate them, in full, as Squamata Iguania|scientificum Neodeinonichidae Homicida california, but we note that the strictly correct terminology remains H. california.
An intelligent, talkative variety of this species was known briefly in Central California circa 2241. It is now believed to be extinct, and was the direct product of 'Enclave' experimentation with FEV-2a on extant Deathclaw populations. We do not believe this species warrants a subspecies nomination, but do provide it with the following mythotaxon: Exhostis benevolans reverso deathclaw
HAIRY DEATHCLAW
FIGURE 6: A rare photograph of a Hairy or Midwestern Deathclaw, first described by Orman et al, 2001, on the attack.
The Hairy Deathclaw is an abnormality among the Deathclaws. While most appear to be reptiles, the Hairy Deathclaw exhibits certain characteristically mammalian characteristics: their namesake fur, and mammary glands. Their precise origin is uncertain, but the Temple believes these characteristics are sufficient to place the Hairy Deathclaws not among the Neodeinonichidae, nor even the Reptilia, but among the clade of mammals. The Pedant recognizes this decision may be controversial, but has chosen to proceed regardless.
The distinguishing characteristics of the Hairy Deathclaw, beyond fur and lactation, are quite striking. They are egg laying - suggesting either monotreme genetic influence or a convergent evolutionary or modification pathway - and have unreliable, vestigial dewclaws. Alone of the Deathclaws, they bear a nasal horn, but also two sets of rear horns that form a display crest either side of a central horn that sweeps backwards over the skull which is not universally present. One set of horns curls in and down ala that of a ram among various bovids, while the other projects up and back and resemble those of mountain goats or antelopes - a feature we believe to be significant, and will revisit. All toes have sharp claws and both hands and feet have four digits, with the first two digits bearing the largest claws. The thumbs appear to be fully opposable. The tail is comparatively slender and unarmoured relative to other Deathclaws. They are capable of speech and higher reasoning.
We note that the Hairy Deathclaw lays eggs, suggesting monotreme ancestry - though unlike most monotremes, they retain teeth into adulthood and possess nipples. Monotreme genetics may also account for the ability of the Hairy Deathclaw to tolerate the harsh winters of the Midwestern Wasteland with only patchy fur, though this is speculative. The vestigial fifth toe may in fact represent a monotreme spur. We note also that the Echidnas often bear four toes per foot. It is perhaps not irrelevant also that Orman et al's antipodean cultural background render the awareness of monotremes commonplace among the Hairy Deathclaw's discoverers.
We turn now to the horn arrangement. The bizarre fifth horn is unknown among mammals, but the other two sets of horns bear spiralling rings and share shapes with common sheep and mountain goats. Sheep, goats, and other bovid species are periodically polycerate, either as mutation or inherited characteristic. The nasal horn is difficult to account for, but might in fact point at last to influence from chameleons or the rhinoceros. However, the Pedant believes that it is likely a deliberate 'up-arming' of the Hairy Deathclaw rather than an incidental trait like the other horns, and we do not place an undue weight on its presence. Accordingly, we believe the most likely candidate for the 'base genome' of the Hairy Deathclaw to be that of the humble sheep, though we do not consider the Hairy Deathclaw appropriately classified as bovidae.
We note also the emergence shortly before or after the Great War of the 'Sheepsquatch' of the Appalachian Wastes - a hairy, horned, Deathclaw like cryptid with distinctively ram or goat-like characteristics and prominent spiny quills, which we will consider in more detail below. However, the known distribution of the Hairy Deathclaw is limited to a narrow band in the American Midwest - though it is entirely possible that the species may extend further north, south, and east, and possible but unlikely that it extends west into the Great Plains. No populations are known in the Appalachian Range.
FIGURE 7: The confirmed distribution of the Hairy Deathclaw.
