{{Short description|none}} {{Redirect-distinguish-text|Cryptid|Cryptic or Cryptozoa. For the 2022 film, Cryptid (film)}} {{Redirect|Cryptids|the 2023 film|Cryptids (film){{!}}''Cryptids'' (film)}} {{Protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Paranormal}}
'''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.<ref name="MULLIS-2021-185b">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."</ref><ref name="LOXTON-PROTHERO-2013: 332, 320">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)</ref><ref name="CHURCH-2009-251-252">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."</ref><ref name="ROESCH-MOORE-2002-71-78">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."</ref> The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information<ref name="SHERMER-2003">{{cite news |last1=Shermer |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Shermer |title=Show Me the Body |url=https://michaelshermer.com/sciam-columns/show-me-the-body/ |access-date=8 January 2025 |work=Scientific American |date=2 May 2003 |language=en}}</ref> and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method.<ref name="DASH-2000">{{cite book |last1=Dash |first1=Mike |author1-link=Mike Dash |title=Borderlands |date=2000 |publisher=The Overlook Press |isbn=978-0-87951-724-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9UtPwAACAAJ |language=en}}</ref> Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence,<ref>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.</ref> likely misidentifications<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cassella |first=Carly |date=2023-01-31 |title=Bigfoot Has a Very Simple Explanation, Scientist Says |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/bigfoot-has-a-very-simple-explanation-scientist-says |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=ScienceAlert |language=en-US}}</ref> and misinterpretation of stories from folklore.<ref>Loxton & Prothero (2013: 31-32)</ref> While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor.
== List == ===Aquatic or semi-aquatic=== {{see also|List of lake monsters}} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#115a6c;" ! Name ! Other names ! Description ! width=180 align="center" | Purported location ! class="unsortable" | Depiction |- |''{{sort|Anguila peluda}}''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.es/espana/canarias/abci-misterioso-viaje-anguilas-desde-triangulo-bermudas-barrancos-canarios-201610072012_noticia.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.es%2Fespana%2Fcanarias%2Fabci-misterioso-viaje-anguilas-desde-triangulo-bermudas-barrancos-canarios-201610072012_noticia.html%3Fref%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.es%2Fespana%2Fcanarias%2Fabci-misterioso-viaje-anguilas-desde-triangulo-bermudas-barrancos-canarios-201610072012_noticia.html|title=El misterioso viaje de las anguilas desde el Triángulo de las Bermudas a los barrancos canarios|work=ABC Canary Islands|access-date=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250611234445/http://www.abc.es/espana/canarias/abci-misterioso-viaje-anguilas-desde-triangulo-bermudas-barrancos-canarios-201610072012_noticia.html|archive-date=2025-06-11|url-status=live|date=2016-07-10|language=es|trans-title=The mysterious journey of eels from the Bermuda Triangle to the Canary Island ravines}}</ref> |Hairy Eel |Pond animal |Pamital ravine, Canary Islands | |- |Beast of Busco<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mastro |first=Michelle |date=2024-07-17 |title=Could Citizens of This Indiana Town Have Seen a 500-Pound Turtle? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-citizens-of-this-indiana-town-have-seen-a-500-pound-turtle-180984659/ |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref> |Oscar<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-06-16 |title=Churubusco lake home to the legendary ‘Beast of Busco’ is on the market |url=https://www.wane.com/news/churubusco-lake-home-to-the-legendary-beast-of-busco-is-on-the-market/ |work=WANE}}</ref> |Giant snapping turtle |Churubusco, Indiana, United States | |- |Bunyip<ref>Bunyip. (2018). ''Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia'', 1;</ref> |Bahnyip |Amphibious creature |Australia |180px |- |''{{sort|Cadborosaurus}}''{{sfn|Loxton|Prothero|2013|pp=261–295}} |Caddy |Sea animal |Pacific Coast of North America |180px |- |Champ<ref name="EncyclopediaofPseudoscience">{{cite book|first1=Michael |last1=Shermer |first2=Pat |last2=Linse |title=The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr4snwg7iaEC&pg=PA72 |date=November 2002 |page=72 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781576076538}}</ref> |Champy |Lake monster |Lake Champlain, North America |180px |- |Cryptid whales<ref>Mörzer Bruyns, W. F. J. (1971). Field guide of whales and dolphins. Rivonverhandeling. Tor. pp. 124–125. {{ISBN|978-90-70055-09-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/share/AquaticMammalsIssueArchives/1991/Aquatic_Mammals_17_1/17.1Raynal.pdf |title=Cetaceans with two dorsal fins |access-date=7 January 2023 |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413102436/https://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/share/AquaticMammalsIssueArchives/1991/Aquatic_Mammals_17_1/17.1Raynal.