Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology

722 pages | PDF | 8,3 Mb From Bigfoot and the bonobo to the Central Asian wildman and winged humanoid, this volume presents over 1000 A-to-Z entries on every reported cryptid - i.e. legendary animal unknown to science - from around the world. Each entry traces the history of sightings and known habitats, including details such as: popular name; distribution; etymology; significant encounters; scientific name; present status; physical description; possible identifications; behaviour; variant names; habitat; and sources and secondary entries. Cryptozoological categories include: hominid dwarfs, giants and Neanderthaloids; giant bats and insects; lake and sea monsters; relic elephants; semimythical beasts; and unknown bears, birds, cats, snakes and crocodilians. The purpose of the work is to seriously study cryptids as distribution anomalies, unknown variations of known species, survivors thought to be extinct, mythical animals, paranormal creatures with animal-like characteristics, and hoaxes. More than 1,085 unknown animals are covered in field-guide format, some with pictures or drawings. Most articles include an etymology of the name, scientific name if available, variant names, physical description, behavior, habitat, significant sightings, present status, and possible explanations, such as misidentification of a known species or survival of an extinct species. The articles end with lists of chronologically arranged sources, many of them primary materials, and include both print and Internet resources. There are also entries for 40 major cryptid categories such as birds and sea monsters; these entries have useful cross-references to entries on specific creatures. Following the A-Z entries are lists of 431 species discovered or rediscovered since 1900 (such as the thylacine, a canid marsupial of Australia believed to be extinct since 1936 but seen by reliable witnesses up to the present time) and freshwater bodies in which unknown animals have been reported. A geographical index and a "Cryptid Index" close the set. This reference work is more scientific and comprehensive than Cryptozoology A-Z (Fireside, 1999) and will be an asset to public, school, and academic libraries where patrons are interested in cryptozoology. It is useful as a biological guide, a folklore reference, and a study of paranormal creatures. Links (8.3Mb) Quote:click to download