The bizarre fifth horn is reminiscent of the casques found in some birds and - once again - in Chameleons. It is not without some amusement that the Pedant notes that the Deathclaw that most closely resembles the Jackson's Chameleon is the Mammalian Hairy Deathclaw. If this fifth horn is in fact a casque, this may explain its variability in the species and its function, providing an anchor for enhanced bite force, thermoregulation, and - by acting as a resonator chamber - communication. However, this is speculative.
Finally, we note that the Hairy Deathclaws are the most 'human' Deathclaw. They are capable of speech and intelligent thought, with no known deliberate engineering of this capability. They stand considerably more erect than other Deathclaws and appear to have a remarkably primate-adjacent chest and shoulder structure, though they are digitigrade in their legs. The prominent brow ridge and location of the eye also appear to bear some relationship to primates, though this may be coincidental. It is plausible that the Hairy Deathclaw incorporates a not-inconsiderable amount of H. sapiens genetic material, or perhaps that of the digitigrade primates.
With these factors in mind, we nominate the Hairy Deathclaw as follows. At this time, we consider the most appropriate higher level taxa of the Hairy Deathclaw to be a novel family of Monotremata|scientificum, the Macromonotremeidea, and proceed with them as: Oreamnobipeda carnifexa Apocobovid anthropos apexus Satyrica hostilis carnifex
The Hairy Deathclaw is, we must concede, not a 'true' Deathclaw. Rather, it appears to be the product of cultural diffusion providing a convenient and culturally appropriate name for an unrelated creature. In the Wasteland, a large biped that primarily kills with its claws, bears large horns, and lays eggs may be appropriately termed a Deathclaw regardless of phylogeny.
TEXAS DEATHCLAW
FIGURE 8: The so-called Texas Deathclaw, first described by Pasetto et al, 2004.
Mercifully, the Texas Deathclaw - like the Texas Radroach - remains wholly apocryphal and unevidenced. From the confused accounts of this creature, it appears to be - if it exists at all - another case of the functional label of Deathclaw rather than a Deathclaw per se. With three digits on the hands and two claws on each foot, a greatly more gorilla-like posture, spines on the jaws and two rows of spiny protusions on the back, the Texas Deathclaw does not especially resemble the Western Deathclaw. It bears, at best, a passing resemblance to the Eastern Deathclaw.
CAPITOLINE DEATHCLAW
FIGURE 9: An artist's impression of the Capitoline Deathclaw, first described by Pagliarulo et al, 2007, feeding on H. sapiens. [2024, Robin Olausson for MtG]
The Capitoline Deathclaw is an unusual specimen, and it is difficult to determine whether one of the most noteworthy features, the loose skin, is due to disease or starvation. We tentatively proceed on the assumption that this is not the case. The lean, emaciated appearance of the Capitoline Deathclaw heightens the 'starved' appearance presented by their characteristically loose, largely scaleless skin. As no Capitoline Deathclaw has been observed without these traits, we believe this loose skin instead represents a defensive trait, permitting a grappled Deathclaw to twist and fight easily. What role this would serve for the creature as an engineered weapon for pre-War battlefields is unclear, and it may represent a rapid adaptation to the Wasteland, where large predators are considerably more common.
Beyond this loose skin, the Capitoline Deathclaw possesses an elongated skull with prominent flat facing nostrils, small eyes beneath a heavy brow ridge, a relatively erect posture (between that of the Hairy Deathclaw and Western Deathclaw) with a strongly hominid torso, and hands with four fingers and a thumb. We note that the thumb appears somewhat shrunken and less capable than those of the prior Deathclaw species, but that the fingers and claws are relatively evenly developed (barring a shrunken final digit that appears to lack a knuckle), and the largest of any species of Deathclaw so far observed. Feet are digitigrade with three toes and a remnant dewclaw, and the tail is somewhat less muscular but bears segmented osteoderm plating along its length, suggesting weaponization. The horns are spiralled but rise up and over the skull, except in reproductive females where they are rotated backwards. These same females, which may or may not occur only in the Mojave population, possess sharp spines on the tail.
