Buzz
Cryptozoology, the exploration of 'hidden creatures', focuses on animals whose existence has yet to be acknowledged by the scientific community. These creatures, referred to as 'cryptids', are often regarded as legends, dismissed as myths or elaborate deceptions. Well-known cryptids such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Chupacabra continue to mystify people. However, many creatures once thought to be mere folklore are now formally recognized as distinct species. The following list highlights ten such creatures that science once considered fictional, but are now acknowledged as real species.
For clarity, animals that were mistakenly believed to be extinct (such as the coelacanth, Chacoan Peccary, and ivory-billed woodpecker) have been excluded from this list.
10. Devil Bird
The Devil Bird, also known as Ulama, is a terrifying horned bird from Sri Lankan folklore. This elusive creature is rarely seen, yet its eerie, blood-curdling cries are often heard. The sounds are said to mimic the wailing of a woman, and locals view them as a forewarning of death. For centuries, the Devil Bird's nocturnal screams were the only evidence of its existence, and Western science dismissed it as a mere superstition.
In 2001, however, the Devil Bird was identified as a previously unknown species of owl, the spot-bellied eagle owl (Bubo nipalensis). As the largest owl in Sri Lanka, the Bubo nipalensis fits the description of the Ulama precisely, including its distinct screech and tufted 'horns'. While some debate remains over the Devil Bird’s true identity, the spot-bellied eagle owl is the most likely source of inspiration for this mysterious figure.
9. Ziphius
In medieval folklore, the Ziphius, also known as the 'Water-Owl', was a monstrous sea creature said to attack ships in northern waters. With the body of a fish and the head of an owl, complete with enormous eyes and a wedge-shaped beak, it struck fear into sailors. The name 'Ziphius', derived from the Latin word for 'sword-like', may refer to its fin, which was believed to pierce the hulls of ships as if it were a sword.
Today, the creature once thought to inspire the Ziphius is known as Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, a widely distributed species of beaked whale. Also called the Goose-beaked whale, this creature can be found from the Shetland Islands in the north to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. It is the sole member of the genus Ziphius, sharing its name with the legendary creature. Some also believe that the Ziphius legend may have been inspired by the orca or the great white shark, especially considering some depictions of the creature as a seal predator.
8. Bondegezou
The Bondegezou, or 'man of the forests', is a mythical spirit from the Moni people of Western Indonesia. Described as a tree-dwelling creature, the Bondegezou resembles a small, humanoid figure covered in black and white fur. Though it climbs trees, it is often seen standing on the ground in a bipedal posture.
In the 1980s, a photograph of the Bondegezou was sent to Australian researcher Tim Flannery, who initially identified it as a young tree kangaroo. However, in May 1994, Flannery conducted a wildlife survey in the area and confirmed that the creature in the photograph was an undiscovered species. Known as the Dingiso (Dendrolagus mbaiso), this forest-dwelling marsupial has distinctive markings and spends much of its time on the ground. The Dingiso remains a rare find, with the first confirmed evidence being skins, and no Dingiso has yet been kept in captivity.
7. Kangaroo
Early European explorers to Australia reported encountering strange creatures unlike anything they had seen before. They described animals with heads like deer, standing upright like humans, and hopping like frogs. Some accounts even mentioned creatures with two heads – one on the shoulders and one on the stomach. These bizarre stories were initially dismissed and ridiculed by their peers.
Everything changed in the 1770s when a deceased specimen of this peculiar animal was displayed in England as a public curiosity. Today, this creature is known as the kangaroo, a well-known marsupial native to Australia. Famous for its incredible jumping abilities and the female pouch used for carrying young (marsupium), the kangaroo is now an iconic symbol of Australia. There are four species of kangaroo: the Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus), the Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), the Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), and the Antilopine Kangaroo (Macropus antilopinus).
6. Platypus
When European naturalists first encountered this strange creature, they were understandably perplexed. Descriptions portrayed it as a venomous, egg-laying mammal with the bill of a duck and the tail of a beaver. In 1798, many prominent British scientists dismissed it as a hoax when shown a sketch and pelt. Even when presented with a dead specimen, scholars suspected it was an intricate, stitched-together fraud.