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> |Giglioli's Whale, Rhinoceros dolphin, High-finned sperm whale, Alula whale, Unidentified beaked whales |Sea animal |Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean |180px |- |Dobhar-chú<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/irelands-hound-of-the-deep-dobhar-chu |title=The myths and legends of Ireland's hound of deep, the Dobhar Chu |publisher=Irish Central News |access-date=19 December 2018|date=2021-05-30|last=Rafferty|first=Rachel}}</ref> |Water Hound, King Otter |Extra-large otter-like carnivorous aquatic mammal |Ireland |180px |- |Gloucester sea serpent<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nicaise |first=Alexander |date=2019-09-05 |title=Gloucester Sea-Serpent Mystery: Solved after Two Centuries {{!}} Skeptical Inquirer |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2019/09/gloucester-sea-serpent-mystery-solved-after-two-centuries/ |access-date=2023-09-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> | |Large serpent |Gloucester, Massachusetts (Cape Ann), United States |left|180px |- |Iemisch<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilmore |first=David D. |title=Monsters : evil beings, mythical beasts, and all manner of imaginary terrors |date=2003 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-0322-6 |location=Philadelphia |oclc=802059457}}</ref> |Iemisch Listai |Mix of a jaguar and otter |Patagonian region of Argentina | |- |Igopogo<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Ogopogo Country - Canada's Lake Creature |url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/ogopogo/lake_creature/igopogo.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=epe.lac-bac.gc.ca}}</ref> |Kempenfelt Kelly |Lake monster |Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada | |- |Labynkyr Devil<ref name="Live Science 2013">{{cite web |last1=Lallanilla |first1=Marc |title=Reports Surface of Monster Lurking in Russian Lake |url=https://www.livescience.com/26836-lake-labynkyr-devil-vorota-monster.html |website=livescience.com |publisher=Live Science |access-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929190942/https://www.livescience.com/26836-lake-labynkyr-devil-vorota-monster.html |archive-date=29 September 2021 |date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="Divers prepare">{{cite web |title=Divers preparing for icy waters of Russia's 'Loch Ness' |url=https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/divers-preparing-for-icy-waters-of-russias-loch-ness/ |website=siberiantimes.com |publisher=The Siberian Times |access-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128145319/https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/divers-preparing-for-icy-waters-of-russias-loch-ness/ |archive-date=28 January 2021 |date=5 March 2014}}</ref><ref name="meet the creature">{{cite web |title=Meet the creature found by divers in Russia's Loch Ness, famed for legends of monsters |url=https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/meet-the-creature-found-by-divers-in-russias-loch-ness-famed-for-legends-of-monsters/ |website=siberiantimes.com |publisher=The Siberian Times |access-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108191737/https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/meet-the-creature-found-by-divers-in-russias-loch-ness-famed-for-legends-of-monsters/ |archive-date=8 November 2021 |date=21 April 2014}}</ref> |Labynkyrsky Chert{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} |Lake monster |Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia | |- |Loch Ness Monster<ref name=bbctravel /> |Nessie |Lake monster |Loch Ness, Scotland |180px|Sculpture of the Loch Ness monster as a plesiosaurus |- |Loveland Frog<ref>{{Skeptoid|id=4473|number=473|date=30 June 2015|last=Haupt|first=R.|title=The Loveland Frog|accessdate=1 September 2021}}</ref> |Loveland frogman, Loveland lizard |Humanoid frog |Loveland, Ohio, United States |180px |- |Manipogo<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bernhardt |first=Darren |title=Keep your camera handy: Stories of Manitoba lake monsters told for centuries but proof remains elusive |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/lake-monster-manipogo-winnipogo-1.4681105 |access-date=June 29, 2024 |work=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> |Winnipogo |Lake monster |Lake Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada | |- |Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu<ref name="Mackal 1987">{{Cite book |last=Mackal |first=Roy P. |title=A living dinosaur? in search of Mokele-mbembe |date=1987 |publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=978-90-04-08543-5 |location=Leiden; New York}}</ref> | |Stegosaurid dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) |Democratic