Question on animal biology for a tf story.

Apsm · 06-10-2013

Just to clarify This is not about a tf sequence/story, but it is still sort of tf related in a way. However, if I'm putting this in the wrong place, please put this in the right forum.

I'm currently trying to write a sequence where a male wolf becomes a female human. Currently I need information for the difference between bi-pedal and quadruped animals and their skeletons so I have a better idea of what needs to be changed for the wolf to start walking on two legs.

Alternatively, I could just make the wolf anthromorphic for the story, but I think a thread like this might be helpful for people who are trying human-to-animal/animal-to-human tf material for the first time.

Phyrior · 06-10-2013

I am nowhere near an expert in any field, let alone biology, but generally speaking the 'shoulder blades' on a quadruped are sloped onto the sides of the ribcage, in addition, their pelvis is usually on an angle, as opposed to what we as bipeds assume to be 'straight'.

In addition, since the animal you are asking about is a digitigrade, the foot will need to shrink down (length) as the femur and tibia/fibula will need to extend.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Drachen · 06-10-2013

Mammal skeletons are all relatively similar except for highly adapted animals like whales. They have most of the same bones, just differently shaped, proportioned and sometimes numbered (ex. tail bones, fingers/toes). If you look at a picture of the two skeletons side-by-side it's pretty easy to tell what bone from one is equivalent to what bone on the other.

For upright walking, the skull attachment to the neck is on the bottom of the skull in humans, not the back like in most other mammals. Our backbone is highly inflexible and has a unique S curve near the base to it to support our weight. Our hip bone is pretty unique. It's shaped like a bowl rather than being flat-ish. The only other big difference with respect to walking is that dogs walk on their toes and humans walk on the flats of their feet. The extra kink in dog legs is the equivalent of their wrist and ankle.

cpt soban · 06-10-2013

Not much I can toss in, but I feel I must point out that canines don't only have 4 digits on their paws. AWIL surprisingly enough kept in mind the existence of dewclaws, which are essentially just a massively atrophied digit.

Xanderfox · 06-10-2013

the biggest pitfall is the LEGS. Dogs and humans have the same number of joints. Though your going for dog to human in the reverse scenario many writers fall into the "reversing knee" pitfall, that backward facing joint is NOT A KNEE, that's analogous to the ankle joint in the human leg, it's just canine shins are much shorter and they of course walk on their toes. The order is Hip, thigh, knee, shin, ankle, arches, ball of the foot, toes in humans and canines, length and specific shapes are different but the order is the same.

06-10-2013	#1
Apsm Lurker/budding TG author Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 269	Question on animal biology for a tf story. Just to clarify This is not about a tf sequence/story, but it is still sort of tf related in a way. However, if I'm putting this in the wrong place, please put this in the right forum. I'm currently trying to write a sequence where a male wolf becomes a female human. Currently I need information for the difference between bi-pedal and quadruped animals and their skeletons so I have a better idea of what needs to be changed for the wolf to start walking on two legs. Alternatively, I could just make the wolf anthromorphic for the story, but I think a thread like this might be helpful for people who are trying human-to-animal/animal-to-human tf material for the first time. __________________ -Male characters I like to see TG'd: Koizumi (Haruhi), Shinji (EVA), Keitaro (Love Hina), Satoshi (DNAngel) -Female characters I'd like to be (Update): Rei (EVA), Ami and Haruka (Sailor Moon), Nene (BGC2040), Teletha (FMP), Haruhi and Mikuru(Haruhi Suzumiya), Yourichi and Rangiku (Bleach), Riza(FMA), Lenalee (D Gray Man), Ennis (Baccano).

06-10-2013	#2
Phyrior Process Fan Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 39	Re: Question on animal biology for a tf story. I am nowhere near an expert in any field, let alone biology, but generally speaking the 'shoulder blades' on a quadruped are sloped onto the sides of the ribcage, in addition, their pelvis is usually on an angle, as opposed to what we as bipeds assume to be 'straight'. In addition, since the animal you are asking about is a digitigrade, the foot will need to shrink down (length) as the femur and tibia/fibula will need to extend. Just my thoughts on the matter.

06-10-2013	#3
Drachen Pinocchio Pornographer Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: In the shadow of the Empire State Building Posts: 2,137	Re: Question on animal biology for a tf story. Mammal skeletons are all relatively similar except for highly adapted animals like whales. They have most of the same bones, just differently shaped, proportioned and sometimes numbered (ex. tail bones, fingers/toes). If you look at a picture of the two skeletons side-by-side it's pretty easy to tell what bone from one is equivalent to what bone on the other. For upright walking, the skull attachment to the neck is on the bottom of the skull in humans, not the back like in most other mammals. Our backbone is highly inflexible and has a unique S curve near the base to it to support our weight. Our hip bone is pretty unique. It's shaped like a bowl rather than being flat-ish. The only other big difference with respect to walking is that dogs walk on their toes and humans walk on the flats of their feet. The extra kink in dog legs is the equivalent of their wrist and ankle. __________________ Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

06-10-2013	#4
cpt soban Likely Suspect Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 476	Re: Question on animal biology for a tf story. Not much I can toss in, but I feel I must point out that canines don't only have 4 digits on their paws. AWIL surprisingly enough kept in mind the existence of dewclaws, which are essentially just a massively atrophied digit.

06-10-2013	#5
Xanderfox Process Master Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 589	Re: Question on animal biology for a tf story. the biggest pitfall is the LEGS. Dogs and humans have the same number of joints. Though your going for dog to human in the reverse scenario many writers fall into the "reversing knee" pitfall, that backward facing joint is NOT A KNEE, that's analogous to the ankle joint in the human leg, it's just canine shins are much shorter and they of course walk on their toes. The order is Hip, thigh, knee, shin, ankle, arches, ball of the foot, toes in humans and canines, length and specific shapes are different but the order is the same.