Cryptozoologicon response - bonus material
There were originally more entries to be added to this site that were never used. So I am presenting them here in a brief bonus format.
There were originally more entries to be added to this site that were never used. So I am presenting them here in a brief bonus format.
The “Father of all the turtles” was a cryptid proposed by Bernard Heuvelmans to categorize various sightings of almost unfeasibly large sea turtles, ranging to over 12 meters in carapace length. Some were described as being pale or all-white. A few of these sightings may have been whale carcasses that were so bloated that they had flipped over.
Here I present this creature as an enormous Protostegid turtle, whose shell can measure up to 12 meters long. These are open ocean animals that range widely from the tropical Indo-pacific all the way into the North Atlantic.
Here I present this creature as an enormous Protostegid turtle, whose shell can measure up to 12 meters long. These are open ocean animals that range widely from the tropical Indo-pacific all the way into the North Atlantic.
The Montauk Monster is the name of an originally unidentified raccoon carcass that washed ashore in New York State in 2008. Various unfounded theories ranged from mutant or alien, to demon, as to its identity. It was eventually identified as a bloated, hairless raccoon carcass.
Here I present the Montauk Monster as a real animal, a recently evolved hairless, thick-skinned relative of the racoon that is partly sea dwelling. It dives in search of spiny clams and sea urchins that make up the bulk of its diet, to cope with this difficult food, its muzzle is covered in a bare calloused sheath of keratin for protection.
Here I present the Montauk Monster as a real animal, a recently evolved hairless, thick-skinned relative of the racoon that is partly sea dwelling. It dives in search of spiny clams and sea urchins that make up the bulk of its diet, to cope with this difficult food, its muzzle is covered in a bare calloused sheath of keratin for protection.
The Mulilo is a large, slug-like cryptid that is of some cultural importance in the Congo, Zaire and Zambia. Said to be a charcoal-colored slug that is some 6 feet long, such a creature is unlikely, especially because parts of it are kept dried as talismans, when in fact gastropods such as slugs do not desiccate into anything more than a brittle smear. Most attributes of this cryptid in culture amount to something that seems purely mythical, such as it being killed by the crow of a rooster.
Here I present the Mulilo as a giant, semi-terrestrial Caecilian that is most active after rain. It is a large, girthy amphibian that reaches 1.8 meters long, it crawls along with rippling contractions of its abdominal musculature.
Here I present the Mulilo as a giant, semi-terrestrial Caecilian that is most active after rain. It is a large, girthy amphibian that reaches 1.8 meters long, it crawls along with rippling contractions of its abdominal musculature.
The Sheepsquatch is a rather stereotypical horned monster that has been sighted in parts of West Virginia. It is described as a large white, woolly horned monster with large teeth, a bare opossum-like tail and the ability to rear on its hind legs. We would consider that this is typical urban myth, campfire story material.
Here I present the Sheepsquatch as a large horned rodent, related to creatures such as Ceratogaulus. It reaches a similar size to a large ram, and can be very ferocious in defence of its territory; the mouth bears large fang-like incisors that are mostly used to strip tree bark, its main food.
Here I present the Sheepsquatch as a large horned rodent, related to creatures such as Ceratogaulus. It reaches a similar size to a large ram, and can be very ferocious in defence of its territory; the mouth bears large fang-like incisors that are mostly used to strip tree bark, its main food.
The Su or Succarath is a classical monster reported soon after Magellan discovered Patagonia. In myth it is described somewhat like a man-faced large feline, with a large bushy tail to which cling its babies. The notorious Palaeontologist Florentino Ameghino, known for his heterodox hypotheses, thought that the Succarath may have been a small surviving kind of Mylodont ground sloth.
We present the Succarath as a mid-sized (panther-sized) Mylodont ground sloth, which has a long fluffy tail much like an anteater, which its cubs will cling to. It is generally ill-tempered and will lash out and make guttural sounds when captured or harassed.
We present the Succarath as a mid-sized (panther-sized) Mylodont ground sloth, which has a long fluffy tail much like an anteater, which its cubs will cling to. It is generally ill-tempered and will lash out and make guttural sounds when captured or harassed.
Sightings in North America since the 1800’s have told of giant, condor or crane like birds (likened to the Native American myth, the “thunderbird”) with the ability to seize and carry people away. Popular cryptozoological theories state that it may be a giant Teratorn, despite the fact that teratorns and all other condor-like birds cannot clutch prey in their talons.
Here we present the thunderbird as a derived relative of eagles and an old-world vultures, which convergently resembles a teratorn except for its large raptorial feet and talons. It is a proficient predator of medium-sized game, grabbing and killing it with its huge talons; it also scavenges a great deal. They grow extremely large, reaching a wingspan of up to 9 meters.
Here we present the thunderbird as a derived relative of eagles and an old-world vultures, which convergently resembles a teratorn except for its large raptorial feet and talons. It is a proficient predator of medium-sized game, grabbing and killing it with its huge talons; it also scavenges a great deal. They grow extremely large, reaching a wingspan of up to 9 meters.
