Graphics Reference
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bronchi and lungs provide oxygen supply into
the blood of vertebrates other than fish, such as
humans. The same variety can be seen in the types
of locomotion (where legs do not resemble neither
the butterfly's nor the bird's wings) and eating
practices (by consuming, devouring, munching,
feeding, and grazing) that often do not correlate
with the animal size: whales eat plankton. A variety
of the plant forms: trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses,
ferns, and mosses may serve as an inspiration for
creating impossible creatures. Inspiration can also
come from inspecting the advantageous associa-
tions of two different organisms called symbiosis.
The interesting thing is that when we create
a creature inspired with biology, we may end up
with a notion that inhabitants of this planet become
aliens. In his topic titled “Bestiary” Nicholas
Christopher (2008) discusses the fate of those
animals that missed the Noah's Arc. According
to the author's tale, an offspring of the individuals
capable of exchanging genes became the harmful
and quite unfriendly creatures such as a werewolf.
Christopher created a glossary at the end of his
topic, listing each creature's name and explain-
ing its origin and behavior. He also included in
his index sketches and descriptions of some of
them. In literature, we often see transformations
described as unearthly creatures; sometimes, such
as in a case of “Beowulf,” (2001), the Anglo-Saxon
epic created between the 7th and 10th centuries,
the strange features may become exaggerated by
conversion from old culture and language, for
example, through translation of an old language
into contemporary one.
Many times mysterious creatures are inhabit-
ants of mythical worlds; for example in the ancient
Greece myths and beliefs there were several kinds
of mythological figures such as Minotaur; we
may call to mind the earliest, primeval deities,
Gods, Half-Gods, and their offspring: Titans,
Giants, Nymphs, Muses, deities inhabiting seas,
skies, and rustic areas. Each one had their powers
and weaknesses mirroring the earthly, human,
and unnatural forces. Supernatural entities were
imagined in Sumerian and Akkadian myths from
ancient Babylonia, first told and then written in
cuneiforms. Babylonian epic tales preserved on
clay and stone tablets introduced the god Enlil
existing at the beginning of heaven and earth.
Ancient myths of the Near East myths link the
creation of humans with a mother goddess and
Enki, the god of freshwater and practical inven-
tions. Belisama was the Celtic goddess of fire,
bodies of water, and metallurgy. Poseidon, brother
of Zeus and the god of the seas and rivers, sent
a sea monster against Troy (which was killed by
Heracles), and then other monsters Scylla and
Charybdis (his daughter) against Odysseus. The
Maya people believed that life emerged from the
lifeless, dark universe filled with water. The Az-
tec deity Tlaloc, called the Rain Sun, reportedly
carried four magic jugs. Water from the first jug
caused crops to grow, water from the second jug
was killing crops, the third jug contained water
that frosted plants, and the fourth jug destroyed
everything (Mythology, 2008).
When we want to go beyond mere combination
of different animal body parts in order to draw our
creature, we may focus on animal features, func-
tions, and habitats. In the past, after domestication
of some of the animals, humans tried to improve
animal functioning for their own purposes, so the
animals would better serve them. They produced
new breeds by cross breeding and then perfected
the resulting hybrids over centuries. For example,
a 5,000 years old Japanese breed of the dog Akita
appeared perfect to watch over young children,
protect the household, hunt bears in a pack of dogs,
and be a good, trustful companion. Those dogs,
which fall into the category of “working dogs,”
have a double coat that protects them from extreme
cold. The bio-inspired research advances combining
the best features found in different species. It also
results in a progress of bioengineering: combining
knowledge about molecular biology, biophysics, and
biochemistry with mathematics and computing sci-
ence to apply artificial tissues and organs into living
organisms. As a result, we eat seedless oranges or
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