With time and effort, I intend "From Aardvark On Down" and "Acantha, Blaeston, and Cranberry" to be the definitive botanical and zoological guides to Elanthia-- the full canon compilations of every plant and animal found in every city.  Notably, this is no small task.

It must be recognized that Elanthia is a land in which many strange and wonderous creatures exist and in which many do not.  With a steady eye, one can often muddle through what creatures are and are not IC by consulting records of the past.  However, one must consider that legends do exist within Elanthia--  for example, the pegasus is the symbol of Tonis, yet pegasuses do not roam the lands we know outside a manifestation by this God (to the best of my knowledge).  Neither do unicorns, outside the presence of Ronan, or dragons.  So far, I believe kangaroos do not exist in Elanthia, despite their existence outside Elanthia.  In order for a plant or animal to be Elanthian canon for the purposes of these guides, there must be evidence of its existence.

These are acceptable evidence for the existence of a creature or plant:
1.  Locating a place in Elanthia where the creature or plant may be readily sighted.  (That is, finding somewhere where the creature or plant is in the room description or in a room script.)  For example, squirrels often run up the trunk of the oak tree in the Town Square of Wehnimer's and knock acorns onto people's heads-- this is acceptable evidence of the existence of squirrels.
2.  Locating a place in Elanthia where evidence of the creature or plant may be readily sighted.  For example, if you saw fox tracks in a room, this would be evidence of the existence of foxes despite not personally seeing a fox yourself.
3.  Encountering an example of the creature or plant in the wild.  For example, spearmint may be foraged in some grassy areas-- this is acceptable evidence of the existence of the existence of spearmint.  Similarly, having a wolverine attempt to bite your leg off is quite sufficient evidence of the existence of wolverines.
4.  Obtaining a sample or viewing a sample of the creature or plant as part of a merchant's wares.  For example, a gnome aboard the Dhu Gillywhack sold spotted mangoes-- even if you yourself did not purchase a mango, this is sufficient evidence of the existence of mangoes.

These are not acceptable evidence for the existence of a creature or plant:
1.  A crafted image of a creature or plant.  People are extremely creative.  If I were a skilled sculptor, I could readily create a statue of a creature with the head of a jackal, the fins of a fish, and the tail of a scorpion-- but this would not indicate that any such creature existed in Elanthia.  (And thank goodness!)
2.  An altered item containing part of a creature or plant.  Merchants occasionally create items that they later regret-- I have heard rumor of a backpack in Elanthia closed with a dragon's claw, and several other similar rumors make me prefer to turn all altered items away.  Merchant-auctioned items, in contrast, are acceptable, as the merchant presumably had time and energy to consider before creating the item.

If you wish to add either to "From Aardvark On Down" or "Acantha, Blaeston, and Cranberry", please use the following format:

[name of addition]
Appearance: (if known)
Evidence: (where did you find it?)
Other notes: (if you wish to add any commentary)