Supposed claims of enormous squid-sucker marks up to 60cm (2 feet) wide have been the source for many ridiculous claims about the potential size of Architeuthis. But some witnesses and researchers have opined that if these sucker-marks are real, they could instead be from a squid with very large suckers, proportionally. This would result in perhaps an unknown squid with giant suckers, but with a body generally of a believable, though large, size.
So I present my version of this hypothetical big-suckered-squid, with a swimmer for scale. There could be a number of explanations that do not involve a new species of big squid, smaller sucker marks may have gotten bigger as a whale was growing, could potentially be Lamprey or Cookiecutter-shark bites instead of sucker-marks. Large circular bites are also made by Greenland and Sleeper Sharks.
So I present my version of this hypothetical big-suckered-squid, with a swimmer for scale. There could be a number of explanations that do not involve a new species of big squid, smaller sucker marks may have gotten bigger as a whale was growing, could potentially be Lamprey or Cookiecutter-shark bites instead of sucker-marks. Large circular bites are also made by Greenland and Sleeper Sharks.
This is the hypothetical super-giant, ship-attacking squid that Bernard Heuvelmans theorized from various sightings and accounts of Architeuthis, the giant squid. It should be said that this one is based upon one of his more conservative estimates of about 150 feet (45.72 metres). Heuvelmans made even more extreme estimates of up to 300 feet long, wow! Initially, Heuvelmans suggested that these were unrecorded sizes of Architeuthis, the giant squid, but later seems to have suggested that it was an unknown species.
The issue of the fast growth and short lifespan in squid is a problem, because theoretically, a fast-growing, short-lived squid (all squids are short lived, they die after spawning) could not grow this big. With the Humbolt Squid's 1 millimetre per-day growth rate, a 45 metre squid would take, logically 45 000 days to reach full size, that is, 123 years!
For such a squid to exist, the hypothetical creature would need to be able to live for at least a century, not dying after giving birth as typical squids do. So our hypothetical super-giant squid would be a long-lived colossus and surely a nightmarish apex predator of ships, whales and other large squid.
The issue of the fast growth and short lifespan in squid is a problem, because theoretically, a fast-growing, short-lived squid (all squids are short lived, they die after spawning) could not grow this big. With the Humbolt Squid's 1 millimetre per-day growth rate, a 45 metre squid would take, logically 45 000 days to reach full size, that is, 123 years!
For such a squid to exist, the hypothetical creature would need to be able to live for at least a century, not dying after giving birth as typical squids do. So our hypothetical super-giant squid would be a long-lived colossus and surely a nightmarish apex predator of ships, whales and other large squid.
The Tygomelia is a cryptid that was reported once in the Ottawa Times newspaper in 1870. It was described somewhat like a small giraffe or young moose, and said to hail from the Himalayan Mountains and neighbouring areas.
Here we present the Tygomelia as a 2 meter tall, okapi-like animal native to much the same habitat as its neighbour, the yeti, various rhododendron groves in Himalayan valleys. It is related to such creatures as the okapi and the samotherium, so it is a very primitive giraffe, though it does have giraffe-like colouring.
Here we present the Tygomelia as a 2 meter tall, okapi-like animal native to much the same habitat as its neighbour, the yeti, various rhododendron groves in Himalayan valleys. It is related to such creatures as the okapi and the samotherium, so it is a very primitive giraffe, though it does have giraffe-like colouring.
Reported in 1900 in Chad and Ethiopia, the Auli is a lake and marsh-dwelling cryptid that resembles a seal, the size of a sheep. It is partly able to crawl on land and leaves reeds flattened behind it.
Here we present the Auli as a Protosiren-like kind of Dugong, with vestigial hindlimbs. Reaching 1.7 meters long, it is found in various marshes in Chad and Ethiopia, where it feeds on reeds and other water plants. It is able to crawl onto the shore to eat grass, much as manatees do.
Here we present the Auli as a Protosiren-like kind of Dugong, with vestigial hindlimbs. Reaching 1.7 meters long, it is found in various marshes in Chad and Ethiopia, where it feeds on reeds and other water plants. It is able to crawl onto the shore to eat grass, much as manatees do.
A strange creature was reported from the Phillipines and the Malay Peninsula in 1939. It was said to have velvety grey fur, a face like a racoon, teeth both like a man and a cat, and remarkably, two tongues. It was supposedly about 90 kilograms or 200 pounds, and had various other unlikely attributes. It is possible that this story was a hoax made up to sell magazines, but some forms of prosimian such as the loris do have a secondary grooming tongue beneath their main one. In fact, the whole animal somewhat resembles a loris in description, maybe the size it is described at was a miscalculation or translation error?
So here we present the two-tongue as a very large loris, a 90 kilogram animal that is a slow-climber in trees, feeding on various fruits and soft leaves. It generally resembles its cousins, the lorises, but has a more projecting face and proportionally smaller eyes. It is restricted to the Philippines and the Malay Peninsula. It has a large secondary grooming tongue beneath its already large main tongue, though its purpose is unknown.
So here we present the two-tongue as a very large loris, a 90 kilogram animal that is a slow-climber in trees, feeding on various fruits and soft leaves. It generally resembles its cousins, the lorises, but has a more projecting face and proportionally smaller eyes. It is restricted to the Philippines and the Malay Peninsula. It has a large secondary grooming tongue beneath its already large main tongue, though its purpose is unknown.