Republic of the Congo |180px |- |Megalodon (surviving populations)<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Guimont |first=Edward |date=2021-10-05 |title=The Megalodon: A Monster of the New Mythology |url=https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2793 |journal=M/C Journal |language=en |volume=24 |issue=5 |doi=10.5204/mcj.2793 |s2cid=241813307 |issn=1441-2616|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Rouner| first=Jef |date=8 August 2013 |title=Prominent Cryptozoologists Denounce 'Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives'|url=https://www.houstonpress.com/arts/prominent-cryptozoologists-denounce-megalodon-the-monster-shark-lives-6363740?showFullText=true |work=Houston Press |access-date=31 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://animals.howstuffworks.com/extinct-animals/megalodon.htm |title=How Megalodon Worked |last=Montgomery |first=Joy |date=7 June 2024|website=How Stuff Works |access-date=31 October 2024|quote=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.}}</ref> |''Otodus megalodon''{{Efn|''Otodus'' is the currently accepted genus name for megalodon. Older sources refer to the genus as ''Carcharodon'', ''Carcharocles'', and several other names.}} |Giant prehistoric shark |Oceans |180px |- |Mermaid<ref>{{Cite book |last=Floyd |first=E. Randall |title=Great Southern Mysteries |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |year=2000 |pages=116–117}}</ref> |Siren<ref>{{Cite journal |last=do Sameiro Barroso |first=Maria |date=2026 |title=Early Background of Mermaids: From Myth to Science |url=https://jscmed.com/index.php/jscmed/article/view/88 |journal=Proceedings of the Luso-Galician Congress on History of Medicine |volume=170 |doi=10.57849/qfhwfe07}}</ref> |Top half human female and bottom half fish |Oceans, various bodies of water |180px |- |Mokele-mbembe{{sfn|Loxton|Prothero|2013|pp=187–188}} | |Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) |Democratic Republic of the Congo |180px |- |Montauk Monster<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Naish |first=Darren |date=2022 |title=A cultural phenomenon |magazine=The Biologist |page=19 |volume=69 |issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Henderson |first=Nia-Malika |date=2008-08-03 |title=Montauk residents proud of their 'monster' |url=http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-limont5787623aug03%2C0%2C6128341.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813131105/http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-limont5787623aug03,0,6128341.story |archive-date=2008-08-13 |work=Newsday}}</ref> | |Small bald beaked mammal |Montauk, New York, United States | |- |Morgawr<ref>{{Cite journal |last=James |first=Ronald M. |date=2022 |title=Morgawr and the Folkloresque: (A study of a whopping fish tale) |url=https://www.shimajournal.org/article/10.21463/shima.123 |journal=Shima |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=160-172 |doi=10.21463/shima.123}}</ref> | |Sea serpent |Falmouth Bay, Cornwall, United Kingdom | |- |Ogopogo<ref name="EncyclopediaofPseudoscience" /> |N'ha•a•itk, Naitaka |Lake monster |Okanagan Lake, British Columbia, Canada |180px |- |Sea serpents{{sfn|Loxton|Prothero|2013|pp=228–326}} | |Sea animals, dinosaurs |All bodies of water |180px |- |Shrimpy<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Person |url=http://www.strangemag.com/firstperson.html |access-date=2026-05-26 |website=www.strangemag.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vosler |first=Christian |title=Giant shrimp in the laundry room: The tale of Bremerton's own cryptid |url=https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/local/2019/06/20/giant-shrimp-laundry-room-tale-bremertons-own-cryptid/1513680001/ |access-date=2026-05-26 |website=Kitsap Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> |Giant Shrimp in the Laundry Room, Bremerton Giant Shrimp |5-foot tall Shrimp |Basement in Bremerton, Washington | |- |Selma<ref>{{Cite news |last=Botsford |first=Flora |date=1999-08-31 |title=Secret life of the Norwegian Nessie |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/sep/01/4 |access-date=2024-06-30 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> |Seljordsormen |Lake monster |Lake Seljord, Telemark, Norway |180px |- |Steller's sea ape<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Nickell |first=Joe |date=Winter 2016–2017 |title=Steller's Sea Ape: Identifying an Eighteenth-Century Cryptid |url=https://www.csicop.org/sb/show/stellers_sea_ape_identifying_an_eighteenth-century_cryptid |magazine=Skeptical Briefs |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |volume=26 |issue=4}}</ref> | |Sea animal |Northern Pacific Ocean |upright|180px |- |Storsjö monster<ref>{{cite book|last=Oscarsson |first=Ulla |author-link=:sv:Ulla Oscarsson |others=Bell, David (tr.) |title=Storsjöodjuret: The Great Lake Monster |location=Östersund |publisher=Jämtlands läns museum |year=2000 |orig-year=1986 |url=<!--preview N/A--> |isbn=91-7948-157-4 |language=en}}</ref> | |Lake monster |Lake Storsjön, Jämtland, Sweden |180px |}