The eggs of the Capitoline Deathclaw are very large - nearly the size of a human torso - and appear to be leathery. They have a characteristic indentation on the pointed top end but are largely blunted. All known examples have born a curious pattern of striations near the indentation, and it is unclear whether this is the result of oviposition or the concretion of the egg's shell.
FIGURE 10: The range of the Capitoline Deathclaw, spanning from the Washington D.C. region to the southern Mojave.
The distribution of the Capitoline Deathclaw is largely limited to the Capital Wasteland, but as with certain other species - most notably radroaches and Centaurs - they are also known in the Mojave. The mechanism of dispersal is unclear, as there is no natural feature ala the Appalachian Range to facilitate post-war selective distribution of Capitoline-centred species to the Mojave or vice versa, and nearby and intervening populations are radically different (e.g. the Eastern or Appalachian Deathclaw surrounds the Capitoline Deathclaw's eastern population, while the Hairy Deathclaw occupies the ecological niche in the Midwest.)
We find the evolution of the Capitoline Deathclaw's foot arrangement worthy of special notice. All three toes bear sharp, mostly evenly developed claws, while the dewclaw is largely vestigial and little more than a lump of skin. This arrangement strongly echoes those of certain extinct theropods, and appears transitional in the genus Homicida towards that of the more pronounced Eastern Deathclaw. The donor source for this trait might be found in the Emu or Cassowary, but this is speculative.
Accordingly, we now nominate the Capitoline Deathclaw as: Homicida columbiana Apocoreptilia carnivora apexus Demonica primitiva terminoludic challengarius
We note that these latter taxa are shared with the Western Deathclaw, as the niche and mythopoetic roles of the Capitoline Deathclaw coincide entirely with this sibling species.
APPALACHIAN DEATHCLAW
FIGURE 11: An artist's impression of a mature 'alpha' Eastern Deathclaw, first described by Pagliarulo et al, 2015. [Mike Lim, 2024.]
We now arrive at what appears to be the dominant Deathclaw species: the Appalachian or Eastern Deathclaw. The physically largest and most robust of all Homicida, the Appalachian species appears to be another beneficiary of the hypothesized Appalachian Corridor, in which the mountains, having been less severely targeted in the Great War, permitted relatively free exchange of species from as far north as Maine down to Alabama. This corridor would explain why numerous species unheard of elsewhere in the Wasteland - even in relative geographical proximity, like the Capitoline Wastes - co-exist in the two studied areas of Boston and West Virginia. They extend across the Ohio into Eastern Ohio, but the extent of their range beyond the river valley is uncertain.
FIGURE 12: The range of the Appalachian or Eastern Deathclaw.
The Eastern Deathclaw may be distinguished from the rest of the Homicida by numerous characteristics, but the most immediately obvious is its extensive array of osteodermic armour plates. Concentrated on the dorsal surface of the Deathclaw, these plates make the Deathclaw extremely difficult to ambush effectively, and are known to withstand repeated strikes from high caliber ammunition. The skull is similarly reinforced with a large median crest and bone plate - potentially analogous to the casque of the Hairy Deathclaw, but less developed and not unlike that of bears and primitive primates - rendering the upper surface a difficult target. The next obvious distinctive feature are the horns, which are by far the most substantial and rugged of any Deathclaw species. The horns bear segmented keratinous plating over the bone, and are extremely well rooted into the skull. The horns continue to grow through life and, over time, become sexually dimorphic - mature males developing longer, forward-facing horns, and mature females spreading out horizontally in a display crest.
(We note that species discoverer Jonah Lobe has suggested these horns are principally used in territorial disputes between Deathclaws, but this has yet to be witnessed. However, we thank Lobe deeply for his contributions. [Lobe, 2026.] (Really, it's worth a watch.))
