List of cryptids

Cryptids are animals that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is not verified. Creatures that may be considered cryptids include Bigfoot, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Mokele-mbembe.

List

Found in the ocean/ocean and water

Name Other Names Description Purported Location Depiction
Anguila peluda Hairy Eel Pond animal Pamital ravine, Canary Islands
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, Cape Ann 1817_Gloucester_sea_serpent
Giant Great South Bay Horseshoe Crab Limulus giganticus giant horseshoe crab Long Island, NY
Iemisch Iemisch Listai Mix of a jaguar and otter Patagonia
Igopogo[source?] Kempenfelt Kelly Lake monster Lake Simcoe, Ontario (Canada)
Isshii[source?] Issie Lake monster Japan
Labynkyr Devil Labynkyrsky Chert[source?] Lake monster Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia
Loch Ness Monster Nessie Lake monster Loch Ness, Scotland Sculpture of the Loch Ness monster as a plesiosaurus
Loveland Frog Loveland frogman, Loveland lizard Humanoid frog Loveland, Ohio
Lusca Giant Octopus[source?] Blue holes in the Bahamas
Mamlambo[source?] Lake monster South Africa
Manipogo Winnipogo Lake monster Lake Manitoba, Canada
Megalodon[broken anchor] Otodus megalodon Giant Shark Oceans
Mokele-mbembe Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster) Republic of the Congo
Ogopogo N'ha•a•itk, Naitaka Lake monster Lake Okanagan, Canada
Sea serpents Sea animals, dinosaurs All bodies of water
Selma Seljordsormen Lake monster Lake Seljord, Telemark, Norway
Steller's sea ape Sea animal Pacific Ocean

Found on land

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		 Carnivorous mammal Great Britain
Capelobo Humanoid anteater monster Brazil
Chupacabra Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker) Puerto Rico (originally),
South and Central America,
Southern North America
Dover Demon Dover, Massachusetts
Eastern Cougar Eastern United States
Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man of Lee County Bipedal South Carolina, United States
Malagasy hippo Malagasy pygmy hippopotamus, Madagascan pygmy hippopotamus, kilopilopitsofy, tsy-aomby-aomby, omby-rano, laloumena, mangarsahoc Hippo Madagascar
Mapinguari Mapinguary Giant Ground Sloth or primate Amazons
Michigan Dogman Humanoid dog Wexford County, Michigan
Minhocão[source?] Big Earthworm Caecilian South America
Moa Flightless bird New Zealand
Mongolian death worm Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi Worm-like animal Gobi Desert (Asia)
Nandi bear Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, Duba Large carnivore Eastern Africa
Queensland Tiger Yarri Large feline Queensland
Thylacine Tasmanian Tiger, Tasmanian Wolf Marsupial Australia, New Guinea
Zanzibar leopard Large feline Zanzibar

Primates

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
Barmanou[source?] Barmanu, Big Hairy One Ape or hominid Middle East/Asia
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
Chuchunya Large hominid Russia
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
Orang Pendek Small hominid Sumatra
Nittaewo Nittevo Small hominids Sri Lanka
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
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
Mothman Winged Man, Bird Man, UFO-Bird, Mason Bird Monster Winged bipedal Mason County, West Virginia, United States
Rod Skyfish, Air Rod, Solar Entity Small flying stick-like creatures Worldwide
Ropen Large bat-like creature or pterosaur New Guinea
Thunderbird Giant bird North America

