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I've been toying with the idea of the mythical Mesopotamian girtablilu as panspermic quasi-humans with an aberrant multiped centaurine arthropod-like morphology, true naturalistic "scorpion men." I'm picturing the scorpion body form as fairly cosmetic; underlying anatomy and physiology would still be vertebrate/mammalian. Beyond the superficial resemblance to terrestrial scorpions, the only truly "scorpion-like" trait I'd like to retain is the venomous sting--something metabolically expensive for a mammal, but not unheard of (see platypus q.v.).

What really turns me on is not so much their pectines, but the idea of a history paralleling that of Earth's, perhaps a genetically hardwired "cultural phenotype." Imagine scorpion Spartans, scorpion hoplites, scorpion centurions, scorpion gladiators, scorpion vikings, scorpion knights, scorpion pirates, scorpion samurai...! How would the scorpion body design influence tactics, weapons, and armor? Centaurine cavalry need no horses, of course. Body and tail segments can be clad in flexible armor plates; stings can be converted to maces or capped by cruel steel hooks, or alternately, can be padded for non-lethal combat. The scissoring action of pincers can be supplemented by razor-sharp edged weapons, or by backhanded blades. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

It's kind of interesting, I was looking up scorpion men to see what else is out there and was intrigued to find that most all the contemporary "fantasy scorpion men" have the centaurine body design retaining the eight legs, pincers, and telson--obviously what I'd also had in mind--despite the fact that the true mythical girtablilu are bipedal and retain only the tail stinger of their scorpion origins. Oddly enough I recently found a picture of a Mayan "bird man" in Smithsonian that looks very similar (coincidence, or Atlantean cultural dissemination...?). I'd like to do a "naturalistic" take on that guy sometime in the near future as well.

Description
I've been toying with the idea of the mythical Mesopotamian girtablilu as panspermic quasi-humans with an aberrant multiped centaurine arthropod-like morphology, true naturalistic "scorpion men." I'm picturing the scorpion body form as fairly cosmetic; underlying anatomy and physiology would still be vertebrate/mammalian. Beyond the superficial resemblance to terrestrial scorpions, the only truly "scorpion-like" trait I'd like to retain is the venomous sting--something metabolically expensive for a mammal, but not unheard of (see platypus q.v.).

What really turns me on is not so much their pectines, but the idea of a history paralleling that of Earth's, perhaps a genetically hardwired "cultural phenotype." Imagine scorpion Spartans, scorpion hoplites, scorpion centurions, scorpion gladiators, scorpion vikings, scorpion knights, scorpion pirates, scorpion samurai...! How would the scorpion body design influence tactics, weapons, and armor? Centaurine cavalry need no horses, of course. Body and tail segments can be clad in flexible armor plates; stings can be converted to maces or capped by cruel steel hooks, or alternately, can be padded for non-lethal combat. The scissoring action of pincers can be supplemented by razor-sharp edged weapons, or by backhanded blades. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

It's kind of interesting, I was looking up scorpion men to see what else is out there and was intrigued to find that most all the contemporary "fantasy scorpion men" have the centaurine body design retaining the eight legs, pincers, and telson--obviously what I'd also had in mind--despite the fact that the true mythical girtablilu are bipedal and retain only the tail stinger of their scorpion origins. Oddly enough I recently found a picture of a Mayan "bird man" in Smithsonian that looks very similar (coincidence, or Atlantean cultural dissemination...?). I'd like to do a "naturalistic" take on that guy sometime in the near future as well.