Encyclopedia
List of cryptids
Cryptids are animals or other beings whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology, the study of cryptids, is a pseudoscience claiming that such beings may exist somewhere in the wild; it has been widely critiqued by scientists. The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method. Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence, likely misidentifications and misinterpretation of stories from folklore. While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor.
01List
Aquatic or semi-aquatic
| Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguila peluda | Hairy Eel | Pond animal | Pamital ravine, Canary Islands | |
| Beast of Busco | Oscar | Giant snapping turtle | Churubusco, Indiana, United States | |
| Bunyip | Bahnyip | Amphibious creature | Australia | |
| Cadborosaurus | Caddy | Sea animal | Pacific Coast of North America | |
| Champ | Champy | Lake monster | Lake Champlain, North America | |
| Cryptid whales | Giglioli's Whale, Rhinoceros dolphin, High-finned sperm whale, Alula whale, Unidentified beaked whales | Sea animal | Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean | |
| Dobhar-chú | Water Hound, King Otter | Extra-large otter-like carnivorous aquatic mammal | Ireland | |
| Gloucester sea serpent | Large serpent | Gloucester, Massachusetts
(Cape Ann), United States |
||
| Ground Shark | Man-eating shark that lacks a prominent dorsal fin and lies in wait for its prey on the seafloor | Timor Sea | ||
| Iemisch | Iemisch Listai | Mix of a jaguar and otter | Patagonian region of Argentina | |
| Igopogo | Kempenfelt Kelly | Lake monster | Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada | |
| Labynkyr Devil | Labynkyrsky Chert | Lake monster | Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia | |
| Loch Ness Monster | Nessie | Lake monster | Loch Ness, Scotland | |
| Loveland Frog | Loveland frogman, Loveland lizard | Humanoid frog | Loveland, Ohio, United States | |
| Manipogo | Winnipogo | Lake monster | Lake Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu | Stegosaurid dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) | Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
| Megalodon (surviving populations) | Otodus megalodon | Giant prehistoric shark | Oceans | |
| Mermaid | Siren | Top half human female and bottom half fish | Oceans, various bodies of water | |
| Mokele-mbembe | Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) | Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
| Montauk Monster | Small bald beaked mammal | Montauk, New York, United States | ||
| Morgawr | Sea serpent | Falmouth Bay, Cornwall, United Kingdom | ||
| Ogopogo | N'ha•a•itk, Naitaka | Lake monster | Okanagan Lake, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Sea serpents | Sea animals, dinosaurs | All bodies of water | ||
| Selma | Seljordsormen | Lake monster | Lake Seljord, Telemark, Norway | |
| Steller's sea ape | Sea animal | Northern Pacific Ocean | ||
| Storsjö monster | Lake monster | Lake Storsjön, Jämtland, Sweden |
Terrestrial
| Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British big cats | Alien big cats (ABCs), phantom cats, mystery cats, English lions, Beast of Bodmin, Beast of Exmoor |
Non-native, wild big cats | Great Britain | |
| Chupacabra | Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker) | Highly variable, typically falling into two categories: 1) bipedal humanoid with spiked spines (original description); 2) a quadrupedal canid | Puerto Rico (originally), South and Central America, Southern North America |
|
| Dover Demon | Approximately four-foot tall humanoid creature with glowing eyes | Dover, Massachusetts, United States | ||
| Fresno nightcrawler | Resembling a pair of white trousers, this creature reportedly has long, white legs immediately topped by a rounded head. | Fresno, California, United States | ||
| Grafton monster | A tall, pale headless figure who produces strange whistling noises. | Grafton, West Virginia | ||
| Goatman | Pope Lick Monster; Lake Worth monster; Satyr; Faun | Humanoid creature with the torso and head of a man (with horns sprouting from the head) and the legs of a goat | Prince George's County, Maryland; Louisville, Kentucky; Lake Worth, Texas | |
| Katanga Snake | Greenish-Brown 50-foot long snake with a horse-like head | Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
| Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp | Lizard Man of Lee County | Bipedal, humanoid reptilian creature | Lee County, South Carolina, United States | |
| Michigan Dogman | Humanoid dog | Wexford County, Michigan, United States | ||
| Moa (surviving original populations) | 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 | Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi | Worm-like animal | Gobi Desert (Asia) | |
| Nandi bear | Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, Duba | Large, powerfully built carnivore | Eastern Africa | |
| Phantom kangaroo | Kangaroos which appear outside of their normal range of Australia and New Guinea. | Chicago, Illinois
Japan United Kingdom Sweden |
||
| Queensland Tiger | Yarri | Large feline | Queensland, Australia | |
| Thylacine (surviving original populations) | Tasmanian tiger, Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus cynocephalus | Carnivorous marsupial | Australia,
Papua New Guinea |
Hominid
| Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almas | 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 | Orang Mawas, Impakta | Ape or hominid | Negros Occidental, Philippines | |
| Bigfoot | Sasquatch | Large and hairy ape-like creature | United States and Canada | |
| Bukit Timah Monkey Man | BTM, BTMM | Forest-dwelling hominid or other primate | Singapore | |
| Chatawa Monster | Large ape-like creature | Pike County, Mississippi, United States | ||
| Chuchunya | Large hominid | Russia | ||
| Homo floresiensis (Surviving Populations) | Flores Man, Hobbit | Small archaic human | Flores Island, Indonesia | |
| Fouke Monster | Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster | Hominid or other primate | Arkansas, United States | |
| Honey Island Swamp monster | Letiche, Tainted Keitre | Hominid or other primate | Louisiana, United States | |
| Kandahar Giant | 13-foot tall, red-headed hominid with six fingers on each hand and two rows of teeth | Kandahar, Afghanistan | ||
| Mapinguari | Mapinguary | Man-eating hominid with a mouth on its abdomen; sometimes thought to be a ground sloth | Brazil | |
| Nittaewo | Nittevo | Small hominid | Sri Lanka | |
| Orang Pendek | Small hominid | Sumatra, Indonesia | ||
| Skunk ape | Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape | Primate | Florida, United States | |
| Yeren | Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman | Primate (possible hominin) | China | |
| Yeti | Abominable Snowman | Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions | Himalayas (Asia) | |
| Yowie | Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions | Australia |
Flying
| Name | Other names | Description | Purported location | Depiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flatwoods monster | Braxie, Braxton County Monster, Phantom of Flatwoods | A floating creature with a head that looks like a spade | Flatwoods, West Virginia | |
| Jersey Devil | Leeds Devil | Winged, bipedal horse | United States, mainly the South Jersey Pine Barrens, as well as other parts of New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania | |
| Kongamato | Living species of pterosaur | Mwinilunga, Zambia; | ||
| Mothman | Winged bipedal | Mason County, West Virginia, United States |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “List of cryptids”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- 1817 Gloucester sea serpent.jpg by Unknown author, Public domain
- Homo floresiensis - facial approximation - color 2.jpg by Cicero Moraes, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
