Thread: Lesser Known Cryptozoological Creatures

This is a just-for-fun thread...not for a minute do I personally belief in the existence of any of these cryptozoological creatures, but I nonetheless find the subject somewhat fascinating. Thus, I would like to start a listing of lesser-known creatures, outside the usual Loch Ness & Sasquatch nonsense.

Allow me to start off with this one : there is a remote lake in the jungles of the Republic of Congo called "Lac Tele". The locals there speak of a dinosaur-like creature inhabiting the lake and the surrounding river systems, which is entirely a herbivore, and feeds off a specific, local type of plant ( this in itself is actually quite a specific and unusual feature ). In the Lingala language this creature is called "mokele mbembe", and here's the only half-way decent photo in existence :



Feel free to add your own lesser-known creatures in this thread

Looks like a seal to me, or for that matter a swimming horse. Though, I don't know of any seal species that would live in that area... nor can I think of why a horse would swim that far into the lake. It must be a plesiosaur!

Or consider the olgoi-khorkhoi, better known as the Mongolian Death Worm. This is said to resemble a giant worm that lives underground, and can kill by spraying its victims with acid, or by means of an electric discharge (!). There are no photos of this, only artistic renderings :



This is somewhat reminiscent of the Shai-Hulud of the desert planet Arrakis in Frank Herbert's Dune novels.

Originally Posted by shlunka

Looks like a seal to me, or for that matter a swimming horse. Though, I don't know of any seal species that would live in that area... nor can I think of why a horse would swim that far into the lake. It must be a plesiosaur!

Only thing is - there are neither seals nor horses in or around Lac Tele. Even getting there takes major organisational effort, since there are no roads or other infrastructure in the area, even to this day.

Originally Posted by PhDemon

The all time favourite has to be the Loch Ness monster:


I find it really funny that the naturalist Sir Peter Scott named the monster Nessiteras rhombopteryx (Greek for "The Ness monster with diamond-shaped fin"). Scott claimed this was intended to allow the monster to be added to a British list of protected wildlife. It was soon pointed out, however the name was an anagram of "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S." Who says academics have no sense of humour

I thought that particular photo has been revealed to be a forgery ? I might be wrong, not sure though...

Politicians that don't lie.

Or has that mythical creature been thoroughly debunked?

How about a local one, the Tikoloshe.



MANY people really believe in this critter!

There's always the drop bear. Even the Australian Museum is getting into the act. (Anything to make money I suppose.)

Drop Bear, Thylarctos plummetus, is a large, arboreal, predatory marsupial related to the Koala.

I just love all the technical "information" provided here. Drop Bear - Australian Museum

Does my avatar count as 'lesser known'?

Originally Posted by adelady

I just love all the technical "information" provided here. Drop Bear - Australian Museum

Originally Posted by Australian Museum

"There are some suggested folk remedies that are said to act as a repellent to Drop Bears, these include having forks in the hair or Vegemite or toothpaste spread behind the ears. There is no evidence to suggest that any such repellents work."

Note to self: bring toothpaste on planned vacation to Australia.

Hmm... It's still standard cryptid fare, but not Nessie or Sasquatch; Chupacabra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The literal translation of Chupacabra is Goatsucker.

White Wolf: Scientists hunt for the 'extinct' Tasmanian tiger to prove it still exists

Scientists hunt for the 'extinct' Tasmanian tiger to prove it still exists

Originally Posted by Chrispen Evan

Scientists hunt for the 'extinct' Tasmanian tiger to prove it still exists

Erm...hello!?
Clearly I exist! I even have a photo!

Came across this story about a Yowie, it looks remarkedly similar to many reports of big foot sightings but according the stories the Yowie is supposed to live in the Australian wilderness.

Yowie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One eyed trouser snake in its natural habitat

Oh I'd say the cycloptic serpent of the trouser is on the more well-known and documented (very, very well documented according to some of the websites I visit) side than the lesser-known one.

Originally Posted by Daecon

Oh I'd say the cycloptic serpent of the trouser is on the more well-known and documented (very, very well documented according to some of the websites I visit) side than the lesser-known one.

Remains hidden for the most part but many have fantasized about it.

An insatiable desire for bearded clam, a well known skirt mollusk, usually is enough of a lure to see one in the flesh.

Erm...hello!?
Clearly I exist! I even have a photo!

pfffft. shopped.

Originally Posted by Chrispen Evan

Erm...hello!?
Clearly I exist! I even have a photo!

pfffft. shopped.

Ok - sure.
I took a few pounds off and improved my complexion. So what?
If it's good enough for supermodels then it is good enough for me!

There's also the elusive "underpants gnomes"

The last known sighting of a dust bunny took place in my old apartment. Under my bed right next to where a dried up used condom had fallen

The Canvey Island Monster is the name given to an unusual creature whose carcass washed up on the shores of Canvey Island, England, in November, 1953.^[1][2] A second, more intact, carcass was discovered in August, 1954.
The 1953 specimen was described as being 76 cm (2.4 ft) long with thick reddish brown skin, bulging eyes and gills. It was also described as having hind legs with five-toed horseshoe-shaped feet with concave arches – which appeared to be suited for bipedal locomotion – but no forelimbs. Its remains were cremated after a cursory inspection by zoologists who said that it posed no danger to the public. The 1954 specimen was described as being similar to the first but much larger, being 120 cm (3.9 ft) long and weighing approximately 11.3 kg (25 lb). It was sufficiently fresh for its eyes, nostrils and teeth to be studied though no official explanation was given at the time as to what it was or what happened to the carcass.

Canvey Island Monster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

People think it was an anglerfish:

The Maltese Tiger, more commonly known as the Blue Tiger:

Maltese tiger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lake Van Monster, only known cryptid to exist in Turkey.

Lake Van Monster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beast of Gévaudan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's talk about "big cats" in the UK, with some instances found as true, apparently some exotic pets that had escaped from their owners.