FIGURE 13: The skull of the Appalachian Deathclaw, and for comparison, the Jackson's Chameleon. [Chameleon skull picture source.]
The species also exhibits a generally 'blunter' head and muzzle than the Capitoline and Western Deathclaws, with very small eyes, a better developed nose structure, and a tendency to 'taste' the air - suggesting a well-developed and functional vomeronasal organ within the muzzle. (Here too we note that Lobe suggests this trait is derived from snakes, though we note with caution that it is a trait common to a great variety of squamates and reptiles.) The Appalachian Deathclaw exhibits the most rudimentary dentition of any Deathclaw - the fangs are short, and while mostly sharp, rely primarily on crushing force. The jaw is duly robust and muscular to apply greater bite force, and the teeth appear to be thecodontic in arrangement rather than acrodontic. The tail is heavily plated and highly muscular, and the spine and shoulders exhibit curious bony protusions and plates (Lobe suggests they are used to regulate body temperature, which the Pedant finds plausible.)
Of course, no analysis of a Deathclaw species may avoid the question of the claws for long. Appalachian Deathclaws have five digits on the hand, unevenly developed. The claw of the middle digit is the largest, while the fifth digit appears to have dropped a knuckle and retains a somewhat vestigial character. The 'thumb' also appears to lack a knuckle, suggesting it is integrated deeper in the hand, preventing true opposability. Curiously, the hands are distinctly pawlike, with prominent digital pads. As with all known Deathclaws, the claws grow directly as part of the ungual phalanx rather than being skin-based as with nails. On the feet, the Deathclaw has three digits with faint traces of a vestigial dewclaw. The two external toes bear short claws, while the internal digit has been adapted for a large sickle claw that most closely resembles that of the Dromaeosaurs - the family of predatory dinosaurs that includes the notorious Deinonychus. This large claw is a lethal weapon, but is secondary to the hands in Deathclaw predation.
The egg of this species, unlike that of other Homicida, are comparatively small and elongated. They lack a strong point on any end, have no indentation, and are strongly calcified. The Temple is split on whether this indicates that the Appalachian Deathclaw is not a member of the Homicida and belongs to a sister genus, but at this time the Lumper faction has won the debate by popular vote on the basis that numerous genera contain equivalent (or even more striking) reproductive diversity - and that there is some circumstantial evidence for hybridization with the Mojave population of H. columbiana.
We note, finally, several assorted but intriguing traits. First, some members of the species are capable of extremely rapid colour shifts. These specimens are known to occur across the range, indicating that this is not a localized subspecies but a trait shared by some but not all Appalachian Deathclaws. This may be, at last, strong evidence of Chameleon genetic influence on the genus Homicida, or at least on this species, though we note with caution that this same property is known among anoles - a member of the Iguania - and a wide variety of oceanic life. Second, the West Virginia population of the species is vulnerable to the Scorched Plague. This is suggestive, as while the role of FEV in the creation of the Deathclaw may be assumed, it appears that they are not effectively 'innoculated' by continued exposure to the virus as the Super Mutants are.
We now proceed to nomination. We note that Lobe has suggested that the Deathclaw be classified as Morte unguibus, and consider this a reasonable suggestion. If at a later date the splitters should revise this, it may be adopted. But at present, we nominate as follows: Homicida appalachia Apocoreptilia carnivora apexus Demonica primitiva jobber
It is the tentative position of the Temple that the Appalachian Deathclaw may represent the 'completed' weapon. It is fast, agile, extremely durable, and highly lethal. It is reasonably cold tolerant, known to favour tight spaces, and crucially, is the earliest observed Deathclaw species. We posit that H. columbiana and H. california may represent selective adaptations of the species to different environmental stresses - in both cases, the loss of extensive osteoderms suggesting that the intensity of violence was either lower or sufficiently high that stealthier, lighter specimens better survived. If this is the case, then the genus Homicida is highly adaptive. However, it is equally plausible that all three populations - and the Midwestern cold-adapted cognate, the Hairy Deathclaw - represent the flowering of different iterations of the Deathclaw program.
