List of cryptids

Last updated

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.

Contents

List

Aquatic or semi-aquatic

NameOther NamesDescriptionPurported LocationDepiction
Anguila peluda [10] Hairy EelPond animalPamital ravine, Canary Islands
Bunyip [11] BahnyipAmphibious creatureAustralia
Cadborosaurus [12] CaddySea animalPacific Coast of North America Cadborosaurus October 1937.jpg
Champ [13] ChampyLake monster Lake Champlain, North America Artistic representation of Sandra Mansi's 1977 photograph of "Champ" lake monster.jpg
Cryptid Whales [14] [15] Giglioli's Whale, Rhinoceros dolphin, High-finned sperm whale, Alula whale, Unidentified beaked whalesSea animalPacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean Amphiptera pacifica.jpg
Dobhar-chú [16] Water Hound, King OtterExtra-large otter-like carnivorous aquatic mammalIreland Dobhar-chu encounter.jpg
Gloucester sea serpent [17] Large serpentGloucester, Cape Ann
1817 Gloucester sea serpent.jpg
Great auk (surviving populations) [18] Pinguinus impennis, garefowlAquatic flightles birdNorthern Atlantic Great Auk (Pinguinis impennis) specimen, Kelvingrove, Glasgow - geograph.org.uk - 1108249.jpg
Iemisch [19] Iemisch ListaiMix of a jaguar and otter Patagonia
Igopogo [20] Kempenfelt KellyLake monster Lake Simcoe, Ontario (Canada)
Labynkyr Devil [21] [22] [23] Labynkyrsky Chert[ citation needed ]Lake monster Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia
Loch Ness Monster [24] NessieLake monster Loch Ness, Scotland Lochneska poboba museumofnessie (cropped).jpg
Loveland Frog [25] Loveland frogman, Loveland lizardHumanoid frog Loveland, Ohio Loveland frog.png
Manipogo [26] WinnipogoLake monster Lake Manitoba, Canada
Megalodon (surviving populations) [27] [28] [29] Otodus megalodon [a] Giant prehistoric sharkOceans Otodus megalodon restoration.png
Mokele-mbembe [30] Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) Republic of the Congo Mokele-mbembe ill artlibre jnl.png
Morgawr [31] Sea serpent Falmouth Bay
Ogopogo [13] N'ha•a•itk, NaitakaLake monster Lake Okanagan, Canada OgoPogo crop.jpg
Sea serpents [32] Sea animals, dinosaursAll bodies of water Soe Orm 1555.jpg
Selma [33] SeljordsormenLake monsterLake Seljord, Telemark, Norway
Seljord komm.svg
Steller's sea ape [34] Sea animalPacific Ocean
Animal drawings collected by Felix Platter, p1 - (31).jpg

Terrestrial

NameOther namesDescriptionPurported locationDepiction
British big cats [35] Alien big cats (ABCs), phantom cats, mystery cats, English lions,
Beast of Bodmin, Beast of Exmoor 		Carnivorous mammalGreat Britain Felicity Inverness Museum.JPG
Chupacabra [36] Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker) Puerto Rico (originally),
South and Central America,
Southern North America		 Chupacabra (artist's rendition).jpg
Dover Demon [37] Dover, Massachusetts Dover Demon.png
Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp [38] Lizard Man of Lee County Bipedal South Carolina, United States
Mapinguari [39] MapinguaryGiant Ground Sloth or primateAmazons Megatherium americanum by sphenaphinae.png
Michigan Dogman [40] Humanoid dog Wexford County, Michigan
Moa (surviving original populations) [41] [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 Moa mock hunt.jpg
Mongolian death worm [42] Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi Worm-like animal Gobi Desert (Asia) Allghoikhorkhoi.jpg
Nandi bear [43] Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, DubaLarge carnivoreEastern Africa Nandi bear 1961 (cropped).png
Not-deer [44] Not deer White-tailed deer with unnatural characteristics Appalachia Not-deer cryptid.png
Queensland Tiger [45] YarriLarge feline Queensland
Thylacine (surviving original populations) [46] [47] [c] Tasmanian tiger. Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus cynocephalusCarnivorous marsupial Australia

Papua New Guinea

"Benjamin".jpg

Hominid

NameOther namesDescriptionPurported locationDepiction
Almas [13] 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 [48] Orang Mawas, Impakta Ape or hominid Negros Occidental, Philippines
Bigfoot [49] SasquatchLarge and hairy ape-like creatureUnited States and Canada Patterson Gimlin Bigfoot (cropped).jpg
Bukit Timah Monkey Man [50] BTM, BTMMForest-dwelling hominid or other primate Singapore
Chatawa Monster [51] [52] Large ape-like creature Mississippi, United States
Chuchunya [53] Large hominid Russia
Fouke Monster [54] [55] Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster Hominid or other primate Arkansas, United States
Honey Island Swamp monster [56] Letiche, Tainted Keitre Hominid or other primate Louisiana, United States
Orang Pendek Small hominid Sumatra Orang Pendek.png
Nittaewo [57] NittevoSmall hominidsSri Lanka
Skunk ape [58] Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape Primate Florida, United States The Florida Skunk Ape - panoramio.jpg
Yeren [59] [58] Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman Primate (possible hominin)China
Yeti [60] Abominable SnowmanLarge and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions Himalayas (Asia) B5bugerbear.jpg
Yowie [57] Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptionsAustralia Yowie-statue-Kilcoy-Queensland.JPG

