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Cryptids are animals or other beings that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and has been widely critiqued by scientists. [1] [2] [3] [4] The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information [5] and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method. [6] Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence, [7] likely misidentifications [8] and misinterpretation of stories from folklore. [9]
While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor. Entities that may be considered cryptids by cryptozoologists include Bigfoot, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Mokele-mbembe.
Name | Other Names | Description | Purported Location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anguila peluda [10] | Hairy Eel | Pond animal | Pamital ravine, Canary Islands | |
Cadborosaurus [11] | Caddy | Sea animal | Pacific Coast of North America | |
Champ [12] | Champy | Lake monster | Lake Champlain, North America | |
Cryptid Whales [13] [14] | Giglioli's Whale, Rhinoceros dolphin, High-finned sperm whale, Alula whale, Unidentified beaked whales | Sea animal | Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean | |
Dobhar-chú [15] | Water Hound, King Otter | Extra-large otter-like carnivorous aquatic mammal | Ireland | |
Gloucester sea serpent [16] | Large serpent | Gloucester, Cape Ann | ||
Great auk (surviving populations) [17] | Pinguinus impennis, garefowl | Aquatic flightles bird | Northern Atlantic | |
Iemisch [18] | Iemisch Listai | Mix of a jaguar and otter | Patagonia | |
Igopogo [19] | Kempenfelt Kelly | Lake monster | Lake Simcoe, Ontario (Canada) | |
Labynkyr Devil [20] [21] [22] | Labynkyrsky Chert[ citation needed ] | Lake monster | Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia | |
Loch Ness Monster [23] | Nessie | Lake monster | Loch Ness, Scotland | |
Loveland Frog [24] | Loveland frogman, Loveland lizard | Humanoid frog | Loveland, Ohio | |
Manipogo [25] | Winnipogo | Lake monster | Lake Manitoba, Canada | |
Megalodon (surviving populations) [26] [27] [28] | Otodus megalodon [a] | Giant prehistoric shark | Oceans | |
Mokele-mbembe [29] | Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) | Republic of the Congo | ||
Morgawr [30] | Sea serpent | Falmouth Bay | ||
Ogopogo [12] | N'ha•a•itk, Naitaka | Lake monster | Lake Okanagan, Canada | |
Sea serpents [31] | Sea animals, dinosaurs | All bodies of water | ||
Selma [32] | Seljordsormen | Lake monster | Lake Seljord, Telemark, Norway | |
Steller's sea ape [33] | Sea animal | Pacific Ocean |
Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
British big cats [34] | Alien big cats (ABCs), phantom cats, mystery cats, English lions, Beast of Bodmin, Beast of Exmoor | Carnivorous mammal | Great Britain | |
Chupacabra [35] | Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker) | Puerto Rico (originally), South and Central America, Southern North America | ||
Dover Demon [36] | Dover, Massachusetts | |||
Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp [37] | Lizard Man of Lee County | Bipedal | South Carolina, United States | |
Mapinguari [38] | Mapinguary | Giant Ground Sloth or primate | Amazons | |
Michigan Dogman [39] | Humanoid dog | Wexford County, Michigan | ||
Moa (surviving original populations) [40] [b] | Dinornis robustus (South Island giant moa), Dinornis novaezelandiae (North Island giant moa), Anomalopteryx didiformis (Bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa) | Medium to large flightless birds | New Zealand | |
Mongolian death worm [41] | Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi | Worm-like animal | Gobi Desert (Asia) | |
Nandi bear [42] | Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, Duba | Large carnivore | Eastern Africa | |
Queensland Tiger [43] | Yarri | Large feline | Queensland | |
Thylacine (surviving original populations) [44] [45] [c] | Tasmanian tiger. Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus cynocephalus | Carnivorous marsupial | Australia |
Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
Almas [12] | Abnauayu, almasty, albasty, bekk-bok, biabin-guli, golub-yavan, gul-biavan, auli-avan, kaptar, kra-dhun, ksy-giik, ksy-gyik, ochokochi, mirygdy, mulen, voita, wind-man, Zana | Non-human ape or hominid | Asia/Caucasus | |
Amomongo [46] | Orang Mawas, Impakta | Ape or hominid | Negros Occidental, Philippines | |
Bigfoot [47] | Sasquatch | Large and hairy ape-like creature | United States and Canada | |
Bukit Timah Monkey Man [48] | BTM, BTMM | Forest-dwelling hominid or other primate | Singapore | |
Chatawa Monster [49] [50] | Large ape-like creature | Mississippi, United States | ||
Chuchunya [51] | Large hominid | Russia | ||
Fouke Monster [52] [53] | Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster | Hominid or other primate | Arkansas, United States | |
Honey Island Swamp monster [54] | Letiche, Tainted Keitre | Hominid or other primate | Louisiana, United States | |
Orang Pendek | Small hominid | Sumatra | ||
Nittaewo [55] | Nittevo | Small hominids | Sri Lanka | |
Skunk ape [56] | Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape | Primate | Florida, United States | |
Yeren [57] [56] | Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman | Primate (possible hominin) | China | |
Yeti [58] | Abominable Snowman | Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions | Himalayas (Asia) | |
Yowie [55] | Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions | Australia |
Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jersey Devil [23] | Leeds Devil | Winged bipedal horse | United States, mainly the South Jersey Pine Barrens, as well as other parts of New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania | ||
Mothman [59] | Winged Man, Bird Man, UFO-Bird, Mason Bird Monster | Winged bipedal | Mason County, West Virginia, United States | ||
Rod [60] | Skyfish, Air Rod, Solar Entity | Small flying stick-like creatures | Worldwide |
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a large, hairy mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Bigfoot is featured in both American and Canadian folklore, and since the mid-20th century has grown into a cultural icon, permeating popular culture and becoming the subject of its own distinct subculture.
