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Description
Memetic evolution of a Hox-defiant conjoined/compound ceratopsian body design.

A - 11.10.14

Towards the end of October I had this weird image flash of a creature composed of three (?) primary body modules, two of them being "legs"--apparently derived from ceratopsian "heads"--sporting horns that doubled as load-bearing locomotory structures. The idea was a creature with a tripodal body configuration at rest, the two forward-projecting "antlers" interlocking to create a single point of ground contact ahead of the body. In motion the animal would have more of a....um, I'm not sure exactly how I pictured its gait, but I envisioned something more conventionally saltatorial or cursorial, with the "antlers" disengaging during the movement cycle to enable quasi-bilateral locomotion.

B - 11.15.14

Trying to find a way to make the cephalimbs more mobile while retaining their essential defining phyletic characteristics. Think of the bilateral ceratopsian "heads" terminal to articulated appendages similar to avian wings or raptorial mantis forelimbs, here seen folded...That's something I need to explore further.

I was thinking it would be cool if the different body regions reflected distinct evolutionary stages--psittacine, psittacosaurian, protoceratopsian, true ceratopsian, for i.e. Not sure if that comes across here,with the incongruous ibis bill on the primary "head." : p

I'm kind of taken with Ben's "water strider" interpretation, though I'm not sure how to make it work practically--buoyant internal sacs of electrolytically produced hydrogen, or some sort of secreted elastic colloid (think hagfish slime) distributing the animal's weight over a broad fluid surface area...? Probably both, though I guess it's your call.

C - 11.30.14

"Final" version, for the moment--at least I nailed that heron-style neck/hinge joint articulating the head/limbs to the body (I rthink?). Everything aft of the central frill here is optional/hypothetical, as I guess is evident from the earlier morphological iterations. The head is more marabou or hornbill than I would have liked--my preference was for something more psittacine or toucan--but I guess this will have to do for the moment. I guess he might need the extra protein to support that terminal body!

Description
Memetic evolution of a Hox-defiant conjoined/compound ceratopsian body design.

A - 11.10.14

Towards the end of October I had this weird image flash of a creature composed of three (?) primary body modules, two of them being "legs"--apparently derived from ceratopsian "heads"--sporting horns that doubled as load-bearing locomotory structures. The idea was a creature with a tripodal body configuration at rest, the two forward-projecting "antlers" interlocking to create a single point of ground contact ahead of the body. In motion the animal would have more of a....um, I'm not sure exactly how I pictured its gait, but I envisioned something more conventionally saltatorial or cursorial, with the "antlers" disengaging during the movement cycle to enable quasi-bilateral locomotion.

B - 11.15.14

Trying to find a way to make the cephalimbs more mobile while retaining their essential defining phyletic characteristics. Think of the bilateral ceratopsian "heads" terminal to articulated appendages similar to avian wings or raptorial mantis forelimbs, here seen folded...That's something I need to explore further.

I was thinking it would be cool if the different body regions reflected distinct evolutionary stages--psittacine, psittacosaurian, protoceratopsian, true ceratopsian, for i.e. Not sure if that comes across here,with the incongruous ibis bill on the primary "head." : p

I'm kind of taken with Ben's "water strider" interpretation, though I'm not sure how to make it work practically--buoyant internal sacs of electrolytically produced hydrogen, or some sort of secreted elastic colloid (think hagfish slime) distributing the animal's weight over a broad fluid surface area...? Probably both, though I guess it's your call.

C - 11.30.14

"Final" version, for the moment--at least I nailed that heron-style neck/hinge joint articulating the head/limbs to the body (I rthink?). Everything aft of the central frill here is optional/hypothetical, as I guess is evident from the earlier morphological iterations. The head is more marabou or hornbill than I would have liked--my preference was for something more psittacine or toucan--but I guess this will have to do for the moment. I guess he might need the extra protein to support that terminal body!