From another fantasy anatomy series on my tumblr. The goblin masterpost is over here: https://fantasy-anatomy-analyst.tum.....on-of-a-goblin

(Description: a digital colored picture showing five stages of goblin evolution, to be detailed below. end description.)

this is a lengthy description lol. I really love to make goblins more froggish. Lanky and amphibious goblins are more fun.

First: Hadebufo, a prehistoric frog ancestor based on Beelzebufo, the oldest known frog specimen I’m aware of. Hadebufo’s name comes from “hades” and “bufo” which is a scientific name for toads and frogs. It’s just a very large (41cm) green frog with brown stripes.

Second: Manibufo, from “mani” meaning hands, and “bufo”. This slightly smaller green and brown frog (32cm) had front feet that resembled hands and may have been able to use those hands to pull snails from shells or crack open beetles. It even appears to have had opposable thumbs, possibly for climbing trees.

Third: Goblus Troglodites, the earliest known specimen that is actually considered to be a goblin. Troglodites is also part of the scientific name for chimpanzees, as goblus troglodites resembles a strange cross between a frog and a primate. These greenish brown prehistoric goblins (98cm) lived entirely underground in complex natural cave systems, and their remains are often found with evidence of crafted tools nearby.

Fourth: Goblus Textilis, with “textilis” meaning “weaving” or “woven cloth”. This green and brown modern goblin ancestor (1.2m) almost resembles their current descendants. They had shorter legs and ears, and seemed to just be getting started adapting to environments outside of caves. Goblus Textilis remains are always found with evidence of bags and baskets on or near them. They seemed to have developed highly advanced techniques for basket weaving as they relied so heavily on foraging and became more dependent on a communal social structure where everyone would gather things to bring home for everyone to eat or use.

Fifth: Goblus Goblus, the modern goblin. They have very long limbs and flexible joints and have spread around the world, adapting to a wide variety of environments. They come in many colors, but the one here is still green and brown. Their ancestral basket making skills have led to clothing that is simply made of pockets. Pockets everywhere and they still use bags and baskets of course. They like to dress in colorful fabrics and shiny accessories, no matter how much they might clash.