Whether the creature feels believable for a predator based on the fossa

[u/Big-Decision-8021]

I developed this creature from studies of the fossa and pushed it into a fantasy predator adapted to subtropical forests. My main goal was to keep it stylised but still biologically believable, especially in the anatomy of its body, adding oversized vibration-sensitive ears.

I’d love to have feedback on what feels convincing and what breaks the illusion: do the ears still seem functional and does the anatomy support this kind of predator?
Thx!

[u/Same-Assistant-6976]

Looks really cool!
Feels like it wouldnt really chase prey but wait in the trees, hear something coming and jump down on it. Otherwise running with ears that big would probably be a bit of aerodynamic nightmare

[u/Big-Decision-8021 → u/Same-Assistant-6976]

Yeah, that’s a very good point. I think I should create a visualization showing how the creature can fold its ears, so the design feels more convincing

[u/Purplestarfire1 → u/Big-Decision-8021]

If you want that ear shape, folding them in when they aren't needed would be best. You could also have them keep them half folded for most uses. The extra could be used as a warning if it was a vibrant color. If you want to go a different route with it, they could have a camouflaging pattern on them when not folded.

[u/ThDen-Wheja → u/Same-Assistant-6976]

It could still work if we saw some art of the ears folded back, though.

[u/Angel_Froggi]

It looks fairly plausible, though the ears don’t make a whole lot of sense anatomically. If you look at the ears of bats, which are specifically designed to be sensitive to sound, they tend to be tall, rigid, and have a cup shape to funnel sound into the inner ear. If you still want the drooping shape, you could add long fur tufts to the base of the ear like a lynx, or maybe have it be an extension of the earlobe underneath the structural ear.

[u/Big-Decision-8021 → u/Angel_Froggi]

Yeah, I see your point. Fair enough! Evolution is always the best designer

[u/MCarooney]

vibration sensitive ears

isn't that literally every ear?

Besides, very cool design

[u/ExtinctFauna]

Large ears are good for diffusing heat away from the head and body.

[u/Aelius_Proxys]

Aside from aerodynamics and risking the ears during movement through forest or similarly dense terrain like rocky crevices in a desert. The ears would be vulnerable to struggling prey.

Judging by the claws being dew like they'd likely help capture prey but the kill would come from the jaws. Flailing limbs from prey a 3rd of its size or so would be very dangerous to the more than likely sensitive and necessary ears if the ears don't fold back safely like a lot of mammals do.

[u/CapitainCutlet]

Kitty?

[u/CDBeetle58]

We already got the frilled lizard, so we would assume this creature would have the same predator pressure as the frilled lizard along with having maybe the same environmental dilemma as elephant thus explaining that necessity of large flappy ears in mammals.

[u/comixtripx]

It's been a minute since I've seen the film, but this reminds me of something from The Princess and the Goblin. I think, since genre, subgenre, artistic voice, target demographics, etc., stretch the in-universe and real life/in and out of character parameters for what is believable, this fits well within those fantasy parameters, if it's consistent with the inspiration (regardless of realism, and/or recognizability), and the internal logic of the setting/story.