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
In several Bantu mythologies, mokele-mbembe is a mythical water-dwelling entity that is believed to exist in the Congo River Basin. It is variously described as a reptilian creature, a spirit, or a member of the extinct lineage of sauropods.
Karl Shuker is a British zoologist, cryptozoologist and author. He lives in the Midlands, England, where he works as a zoological consultant and writer. A columnist in Fortean Times and contributor to various magazines, Shuker is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cryptozoology, which began in November 2012.
The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit, member-supported organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. The Skeptics Society was co-founded by Michael Shermer and Pat Linse as a Los Angeles-area skeptical group to replace the defunct Southern California Skeptics. After the success of its Skeptic magazine, introduced in early 1992, it became a national and then international organization. Their stated mission "is the investigation of science and pseudoscience controversies, and the promotion of critical thinking."
Skeptic, colloquially known as Skeptic magazine, is a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine published internationally by The Skeptics Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. First published in 1992, the magazine had a circulation of over 40,000 subscribers in 2000.
Loren Coleman is an American cryptozoologist, author and television personality who has written over 40 books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology. He is also the President, Founder and leading Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. He has a background in social work and has also written on the topic of suicide, particularly the copycat effect.
The Minnesota Iceman is a sideshow exhibit and elaborate hoax that depicts a fake man-like creature frozen in a block of ice. It was displayed at shopping malls, state fairs, and carnivals in the United States and Canada in the 1960s and early 1970s and promoted as the "missing link" between Modern man and Neanderthals. It was sold on eBay in 2013 and put on display in Austin, Texas.
Jon-Erik Beckjord was an American paranormal investigator, photographer, and cryptozoologist interested in UFOs, crop circles, the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot. Throughout his life, he owned three separate, small-scale museums that featured displays, mostly photographs, of alleged UFO, Nessie, and Bigfoot sightings. He made guest appearances on national radio and television shows, but was criticized by skeptics and fellow cryptozoologists alike for not providing substantive evidence to back up his claims of the existence of paranormal beings.
Raymond L. Wallace was an American amateur Bigfoot hoaxer.
Roy P. Mackal was a University of Chicago biologist best known to the general public for his interest in cryptozoology.
Richard Freeman is a cryptozoologist, author, zoological journalist, and WebTV Presenter. He is also the zoological director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ), and co-edits both the journal, Animals & Men and several editions of the annual CFZ Yearbook. Freeman has written, co-written, or edited a number of books, and has contributed widely to both Fortean and zoological magazines, as well as other newspapers and periodicals, including Fortean Times and Paranormal Magazine.
MonsterQuest is an American television series that originally aired from October 31, 2007 to March 24, 2010 on the History Channel channel. Produced by Whitewolf Entertainment, the program deals with the search for various monsters of interest to the cryptozoology subculture and paranormal entities reportedly witnessed around the world. A spin-off show, MysteryQuest, which focuses on unsolved mysteries, premiered on September 16, 2009.
Daniel Loxton is a Canadian writer, illustrator, and skeptic. He wrote or co-wrote several books including Tales of Prehistoric Life, a children's science trilogy, and Abominable Science!, a scientific look at cryptozoology. As editor of Junior Skeptic, Loxton writes and illustrates most issues of Junior Skeptic, a children's science section in the Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine.
Boris Fyodorovich Porshnev was a Soviet historian known for his works on popular revolts in Ancien Régime France and a doctor of philosophical and historical sciences, working on psychology, prehistory, and neurolinguistics as relating to the origins of man.
MonsterTalk is an audio podcast that was originally presented by the Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine but broke ties in 2019. Since 2019 it has been an independent podcast under the "Monster House, LLC" banner. The show critically examines the science behind cryptozoological creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and werewolves. It is hosted by Blake Smith and Karen Stollznow, and produced by Blake Smith. In 2012, MonsterTalk was awarded the Parsec Award for the "Best Fact Behind the Fiction Podcast".
Ken Gerhard is an American cryptozoologist and author often featured on various television programs. His works include "The Essential Guide to Bigfoot," "A Menagerie of Mysterious Beasts," "Big Bird: Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters" and "Encounters with Flying Humanoids: Mothman, Manbirds, Gargoyles and Other Winged Beasts." He is also the co-author of "Monsters of Texas".
Donald Ross Prothero is an American geologist, paleontologist, and author who specializes in mammalian paleontology and magnetostratigraphy, a technique to date rock layers of the Cenozoic era and its use to date the climate changes which occurred 30–40 million years ago. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books and over 300 scientific papers, including at least 5 geology textbooks.
Most scientists, paleontologists and other experts believe from the fossil evidence that megalodon became extinct over 2 million years ago during the Plio-Pleistocene period, but some cryptozoologists and researchers think that this giant shark may still exist in the undiscovered depths of the ocean… Proponents of the theory of megalodon's continued existence often point to eyewitness accounts to debate the possibility of the species' survival. Occasionally, a report will surface about a large, unidentified shark in the ocean, but those accounts have been mostly discounted as tall tales. Some researchers say that the discovery of new, unfossilized teeth proves that megalodon lives, but zoologist and cryptozoology expert Ben Speers-Roesch explains that these reports are erroneous and ignore the fact that no truly unfossilized teeth have ever belonged to megalodon.