There is one final matter to consider before we proceed to two cryptid species: the reported Mojave population of the Eastern Deathclaw, circa 2296-7. This species bears a strong resemblance to H. appalachia, but also has several distinctive traits. They have many more and smaller teeth, an even more rugged build, a fleshier muzzle, and restored dewclaws. The eggs are consistent with H. appalachia. Limited pre-War footage depicts an identical morph of the Deathclaw, further heightening the possibility that H. appalachia, or at least this newly identified population, may represent the original Deathclaw stock. More information is needed to proceed, however.
Curiously, the local people suggest that this subpopulation derives from the Quarry Junction brood - which previously consisted of the Capitoline-Mojave species, H. columbiana. This suggests one of three possibilities:
The locals are simply incorrect, as few were intimately familiar with these Deathclaws due to their highly lethal nature, and this subpopulation is from elsewhere.
The locals are correct, and the Quarry Junction brood has become a brood of H. appalachia - perhaps due either to the extinction of the original, or more troublingly taxonomically, as a result of morphological shifts.
The locals are neither correct nor incorrect, and the population represents a hybrid lineage of H. appalachia and the H. columbiana of Quarry Junction. This may explain the somewhat reduced osteoderms, restored dewclaws, altered dentition and fleshier muzzle. If this is indeed the case, it is strong evidence that H. appalachia should remain within the genus Homicida.
GATORCLAWS
FIGURE 14: An artist's impression of the extinct Gatorclaw, first described by Pagliarulo et al, 2016.
The Gatorclaw is an oddity, but an illustrative one. It is one of the few Deathclaw-like specimens for which we have certain knowledge of its genetic origins. They are the creation of one Dr. McDermot, deceased, using an advanced genetic laboratory with cloning and hybridization capabilities. Dr. McDermot spliced together a number of the 'most dangerous' creatures at his disposal to breed a superior guardian specimen, including A. mississippiensis and T. jacksonii, then augmented these specimens with salvaged FEV from a slain specimen of Homo (robusta) vindicta.
The resulting creature resembles, in its general bodily plan and posture, the Eastern Deathclaw. It is a large, hunched predator with large hands with five digits on the hand and three on the foot, though it lacks the distinctive Deathclaw claws on both hand and foot. It has small eyes, prominent osteoderm plates, and a markedly alligator-like skull. Dentition resembles that of the Appalachian Deathclaw.
This, then, may be the final piece of evidence for the role of T. jacksonii in the composition of Deathclaws. If Dr. McDermot produced a Deathclaw-like creature with no Deathclaw samples, using chameleon DNA, surely it then follows that this result is proof that the chameleon is key to the Homicida! The Pedant remains unconvinced. We note the following:
It is unclear what other species Dr. McDermot had at his disposal, but they included, at minimum, bears, big cats (including lions and tigers), gorillas, African water buffalos, potentially the mutated bloodworm, a variety of snakes (anacondas, death adders, black mambas, and inland taipans included), polar bears, and geckos (dangerous? On their own, no. But we have already observed the results of exposing geckos to FEV and radiation in the prior entry.) Any number of these species may have been incorporated.
The use of a human-derived FEV sample may account for the quasi-hominid body plan - and may suggest that the 'true' root of the often distressingly simian Deathclaw features is a similar exposure.
It appears plausible that the Appalachian Deathclaw's genome includes information derived from crocodilians, particularly in the formation of its osteoderms. More features remain in common with the crocodilian than the chameleon in both specimens. However, the Pedant concedes that it is possible that the end result of exposing Chameleon-derived genetics to FEV is the base Deathclaw body plan.
