(urth) dog-ape (was: Re: Who's Right)

[Mo Holkar]

At 02:57 07/12/2010, Jane wrote:
>The cynocephalus isn't even close to being the creature Silk wants 
>to buy, and could have been dismissed in a few words like the sheep; 
>but instead it's described in some detail (trained to act as 
>link-boy and bodyguard, this adding to its value and to its 
>desirability, in the value-system of Viron, as a potential 
>sacrifice) and of course there's the standout feature that it is a 
>fantasy animal in a market of mostly real-world creatures.
>
>(Yes, IMO an ape with the head of a dog - ! - is a tad more 
>fantastic than a monkey that can make a few human-like 
>vocalizations, let alone than a talking night-chough.)


I assumed this dog-headed ape was just an ordinary baboon (albeit 
rather well trained), as they're generally referred to by Classical 
authors as cynocephalid:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Baboon

That seems more likely to me than it being an out-of-place fantasy animal,

Mo



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