http://www.newanimal.org/
A Menagerie of Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology is the study of animals and other creatures that have not yet been accepted by science as real. In other words, it is monster-hunting. Cryptozoologists look for creatures like sea serpents and the yeti, hoping to gather enough evidence to prove that these beings exist. They also look for more commonplace animals, such as the ivory-billed woodpecker, the giant vampire bat, the inflatable hedgehog and the pygmy elephant. Creatures that are under investigation by cryptozoologists are called cryptids. Although cryptozoology doesn't get much respect from other scientific disiplines, it has had some spectacular success stories, including the pongo (now known as the gorilla), the okapi (an animal that looks like a cross between a giraffe and zebra), and the coelacanth (a prehistoric fish thought to be extinct).
Cryptozoologists are a specialized branch of monster hunters. Since their ultimate goal is to discover either new species of animal or new subspecies, the science of cryptozoology is rooted in biology. The more a creature shows evidence of being supernatural, the less likely it is that cryptozoologists would be interested in it. Not many cryptozoologists investigate the strangest things like ghostly demon cats, Mothman or werewolves. Ghost hunts are left to the paranormal investigators and a few fringe cryptozoologists. On the other hand, there are very few animals, however mythical they may be, that have never stirred the interest of a cryptozoologist. This is because perfectly real animals have often been obscured by so much folklore that they seemed ridiculous.
Bernard Heuvelmans, the author of the first and most influential book of cryptozoology, On the Track of Unknown Animals, created cryptozoology as a science and separated it from other studies involving anomalies and the paranormal. Earlier writers in the field were more likely to include mythology and folkloric material, and they used the terms "exotic zoology" and "romantic zoology" to describe what they did. Today there are many organizations devoted to cryptozoology, and dozens of books, plus countless individual scientists. Despite this massive amount of interest, most cryptozoologists are underfunded and sink large amounts of their own money into their researches.
Most of the time, cryptozoologists do not work in the field. The creatures they pursue are so rare and elusive that, even if they do exist, any particular expedition is unlikely to encounter one. It is much easier to collect sightings from witnesses who came across the cryptid by accident. Since most cryptids have remained in the realm of the mythical, the main job of cryptozoologists is not to prove that a certain cryptid exists, but rather to collect and analyze as many sightings as possible in order to determine if the available evidence is strong enough to keep the question open. If they can make a good case for keeping the question open, they may be able to attract zoologists to the problem, which in turn brings the kind of research funding and manpower that has a real chance of uncovering an undiscovered animal. Alas, as soon as an animal becomes truly respectable, it exits the field of cryptozoology. The real science begins when a cryptid is being more seriously investigated by biologists than by cryptozoologists. Because cryptozoology is by definition a speculative science, cryptozoologists often rub shoulders with folklorists, Forteans, paranormal investigators and creationists, whether they want to or not.
This zoo is roughly divided into three sections. Most cryptozoological beings can be classified as humanoids (something like a human), draconic (it reminds you of a dragon) and animals (everything else). Inside these broad classifications you will find many individual creatures. Each creature has a description that defines what it is and where it is seen, plus a list of resources such as books, websites and documentary films that mention the creature. Most of these resources are firmly rooted in cryptozoology, but some of them approach these creatures from a different viewpoint such as that of folklore and mythology. If you would like to suggest more resources for this website, please email me.
Humanoids
Draconic
Animals
Hairy Humanoids Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch...
Water Monsters Nessie, Sea Serpents, Zeuglodons...
Extinct? Mokele-Mbembe, Thylacine, American Hyena...
Winged Humanoids Mothman, Owlman, Tengu...
Flying Monsters Classic Dragons, Sky Serpents, Atmospheric Beasts....
Out of Place Black Panthers, Kangaroos, Lions...
Other Humanoids Aliens, Fairies, Mermaids...
Landbound Lindorms, Tatzelwurms, Sirrush...
Anomalous Thunderbirds, King Cheetahs, Nandi Bears...
