This is essentially a do-over of the Flamingape ( [link] )--probably the most regrettably titled drawing I've ever posted. It was worth re-doing just for the chance at a better name! : PMy main problem with the Flamingape--and which I didn't realize until a couple of days after I had posted it--was that I had the curve of the jaw exactly *opposite* what I'd originally imagined. This one is based on the jaw shape of a right whale, and much more closely approaches my original mental image.I aimed for a slightly "glossier," more whale-like texture on the exposed skin of the "bill" especially, and tried to make this one look a little more "aquatic" overall. Although they are very minor details, I tried to imply that the nostrils contain muscular sphincters allowing them to close against water, and also suggested nictitating membranes for the eyes. A couple of people commented that they liked the retention of teeth in the flamingo bill of the "mandringo" ( [link] ), so some may be disappointed by my decision to go with a more baleen-like keratinaceous filter-feeding apparatus here. But again, it's closer to what I originally pictured and reinforces the marine/aquatic overtones.Spinery called me out the other day on the heterogeneity of my chimerical creatures, something other people have commented on in the past. Though I explained this as a conscious choice and gave what I feel is a fairly cogent defense of the rationale behind it ( [link] ), his point remains perfectly valid and got me thinking about combining my creatures' "donor traits" in a more integrated, homogeneous way. So when this guy started developing a pelican-like pouch, I decided to leave it, and then realized it could easily dovetail with a baleen whale's pleated throat sac. The bill itself also has a bit of toucan and maybe even proboscis monkey in it, depending on how you read it. Which works out fine for me, considering the rampant trans-phyleticism inherent in the Chimerape "clade."If anybody says "Nice, man! You're back!" or anything remotely similar and condescending in response to this drawing, I will head-butt their dog until we both scream. First of all I'm still pretty much stuck in a rut, and secondly I haven't "gone" anywhere, I just haven't been posting art. Plus I'm sick as a dog right now. A dog that's been head-butted until it screams.