We note also the existence of a similar mutant in apocryphal reports from the Mississipi river valley. Like the Gatorclaw, this mutant alligator bore a markedly crocodilian skull arrangement joined with a semi-hominid bodily plan, without the signature claws of the Deathclaw. If this apocryphal species indeed exists, it may be further evidence that the combination of radiation, FEV, and crocodilian genetics results in Gatorclaw like specimens organically.
FIGURE 15: An artist's impression of the apocryphal Mutant Alligator. [Tariq Raheem, 2001.]
Turning to nomination, the Gatorclaw is not known to reproduce and all known specimens are clones. Accordingly, we do not consider it to meet the necessary two-of-three limbs of the speciation test, and reject nomination. The Gatorclaw does not constitute a distinct species or subspecies. If the mutant alligator is discovered and verified, we may revise this decision.
SHEEPSQUATCH
FIGURE 16: An artist's impression of the Sheepsquatch, first described by Gardiner et al 2019. [Chris Ortega, c. 2018]
The Sheepsquatch is not, the Pedant submits, a Deathclaw. Nonetheless, we have felt compelled to examine this cryptid - not to be confused with the apocryphal cryptids above - of Appalachia due to its convergent traits with the Hairy Deathclaw. The Sheepsquatch of Appalachia was a hunched, bipedal predator with four digits on each hand and cloven hooves, fur, a distinctly caprine skull and horns (spiralling, large, and ram-like), slit rectangular horizontal pupils, and bizarre hedgehog like quills. The hair is wild, sparse, and patchy - though most specimens appear to suffer from disease or skin irritation. Like sheep, they are artiodactyl, with a dewclaw. There is no bipedal thumb, and reproduction is unknown.
The existence of two creatures, both seemingly related to bovidae, in the Wasteland is curious. That both have no known origin, no known causative agent, and traits that are clearly not derived from their parent species is even more curious. The Pedant has no concrete explanation for either, but believes the presence of Sheepsquatch specimens in genetic engineering laboratories may indicate that both are the end product of attempts at deliberate engineering or incidental contamination of engineering programs. If this is the case, they, like the mutant alligator, may represent convergent evolutionary paths - and suggest that similar mutants may be expected in other areas.
We note also the presence of quills. They resemble those of the porcupine, common in Appalachia - but their patterning more closely resembles those of African porcupines! They are detachable, as with the porcupines, rather than permanently affixed as with the Echidna. However, we again note the curious appearance of a shared trait between a species of monotreme and a Deathclaw-adjacent mutant.
We do not, at this time, nominate the Sheepsquatch. With no reproductive information or certainty as to stability, the Pedant believes it would be premature to do so. This may be revised at a later date.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Temple is pleased to reach the end of this difficult journey. Chimeric species are difficult to taxonomize adequately, and we have attempted to resolve this difficulty by placing them in divergent Families. Strict cladistic taxonomy has not proven possible due to the lack of concrete evidence (but would, we submit, not be terribly difficult with it) of genetic sources. But what has emerged, finally, is a pair of workable definitions of a Deathclaw.
The first is the descriptive definition for a Deathclaw properly so-called:
A four-limbed reptilian creature that reproduces by laying eggs, has two large horns on the skull, large claws on the hands and/or feet, a strong tail, resilient hide, and small eyes. Largely carnivorous, territorial, and intelligent. A Deathclaw walks with a digitigrade gait and may or may not also walk on its knuckles.
The second is the functional definition utilized by Wastelanders:
A large, digitigrade bipedal predator (at least the size of a man) that kills with large claws, has a tail, and lays eggs.
Both definitions are useful. The former is appropriate for Temple work, while the second permits us to understand, at a glance, what is being described to us during field work. Anthropological study of the diffusion of the term 'Deathclaw' - originally believed to flow from West to East in the 2200s but now known to have been in use in Appalachia as early as c. 2103 - may prove valuable.
And, at last, we present the tree of Deathclaws.
FIGURE 17: The phylogenic tree of the Deathclaws.