Today, this odd yet captivating animal is known as the platypus, one of only five surviving monotremes (egg-laying mammals). While once considered an anomaly by science, it remains one of the most unique creatures on Earth: this semi-aquatic animal, native to eastern Australia, swims using webbed feet, hunts via electrolocation, and has an ankle spur that can deliver a painful venomous sting. Although the venom isn't fatal to humans, it causes extreme pain and is resistant to most painkillers.
5. Sea Serpent
For centuries, the Sea Serpent has stood as one of the most enthralling mysteries in the world of cryptozoology. Sightings of these enigmatic and often terrifying creatures have been reported throughout history, even as recently as the early twentieth century. From the waters of northern Europe to the eastern coast of North America, tales of massive, serpentine aquatic monsters have spread across the globe. Descriptions of these creatures vary widely, from horse-headed beings to enormous serpents.
Cryptozoologists suggest that many Sea Serpent sightings could be explained by misidentified animals. However, one particular species seems to be the likely source for many of these reports. The oarfish (also known as ribbonfish) is a giant, elongated fish found in oceans around the world. It holds the record for being the longest bony fish, with the largest known specimen measuring 17 meters (56 feet) long. Oarfish typically live in the deep ocean but are sometimes washed ashore during storms or found floating at the surface when near death. A live oarfish was filmed for the first time in 2001, highlighting its elusive and reclusive nature.
4. Komodo Dragon
By the early 1900s, Western science had concluded that giant lizards were a thing of the distant past. Thus, when pearl fishermen returned from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia with stories of monstrous 'land crocodiles', their accounts were met with widespread disbelief. An expedition from the Buitenzorg Zoological Museum in Java reported on the creatures, but the legendary Komodo dragons faded into obscurity as World War I took precedence.
In 1926, an expedition led by W. Douglas Burden from the American Museum of Natural History confirmed that the stories of giant lizards were indeed true. Burden and his team returned with twelve preserved specimens and two live ones, introducing the world to the Komodo Dragon, a colossal monitor lizard that can grow up to ten feet in length, making it the largest lizard on Earth. Komodo Dragons have powerful claws and fangs capable of killing almost any creature on the island, including humans and water buffaloes. One of the more peculiar traits of these creatures is their venomous bite, believed to be caused by bacteria-filled saliva or venom glands located in their mouths.
The 1926 expedition to Komodo inspired the creation of King Kong, in which a similar journey to a distant island uncovers prehistoric megafauna.
3. Giant Squid
Legends of gigantic squids have existed across the world for centuries. Both Aristotle and Pliny the Elder documented these creatures, with myths such as the Lusca (Caribbean), Scylla (Ancient Greece), and the sea monk (Medieval Europe) all describing strange, often menacing oceanic beings. Perhaps the most famous of these legendary squids is the Norse Kraken, a massive, tentacled creature said to be as large as an island, capable of sinking entire ships. Before the 1870s, the scientific community regarded such creatures as mere folklore, no different from mermaids or sea serpents.
Despite the skepticism, investigations into the legendary Kraken began as early as the 1840s. Danish zoologist Johan Japetus Streensup systematically studied and documented sightings and strandings of giant squids, even examining a beached specimen and giving the creature its scientific name: Architeuthis. However, many of his colleagues remained doubtful, dismissing the accounts as exaggerated.
In the 1870s, skepticism surrounding the giant squid began to fade as several carcasses washed ashore in Labrador and Newfoundland. Tentacles and entire bodies provided undeniable evidence to the scientific community that the giant squid was indeed real. This elusive creature remains just as mysterious today. Living at great depths, sightings of the giant squid are rare and often undocumented. For over a century, scientists tried, and failed, to observe it in its natural habitat. It wasn't until 2004 that a team of Japanese scientists successfully captured a live giant squid on film, taking 500 automatic photographs before the creature disappeared into the deep.
