"Cotinga Griffons" by Shelz Keast

Prints are available here

Based on the theme 'Deep in the Forest'. First thought was of some female elf/fae looking pretty under a tree with a few mushrooms for decoration. Ergo that was the last thing I'd draw. I'd been playing around with a Galago/Fairy Wren griffon (a very cute combo by the way- I need to do a proper drawing of them sometime. Maybe come srping when the local males are back in colour) and the combination of Spider Monkey/Cock-of-the-Rock seemed good to me. Probably partially inspired from the Bio Anth lecture on Night Monkeys-Spider Monkeys.

The original title was going to be 'Atelen Cotinga Griffons Lekking' but was scrapped on the basis that most people would probably only know 1/4 words. (Ateles is a genus which contains Spider Monkeys. Unfrotunatly I can't give a specific species that this was based on as I only got one reference and hastily at that to see how the legs jointed. Cotingas or Cotingidae are a family of birds which live in south and central America. There are some very interesting idividuals like the umbrella bird. I can be more specific about the Cotinga part of the griffons. They're based on the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock....yes that's really it's name. Avoid using it in coments okay? I'm not sure if CotR and Spider Monkeys are sympatric, but it's fatnasy so it doesn't really matter. Finanly Lekking is basically males displaying to attract mates. There's normally one or more specific areas where this is done called leks. Lekking can be comunal or solitary. I think in the Guianan CotR it's comunal)  

Oh yes....constructive cristism heartely encouraged.