Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

Das-Adder
Unknown Lizard of Sout h Africa.
Etymology: The local name for Rock hyraxes
(Procavia spp.) is “dassie”; t hus, a combinat ion
of snake and hyrax.
Variant name: Dassie-adder.
Physical description: Snakelike body. Head
like a hyrax. Skin around ear openings is folded
int o a crest . Red and yellow st ripes on t he t ail,
which is about 2 feet long.
Behavior: Ext remely venomous. Allegedly capable
of luring prey wit h it s irresist ible gaze.
Distribution: Drakensberg Mount ains, Sout h
Africa.
Possible explanations:
(1) The Rock monit or (Varanus albigularis)
has a short er head t han t he Wat er monit or
lizard (V. niloticus) and grows t o just over 4
feet . It s t ail is long but not st riped.
(2) An unknown species of monit or lizard.
Sources: W. L. Speight , “Myst ery Monst ers
in Africa,” Empire Review 71 (1940): 223–228;
Karl Shuker, “Here Be Dragons,” Fate 49
(June 1996): 31–34.
Dav
Wildm an of West Asia.
Etymology: Svan (Sout h Caucasian) variant of
Dev.
Behavior: Eats berries. Wears animal skins.
Distribution: Caucasus Mount ains of Georgia.
Sources: Douglas William Freshfield, The
Exploration of the Caucasus (London: E.
Arnold, 1896), vol. 2, pp. 191, 210; Dmit ri
Bayanov, In the Footsteps of the Russian
Snowman (Moscow: Crypt o-Logos, 1996), p.
14.
De Loys’s Ape
Apelike Primate of Sout h America.
Scientific names: Ameranthropoides loysi, proposed
by George Mont andon in 1929; Ateles
loysi, proposed by Art hur Keit h in 1929 t o
count er Mont andon.
Physical description: Gibbonlike primat e.
Thick coat of long, grayish-brown hair. Height ,
5 feet 1.75 inches. Oval face, wit h developed
DE LOYS’S APE, a mystery primate photographed in 1920
by Swiss geologist François de Loys in the Serranía de Parijá
of Colombia and Venezuela. (Fortean Picture Library)
forehead. Triangular pat ch of pale pigment on
t he forehead. Round ridges surrounding t he eye
socket s. Flat nose wit h flared nost rils. Powerful
jaws wit h t hirt y-t wo t eet h (inst ead of t he normal
t hirt y-six for plat yrrhine monkeys in Sout h
America). Flat chest . Broad shoulders. St urdy
arms. Monkeylike hands. Long fingers. Vest igial
t humbs. Oversized clit oris. Long t oes. Opposed
big t oe. No t ail.
Behavior: Can apparent ly walk upright by
holding on t o bushes. Screams wildly. Angrily
confront s humans and uses t ree branches and it s
own excrement as weapons.
Distribution: Serranía de Parijá of Colombia
and Venezuela.
Significant sighting: In 1920, members of
Swiss geologist François de Loys’s expedit ion
killed t he female of a pair of t all, t ailless apes
t hat appeared t o t hreat en t hem. The incident
occurred along t he Río Tarra, on t he border bet
ween Colombia and Venezuela. His famous
phot ograph shows t he dead animal sit t ing on a
DE LOYS’S APE 123