Quote Originally Posted by Cygnus View Post
MoR's post has got me thinking...

What about critters that are real but lived so distant from Europeans that they may as well have been "heraldic beasts"? Take for example the MacQueen crest - the "tyger" ermine only barely resembles an actual tiger at best. Under which category would it fall?
The heraldic tyger (ermine or otherwise) is a mythical beast, originally derived from illustrations found medieval bestiaries, whereas a tiger proper would be the zoologically correct critter.