Cryptomundo
for Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and More

If you’ve been reading of the finding of a new primate in the last few days, you aren’t going crazy if you thought it sounded awfully familiar. On January 16, 2008, you learned here of the discovery of a new monkey in the Amazon, with the Latin name Cacajao ayresii. This week various media releases, […]

Read: New Uakari Photo »

Nepali scientists have recorded a new subspecies of bird – Nepal Rufous-vented Prinia – at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) recently. Photo Courtesy: BCN According to Bird Conservation Nepal, the bird first recorded by chairperson of Nepal Rare Birds Committee (NRBC) Suchit Basnet and ornithologist Badri Chaudhary on April 1, 2005 at Koshi Tappu. The […]

Read: New Subspecies Discovery in Nepal »

Lordomyrma vanua Lucky & Sarnat 2008: Fiji image by A. Lucky & E. Sarnat The discovery of new insects are a dime a dozen, so to speak. I tend to agree with Bernard Heuvelmans that an animal has to be large enough to have an impact on humans, visibly, to be a cryptid. The cryptids […]

Read: Fiji Lordomyrma Discovered »

Grey-faced sengi, Rhynchocyon udzungwensis. Photo credit: Francesco Rovero. “This is one of the most exciting discoveries of my career,” said Galen Rathbun of the California Academy of Sciences. Rathbun’s and Museum of Natural Sciences in Trento, Italy, Francesco Rovero’s discovery is published in the February issue of the British-based Journal of Zoology. Although there is […]

Read: New Giant: First Elephant-Shrew In 126 Years »

Cryptoblepharus daedalos, one of 13 new skink species discovered by Northern Territory scientists. (Dr. Paul Horner) New research by the Territory and South Australian Museums has uncovered a number of new species of snake-eyed skinks. Of the 17 new species discovered in Australia and Papua New Guinea, nine were found in the Northern Territory of […]

Read: Oz Discovery: 13 New Skinks! »

One thing leads to another. Looking into the new mystery photo postcard has taken me to more of the backstory that involves a Sea Serpent hunt exactly 100 years ago. In 1908, a Little River couple on an outing on Biscayne Bay reported seeing a sea serpent with a 30-foot-long body and a long, slender […]

Read: Thompson’s Sea Serpent Hunt »

Remember the recent story of the discovery of a rat-eating pitcher plant? Do they or don’t they? Rats! Or not? It sure kicked up a few pro and con feelings about the whole issue. Some people wondered if pitcher plants can actually “eat” (i.e. dissolve and digest) rats? Despite scientific literature saying it happens, skeptics […]

Read: Rats! Or Not? »

Photo by Robert Coffan – The Psathyrella aquatica mushroom, pictured above, was recently discovered by scientists in the Rogue Valley, Oregon. The Southern Oregon University environmental studies and biology faculty will share their discovery of a new species of mushroom that grows underwater – the first of its kind – in a presentation tomorrow in […]

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Nepenthes tenax Here is another one for your cryptobotany file! It is not a cow-eating tree from India – (as per here, here, and here) – , but a rat-eating pitcher plant from Australia. A rare new species of plant that eats small rats has been discovered at the tip of Cape York. Pitcher plants, […]

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United Press International is crediting the Vietnam News Agency with reporting from Long Xuyen, Vietnam, that herpetologists have discovered four new species of geckos in isolated mountains and islands in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. L. Lee Grismer with La Sierra University in the United States and Ngo Van Tri from Vietnam’s Institute of Tropical […]

Read: Four New Geckos Discovered »

The tiny shrub frog (Philautus ochlandrae) lives in bamboo hollows. This new species of shrub frog from the Western Ghats adds its name to the growing list of frogs discovered recently. The latest is a tiny oriental shrub frog, named Philautus ochlandrae, discovered in the cool evergreen forests of the Kakkayam Reserve Forest in Kerala, […]

Read: New Shrub Frog Discovered »

According to Zootaxa (Smith et al., 2008), a new species of moray eel, Gymnothorax baranesi has been discovered in the most surprising of locations: in relatively shallow water in front of a major marine laboratory. This finding of the new species took place in a well-studied area in front of the Interuniversity Institute for Marine […]

Read: New Moray Eel Surprise Discovery »

New findings are everywhere, sometimes even when you happen to be on picnic! The palm will be called Tahina spectabilis which is Malagasy for blessed or to be protected. Tahina is the name of one of the discoverer Xavier Metz’s daughters. The most important new species of palm for 50 years has been discovered by […]

Read: New Monster Palm Discovered »

A photo of the new discovery is unavailable to date, but this example of Cacajao calvus rubicundus, the bald uakari is typical of the uakaris. Photo credit: Roy Fontaine. The New Scientist of January 16, 2008 reports the discovery of a new uakai monkey living in north-western Amazonia, which belongs to a species unknown to […]

Read: New Uakari Monkey Discovered »

Along with other media outlets, The Times of London, through environment reporter Lewis Smith, is noting for January 16, 2008, the details of what is being characterized as a “giant rat” fossil find in South America. The skull of the rodent is 53cm long. The creature had huge incisors that may have been used for […]

Read: Giant Fossil Rodent Discovered »