Lets Talk About Monsters - Cryptozoology

[GrandmaStabone]

I came across a documentary about cryptozoology a couple of weeks ago on the Discovery channel and I absolutely ate it up. Since then I have been doing a lot of reading about it online and I honestly can't get enough.



Cryptozoology - Wikipedia

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Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are rumored to exist, but for which conclusive proof is still missing; the term also includes the study of animals generally considered extinct, but which are still occasionally reported.


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Cryptozoology loses a lot of respect because a lot of ridiulous creatures of folklore fall into this broad description, but there is a lot of stuff that warrants serious consideration. There have been numerous examples of species that were thought to be extinct or native legend that have later been found in the wild.

Coelecanth

Megamouth Shark

H0mo Florensiensis

Giant Squid

Grizzly-Polar bear hybrid (LOST, anyone?)

Okapi

It is amazing to me how much of our planet is still a mystery to us. It always reminds me of the BBC documentary Deep Blue where they talk about the Abyssal Plane - the huge expanse of the deepest part of the bottom of the ocean that accounts for a huge % of the earths land mass. there are only 5 submersibles in the world that can go down there, and between them they have seen only 1% of it. Every time they dive they find new species, every time. Likewise, the amount of unknown species in cave systems is fascinating, 35 brand new species were found in the Movila Caves in the late-1980s. Among the species found was a 10cm centipede with a poisonous bite.

Here is a big list of cryptids, makes for good reading if you have some time

list of cryptids

Here are some I found particularly interesting. Now, I realize most if not all of these are BS. I am not typing this in my tinfoil hat. I am linking most of these just because they are interesting and worth checking out. With that being said, the stuff at the top of the thread was once laughed at, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of the following is based in some part in truth:

Canvey Island Monster
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On November, 1954, several residents on Canvey Island in the UK found the most unusual corpse they had ever seen washed up on the shore. They dragged the body up onto the shore and ran to tell the authorities who brought in two zoologists to study the body. The corpse was described as follows: in bad condition, had hind legs which appeared to be adapted to walking bipedaly, the creature was about 76cm (30in) tall, had five toes which were arranged in a curious horse shoe shape, the foot also had a concave arch, the eyes were bulging, its head was soft and mushy (most likely due to decay or lack of skull), and it was also mentioned to have thick brownish red skin. After examination the zoologists cremated the body and assured the public that there was nothing out of the ordinary. The authorities made no more mention of it.

That was until August 1955, when Reverend Joseph Overs found another dead creature floating in a tide pool. This body was described to be in much better condition, this specimen was much larger being about 1.2m (4ft), weighed about 11.3kg (25lb). The better condition of the body allowed for details of the face to be studied such as the eyes, nostrils and teeth, and it also possessed very prominent gills. However, there is no mention anywhere of what happened to this body, and no more specimens have been officially examined.


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Mokele Mbembe
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Mokèlé-mbèmbé is the name given to a large creature reported to live in the lakes and swamps of the Congo River basin.

The creature's very existence and identification have long been debated between mainstream scientists, local Pygmies, creationists and cryptozoologists. Most controversially, it has been suggested that the creature might be a relict sauropod which somehow survived extinction


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The Congo Basin has wide expanses of marshland and swamps, including several large lakes, that have not been extensively explored by scientists.


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Champ
[censored] awesome recent champ stills from a video

Gambo

Requisite Loch Ness Monster Link
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Professor D.G. Tucker, chairman of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, England, volunteered his services as a sonar developer and expert at Loch Ness in 1968. The gesture was part of a larger effort helmed by the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau (LNPIB) from 1967-1968 and involved collaboration between volunteers and professionals in various fields. Tucker had chosen Ness as the test site for a prototype sonar transducer with a maximum range of 800 meters. The device was fixed underwater at Temple Pier in Urquhart Bay and directed towards the opposite shore, effectively drawing an acoustic 'net' across the width of Ness through which no moving object could pass undetected. During the two-week trial in August, multiple animate targets six meters (20 ft) in length were identified ascending from and diving to the loch bottom. Analysis of diving profiles ruled out air-breathers because the targets never surfaced or moved shallower than midwater.


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[Joshssj4v2]

Man Eating Tree

[illeagle]

Yeah I know they aren't real but some of these "bigfoot vocalizations" creeped me the [censored] out when I listened to them in the dark.

[GrandmaStabone]

bump

[BCPVP]

Local favorite - Hodag

Chupacabra

[neuroman]

Those are some pretty cool links, I want a pet Okapi in my backyard.

[Etric]

http://www.messybeast.com/genetics/hybrid-cats.htm - Hybrids/Rare Animals

http://www.hemmy.net/2006/06/19/top-10-hybrid-animals/ Top 10 hybrids.

Hybrids have been posted in OOT before; I remember because this is where I learned that ligers really do exist. [img]/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]

[GrandmaStabone]

Megamouth Shark - can you imagine what people thought when they first started finding these!? This is a small one too, these things grow to be enormous.

[maryfield48]

I liked that ad from a few years ago in which a full-sized spare was described as analogous to the coelacanth.

[Blarg]

Cool, looks like a giant tadpole.

Fun thread!