Cryptozoologist, historian, and publisher Chad Arment has weighed in with a powerful one-liner in conjunction with my essay looking at cryptozoology. As summer slipped into fall last night, Arment left the following comment on a social media site. It is worth repeating here.

“The unfortunate fact is that there are too many people who think that monster hunting is tantamount to cryptozoology, and bypass critical thinking for emotional responses to natural mysteries.”

Chad Arment’s Cryptozoology and the Investigation of Lesser-Known Mystery Animals (Coachwhip Publications, 2006) extends the information on the non-stars of cryptozoology. Arment collected stories that included ones about unknown coelacanths, mystery pigs, luminous spiders, flying snakes, and the mystery bird Paul Gauguin painted, the pouakai, a large Polynesian bird that reportedly often attacked warriors and was quite capable of carrying off children.

One of Chad Arment’s best books is Varmints: Mystery Carnivores of North America, a researcher’s treasure trove of information about mystery felids and other hidden “varmints,” mostly for Canada and the USA, well-organized according to region.