[answered on: 1/14/2022]

me and avvy just call them 'sphinxes'. since, the general criteria for sphinx is human face, on an animal body. we just are liberal with how we stylize it and choose the animal body traits. afaik, this concept is more prolific in japan/on pixiv, in this particular way (turning anime characters into them) ; me and avvy are specifically inspired by art we have seen.

actually, i can even link the exact piece i have admired and looked at for a long time: here! this piece has stolen my heart for a long time. it inspired me to draw my own sphinxes, trying to study this specimen. but, i'm not even the first, really. this (NSFW) pixiv stack was done as fanart for that drawing as well. I look at it often... I just love her

i wish i could see a thousand of these. i wish i could populate the world with so many sphinxes. they're just so fun to make, to see, to share, so i really want to encourage and infect as many people as i can with them, hahaha. oh, as for their sapience levels, i imagine them somewhat more sapient than an animal, but only just a smidge. but i'm fluid about it, so i also imagine them as completely feral brained and behaving as little creatures, as much as i imagine them sipping tea together. but no matter what they'd be simpler than humans, with animal instincts and behaviors! that's the most fun way to think about them, i think.