Different Kinds of Therians

Welcome, here I will be explaining different types of therians, so lets start with what a therian is.
A Therian is someone who identifies as an animal that once has, or still does, walk upon Earth. Now that you know what a therian is, I well touch on what a subcategory is before moving on to a main one. A subcategory of therianthropy would be something that describes a group of theriotypes, one example being the Paleotherian. Paleotherian are therian who identify as a creature that is extinct, such as a type of dinosaur or mammoth. Even if a closely related species of the creature is still alive and thriving, if the species is extinct, the therian is a paleotherian. Paleotherian aren't as common as other genres, and aren't that well-known as a result. Now I will move onto bigger categories of Therianthropy.
Shiftingtherian:
Someone who identifies as a single earthly animal, and can have various experiences around this type, including mental or phantom shifts. The "typical" therian.
Polytherian:
A therian possessing multiple theriotypes at the same time, and can experience anything possible for each of them. Some of these types may appear more important than others, but it's not always the case.
Nonshiftingtherian:
A therian who does not experience shifts under any condition, but still identifies as non-human through other means.
Contherian:
A kind of nonshifting therian that has similar experiences as other therians but who do not shift- rather, they are constantly shifted into an animal state, with no variation.
Suntherian:
A kind of therian who, similarly to the contherian, constantly experiences this nonhuman side and do not experience mental shifts; however, they can experience changes on a sliding scale, or combinations between human and animal mindsets, but generally in a manner that is not as extreme as with shifters. Also called "vacillant".
Cladotherian:
A therian who's theriotype is not one specific sub-species. For example, rather than a tiger specifically, they encompass all felines or a "clade". It is not a temporary or placeholder label for those who are uncertain or haven't yet narrowed down their species. A cladotherian does not think such a narrowing of species is possible or applicable for themselves.
Theriomythic:
A therian who's thereotype is not found on earth, also known as being mythological. otherkin is the term usually used for this, but some still label over therian. ( Description is thanks to @Alliana )

These are the types of therians,and now I will talk about psychological therians and spirtual therians, two different types.
A psychological therian is someone who feels their identity is a result of a neurological abnormality or is a part of their personality. They do not feel that their identity has any correlation to a past life, but rather their identity is the result of who they are as a person in this life, on an emotional or psychological level.
A spiritual therian is someone who feels their identity is a result of spiritual attachment and interconnectedness on an ethereal level. They believe that their identity is formulated as a result of reincarnation, soul misplacement, or another means where they feel they are this being on a spiritual level. They do not feel that their identity is due to any neurological or (generally) personality related factors.

Thank you for reading this post! Feel free to let me know if I missed anything!

There are also theriomythics or those not found on Earth and are mythological because of it, otherkin is more of the sapient/culture variety but there are some who choose that label over therian. I am considered a theriomythic or therian despite being non-Earthly (since I don't and haven't existed).

Just wanted to mention that.

As a note vacillant therianthropy was actually a term created by the therian community for therians, so it's not only used by otherkin. It's often used interchangeably with suntherian depending on where you look.

@Velvet @Alliana Thank you! I guess I missed some stuff

Thank you! this was very helpful.

I would tend to omit contherian and suntherian/vacillant therian because they're really outdated terms that no one really understands the definition of anymore. Keep it simple: you're either a therian, or you're not.

aren’t contherian and suntherian the same thing? Dusty said in a post when/why the term “suntherian” was made.

(2023-01-05 1:26)SlyCatQT Wrote:  aren’t contherian and suntherian the same thing? Dusty said in a post when/why the term “suntherian” was made.

Tmk for a while people believed contherians were in a constant therian state while suntherians felt as if their animal and human selves were merged. But tmk that comes down to the same definition. We have now come to understand that the integration of the animal identity depends per person and is rather a fluid thing or even a spectrum.

(2023-01-05 1:26)SlyCatQT Wrote:  aren’t contherian and suntherian the same thing? Dusty said in a post when/why the term “suntherian” was made.

No, they're not the same thing. Keep in mind both are outdated terms and have always been poorly understood.

Contherians don't experience shifts and claim to have their human side and animal side fully integrated (hence no shifting). Suntherians are always shifted to some degree.

There was another term, vacillant therian, which was the same as suntherian. It just never caught on like suntherian did.

That said, from what I've seen over the years in the community, therians are always shifted to some degree, it can just vary in strength.

But contherian, suntherian and vacillant therian are all outdated. Just stick with therian.

(2022-04-12 0:45)elinox Wrote:  Keep it simple: you're either a therian, or you're not.

Or you're me!

Don't we have a list like this already floating around? Either way, I sometimes feel like so much of it is pretty pointless. I mean, is it really important to use terms like paleotherian or polytherian? Or shifting vs nonshifting?

I don't care much about whether I'm talking to a deer or a wolf/hyena/cheetah, or a velociraptor.

Same theriotype doesn't mean getting along. And looking for others with similar ones doesn't really need a term, I feel. But that's just me.