List of cryptids
Cryptids are animals that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience, which primarily looks at anecdotal stories, and other claims rejected by the scientific community. 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.
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Scholars have noted that the cryptozoology subculture rejected mainstream approaches from an early date, and that adherents often express hostility to mainstream science. Scholars have studied cryptozoologists and their influence (including the pseudoscience's association with Young Earth creationism),[1][2] noted parallels in cryptozoology and other pseudosciences such as ghost hunting and ufology, and highlighted uncritical media propagation of cryptozoologist claims.
List
Aquatic or semi-aquatic
Name | Other Names | Description | Purported Location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cadborosaurus[3] | Caddy | Sea animal | Pacific Coast of North America | |
Champ[4] | Champy | Lake monster | Lake Champlain, North America | |
Cryptid Whales[5][6] | Giglioli's Whale, Rhinoceros dolphin, High-finned sperm whale, Alula whale, Unidentified beaked whales | Sea animal | Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean | |
Dobhar-chú[7] | Water Hound, King Otter | Extra-large otter-like carnivorous aquatic mammal | Ireland | |
Gloucester sea serpent[8] | Large serpent | Gloucester, Cape Ann | ||
Iemisch[9] | Iemisch Listai | Mix of a jaguar and otter | Patagonia | |
Igopogo | Kempenfelt Kelly | Lake monster | Lake Simcoe, Ontario (Canada) | |
Isshii | Issie | Lake monster | Japan | |
Labynkyr Devil[10][11][12] | Labynkyrsky Chert | Lake monster | Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia | |
Loch Ness Monster[13] | Nessie | Lake monster | Loch Ness, Scotland | |
Loveland Frog[14] | Loveland frogman, Loveland lizard | Humanoid frog | Loveland, Ohio | |
Lusca[15] | Giant Octopus | Blue holes in the Bahamas | ||
Mamlambo | Lake monster | South Africa | ||
Manipogo | Winnipogo | Lake monster | Lake Manitoba, Canada | |
Megalodon[15] | Otodus megalodon | Giant Shark | Oceans | |
Mokele-mbembe[16] | Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) | Republic of the Congo | ||
Ogopogo[4] | N'ha•a•itk, Naitaka | Lake monster | Lake Okanagan, Canada | |
Sea serpents[17] | Sea animals, dinosaurs | All bodies of water | ||
Selma | Seljordsormen | Lake monster | Lake Seljord, Telemark, Norway | |
Steller's sea ape[18] | Sea animal | Pacific Ocean |
Terrestrial
Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
British big cats[19] | Alien big cats (ABCs), phantom cats, mystery cats, English lions, Beast of Bodmin, Beast of Exmoor |
Carnivorous mammal | Great Britain | |
Bukit Timah Monkey Man[20] | BTM, BTMM | Forest-dwelling hominid or other primate | Singapore | |
Chupacabra[21] | Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker) | Puerto Rico (originally), South and Central America, Southern North America |
||
Dover Demon[22] | Dover, Massachusetts | |||
Eastern Cougar[23] | Eastern United States | |||
Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp[24] | Lizard Man of Lee County | Bipedal | South Carolina, United States | |
Malagasy hippo[25] | Malagasy pygmy hippopotamus, Madagascan pygmy hippopotamus, kilopilopitsofy, tsy-aomby-aomby, omby-rano, laloumena, mangarsahoc | Hippo | Madagascar | |
Mapinguari[26] | Mapinguary | Giant Ground Sloth or primate | Amazons | |
Michigan Dogman[27] | Humanoid dog | Wexford County, Michigan | ||
Minhocão | Big Earthworm | Caecilian | South America | |
Moa[28] | Flightless bird | New Zealand | ||
Mongolian death worm[29] | Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi | Worm-like animal | Gobi Desert (Asia) | |
Nandi bear[30] | Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, Duba | Large carnivore | Eastern Africa | |
Queensland Tiger[31] | Yarri | Large feline | Queensland | |
Thylacine[32][33] | Tasmanian Tiger, Tasmanian Wolf | Marsupial | Australia, New Guinea | |
Zanzibar leopard[34] | Large feline | Zanzibar |
Hominid
Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
Almas[4] | 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[35] | Orang Mawas, Impakta | Ape or hominid | Negros Occidental, Philippines | |
Barmanou | Barmanu, Big Hairy One | Ape or hominid | Middle East/Asia | |
Bigfoot[36] | Sasquatch | Large and hairy ape-like creature | United States and Canada | |
Capelobo[37] | Humanoid anteater monster | Brazil | ||
Chuchunya[38] | Large hominid | Russia | ||
Fouke Monster[39] | Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster | Hominid or other primate | Arkansas, United States | |
Honey Island Swamp monster[40] | Letiche, Tainted Keitre | Hominid or other primate | Louisiana, United States | |
Orang Pendek | Small hominid | Sumatra | ||
Nittaewo[41] | Nittevo | Small hominids | Sri Lanka | |
Skunk ape[42] | Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape | Primate | Florida, United States | |
Yeren[43][42] | Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman | Primate (possible hominin) | China | |
Yeti[44] | Abominable Snowman | Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions | Himalayas (Asia) | |
Yowie[41] | Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions | Australia |
Flying
Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jersey Devil[13] | 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[45] | Winged Man, Bird Man, UFO-Bird, Mason Bird Monster | Winged bipedal | Mason County, West Virginia, United States | |
Rod[46] | Skyfish, Air Rod, Solar Entity | Small flying stick-like creatures | Worldwide | |
Ropen[47] | Large bat-like creature or pterosaur | New Guinea | ||
Thunderbird[48][49] | Giant bird | North America |
See also
References
- Hill, Sharon A. (2017). Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers. McFarland. p. 66. ISBN 9781476630823.
