Considering the fact that the definition of "anthropomorphic" means anything that possesses some human-like traits, this definition by itself cannot serve for accurate description of an object or creature. Therefore, inappropriate use of such words as "anthropomorphic", "anthropomorph" or "anthro" can be misleading and make a search for specific content much harder. This problem is most noticeable in the visual art, namely - in the development and depiction of fictional characters.

The phrase "anthropomorphic animal" is still not clearly defined. It's being used both for describing animals which barely possess human-like traits, and for describing characters which have mostly human body build but just covered in fur coating. For solving this ambiguity, one should refer to the old yet well known word "beastman", and then derive a longer form - "beastmorphic human".

In order to understand the differences between definitions "anthropomorphic animal" and "beastmorphic human", one should study the role of words in phrases. Each of these phrases has both an adjective and a noun. Nouns "animal" and "human" describe base species and the basis, while adjectives "anthropomorphic" and "beastmorphic" describe target species and deviation from the basis.

Based on this, the following basic definitions can be derived.
Anthropomorphic animal is an animal which possesses human-like traits in its behavior or body structure.
Beastmorphic human is a human which possesses animalistic traits in its behavior or body structure.

In practice, such creatures can be mainly characterized in the following way, while all non-mentioned features should be taken from the creature's base species.
Anthropomorphic animal. Has torso and hind limbs being structurally similar to ones that base animal species have, but are adapted enough to be capable of standing on the hind limbs and carry own weight only on them for some time. Forelimbs are developed enough to structurally resemble human hands and to be able to grasp things. The intelligence is developed enough to draw basic logical conclusions, while creature's general behavior resembles that of a typical animal. Structure of the genitals is similar to one of the base animal species.
Beastmorphic human. Has the structure of torso and upper limbs identical to that of a human. Has head and legs structurally similar to ones that target animal species have, but are adapted enough to funtion normally with a human torso. Tail structure depends on one that target animal species have, with the possible increase in mass in order to maintain balance during walking. If the target animal species have just tail instead of hind limbs, such as a dolphin for example, in this case tail will take place of the creature's legs. Coating or skin type depends on one that target animal species have and covers creature's entire body with the possible exception in groin and crotch areas. Structure of the genitals is identical to that of a human.

It's useful to note that the phrases "anthropomorphic animal" and "beastmorphic human" allow adaptation of their adjectives and nouns in order to clarify base species, target species, gender and age of the creature. Furthermore, phrase can be merged into a single noun as in the case of aforementioned "beastman".

The following phrases use different levels of accuracy in describing the same anthropomorphic animal: Anthropoanimal, Anthropomorphic bovine, Anthropobovine, Anthropomorphic cow, Anthropocow, Anthropomorphic heifer, Anthropoheifer.
The following phrases use different levels of accuracy in describing the same beastmorphic human: Beasthuman, Beastmorphic woman, Beastwoman, Bovinemorphic woman, Bovinewoman, Cowmorphic woman, Cowwoman.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that not only animals can be anthropomorphic. And bestial traits not only humans can possess. But that's another topic for discussion.