Flying

NameOther namesDescriptionPurported locationDepiction
Jersey Devil [24] Leeds Devil Winged bipedal horse United States, mainly the South Jersey Pine Barrens, as well as other parts of New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania Jersey Devil Philadelphia Post 1909.jpg
Mothman [61] Winged Man, Bird Man, UFO-Bird, Mason Bird MonsterWinged bipedal Mason County, West Virginia, United States Mothman Artist's Impression.png
Rod [62] Skyfish, Air Rod, Solar EntitySmall flying stick-like creaturesWorldwide Moths attracted by floodlight.jpg

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Otodus is the currently accepted genus name for megalodon. Older sources refer to the genus as Carcharodon, Carcharocles, and several other names.
  2. ↑ There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the bush moa through genome editing, this entry refers to the possibility of surviving original populations
  3. ↑ There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the species through genome editing, this entry refers to the unconfirmed sightings and reports of surviving original populations

References

  1. ↑ Mullis (2021: 185): "Eschewing the rigors of science, cryptozoologists publish for a popular audience rather than for experts resulting in the practice itself frequently being derided as a pseudoscience."
  2. ↑ Loxton & Prothero (2013: 332): "Whatever the romantic appeal of monster mysteries, cryptozoology as it exists today is unquestionably a pseudoscience." Loxton & Prothero (2013: 320): "Cryptozoology has a reputation of being part of a general pseudoscientific fringe—just one more facet of paranormal belief." (Both quotes from Donald Prothero)
  3. ↑ Church (2009: 251–252): "Cryptozoology has acquired a bad reputation as a pseudoscience [...] Until detailed, methodical research becomes standard practice among cryptozoologists, the field will remain disrespected by more traditional biologists and zoologists."
  4. ↑ Roesch & Moore (2002: 71–78): "Pointing to this rampant speculation and ignorance of established scientific theories in cryptozoology, as well as the field's poor record of success and its reliance on unsystematic, anecdotal evidence, many scientists and skeptics classify cryptozoology as a pseudoscience."
  5. ↑ Shermer, Michael (2 May 2003). "Show Me the Body". Scientific American . Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  6. ↑ Dash, Mike (2000). Borderlands. The Overlook Press. ISBN   978-0-87951-724-3.
  7. ↑ Simpson, George Gaylord (1984). "Mammals and Cryptozoology". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 128, No. 1 (Mar. 30, 1984), pp. 1–19. American Philosophical Society.
  8. ↑ Cassella, Carly (31 January 2023). "Bigfoot Has a Very Simple Explanation, Scientist Says". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Loxton & Prothero (2013: 31-32)
  10. ↑ "El misterioso viaje de las anguilas desde el Triángulo de las Bermudas a los barrancos canarios". ABC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Bunyip. (2018). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1;
  12. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 261–295.
  13. 1 2 3 Shermer, Michael; Linse, Pat (November 2002). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN   9781576076538.
  14. ↑ Mörzer Bruyns, W. F. J. (1971). Field guide of whales and dolphins. Rivonverhandeling. Tor. pp. 124–125. ISBN   978-90-70055-09-7
  15. ↑ "Cetaceans with two dorsal fins" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ireland's hound of deep - Dobhar Chu". Irish Central News . Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  17. ↑ Nicaise, Alexander (5 September 2019). "Gloucester Sea-Serpent Mystery: Solved after Two Centuries | Skeptical Inquirer" . Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  18. ↑ Fuller, Errol (1999). The Great Auk. Southborough, Kent, UK: Privately Published. ISBN 0-9533553-0-6 pp. 404-413
  19. ↑ Gilmore, David D. (2003). Monsters : evil beings, mythical beasts, and all manner of imaginary terrors. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN   978-0-8122-0322-6. OCLC   802059457.
  20. ↑ "Welcome to Ogopogo Country - Canada's Lake Creature". epe.lac-bac.gc.ca. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  21. ↑ Lallanilla, Marc (4 February 2013). "Reports Surface of Monster Lurking in Russian Lake". livescience.com. Live Science. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "Divers preparing for icy waters of Russia's 'Loch Ness'". siberiantimes.com. The Siberian Times. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  23. ↑ "Meet the creature found by divers in Russia's Loch Ness, famed for legends of monsters". siberiantimes.com. The Siberian Times. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  24. 1 2 Velasquez, S.J. (31 October 2015). "The monster you should never find". BBC Online . British Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  25. ↑ Haupt, R. (30 June 2015). "Skeptoid #473: The Loveland Frog". Skeptoid . Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  26. ↑ Bernhardt, Darren. "Keep your camera handy: Stories of Manitoba lake monsters told for centuries but proof remains elusive". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  27. ↑ Guimont, Edward (5 October 2021). "The Megalodon: A Monster of the New Mythology". M/C Journal. 24 (5). doi: 10.5204/mcj.2793 . ISSN   1441-2616. S2CID   241813307.
