Homo lupus - more commonly known as a Lycanthrope, or werewolf (the wer, derived from old English, meaning man). One of two known symbiotic hominids, shares no actual genetic traits with any species of wolf. The aesthetic similarities are striking – yet these are all natural characteristics shared by most, if not all, carnivorous mammals. It is hypothesised that the virus reactivated regressive genes, expressing traits not seen in Homo sapiens. Homo lupus carry a variant of the symbiotic pathogen in their blood. This virus is known as the Canis strain, or Lycanthropy. Lycanthropy is a psychological disorder recognised as a separate condition that carries no connection to the virus, but the etymology derives from the same set of observed characteristics. The virus, like the Vampyrus strain, is exchanged through blood and saliva. Lycanthropes do not have a viral delivery system, and infection through bites is rare. However, if infection is successful, the host will undergo a series of physiological changes that are drastic and life-threatening. The mythology surrounding transformation is greatly exaggerated; however, physical changes manifest over a six to eight week metamorphic stage in an infected human. The agonising augmentation of bone and organs is not, by any means, instantaneous. The toll on the body is overwhelming, sending most new hosts into a coma. It has been speculated that the coma is an integral stage in infection, due to the trauma inflicted through transformation. Cases of humans infected with the Canis strain are exceptionally rare. However, Homo lupus is a distinct species, and breed like any other mammal. They usually give birth tomore than one at a time, the gestation period being around 8 months. Lycanthropes are intelligent, problem-solving animals.
Below are series of taxidermied examples, and research receptacles, mostly the work of Paloe anthropologist Edward Harrell. Amongst these examples include infected humans whio died due to the complications of physiological changes,