Many mysteries still surround the giant squid. Little is known about its behavior and lifestyle, and scientists remain unsure how large it can grow. The largest known specimens measure between 30 and 40 feet long and weigh over 100 pounds. However, its relative, the Colossal Squid, may grow even larger, as indicated by the size of sucker marks found on sperm whales. To this day, the giant squid stands as a legendary example of the remarkable creatures that inhabit our planet.
2. Okapi
For centuries, Central African tribes and ancient Egyptians spoke of and depicted a strange creature that Europeans later dubbed the 'African unicorn'. Locally, it was known by names such as the Atti or the O’api, described as a mix between a zebra, a donkey, and a giraffe. Despite accounts from explorers and even the discovery of skins, Western science dismissed it as a mythical chimera, a creature imagined from various animals. Expeditions were sent, but none returned with any concrete evidence, making the 'African unicorn' appear no more real than a fairy tale.
This perspective changed in 1901 when Sir Harry Johnston, the British governor of Uganda, acquired pieces of striped skin and even a skull from the creature. This evidence, along with the eventual capture of a live specimen, confirmed the existence of the animal now known as the okapi (Okapia johnstoni). The okapi, although no less peculiar today, is recognized as the only living relative of the giraffe, with a similar body structure and the same long blue tongue. Its back legs, however, are marked with zebra-like stripes. Solitary by nature, okapis continue to intrigue scientists. Though not endangered, much about their behavior and lifestyle remains a mystery.
The okapi served as the emblem of the now-defunct International Society of Cryptozoology and continues to be an enduring symbol of the field of Cryptozoology.
1. Mountain Gorilla
For centuries, stories of enormous ‘ape-men’ from East Africa have fascinated both explorers and local tribes. Many African tribes tell of giant, hairy beings that would abduct and consume humans, overpowering them with brute strength and savagery. These creatures have many names, including ngila, ngagi, and enge-ena. English explorer Andrew Battel, in the sixteenth century, described man-like apes that would approach his campfires at night. Similarly, in 1860, explorer Du Chaillu wrote of ferocious, bloodthirsty creatures of the forest. Until the twentieth century, most of these accounts were largely dismissed or disregarded as fantasy.
In 1902, German officer Captain Robert von Beringe shot and killed one of these ‘man-apes’ in the Virunga region of Rwanda. He brought the specimen back to Europe, where the world was introduced to a new species of ape: the mountain gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Beringe, named in his honor). Today, mountain gorillas are known to be social, relatively peaceful herbivores, living in the Virunga Mountains of Central Africa and Bwindi National Park in Uganda. Sadly, mountain gorillas face threats from poaching and civil unrest, and they remain largely elusive, often going unseen in the wild. Fewer than 400 individuals are believed to survive in their natural habitat.
One of the earliest written references to gorillas can be traced back to Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian explorer who chronicled his journey along the African coast around 500 B.C. Hanno described encountering a group of ‘gorillae’, which roughly translates to ‘hairy people’. It remains uncertain whether Hanno was referring to gorillas, another species of ape, or even humans. Nonetheless, his observations helped inspire the modern term 'gorilla'.
+ Giant Panda
While the existence of the giant panda has never been questioned by the scientific community, and thus it has never been classified as a cryptid, its story still holds valuable lessons for both believers and skeptics of cryptozoology. The giant panda was introduced to Western science in 1869, when French naturalist Perè Armand David was presented with a specimen. Following this, various museums launched expeditions to acquire pandas for their collections.
As anthropologist George Agogino observes, “From 1869 until 1929, a period of sixty years, a dozen well-staffed and well-equipped professional zoological collecting teams unsuccessfully sought an animal the size of a small bear in a restricted area . . . The giant panda lives in the same general area and at the same general elevation as the Yeti, yet this animal has remained hidden for over sixty years.” It wasn't until 1929 that Theodore and Kermit Roosevelt finally succeeded in killing a giant panda after six decades of fruitless searching. This episode in the history of zoology serves as a powerful reminder that nature still holds countless mysteries, and the pursuit to uncover them is often a challenging but rewarding endeavor.
