Hybrid Creature Anatomy

I've recently began to think about the anatomy of a squamataur's or some mermaids' tongue and if their anatomy is different from a human's.  We know some mermaids like Anko possess a long tongue like a frog, but does that mean their tongue is attached to the front of their mouth like an actual frog and is folded in their mouth when not in use?  If so, how do those mermaids push food in their esophagus?  With frogs, their eyeballs is what pushes food down their esophagus, which I highly doubt is how a mermaid would do it.  For squamataurs, I can't find much how a gecko's tongue works.  In fact, I found few mentions that their tongue is super long, mostly just long enough to be able to clean their eyes with it.  So does it instead work like a chameleon's?  I can't really sum up how it works as well as a frog's, so I'll just leave this link here that does a much better job at explaining it than I could do.

I think it would be worth elaborating on, not just on those two, but also on other traits of other predatory species.  I think it would make them feel a little more monstrous and more than just "half-human/half-whatever".  By the way, I didn't include Succubi because, in my mind, since they're creatures from a different plane of existence entirely, they don't follow the same anatomy as creatures from physical plane, thus it makes them feel more mystical.

Shady Knight wrote:

With frogs, their eyeballs is what pushes food down their esophagus, which I highly doubt is how a mermaid would do it.

Though wouldn't it be funny if she did? Oh man gotta make a comic out of that. Being serious for a moment perhaps Meraid posses a special set of of organs in her mouth to pull the prey down into her throat?

Shady Knight wrote:

For squamataurs, I can't find much how a gecko's tongue works. In fact, I found few mentions that their tongue is super long, mostly just long enough to be able to clean their eyes with it. So does it instead work like a chameleon's?

Huh I suppose there isn't alot available on a Gecko's tongue. Likely cause the noble Gecko fiercely grabs it's prey after running it down. Some lizards do ya know. o.o; Scariest image I ever saw was of a lizard running across the water to catch a butter fly before it could take off again and RIPING it's wings to bits with a jerk of it's head. ^^; Let us be glad there's no predator like that.

Shady Knight wrote:

By the way, I didn't include Succubi because, in my mind, since they're creatures from a different plane of existence entirely, they don't follow the same anatomy as creatures from physical plane, thus it makes them feel more mystical.

XD I agree. I don't know about other succubus or demons, but Crystal all but states she alter reality to size shift and make parts of her "extend" to ridiculous lengths. Mayhaps somebody should work to canonize that for all succubi.

Let's open up this thread for more discussion, shall we?  I've been thinking some more about nagas and their ability to swallow large preys whole.  Would it work if instead of being connected to the skull via two tempero mandibular joints, a naga's jaw would be attached to their skull via powerful and stretchable muscles instead?  Lyiba-MoonEyes had a good example in that picture and bio: http://lyiba-mooneyes.deviantart.com/art/Felarya-project-Melusine-WIP-95737967  I read on wikipedia that a snake's jaw is connected to their skulls via numerous joints, but given nagas have a human-shaped skull, I don't think it would work well.

While they have their mouth full swallowing a large prey, maybe they're still able to breathe thanks a second windpipe, one that's connected only to their nose, which leads to a third lung located in their tail? I'd like to go into more details, but I'd probably make every biologists cry themselves to death, so I won't.

This still leaves their human ribcage, though, which would need to open up somehow.  Maybe some of the bones are connected via muscles, allowing it to expand much more than a human can?  That's really I can think of, and it would be strange to picture a naga with a huge, puffed up thorax as something big is traveling down there.

On a side note, I think it would be worth adding details like nagas have fairly elastic skin, even on their human half. That while it takes nagas a few days to completely digest a big prey and they generally don't hunt during that time, nagas will still happily gobble tiny preys that wander into their territory, for the sake filling their smaller stomach, as it works independently from their large stomach.

I concur on the ribcage, and I'm aware that I'm shamelessly plugging my own artwork again but this is relevant, honest!
My deep-sea mermaid ( http://parameciumkid.deviantart.com/art/Felaryan-Sea-Creature-Deep-sea-Mermaid-302414977 ) has a "fish-style" jaw that attaches at the front end and swings like a hinge to open to ludicrous size. Obviously snakes are not fish and thus shouldn't be having fish jaws, but this is fantasy, right? No reason not to allow it on Felaryan nagas.

Thing is, their skulls are shaped like human skulls, and in order to be considered "fish-style jaws", it would have to be shaped differently than a human's mandible. Since they're shaped like a human's jaw, then they're "human-style jaws". It's just the way they're connected to their skulls that's different.

