Cryptozoology

No Trunks, Says Palaeontologist

In my never-ending quest to give both sides of various intellectually stimulating issues, here is part two of Monday’s discussion on whether or not Mokele-Mbembe, if discovered, might be found to have a trunk. University of Portsmouth vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer Darren Naish (above) has a contrary opinion to that of the one highlighted here by reconstruction artist Bill Munns yesterday, on whether or not trunks existed on sauropods and a variety of other fossil animals. For the sauropods, Naish emails me this comment about Munns’ images (one, shown above) and the pro-trunk theory: “Very cool. But the palaeontological [...]

African Lion Hunt Ends

Crews called off the search for an African lion in a rural part of El Paso County, Colorado, late Monday afternoon (July 14, 2008), believing that the animal in question may just have been a big dog. But they don’t know. Three individuals reported an African lion, complete with mane and brush on the long tail. One official was quoted as saying the tracks were not cougar, not dog, but large felid tracks. A red mane was seen. And then there is the cellphone image capture. Here are various renderings of the photograph of the Mystery Animal: Will this be [...]

New Mouse Lemur Discovered

This is an illustration of different species of endemic mouse lemurs (Microcebus) occurring in the western half of Madagascar. Microcebus are the world’s smallest living primates and some species are limited to small geographic areas, which is known as micro-endemism. (Illustration by Peggy Macnamara, Courtesy of The Field Museum) New Primate Species Discovered on Madagascar Sonja von Brethorst, Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover Number of known mouse lemur species increases to 16 Hannover, 14th July 2008 The working group of University Senior Lecturer Dr. Ute Radespiel from the Institute of Zoology of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, [...]

Maned Lion Spotted in Colorado

“Lion” photo courtesy of Sharon Harding-Shaw. Colorado, July 14, 2008. For comparison, I’ve added this photo of a lion demonstrating the tail up appearance. The Associated Press is reporting, today, July 14, 2008, that a large maned felid has been sighted in El Paso County, Colorado, in the Falcon Hwy. and Log Rd. area, near Colorado Springs. “An African Lion has been spotted. Two people reported seeing the lion, including one who captured a photo of the lion chasing dogs,” reads the first bulletin. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Lari Sevene says the lion was reported at about 8:00 am this morning in [...]

Does Mokele-Mbembe Have A Trunk?

William Munns and his reconstruction of Gigantopithecus. The famed recreator of Gigantopithecus, artist Bill Munns has opened a new window into his world and what we find inside is filled with wonders to behold. Bigfoot. Mokele-Mbembe. Saber-toothed Cats. A cryptozoo, indeed. Munns has shared with me his news that he has uploaded and opened his Bill Munns Creature Gallery. His continuingly upgraded site, Bill Munns Creature Gallery, represents 35 years of his work in varied fields of movie makeup effects, museum exhibit models, theme park robotics, and paleontology studies that have also included visualizations of prehistoric wildlife. As he points [...]

Sea Monster Week

Darren Naish, over at Tetrapod Zoology, just rolled through five days, last week, of sea monster photographs and remarks about the mostly fake, false, or misleading images. Let’s take a look. First up was the March 1965 photograph (below) from Robert Le Serrec of a huge, tadpole-like creature encountered in Stonehaven Bay, Hook Island, Queensland, Australia. The case has been rather universally labeled a hoax. I mentioned in my field guide that Interpol was even after the guy. Naish does gather together all the “other photos” linked with this episode, and that’s a rather interesting angle ignored by most. Naish [...]

Cryptozoology Talks Near You

Today may be my birthday ~ and many thanks to those who are making it a great day to contribute to the Save The Museum effort ~ however, I’m not resting idlely by without fighting to keep the International Cryptozoology Museum open by every means necessary, for example, through making various appearances in support of this effort too, where ever I may. No one likes to become extinct! Besides the Alberta Royal Museum, Edmonton, Alberta, July 20, 2008, illustrated lecture on “Dragons and Cryptozoology,” which you have been hearing a good deal about here lately, there shall also be the [...]