References

  1. ↑ "El misterioso viaje de las anguilas desde el Triángulo de las Bermudas a los barrancos canarios". ABC. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  2. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 261–295.
  3. 1 2 3 Shermer, Michael; Linse, Pat (November 2002). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN 9781576076538.
  4. ↑ Mörzer Bruyns, W. F. J. (1971). Field guide of whales and dolphins. Rivonverhandeling. Tor. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-90-70055-09-7
  5. ↑ "Cetaceans with two dorsal fins" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Ireland's hound of deep - Dobhar Chu". Irish Central News. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  7. ↑ Nicaise, Alexander (2019-09-05). "Gloucester Sea-Serpent Mystery: Solved after Two Centuries | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  8. ↑ "Gigantic Horseshoe Crab Reported in Great South Bay » Fire Island News & Great South Bay News". www.fireislandnews.com. 2025-04-01. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. 1 2 Velasquez, S.J. (31 October 2015). "The monster you should never find". BBC Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  14. ↑ Haupt, R. (30 June 2015). "Skeptoid #473: The Loveland Frog". Skeptoid. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  15. 1 2 Guimont, Edward (2021-10-05). "The Megalodon: A Monster of the New Mythology". M/C Journal. 24 (5). doi:10.5204/mcj.2793. ISSN 1441-2616. S2CID 241813307.
  16. ↑ Bernhardt, Darren. "Keep your camera handy: Stories of Manitoba lake monsters told for centuries but proof remains elusive". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  17. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 187–188.
  18. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 228–326.
  19. ↑ Botsford, Flora (1999-08-31). "Secret life of the Norwegian Nessie". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  20. ↑ Nickell, Joe (Winter 2016–2017). "Steller's Sea Ape: Identifying an Eighteenth-Century Cryptid". Skeptical Briefs. Vol. 26, no. 4. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
  21. ↑ Madden, Duncan. "Fantastic Cryptids And Where To Find Them". Forbes. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  22. ↑ "Capelobo". Portal São Francisco (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  23. ↑ Regal, Brian (15 October 2009). Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia: A Critical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-35508-0.
  24. ↑ Sullivan, Mark (29 October 2006). "Decades later, the Dover Demon still haunts". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  25. ↑ "Skeptoid: Anatomy of a Real Cryptid Case". Skeptoid. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  26. ↑ Laycock, Joseph P. (11 July 2018). "A Search for Mysteries and Monsters in Small Town America". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  27. ↑ 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.
  28. ↑ "Twilight of the mammoths: Ice Age extinctions and the rewilding of America". Choice Reviews Online. 43 (8): 43–4679-43-4679. 2006-04-01. doi:10.5860/choice.43-4679 (inactive 26 July 2026). ISSN 0009-4978.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2026 (link)
  29. ↑ Hudson, Alison (28 July 2015). "Skeptoid #477: Wag the Dogman". Skeptoid. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  30. ↑ kreidler, Marc (2017-05-26). "The New Zealand Moa: From Extinct Bird to Cryptid | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  31. ↑ Benjamin Radford (2014-06-21). "Mongolian Death Worm: Elusive Legend of the Gobi Desert". livescience.com. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  32. ↑ Simpson, George Gaylord (1984). "Mammals and Cryptozoology". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 128 (1): 1–19. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 986487.
  33. ↑ Smith, Malcolm (1996). Bunyips & bigfoots : in search of Australia's mystery animals. Alexandria, NSW: Millennium Books. ISBN 1-86429-081-1. OCLC 36719441.
  34. ↑ 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)
  35. ↑ "Cryptids and credulity: The Zanzibar leopard and other imaginary beings", Anthropology and Cryptozoology, New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Multispecies: Routledge, pp. 70–106, 2016-11-03, doi:10.4324/9781315567297-11, ISBN 9781315567297, retrieved 2023-09-09{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  36. ↑ "The Zanzibar Leopard Between Science and Cryptozoology | PDF | Panthera | Organisms". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  37. ↑ "'Amomongo' frightens villagers in Negros". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
  38. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, pp. 29–70.
  39. ↑ "On the hunt for the elusive Bukit Timah Monkey Man". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  40. ↑ O'Carroll, Eoin (28 September 2018). "Bigfoot and beyond: Why tales of wild men endure". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  41. ↑ Dunning, B. (4 March 2014). "Skeptoid #404: The Boggy Creek Monster". Skeptoid. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  42. ↑ 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.
  43. 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.
  44. 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.
  45. ↑ "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.
  46. ↑ Loxton & Prothero 2013, p. 73.
  47. ↑ Kantrowitz, Lia; Fitzmaurice, Larry; Terry, Josh (16 January 2018). "People Keep Seeing the Mothman in Chicago". Vice. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  48. ↑ "rods - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com". www.skepdic.com. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  49. ↑ "Don't Get Strung Along by the "Ropen" Myth".
  50. ↑ Nez, Noah (18 July 2012). "Thunderbirds". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  51. ↑ "The mythic child-stealing Thunderbirds of Illinois". Atlas Obscura. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2018.