Still though, I just learned something by quickly searching on the net: apparently snakes have two lower jaws that are connected by a stretchy ligament, which allows them to stretch the bottom of their mouth sideways. Perhaps nagas have something of the sort, except it looks no different a human's jaw when at rest?

For some time I've wondered about Dridders, given that a spider's anatomy can not be any more alien to ours.

A spider doesn't have a thorax, they just have a head and a very bloated abdomen. Organs that would have been in the Thorax are mostly pushed back into the Abdomen, which is why it's so big.

But Dridders, being part human do have a throax, which begs the question of which body part contains what?

For example, would a Dridder have a human heart inside her chest? Or would she have a spider's heart inside the abdomen?

Or mabye a Dridder have two hearts, a human's and a Spider's?

Okay, I had some time to think and I have come up with some ideas how to describe the stranger aspects of predator anatomy.  Keep in mind these are rough ideas, so there's probably plenty of room for polish.

Nagas: "Like snakes, nagas possess a very extensible throat and stomach.  Unlike humans, they possess two stomachs, a small one where a human stomach would be located to hold small preys, and a much larger one located in their tail for large meals.  Their intestines are also located in their tail, which allows their smaller stomach to stretch much more than a human's.  A naga's jaw is split and segmented, joined by powerful and muscles at the skull and at the chin.  This allows them to greatly stretch and shape their jaw to accommodate preys far larger than their mouth would seemingly be able to fit.  Their rib cage and collar bone are similarly segmented and joined by equally elastic ligaments.  When swallowing a prey that's too large to normally fit through, their rib cage opens up and grants it passage to its stomach.  It's worth noting that a naga's skin is much stretchier slightly more resilient to damage than a human's.  Nagas also possess a secondary trachea located behind their esophagus, allowing them to continue breathing while they swallow a large prey."

Dridders: "Located near the cheeks are a pair of venom glands connected to their hollow fangs.  These glands are capable of producing a wide variety of venoms, some of which will only make the bitten creature sleepy."

Mermaids: "Mermaids possess both lungs and gills, and are able to breathe freely in and out of water. The location of the gills in the body vary from species to species and it can be very difficult to spot gill slits at time. Some Felaryan mermaids possess a sticky and elastic tongue which, by suddenly moving the hyoid bone where their tongue is anchored to the front of their mouth, is able to be launched at an incredible distance like a frog.  In most cases, their tongues can only stretch down to their navel, but there have been rumors of mermaids whose tongues can span their entire body length!  When submerged, their eyes are shielded by a thin membrane that grants them perfect visibility underwater."

I thought nagas have two stomachs, one for smaller prey and the other in their tail for larger prey?

They do.

Good job on those descriptions ^^
I'm not totally sure about the mermaids and their tongues though. I have not yet studied the feasibility but I imagined something like a small pooch in their throat that would hold their tongue when folded.
What do you think ?

I guess the throat pouch would work.  Could you imagine a mermaid suddenly puffing her throat kinda like a frog?  Anyway, I think it may be for the best that a mermaid's intestines and such be in her tail since there's so much room and it would leave enough space for gills.  There is one more bit of anatomy that needs to be addressed, and it's one that has been poked at here and there, but never officially touched upon.  Do predators like nagas and dridders actually shed their skin and exoskeleton respectively?  Things like harpies or sphinxes shedding a few feathers and hair is something that's feasible, since that involves only feathers and fur falling off, but snakes and arachnids essentially grow out of their skin, and since nagas and dridders also have human, which we don't shed, where does that leave that part?

Many real snakes have a tube running along the bottom of their mouths that's an extension of the trachea, allowing them to keep breathing when their mouth is full:

The problem, para, is that snakes have a very different anatomy from humans.  Nagas have a human anatomy from the waist up, so unlike the image, their tongue isn't connected at the front of their mouth, which means there's apparently no room for a glottis to be there.  Still, the principle of a glottis, a way for a naga to essentially bypass their epiglottis while eating, might still be possible, it would just have to be very different from a real snake to make up for their human anatomy.

Exactly! I was thinking on the same lines, I guess I didn't end up saying so... I was in kind of a daze all morning. I think I'm not eating enough.
But anyway, I didn't mean exactly the thing a snake has, but something analogous that fits naga anatomy a little better.

I checked diagrams of the human pharynx and I can't think of any way to bypass the epiglottis without having to resort to something like a snake's glottis, so you win this round, paramecium! *shakes fist*  Anyway, what I have in mind is something like that where the muscles under their tongue opens up and exposes a tube that's an extension of their trachea.

Oh, I also thought of something about dridders, though that may be gruesome.  What if they were able to spit a powerful digestive enzyme or something to break down large preys for them to drink?  I think that's in the ballpark of how actual spiders eat their preys.