Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: blank
  • Music: Glee, "Only the Good Die Young."

From A to Z in the InCryptid Alphabet: Q.

Q is for QUESTING BEAST.

Paleantologists call them "Gorgonopsids" and believe that they've been extinct for millions of years. Isn't it fun when science is wrong?

There are two known species of Questing Beast. They may both be extinct; we really don't know, and given the tendency of Questing Beasts to eat anyone who comes remotely near them, we're really not in any hurry to find out. The North American variety at least rattles when it's getting ready to launch itself at your head, which is much more polite than its European counterpart.

African and Indian Questing Beasts have been theorized from the fossil record. We'd really rather not think about that right now.
Tags: discount armageddon, incryptid
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  • 42 comments

purplefrog26

February 24 2012, 16:02:24 UTC 5 years ago

These snippets are so fun. I'm really looking forward to getting the books.

seanan_mcguire

February 24 2012, 16:11:01 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

vulpine137

February 24 2012, 16:04:46 UTC 5 years ago

*giggle* Yay for Gorgonopsids, you are officially the queen of Geek biology.

seanan_mcguire

February 24 2012, 16:11:16 UTC 5 years ago

Their existence makes me so happy you don't even know.

vulpine137

5 years ago

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reedrover

February 24 2012, 16:11:37 UTC 5 years ago

Neat! Are they any relation to Quetzacotls?

Also - I just read your Flowers of Arizona story. I've... never been in love with mice before.

seanan_mcguire

February 24 2012, 16:12:49 UTC 5 years ago

Not quite; Quetzacotls are actually off a different evolutionary branch, and are more closely related to dinosaurs than modern gorgonosids or reptiles.

Did you see that the sequel is on my website, for frees?

reedrover

5 years ago

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reedrover

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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celticdragonfly

5 years ago

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reedrover

5 years ago

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wendyzski

5 years ago

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celticdragonfly

5 years ago

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reedrover

5 years ago

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celticdragonfly

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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celticdragonfly

5 years ago

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idancewithlife

5 years ago

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firynze

February 24 2012, 16:16:57 UTC 5 years ago

I have read altogether too much on gorgonopsids, and their inclusion on Primeval was one of the things that suckered me in. QUESTING BEASTS EEEEE.

seanan_mcguire

February 24 2012, 17:01:45 UTC 5 years ago

THEY ARE AWESOME.

firynze

5 years ago

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archangelbeth

5 years ago

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archangelbeth

5 years ago

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vixyish

February 24 2012, 17:06:59 UTC 5 years ago

...I have no idea why I *still* occasionally make the mistake of thinking any creature is something Seanan just made up.

<3

jenjen4280

February 24 2012, 16:38:17 UTC 5 years ago

Darn! I was hoping Q would be for quetzalcoatl, but I guess that would've been too obvious. ;)

seanan_mcguire

February 24 2012, 17:02:04 UTC 5 years ago

Also those haven't shown up yet, so I want to hold off on defining their biology.

shiyiya

February 24 2012, 16:53:48 UTC 5 years ago

I hadn't realized you hadn't invented the order of mammal-like reptiles. NATURE IS SO COOL.

seanan_mcguire

February 24 2012, 17:02:15 UTC 5 years ago

I KNOW RIGHT?!

firynze

5 years ago

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kimuro

February 24 2012, 17:35:40 UTC 5 years ago

I am enjoying these SOOOOOO much. It is good of you to create them.

seanan_mcguire

May 14 2012, 20:20:06 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

wee_warrior

February 24 2012, 18:20:10 UTC 5 years ago

OMG, INCRYPTID HAS QUESTING BEASTS! <3

*hugs you forever*

seanan_mcguire

May 14 2012, 18:25:31 UTC 5 years ago

Hee!

markbernstein

February 24 2012, 19:10:21 UTC 5 years ago

I hunted a Questing Beast once. Never found it, luckily.

(I was playing Pellinore in a production of "Camelot".)

seanan_mcguire

May 14 2012, 17:12:51 UTC 5 years ago

Hee.

ohari

February 24 2012, 19:31:46 UTC 5 years ago

I'm starting to run out of gush here. This is the best countdown ever. This series is going to be So Much Fun. :)

seanan_mcguire

May 14 2012, 17:09:00 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

mythusmage

February 25 2012, 03:02:24 UTC 5 years ago

Darren Naish of Tetrapod Zoology has had much experience with questing beasts. Go ask him.

seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 15:21:57 UTC 5 years ago

Noted.

greenmansgrove

February 25 2012, 11:23:14 UTC 5 years ago Edited:  February 25 2012, 11:23:42 UTC

One of the reasons that I love your stuff so much is that I knew, as I Googled "Gorgonopsids" that I would be learning something new, and that it wasn't something that you'd just made up. Because your mind just works that way, and I appreciate that it does!

seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 15:21:42 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!