Animelds

Animelds
animals melded with objects... the rules and the exceptions

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What's this Jen Kolodner has found, hiding in a reefside nook? Another tentacled Animeld! Looks like it's in the money... and the money's in it!

I continue to welcome suggestions to this collection, so send them along! Warning. Once you see these you may find yourself thinking up new ones at all hours of the day or night. They can be addictive. Here's how they work.

The rules: Change one letter in an animal name so that it has the name of an object within it. This can be a substitution (the most pure form) or the dropping of one letter, or the adding of one letter. These are marked with an asterisk (*).

A two-letter change (of any type) is allowed (but not quite as cool). These are marked with a number sign (#).

These should be animals melded with objects (not adjectives or concepts).

The Exceptions: Some Animelds are not marked with anything. Usually this is because they have a change of more than two letters, but sometimes there's some other reason. I'll usually discuss it in my commentary.

Try to follow the rules. But hey, if it's neat, send it to me anyway. If it sparks my visual inspiration, you may very well find it added to this page (with attribution, of course). Please do check out the archives -- the list of already-discovered Animelds is getting pretty long.

Claire L. has found the ultimate in underwater adhesives! This Animeld really gets into some sticky situations...

Jen Waddington and Chris Swainston were stranded in the Amazon without a can-opener, when this handy Animeld came to their rescue!	I was almost lacerated quite badly, when this inadvertently hazardous Animeld burst out of the thick jungle undergrowth past me!	Eeeeek! This horrible fish-headed Animeld is coming to eat us as we wander his streambed labyrinth! Have no fear, with Rees Maxwell to guide us, I'm sure we'll make it out.
Despite it's undersea habitat, this Animeld is as cute and cuddly as can be. Suggested, in no particular order, by Petra Mayer, Robin Bengston, Rees Maxwell, and Hsin-Hao Yu.

Sean Lacey stepped into a mirror in the swamps of Naboo, and, to his horror, he found himself face to face with... this! Where's a Vorpal Lightsaber when you need one?!

Beware the JarJarwock my son!
The ears that flap, the step that trips!
Beware his dumb-dumb speech, and shun
His duck-platypus-ish lips!

This fragile Animeld is known for its grace and extreme caution when diving for prey from great heights. Spotted by Caleb Wilson, amateur egg-watcher.

Jordan Bouray describes this Animeld as "a breed of dog, bred to hunt ocean-going military vessels..." Presumably its appearance helped to camouflage it until it was upon its prey.

This pachydermal Animeld may be more awkward than his natural counterpart (his trunk is certainly less flexible) but Alan Anderson and Paul German say he's still got a good handle on things.

Jesse Welton sighted this dapper birdy, at first feigning a wounded wing, but after a short time, it flew off, scott-free.

Form follows function as the shingle-scaled wings of the gutterfly shed rain, channelling it down to the single groove of the body, which, in turn diverts it in a steady stream behind this damp flier. Submitted by Rees Maxwell.

Eric Haas managed to spot this gal and her little one Down Under. Then again, I don't suppose she was able to run away very fast.

Luke Meyers dug this guy out of a sandy desert somewhere. I'm sure I don't want to know what he found inside.	This iridescent floater is a friendly pollinator to the little-known swamp soap-flower. Very hard to pin for your collection. As observed by Andy Schwartz.
	This rough-skinned reptilian submitted by both Claire L. and Rees Maxwell.

Krishna Sampath writes to tell us of this sticky jungle Animeld.

Mice searching for cheese in diminutive mazes would do well to watch out for this Fantastical Animeld. (No asterisk for him, no matter how cute he is, because mini- is not an object.)

There seem to be two acceptable spellings for this fantastical animal: griffin and gryphon. Somehow the later seems more old-fashioned, which is just fine with me since I combined it with an old-fashioned-style phone.

Life is palmy for this Animeld, reported by
Brian Kirk -- it can relax in its own shade.

