Manticore

Not to be confused with Manticora.
For other uses, see Manticore (disambiguation).
Manticore or "Martigora".
―Johannes Jonston (1650) Historiae Naturalis
Copperplate engraving by Matthäus Merian.
Courtesy of The Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology[1][2]

The manticore or mantichore (Latin: mantichora; reconstructed Old Persian: *martyahvārah; Modern Persian: مردخوار mard-khar) is a legendary creature from ancient Persian mythology, similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in Western European medieval art as well. It has the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion or a tail covered in venomous spines similar to porcupine quills. There are some accounts that the spines can be launched like arrows. It eats its victims whole, using its three rows of teeth, and leaves no bones behind.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference jonston1650-latin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference enenkel-ch02 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).