=== Terrestrial === {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#115a6c;" ! Name ! Other names ! Description ! Purported location ! class="unsortable" | Depiction |- |British big cats<ref name="forbes">{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanmadden/2018/11/16/fantastic-cryptids-and-where-to-find-them/#6b1949ed1d99 |title=Fantastic Cryptids And Where To Find Them |work=Forbes |access-date=18 December 2018|date=2018-11-16|last=Madden|first=Duncan}}</ref> |Alien big cats (ABCs), phantom cats, mystery cats, English lions,<br />Beast of Bodmin, Beast of Exmoor |Non-native, wild big cats |Great Britain |180px |- |Chupacabra<ref name="PseudoscienceACriticalEncyclopedia">{{cite book|first=Brian |last=Regal |title=Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia: A Critical Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c6PACQAAQBAJ |date=15 October 2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-35508-0}}</ref> |Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker) |Highly variable – typically falling into two categories: 1) bipedal humanoid with spiked spines (original description); 2) a quadrupedal canid<ref>{{Cite book |last=Radford |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=idU5cH7KWJoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1938&dq=chupacabra&ots=pBJ00PaEUo&sig=qBdK6Xhmw14s_kp8PmakYXYAEZA#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore |date=2011 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |isbn=978-0-8263-5016-9 |location=Albuquerque |pages=1-7}}</ref> |Puerto Rico (originally),<br />South and Central America,<br />Southern North America |180px |- |Dover Demon<ref>{{cite news|last=Sullivan |first=Mark |title=Decades later, the Dover Demon still haunts |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/29/decades_later_the_dover_demon_still_haunts/ |access-date=6 August 2021 |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=29 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419013056/https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/29/decades_later_the_dover_demon_still_haunts|archive-date=2015-04-19|url-status=live}}</ref> | |Approximately four-foot tall humanoid creature with glowing eyes |Dover, Massachusetts, United States |180px |- |Fresno nightcrawler<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bigfoot, Chupacabra, and … Fresno Nightcrawler? Walking pants bring Fresno freaky fame|url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article219755195.html|access-date=5 April 2025|website=The Fresno Bee|language=en}}</ref> | |Resembling a pair of white trousers, this creature reportedly has long, white legs immediately topped by a rounded head.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Allan |first=Laura |date=2023-09-13 |title=Fresno Nightcrawlers Are Terrorizing The Dark, And They’re Spreading Far From California |url=https://www.ranker.com/list/fresno-nightcrawler-facts/laura-allan |website=Ranker}}</ref> |Fresno, California, United States | |- |Grafton monster | |A tall, pale headless figure who produces strange whistling noises.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Council |first=West Virginia Humanities |title=Grafton Monster |url=https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/2435 |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=www.wvencyclopedia.org}}</ref> |Grafton, West Virginia | |- |Goatman<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blitz |first=Matt |date=2015-10-30 |title=The Goatman–Or His Story, at Least–Still Haunts Prince George's County |url=https://washingtonian.com/2015/10/30/the-goatman-or-his-story-at-least-still-haunts-prince-georges-county/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |language=en-US|website=Washingtonian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-03 |title=Pope Lick Legend: Loved ones of those who died on trestle push for change |url=https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/push-changes-on-deadly-pope-lick-trestle/417-1c502a3d-8c63-4553-a962-d7ba75146bce |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=whas11.com |language=en-US|last=Minogue|first=Hayley|last2=Weiter|first2=Taylor}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-08 |title=Tracking Goatman: The story behind the Lake Worth Monster |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/tarrant-county/tracking-goatman-story-behind-lake-worth-monster/287-526680734 |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US|last=Osborne|first=Ryan}}</ref> |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<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Max |title=Is the 50-Foot Congo Snake Fact or Fiction? |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/is-the-50-foot-congo-snake-fact-or-fiction-45781 |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=Discover Magazine |language=en}}</ref> | |Greenish-Brown 50-foot long snake with