GANESHA ORIENTIS

KINGDOM Animalia

PHYLUM Vertebrata

CLASS Mammalia

ORDER Proboscidea

FAMILY Homoeboreus

GENUS Ganesha

SPECIES Ganesha orientis

MY STUDY OF THE ganesha answered one of my most persistent questions regarding the bone matter in a host of creatures: How can such small and slight bones support such massive appendages and disproportionately sized heads? It seems the ganesha had a sinewy fiber woven throughout its bone structure, independent of the ligament and tendon systems. This sinew acted as a resistance barrier for undue or excessive strain—much as a splint protects a broken limb. The sinew functioned not unlike an external skeletal structure for the bone; this material helps explain how many animals could withstand excess strain and torsion. Unfortunately, I do not know of

any living creature that evolved with this material.

My specimen is one of the great treasures of the east. Though only a portion of the creature was recovered, it was well-preserved, and wrapped in hundreds of yards of decayed cloth. Future discoveries are a possibility. I happened upon chance to come to the tomb of one, and surely there are many more.

The ganesha’s skull would not have housed what would be classified as either a human or an elephant brain; however, the shape and position of the brain, especially the cerebral cortex, is cause for more extensive study and additional research. I can conclude that the animal was more than likely of a high intellect, confounding one who considers why it failed to prosper as a species.

TODAY THERE ARE NO KNOWN SPECIES WITH MULTIPLE HEADS, ALTHOUGH TWOOR THREEHEADED MUTATIONS OF EXISTING CREATURES ARE

NOT UNCOMMON (THIS CONDITION IS KNOWN AS

“POLYCEPHALY”). OFTEN THE MUTATIONS ARE BORN WITH THEIR HEADS FUSED TOGETHER. SADLY,

THESE MUTATIONS RARELY LIVE FOR VERY LONG.

IN THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS, DR. BLACK EXPLORES A PAIR OF THREE-HEADED CREATURES—

THE CHIMÆRA AND THE CERBERUS . HE WAS ADAMANT THAT THESE SPECIES WERE NOT RANDOM MUTATIONS BUT RATHER FULLY FORMED ANIMAL.