- Card, Jeb J. (2016). "Steampunk Inquiry: A Comparative Vivisection of Discovery Pseudoscience". In Card, Jeb J.; Anderson, David S. (eds.). Lost City, Found Pyramid: Understanding Alternative Archaeologies and Pseudoscientific Practices. University of Alabama Press. p. 32. ISBN 9780817319113.
Creationists have embraced cryptozoology and some cryptozoological expeditions are funded by and conducted by creationists hoping to disprove evolution.
- Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 261–295.
- Shermer, Michael; Linse, Pat (November 2002). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN 9781576076538.
- Mörzer Bruyns, W. F. J. (1971). Field guide of whales and dolphins. Rivonverhandeling. Tor. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-90-70055-09-7
- Cetaceans with two dorsal fins
- "Ireland's hound of deep - Dobhar Chu". Irish Central News. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- Nicaise, Alexander (5 September 2019). "Gloucester Sea-Serpent Mystery: Solved after Two Centuries | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- 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.
- 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.
- "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.
- "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.
- Velasquez, S.J. (31 October 2015). "The monster you should never find". BBC Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- Haupt, R. (30 June 2015). "Skeptoid #473: The Loveland Frog". Skeptoid. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- 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.
- Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 187–188.
- Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 228–326.
- Nickell, Joe (Winter 2016–2017). "Steller's Sea Ape: Identifying an Eighteenth-Century Cryptid". Skeptical Briefs. Vol. 26, no. 4. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
- "Fantastic Cryptids And Where To Find Them". Forbes. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- "On the hunt for the elusive Bukit Timah Monkey Man". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- Regal, Brian (15 October 2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia: A Critical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-35508-0.
- Sullivan, Mark (29 October 2006). "Decades later, the Dover Demon still haunts". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- "Skeptoid: Anatomy of a Real Cryptid Case". Skeptoid. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- Laycock, Joseph P. (11 July 2018). "A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- Burney, David A.; Ramilisonina (December 1998). "The Kilopilopitsofy, Kidoky, and Bokyboky: Accounts of Strange Animals from Belo-sur-mer, Madagascar, and the Megafaunal "Extinction Window"". American Anthropologist. 100 (4): 957–966. doi:10.1525/aa.1998.100.4.957. ISSN 0002-7294.
- "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. ISSN 0009-4978.
- Hudson, Alison (28 July 2015). "Skeptoid #477: Wag the Dogman". Skeptoid. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- kreidler, Marc (26 May 2017). "The New Zealand Moa: From Extinct Bird to Cryptid | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- published, Benjamin Radford (21 June 2014). "Mongolian Death Worm: Elusive Legend of the Gobi Desert". livescience.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- Simpson, George Gaylord (1984). "Mammals and Cryptozoology". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 128 (1): 1–19. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 986487.
- Smith, Malcolm (1996). Bunyips & bigfoots : in search of Australia's mystery animals. Alexandria, NSW: Millennium Books. ISBN 1-86429-081-1. OCLC 36719441.
- Loxton, Daniel (2013). Abominable science! : origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and other famous cryptids. Donald R. Prothero. New York. ISBN 978-0-231-52681-4. OCLC 854902238.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Cryptids and credulity: The Zanzibar leopard and other imaginary beings", Anthropology and Cryptozoology, New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Multispecies: Routledge, pp. 70–106, 3 November 2016, doi:10.4324/9781315567297-11, ISBN 9781315567297, retrieved 9 September 2023
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: CS1 maint: location (link) - "The Zanzibar Leopard Between Science and Cryptozoology | PDF | Panthera | Organisms". Scribd. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- "'Amomongo' frightens villagers in Negros". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
- Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 29–70.
- "Capelobo". Portal São Francisco (in Brazilian Portuguese). 11 August 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- O'Carroll, Eoin (28 September 2018). "Bigfoot and beyond: Why tales of wild men endure". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- Dunning, B. (4 March 2014). "Skeptoid #404: The Boggy Creek Monster". Skeptoid. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "It's the monstrous new trend sweeping travel – what is cryptid-tourism?". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- Loxton & Prothero 2013, p. 73.
- Kantrowitz, Lia; Fitzmaurice, Larry; Terry, Josh (16 January 2018). "People Keep Seeing the Mothman in Chicago". Vice. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- "rods - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com". www.skepdic.com. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- "Don't Get Strung Along by the "Ropen" Myth".
- Nez, Noah (18 July 2012). "Thunderbirds". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- "The mythic child-stealing Thunderbirds of Illinois". Atlas Obscura. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Bibliography
- Loxton, Daniel; Prothero, Donald (2013). Abominable Science: Origins of Yeti, Nessie, and other Famous Cryptids. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-52681-4.
External links
- The dictionary definition of cryptid at Wiktionary
- Media related to Cryptozoology at Wikimedia Commons