a horse-like head <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-02 |title=Inside The Myth Of The 15-Meter Congo Snake, Cryptozoology’s Most Outlandish Claim |url=https://www.iflscience.com/inside-the-myth-of-the-15-meter-congo-snake-cryptozoologys-most-outlandish-claim-81413 |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=IFLScience |language=en}}</ref> |Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo | |- |Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp<ref>{{cite web |last1=Laycock |first1=Joseph P. |title=A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/monster-festival-pilgrimage-small-town-america-180969568/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=18 March 2021 |language=en |date=11 July 2018}}</ref> |Lizard Man of Lee County |Bipedal, humanoid reptilian creature |Lee County, South Carolina, United States | |- |Michigan Dogman<ref name=SWtD>{{Skeptoid|id=4477|number=477|date=28 July 2015|last=Hudson|first=Alison|title=Wag the Dogman|accessdate=22 June 2017}}</ref> | |Humanoid dog |Wexford County, Michigan, United States | |- |Moa (surviving original populations)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foxon |first=Floe |date=2024-12-30 |title=Fringe Zoology: The (In)Convenience of Disappearing Evidence |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/12/fringe-zoology-the-inconvenience-of-disappearing-evidence/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |language=en-US|website=Skeptical Inquirer}}</ref>{{Efn|There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the bush moa through genome editing,{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}} this entry refers to the possibility of 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 |180px |- |Mongolian death worm<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Benjamin Radford |date=2014-06-21 |title=Mongolian Death Worm: Elusive Legend of the Gobi Desert |url=https://www.livescience.com/46450-mongolian-death-worm.html |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=livescience.com |language=en}}</ref> |Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi |Worm-like animal |Gobi Desert (Asia) |180px |- |Nandi bear<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Simpson |first=George Gaylord |date=1984 |title=Mammals and Cryptozoology |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/986487 |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=128 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |jstor=986487 |issn=0003-049X}}</ref> |Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, Duba |Large, powerfully built carnivore |Eastern Africa |180px |- |Phantom kangaroo<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-05 |title=Mysterious Marsupials: The Case of the Phantom Kangaroo |url=https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/mysterious-marsupials-the-case-of-the-phantom-kangaroo/ |website=Discovery}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-10-21 |title=Kangaroo On Loose! |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DS19741021.2.30 |work=Desert Sun |publication-place=CHICAGO |via=University of California, Riverside - California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref> | |Kangaroos which appear outside of their normal range of Australia and New Guinea. |Chicago, Illinois Japan United Kingdom Sweden | |- |Queensland Tiger<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Malcolm |title=Bunyips & bigfoots : in search of Australia's mystery animals |date=1996 |publisher=Millennium Books |isbn=1-86429-081-1 |location=Alexandria, NSW |oclc=36719441}}</ref> |Yarri |Large feline |Queensland, Australia | |- |Thylacine (surviving original populations)<ref>Nickell, J., & RANDI, J. (2004). Cryptids “Down Under.” In ''The Mystery Chronicles: More Real-Life X-Files'' (pp. 289–295). University Press of Kentucky. <nowiki>http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tv62q.39</nowiki></ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Crane |first=Kylie |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137000798 |title=Myths of Wilderness in Contemporary Narratives: Environmental Postcolonialism in Australia and Canada |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan New York |isbn=978-1-137-00079-8 |page=145 |doi=10.1057/9781137000798}}</ref>{{Efn|There is an ongoing project to revive the species through genome editing, this entry refers to the unconfirmed sightings and reports of surviving original populations}} |Tasmanian tiger, Tasmanian wolf, ''Thylacinus cynocephalus'' |Carnivorous marsupial |Australia, Papua New Guinea |180px |}
