Thanks for dragging this over to the proper area, Bugbear. Here is an interesting phenomenon about arms and their corporeal manifestations. Even though primogeniture doesn't exist in the US, in many cases, the eldest son does inherit many of the father's effects, and, in the case of unmarried uncles, a namesake may be the one to get the loot. And let's face it, other than the bucket shop plaques, the most prevalent armoreal items are seals, either as rings or fobs or on writing paper, maybe followed by bookplates, items of silver, and blazer patches. What this means is, in the case of American armigers, the seal frequently lands in the hands of the rightful heir. In many more cases, it lands in the hands of the person most interested in claiming arms, while some other (less interested party) party might be more entitled, but disinclined to claim.

Of course, this idea doesn't always work, particularly in larger families, or in families that departed from heraldic rules early on and created multiple rings years or generations ago.

Totem animals probably overlap heraldic ones, depending on your definition of totem, I suppose. Thanks for explaining about the Griffon's ears.