  28. ↑ Rouner, Jef (8 August 2013). "Prominent Cryptozoologists Denounce 'Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives'". Houston Press. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  29. ↑ Montgomery, Joy (7 June 2024). "How Megalodon Worked". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 31 October 2024. 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.
  30. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 187–188.
  31. ↑ James, R. M. (2022). MORGAWR AND THE FOLKLORESQUE: (A study of a whopping fish tale). Shima, 16(2), 160–172. https://doi.org/10.21463/shima.123
  32. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 228–326.
  33. ↑ Botsford, Flora (31 August 1999). "Secret life of the Norwegian Nessie". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  34. ↑ Nickell, Joe (Winter 2016–2017). "Steller's Sea Ape: Identifying an Eighteenth-Century Cryptid". Skeptical Briefs. Vol. 26, no. 4. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
  35. ↑ "Fantastic Cryptids And Where To Find Them". Forbes . Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  36. ↑ Regal, Brian (15 October 2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia: A Critical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   978-0-313-35508-0.
  37. ↑ Sullivan, Mark (29 October 2006). "Decades later, the Dover Demon still haunts". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  38. ↑ Laycock, Joseph P. (11 July 2018). "A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America". Smithsonian Magazine . Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  39. ↑ "Twilight of the mammoths: Ice Age extinctions and the rewilding of America". Choice Reviews Online. 43 (8): 43–4679-43-4679. 1 April 2006. doi:10.5860/choice.43-4679 (inactive 1 February 2025). ISSN   0009-4978.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of February 2025 (link)
  40. ↑ Hudson, Alison (28 July 2015). "Skeptoid #477: Wag the Dogman". Skeptoid . Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  41. ↑ Foxon, Floe (30 December 2024). "Fringe Zoology: The (In)Convenience of Disappearing Evidence | Skeptical Inquirer" . Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  42. ↑ Benjamin Radford (21 June 2014). "Mongolian Death Worm: Elusive Legend of the Gobi Desert". livescience.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  43. ↑ Simpson, George Gaylord (1984). "Mammals and Cryptozoology". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 128 (1): 1–19. ISSN   0003-049X. JSTOR   986487.
  44. ↑ Sword, Autumn (10 September 2021). "Not Deer, or a Deer? | Skeptical Inquirer" . Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  45. ↑ Smith, Malcolm (1996). Bunyips & bigfoots : in search of Australia's mystery animals. Alexandria, NSW: Millennium Books. ISBN   1-86429-081-1. OCLC   36719441.
  46. ↑ Nickell, J., & RANDI, J. (2004). Cryptids “Down Under.” In The Mystery Chronicles: More Real-Life X-Files (pp. 289–295). University Press of Kentucky. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tv62q.39
  47. ↑ Crane, K. (2012). Myths of wilderness in contemporary narratives : Environmental postcolonialism in australia and canada. (pp.145) Palgrave Macmillan
  48. ↑ "'Amomongo' frightens villagers in Negros". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
  49. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 29–70.
  50. ↑ "On the hunt for the elusive Bukit Timah Monkey Man". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  51. ↑ "Chatawa—Indians weren't kidding about the sparkling water". Enterprise-Journal. 18 September 1985. p. 19. Retrieved 12 October 2024– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  52. ↑ Grayson, Walt (17 July 2020). "Focused on Mississippi: Chatawa Monster". WJTV. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  53. ↑ O'Carroll, Eoin (28 September 2018). "Bigfoot and beyond: Why tales of wild men endure". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  54. ↑ Dunning, B. (4 March 2014). "Skeptoid #404: The Boggy Creek Monster". Skeptoid . Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  55. ↑ Thibodeau, Sunni (24 June 2001). "The Fouke Monster 30 Years Later: Ex-journalists recall sifting fact from Fouke fiction after sighting". Texarkana Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 August 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  56. ↑ Frances, Leary (December 2003). "The Honey Island Swamp Monster: The Development and Maintenance of Folk and Commodified Belief Tradition" (PDF). pp. 4–6. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  57. 1 2 Lack, Caleb W.; Rousseau, Jacques (8 March 2016). Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains. Springer Publishing Company. p. 154. ISBN   978-0-8261-9426-8.
  58. 1 2 Lack, Caleb W.; Rousseau, Jacques (8 March 2016). Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains. Springer Publishing Company. p. 170. ISBN   978-0-8261-9426-8.
  59. ↑ "It's the monstrous new trend sweeping travel – what is cryptid-tourism?". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  60. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, p. 73.
  61. ↑ Kantrowitz, Lia; Fitzmaurice, Larry; Terry, Josh (16 January 2018). "People Keep Seeing the Mothman in Chicago". Vice . Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  62. ↑ "rods - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com". www.skepdic.com. Retrieved 20 September 2023.

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