====Hominid==== {{See also|Wild man}} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#115a6c;" ! Name ! Other names ! Description ! Purported location ! class="unsortable" | Depiction |- |Almas<ref name="EncyclopediaofPseudoscience" /> |Abnauayu, almasty, albasty, bekk-bok,<br />biabin-guli, golub-yavan, gul-biavan, auli-avan,<br />kaptar, kra-dhun, ksy-giik, ksy-gyik, ochokochi,<br />mirygdy, mulen, voita, wind-man, Zana |Non-human ape or hominid |Asia/Caucasus | |- |Amomongo<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/classified-odd/06/16/08/amomongo-frightens-villagers-negros |title='Amomongo' frightens villagers in Negros |work=ABS-CBN News|url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227150037/http://news.abs-cbn.com/classified-odd/06/16/08/amomongo-frightens-villagers-negros |archive-date=27 February 2017 }}</ref> |Orang Mawas, Impakta |Ape or hominid |Negros Occidental, Philippines | |- |Bigfoot{{sfn|Loxton|Prothero|2013|pp=29–70}} |Sasquatch |Large and hairy ape-like creature |United States and Canada |180px |- |Bukit Timah Monkey Man<ref name="CNA">{{cite web |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/on-the-hunt-for-the-elusive-bukit-timah-monkey-man-9816486 |title=On the hunt for the elusive Bukit Timah Monkey Man |publisher=Channel NewsAsia |access-date=18 December 2018 |archive-date=30 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030131239/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/on-the-hunt-for-the-elusive-bukit-timah-monkey-man-9816486 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |BTM, BTMM |Forest-dwelling hominid or other primate |Singapore | |- |Chatawa Monster<ref name=EJ>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/enterprise-journal-1985-article-on-cha/14157972/?locale=en-US|work=Enterprise-Journal|page=19|title=Chatawa—Indians weren't kidding about the sparkling water|date=September 18, 1985|accessdate=October 12, 2024|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref name=WJTV>{{cite news |last1=Grayson |first1=Walt |title=Focused on Mississippi: Chatawa Monster |url=https://www.wjtv.com/living-local/focused-on-mississippi/focused-on-mississippi-chatawa-monster/ |access-date=October 12, 2024 |work=WJTV |date=July 17, 2020}}</ref> | |Large ape-like creature |Pike County, Mississippi, United States | |- |Chuchunya<ref name="Bigfootandbeyond">{{cite news |last=O'Carroll |first=Eoin |date=28 September 2018 |title=Bigfoot and beyond: Why tales of wild men endure |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2018/0928/Bigfoot-and-beyond-Why-tales-of-wild-men-endure |work=The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> | |Large hominid |Russia | |- |Fouke Monster<ref>{{Skeptoid|id=4404|number=404|date=4 March 2014|last=Dunning|first=B.|title=The Boggy Creek Monster|accessdate=1 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="30pl">{{cite news |first=Sunni |last=Thibodeau |title=The Fouke Monster 30 Years Later: Ex-journalists recall sifting fact from Fouke fiction after sighting |url=http://texarkanagazette.com/articles/2001/06/24/export15709.txt |work=Texarkana Gazette |date=24 June 2001 |access-date=31 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030803215531/http://texarkanagazette.com/articles/2001/06/24/export15709.txt |archive-date=3 August 2003}}</ref> |Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster |Hominid or other primate |Arkansas, United States | |- |Honey Island Swamp monster<ref>{{cite web |last1=Frances |first1=Leary |title=The Honey Island Swamp Monster: The Development and Maintenance of Folk and Commodified Belief Tradition |date=December 2003 |issue=Memorial University of Newfoundland |pages=4–6 |url=https://research.library.mun.ca/10863/1/Leary_Frances.pdf |access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref> |Letiche, Tainted Keitre |Hominid or other primate |Louisiana, United States | |- |Kandahar Giant<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ziezulewicz |first=Geoff |last2=Simkins |first2=J. D. |date=2022-11-01 |title=Giants of Kandahar: outlandish tales of the US military in Afghanistan |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2022/11/01/here-be-giants-outlandish-tales-of-the-military-the-afghan-colossi/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Military Times |language=en}}</ref> | |13-foot tall, red-headed hominid with six fingers on each hand and two rows of teeth |Kandahar, Afghanistan | |- |Mapinguari<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2006-04-01 |title=Twilight of the mammoths: Ice Age extinctions and the rewilding of America |journal=Choice Reviews Online |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=43–4679-43-4679 |doi=10.5860/choice.43-4679 |doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |issn=0009-4978}}</ref> |Mapinguary |Man-eating hominid with a mouth on its abdomen; sometimes thought to be a ground sloth |Brazil |180px |- |Nittaewo<ref name=":0" /> |Nittevo |Small hominid |Sri Lanka | |- |Orang Pendek<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tucker |first=Carl R. |date=2025 |title=In the Shadow of the Rainforest: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into the Orang Pendek |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5257191 |journal=SSRN |doi=10.2139/ssrn.5257191}}</ref> | |Small hominid |Sumatra, Indonesia |180px |- |Skunk ape<ref name="CalebRousseau"/> |Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape |Primate |Florida, United States | 180px |- |Yeren<ref name="IrishExaminer">{{cite web |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/lifestyle/its-the-monstrous-new-trend-sweeping-travel-what-is-cryptid-tourism-873583.html |title=It's the monstrous new trend sweeping travel – what is cryptid-tourism? |publisher=Irish Examiner |access-date=13 December 2018 |archive-date=4 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004225011/https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews//lifestyle/its-the-monstrous-new-trend-sweeping-travel-what-is-cryptid-tourism-873583.