Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

Daisy Dog
Doglike Entity of Cornwall, England.
Etymology: From t he cross-shaped plot of
daisies on t he dog’s grave.
Physical description: Size of a cat . Laughing
face. Pug nose. Feat hery ears. Plumed t ail
draped over on it s back.
Behavior: It s bit e is said t o be fat al.
Distribution: Cornwall.
Significant sighting: Much feared by Cornish
fishermen in t he ninet eent h cent ury and perhaps
earlier.
Possible explanation: Said t o be t he ghost s of
Pekinese dogs t hat were sent by t he Chinese
emperor t o Queen Elizabet h I in t he lat e sixt
eent h cent ury. The dog’s keeper, a Chinese
princess, was killed by mut inous sailors, and t he
dogs were t hrown overboard. The bodies were
lat er found and buried. No record of t his event
exist s out side of folklore. However, t he similarit
y of t he Daisy dog t o t he real Pekinese (a breed
t hat did not officially reach England unt il Oct
ober 1860) is remarkable.
Sources: Rut h L. Tongue, Forgotten Folk
Tales of the English Counties (London:
Rout ledge and Kegan Paul, 1970); Karl
Shuker, Extraordinary Animals Worldwide
(London: Robert Hale, 1991), pp. 49–53.
Dakuwaqa
Giant Fish of t he Sout h Pacific Ocean.
Etymology: Fijian (Aust ronesian) word.
Variant name: Dakuwaqua.
Physical description: Shark wit h light spot s.
Lengt h, 35 feet . Turt le-shaped head. Short
neck, 2 feet in diamet er. Enormous dorsal fin.
Fluked t ail like a whale’s.
Behavior: Said t o at t ack canoes when hungry.
D
121
Distribution: Koro Sea, off Vanua Levu, Fiji
Islands.
Significant sighting: Rev. A. J. Small saw t he
animal in 1912 when he was on board an 8-t on
cut t er.
Possible explanation: The Whale shark (Rhincodon
typus) is known in t hese wat ers and fit s t he
general physical descript ion.
Sources: Colman Wall, “Dakuwaqa,”
Transactions of the Fijian Society, 1917, pp.
6–12, 39–46; George T. Bakker, “Dakuwaqa,”
Transactions of the Fijian Society, 1924, pp.
30–36; Paul Sieveking, “The Dakuwaqua,”
Fortean Times, no. 58 (July 1991): 28.
Dakwa
Freshwater Monster of Tennessee.
Etymology: Cherokee (Iroquoian) word.
Behavior: Knocks over boat s. Said t o be able
to swallow a man whole.
Distribution: Lit t le Tennessee River, near t he
mout h of Lit t le Toqua Creek, Monroe Count y,
Tennessee; French Broad River, Buncombe
Count y, Nort h Carolina.
Sources: Albert S. Gat schet , “Wat er-
Monst ers of American Aborigines,” Journal of
American Folklore 12 (1899): 255–260; Don
Chesnut , East ern Cherokee Place Names,
1999, ht t p://www.users.mis.net /~chesnut /
pages/cherokeeplace.ht m.
Dard
Myst ery Lizard of West ern Europe.
Etymology: French, “forked t ongue.”
Variant name: Cat-Headed Snake.
Physical description: Cat like head. A mane extends
down t he back. Four legs. Short t ail like a
viper.