Formicaleon
“Myrmecoleon Fanart” © Reddit user “EtrianDemifiend”, accessed at Reddit here
[The myrmecoleon is another medieval bestiary monster originating from mistranslations and misunderstandings; it takes the figurative name “ant-lion”, for an insect, all too literally. @a-book-of-creatures has a good explanation here. There’s also already a Pathfinder 1e monster of the same name, but it’s just a giant bug, not a gonzo chimera. The name I’ve gone with, then, is an alternate name listed by @a-book-of-creatures. I’ve also borrowed some of its spell-like abilities from the Shin Megami Tensei version of this creature, of which the above image is fanart.]
Formicaleon CR 6 CE Magical Beast This bizarre creature has the forequarters of a lion and the hindquarters of an ant. Its front two legs are muscular and end in clawed paws, and its four hind legs are spindly and thin.
A formicaleon is a strange hybrid creature that makes use of its chimerical appearance to deceive and mislead. They are sometimes known as “ant-lions”, not to be confused with the ordinary animal of the same name. Legend has that the foreparts of a formicaleon can eat live on only meat and the hindparts on only grain, and so the formicaleon starves for lack of food. This is a lie formicaleons tell to make themselves seem pitiful and weak. Formicaleons will often wheedle their way into the good graces of other creatures, claiming to have divinatory abilities or offering their skill as a magical healer. Then, they mooch off of their benefactor, and kill and eat them when they get tired of the charade.
Formicaleons are wandering creatures, and typically solitary. They do possess a certain amount of self-loathing, and may engage in tricks and lies even when not strategically valuable. They prefer to fight lone targets rather than parties, and will often flee from a concerted defense. There is some truth to the legend of formicaleon dietary peculiarities—they require both animal and vegetable matter, and can be remarkably picky in what they eat and when. Formicaleon kills are often marked by strange mutilations, as the monsters eat only a few of the organs and move on, leaving the rest for scavengers.
A formicaleon is about eight feet long and stands four feet at the shoulder.