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="CalebRousseau">{{cite book|author-first1=Caleb W. |author-last1=Lack |author-first2=Jacques |author-last2=Rousseau |title=Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Miy2CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA170 |date=8 March 2016 |publisher=Springer Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-8261-9426-8 |page=170}}</ref> |Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman{{Citation needed|date=April 2026|reason=None of these names are mentioned in the cited source.}} |Primate (possible hominin) |China | |- |Yeti{{sfn|Loxton|Prothero|2013|p=73}} |Abominable Snowman |Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions |Himalayas (Asia) | |- |Yowie<ref name=":0">{{cite book|author-first1=Caleb W. |author-last1=Lack |author-first2=Jacques |author-last2=Rousseau |title=Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can't Trust Our Brains |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Miy2CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 |date=8 March 2016 |publisher=Springer Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-8261-9426-8 |page=154}}</ref> | |Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions |Australia |180px |}
=== Flying === {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#115a6c;" ! Name ! Other names ! Description ! width=300|Purported location ! class="unsortable" | Depiction |- |Flatwoods monster<ref name=":2">{{Cite thesis |last=Elliott |first=Devin M. |title=West Virginia Urban Legends and Their Impact on Cultures Both Local and Abroad |date=2021 |degree=M.A. |publisher=Bowling Green State University |url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/west-virginia-urban-legends-their-impact-on/docview/2595612945/se-2?accountid=13360}}</ref> |Braxie, Braxton County Monster, Phantom of Flatwoods |A floating creature with a head that looks like a spade<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Flatwoods Monster |url=https://braxtonwv.org/the-flatwoods-monster/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=Visit Braxton, WV |language=en-US}}</ref> |Flatwoods, West Virginia |180px |- |Jersey Devil<ref name=bbctravel>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151029-the-monster-you-should-never-find |title=The monster you should never find |first=S.J. |last=Velasquez |date=31 October 2015 |work=BBC Online |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=11 August 2018}}</ref> |Leeds Devil |Winged, bipedal horse |United States, mainly the South Jersey Pine Barrens, as well as other parts of New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania |180px |- |Kongamato<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matthews |first=John |title=The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures |year=2005 |page=346}}</ref> | |Living species of pterosaur |Mwinilunga, Zambia; Angola; The Democratic Republic of the Congo |180px |- |Mothman<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kantrowitz |first1=Lia |last2=Fitzmaurice |first2=Larry |last3=Terry |first3=Josh |title=People Keep Seeing the Mothman in Chicago |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mothman-sightings-in-chicago/ |website=Vice |access-date=26 April 2019 |date=16 January 2018}}</ref> | |Winged bipedal |Mason County, West Virginia, United States |180px |}
== See also == * ''Animalia Paradoxa'' * Apeman * De-extinction * Fearsome critters * Legendary creature * List of cryptozoologists * Lists of legendary creatures * List of megafauna discovered in modern times * List of urban legends * Rare species *
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
==Sources== * {{cite book|last1=Loxton |first1=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Loxton |last2=Prothero |first2=Donald R. |author-link2=Donald R. Prothero |title=Abominable Science: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and other Famous Cryptids|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTsgAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 |year=2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-52681-4}}
== External links == {{Wikibooks|Cryptids}} * {{commons-inline|Cryptozoology}} * {{wiktionary-inline|cryptid}}
{{Cryptozoology}} {{Urban legends}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cryptids}} Category:Cryptids Category:Lists of legendary creatures