anthro

This tag is short for "anthropomorphic animals".

Anthropomorphism means attaching human traits such as human-like intelligence and physical form to non-human things. But as this describes most non-human characters on e621 and intelligence can be difficult to tag, the anthro tag is specifically used only for animal-like "furry" characters. This includes mythological animals such as dragons and gryphons, and original creations such as sergals.

Anthros are usually bipedal and tend to have human-like arms and legs. Walking on two legs is an anthro trait. Although some ferals are bipeds, most of them move mainly by other means than walking, such as by flying or hopping.

Species that normally have a long neck as ferals (such as equines and dragons) tend to have a much shorter neck when drawn as anthros. Anthro shoulders and head-neck ratio are also usually close to human, although there are exceptions (as in the third thumbnail).

Anthros tend to retain an animal-like facial structure, most prominently a snout. Creatures with fully human-like faces are typically humanoid instead of anthro.

In borderline cases between feral and anthro, if the character couldn't pass off as a feral animal, it should be tagged as anthro. Use the overall body shape and posture when determining which tag is more appropriate.

The main distinction between anthro and humanoid is that the former is for furry content, while the latter is focused on not furry ones. Anthros that lack fur (such as sharks, birds, and reptiles) are still considered furry characters, though "scalie" would be the more correct term for reptilians. Anthro and not_furry should never be tagged on the same post.

Not to be confused with

humanoid, which is for non-animal-like bipeds

animal_humanoid, humanoids with minimal animal features, such as a face without a snout or anything close to a muzzle. Consider a humanoid face the most important indicator of a humanoid.