Glossary entry
Cladotherian
A therian whose theriotype is a whole related group of animals, such as all the great cats, and not a single species.
In depth
The word joins clade, the term in biology for a group of living things that share a common ancestor, with therian. A cladotherian does not feel like one species within a family. They feel like the family: feline in general, not lynx or leopard in particular; corvid, not specifically raven or crow.
People often arrive at the word after a long and honest search that never narrows. Every wild dog feels partly right and none feels exclusively right. For some this is a resting place on the way to a more exact theriotype. For others it is the finished and accurate answer, and it deserves to be treated as one.
In practice
- A person feels at home in every description of canine life, wolf, fox, jackal and dhole alike, and cannot say that one of them is more themselves than the others.
- A person who identifies as a bird of prey in general describes the same stooping, far-sighted attention whether they read about falcons, hawks or eagles.
Common questions
How is a cladotherian different from a polytherian?
A polytherian has two or more distinct theriotypes, each felt separately. A cladotherian has one identity that happens to be broad. The first is several animals; the second is one animal seen at the scale of the family tree.
Is it just being undecided?
Not necessarily. Some people use the word while they are still looking, and say so. Many others have looked for years and found that the breadth is the truth of the matter.
Related terms
Read further. The page on kinds of therian places this word among its neighbors.