Alphabetical List of All Creatures: A
Abominable Snowman
African Peacocks
Ahool, Olitiau and Giant Bats
Air Rods
Alien Big Cats
Aliens
Almas
American Hyena
American Lions
Angels
Atmospheric Beasts
B
Bear-dogs
Beast of Bray Road
Beast of Gevaudan
Big Gray Man
Bigfoot
Black Panthers
Blue and Black Tigers
Bondegezou (or "Man of the Forest")
Bunyip
Buru, Giant Lizards and Giant Crocodiles
C
Caddy
Champ
Chupacabra
Classic Dragons (Western Cultures)
Classic Dragons (Non-Western Cultures)
Coelacanth (Living Fossil Fish)
Con Rit (or Giant Millipede)
Cynocephali
D
Dinosaurs
Dodo
Dover Demon
Doyarchu (or Irish Crocodile)
Dragons
E
Eastern Cougar
Emela-ntouka (or "Killer of Elephants")
F
Fairies
Felines
Feline Bipeds
G
Gargoyles
Giant Animals
Giant Bats
Giant Crocodiles
Giant Hogs
Giant Lizards
Giant Monkey
Giant Octopus
Giant Salamanders
Giant Sharks
Giant Sloth (see Mapinguary)
Giant Snakes
Giant Squid
Giant Turtles
Giant Vampire Bat
Globsters
Golden Moon Bear
Gourd Head
H
Hairy Dwarfs
Hairy Fish
Helena Manatee
Honey Island Swamp Monster
Horned Cats
Horned Snakes
Howler Monkey Snake
Hyenas
I
Inflatable Hedgehog
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
J
Jackalope
Japanese Dwarf Wolf
Jersey Devil
K
Kangaroos
King Cheetahs
Kouprey (or Cambodian Wild Ox)
Kraken (or Giant Squid)
L
Lake Monsters
Lake Worth Monster
Lindorm
Loch Ness Monster (see Nessie)
Loveland Frogs
M
Maero (or New Zealand Wildman)
Mainland Orangutan
Mapinguary
Marked Hominid
Marozi (or Spotted Lion)
Mermaids and Mermen
Mesonychids (Hoofed Predators)
Mexican Ruffed Cat
Mirapinna (and Other Hairy Fish)
Missing Link
Mngwa (or Gray Cat)
Moas and Other Giant Flightless Birds
Mokele-Mbembe (African Living Dinosaur)
Momo
Mongolian Death Worm (or Olgoi-Khorkhoi)
Mothman
N
Nandi Bear
Napes
Neanderthals
Nessie (or Loch Ness Monster)
O
Ogopogo (or Naitaka)
Okapi
Old Yellow Top
Onza
Orang-Bati
Orang-pendek (or Sedapa)
Owlman
P
Panthera Atrox (American Lions)
Passenger Pigeon
Piasa
Plesiosaurs
Pongo
Proto-Pygmies
Pterosaurs and Pterodactyls
Pygmy Elephant
Q
Queensland Tiger
R
Reptilian Bipeds (or Reptoids)
Roc
S
Saber-Toothed Cats
Sasquatch
Satyrs (or Fauns)
Sea Serpents
Shapeshifters
Shug Monkey
Shunka warakin
Sirrush
Sisemite
Skunk-Apes
Sky Serpents
Smilodon (or Saber-Toothed Cats)
Sumatran Lion (or Cigau)
T
Tapire-iauara (a Semi-Aquatic Hoofed Carnivore)
Tatzelwurm
Tengu
Teratorns
Thunderbird
Thylacine and Queensland Tiger
True Giant
U
Ufiti (or Malawi Chimpanzee)
Unicorn
V
Vampires
Vu Quang Ox (or Saola)
W
Waitoreke (or Maori Otter)
Werewolves
Wild Men (Europe)
Wild Men (America and elsewhere)
Windigo (also spelled "Wendigo")
Winged Men
Wyvern
Y
Yeren (or Chinese Wildman)
Yeti
Yowie (or Yahoo)
Z
Zeuglodons