I didn't give this guy an asterisk, even though it's a change of only one letter because 'holy' is an adjective rather than an object. I just pictured this as soon as it was suggested by Rees -- but I was waiting until I could think of a suitable evil counterpart...

I realize this breaks several rules at once*, but hey - that's what bad-guys do, right? And I was just glad to think of something that worked at all.

*Neither 'woodlouse,' nor 'lucifer' is unbroken within the Animeld name. And of course, lots of letters have been added.

Eric Haas would like to introduce us to the Guinea Peg, a delightful little Animeld that always seems to fit in well with his surroundings, whether in the wild or as a pet.

I bet you never imagined there could be so much cargo space in a small bird like that. Luke Rice enlightens us. No asterisk, but how could I resist an Animeld this cute?

Another Canimeld coming down the line -- this one looks like he needs a shave. Suggested by Claire L.

It's a good thing for Brian McCue that this guy has a limited striking range!

He's popular with
big game hunters:
he was "spotted"
by both Kerin
Schiesser and
Ryan McGuire
(out clubbing?)
Let's give 'em
a hand...

This prehistoric Animeld was spotted
high in a cliff wall by Rees Maxwell.

I know what you're thinking. Isn't every dog a food-dog at heart? This is something else. The Food Dog is a Fantastical Animeld from the orient, suggested by Lance Nathan. I saw this as a foo dog done in the style of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and I think it came out quite well. How many different types of food can you find?

When I first drew this a while back, the first comment I got was "It looks more like a Turdpole!" The poor little Tadpolenta hates this sort of remark, of course -- despite the fact that it then gets a # (only two-letter change). It took me ages to get this one up because I didn't know how to make a dynamic gif. Well, I finally learned how! (Move the mouse over the picture to see.)

So many animals seem to combine well with beer. Not being that into beer, myself, I've held off doing this one, but it's popularity defies me -- and I suddenly realized how well it would combine with a bottle (I already have a can and a mug of ale.) Suggested, in no particular order, by Nicole Laorange, Andy Schultz, and Ken Stone.

I'm sure we all want to know how much fleece he can throw, but what I'm curious about is... Is he knit-picky? Darius Bacon didn't say...

Here's another Animeld to be aproached with caution. Thanks to Amy and Joe for reporting this underwater hazard to the proper authorities.

Those < shapes are supposed to be baskety texture... Thanks to Alex Duncan for sniffing this fellow out.

Yipes! Look what I found in my breadbox. I think it's the common Kaiser variety. Complete with sesame seed camouflage.

This popular breed of Canimeld (canine animeld) has a gentle temperament, but it does really love to rock. From Rees Maxwell.

Basketweaving may go by the wayside, but underwater carpentry is big with these folk. Suggested by Rees Maxwell.

Flamingos may be bright, but they don't hold a candle to these babies! This red-hot Animeld spotted from a safe distance by the Jennifer and Chris team.

This shy stationary Animeld just wants to be leaft alone... I'm sure Rees observed it from a respectful distance.

Often mistaken for its cousin who portends ill for sailors, this Animeld is actually a good omen -- for hairdressers. Reported by Aga Skotowski.

I only glimpsed a sketch of it in the strange zoologist's notebook, and all I can say is, I hope it's a tarantula-sized tuba, and not a tuba-sized tarantula.

I guess we can all guess what game this playful Animeld prefers. Was it executing a castle maneuver with a Kingfisher when Rees spotted it? (Kookaburras are actually considered a type of Kingfisher.)	Alan Anderson trekked across the burning desert sands to bring back reports of this amazing condiment-storing Animeld. If you're in a jam, 'cause you're out of jam, but you're into jam, he can help you out of a jam by keeping you in jam. Then you can both improvise on your musical instruments together.	It's true, its tail's not very long, but Claire L. tells me it's very handy.
		Amy McGraw-Pate and Joe Pate report that they heard the plaintive call of this miniature musician around dusk...

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