List of cryptids

"Cryptid" redirects here and is not to be confused with Cryptic or Cryptozoa.

"Cryptids" redirects here. For the 2023 film, see Cryptids (film).

Cryptids are animals or other beings that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and has been widely critiqued by scientists.^[1][2][3][4] The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information^[5] and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method.^[6] Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence,^[7] likely misidentifications^[8] and misinterpretation of stories from folklore.^[9] While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor.

List

Aquatic or semi-aquatic

See also: List of lake monsters

Name	Other names	Description	Purported location	Depiction
Anguila peluda[10]	Hairy Eel	Pond animal	Pamital ravine, Canary Islands
Bunyip[11]	Bahnyip	Amphibious creature	Australia
Cadborosaurus[12]	Caddy	Sea animal	Pacific Coast of North America
Champ[13]	Champy	Lake monster	Lake Champlain, North America
Cryptid Whales[14][15]	Giglioli's Whale, Rhinoceros dolphin, High-finned sperm whale, Alula whale, Unidentified beaked whales	Sea animal	Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean
Dobhar-chú[16]	Water Hound, King Otter	Extra-large otter-like carnivorous aquatic mammal	Ireland
Gloucester sea serpent[17]		Large serpent	Gloucester, Cape Ann
Great auk (surviving populations)[18]	Pinguinus impennis, garefowl	Aquatic flightles bird	Northern Atlantic
Iemisch[19]	Iemisch Listai	Mix of a jaguar and otter	Patagonia
Igopogo[20]	Kempenfelt Kelly	Lake monster	Lake Simcoe, Ontario (Canada)
Labynkyr Devil[21][22][23]	Labynkyrsky Chert[citation needed]	Lake monster	Oymyakonsky Ulus, Sakha Republic, Russia
Loch Ness Monster[24]	Nessie	Lake monster	Loch Ness, Scotland
Loveland Frog[25]	Loveland frogman, Loveland lizard	Humanoid frog	Loveland, Ohio
Manipogo[26]	Winnipogo	Lake monster	Lake Manitoba, Canada
Megalodon (surviving populations)[27][28][29]	Otodus megalodon[a]	Giant prehistoric shark	Oceans
Mokele-mbembe[30]		Dinosaur (lake, river and/or swamp monster)	Republic of the Congo
Morgawr[31]		Sea serpent	Falmouth Bay
Ogopogo[13]	N'ha•a•itk, Naitaka	Lake monster	Lake Okanagan, Canada
Sea serpents[32]		Sea animals, dinosaurs	All bodies of water
Selma[33]	Seljordsormen	Lake monster	Lake Seljord, Telemark, Norway
Steller's sea ape[34]		Sea animal	Pacific Ocean

Terrestrial

Name	Other names	Description	Purported location	Depiction
British big cats[35]	Alien big cats (ABCs), phantom cats, mystery cats, English lions, Beast of Bodmin, Beast of Exmoor	Carnivorous mammal	Great Britain
Chupacabra[36]	Chupacabras (Spanish for goat-sucker)		Puerto Rico (originally), South and Central America, Southern North America
Dover Demon[37]			Dover, Massachusetts
Fresno nightcrawler[38]		Long white legs with no torso	Fresno, California
Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp[39]	Lizard Man of Lee County	Bipedal	South Carolina, United States
Mapinguari[40]	Mapinguary	Giant Ground Sloth or primate	Amazons
Michigan Dogman[41]		Humanoid dog	Wexford County, Michigan
Moa (surviving original populations)[42][b]	Dinornis robustus (South Island giant moa), Dinornis novaezelandiae (North Island giant moa), Anomalopteryx didiformis (Bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa)	Medium to large flightless birds	New Zealand
Mongolian death worm[43]	Allghoi (or orghoi) khorkhoi	Worm-like animal	Gobi Desert (Asia)
Nandi bear[44]	Chemosit, Kerit, Koddoelo, Ngoelo, Ngoloko, Duba	Large carnivore	Eastern Africa
Not-deer[45]	Not deer	White-tailed deer with unnatural characteristics	Appalachia
Queensland Tiger[46]	Yarri	Large feline	Queensland
Thylacine (surviving original populations)[47][48][c]	Tasmanian tiger. Tasmanian wolf, Thylacinus cynocephalus	Carnivorous marsupial	Australia Papua New Guinea

Hominid

See also: Wild man

Name	Other names	Description	Purported location	Depiction
Almas[13]	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[49]	Orang Mawas, Impakta	Ape or hominid	Negros Occidental, Philippines
Bigfoot[50]	Sasquatch	Large and hairy ape-like creature	United States and Canada
Bukit Timah Monkey Man[51]	BTM, BTMM	Forest-dwelling hominid or other primate	Singapore
Chatawa Monster[52][53]		Large ape-like creature	Mississippi, United States
Chuchunya[54]		Large hominid	Russia
Fouke Monster[55][56]	Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster	Hominid or other primate	Arkansas, United States
Honey Island Swamp monster[57]	Letiche, Tainted Keitre	Hominid or other primate	Louisiana, United States
Orang Pendek		Small hominid	Sumatra
Nittaewo[58]	Nittevo	Small hominids	Sri Lanka
Skunk ape[59]	Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape	Primate	Florida, United States
Yeren[60][59]	Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman	Primate (possible hominin)	China
Yeti[61]	Abominable Snowman	Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions	Himalayas (Asia)
Yowie[58]		Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions	Australia

Flying

Name	Other names	Description	Purported location	Depiction
Jersey Devil[24]	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[62]	Winged Man, Bird Man, UFO-Bird, Mason Bird Monster	Winged bipedal	Mason County, West Virginia, United States
Rod[63]	Skyfish, Air Rod, Solar Entity	Small flying stick-like creatures	Worldwide

See also

• Animalia Paradoxa
• Fearsome critters
• Legendary creature
• List of cryptozoologists
• Lists of legendary creatures
• List of megafauna discovered in modern times
• List of urban legends
• Rare species

Notes

1. Otodus is the currently accepted genus name for megalodon. Older sources refer to the genus as Carcharodon, Carcharocles, and several other names.
2. There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the bush moa through genome editing, this entry refers to the possibility of surviving original populations
3. There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the species through genome editing, this entry refers to the unconfirmed sightings and reports of surviving original populations