Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

A guide named Miegam was traveling up the
Berbice River in Guyana in 1918 with three
others when they saw two hairy creatures on the
riverbank. The creatures’ footprints looked apelike
rather than human.
Mycologist Gary Samuels observed a 5-foottall
Didi about 60 feet away in the Guyanese
forest in 1987. It walked past on two feet, making
an occasional “hoo” sound.
Sources: Edward Bancroft, An Essay on the
Natural History of Guyana, in South America
(London: T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, 1769),
pp. 130–131; Charles Barrington Brown, Canoe
and Camp Life in British Guiana (London: E.
Stanford, 1876), pp. 87–88, 123, 385; L. C. van
Panhuys, “Are There Pygmies in French
Guiana?” Proceedings of the International Congress
of Americanists 13 (1905): 131–133; Nello
Beccari, “Ameranthropoides loysi, gli Atelini e
l’importanza della morfologia cerebrale nella
classificazione delle scimmie,” Archivio per
l’Antropologia e la Etnologia 73 (1943): 1–112;
Ivan T. Sanderson, Abominable Snowmen: Legend
Come to Life (Philadelphia: Chilton, 1961), pp.
178–181; Mark A. Hall, Living Fossils: The
Survival of Homo gardarensis, Neandertal Man,
and Homo erectus (Minneapolis, Minn.: Mark
A. Hall, 1999), pp. 50–51; Loren Coleman and
Patrick Huyghe, The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti,
and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide (New
York: Avon, 1999), pp. 72, 183.
Dientudo
Giant Hominidof South America.
Etymology: Spanish, “big teeth.”
Physical description: Half bear, half man.
Huge teeth.
Habitat: Forests.
Distribution: El Gato Creek, Ringuelet, and
Toloso in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
Source: Fabio Picasso, “South American
Monsters and Mystery Animals,” Strange
Magazine, no. 20 (December 1998): 28–35.
Dilali
Wate r L i on of Central Africa.
Etymology: Gbaya-Bossangoa (Ubangi),
“water lion.”
132 DIENTUDO
Variant names: Dilaï, Mama himé, Mamaimé
(Zandé/Ubangi, “water lion”).
Physical description: Length, 5 feet. Shoulder
height, 3 feet. The size of a horse. Mane. Large
tusks. Hairy legs. Claws like a lion’s.
Behavior: Aquatic. Feeds on fish and leaves.
Kills hippopotamuses and crocodiles but does
not eat them. In Central African Republic, said
to kill and eat humans.
Distribution: Southern Chad; Central African
Republic.
Significant sighting: In 1912, Naumann of
Ulm, a lieutenant in the German Imperial Defense
Corps, offered a reward for the Dilali
while he was stationed north of the Ouham
River in Chad. He failed to find any evidence
other than stories.
Possible explanations:
(1) The aquatic variety of the Pygmy
Elephant.
(2) A surviving saber-toothed cat, suggested
by Bernard Heuvelmans.
Sources: Ingo Krumbiegel, Von neuen und
unentdeckten Tierarten (Stuttgart, Germany:
Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung, 1950), pp.
57–68; Bernard Heuvelmans, On the Track of
Unknown Animals (New York: Hill and Wang,
1958), pp. 463–465, 468, 474; Robert Kirch,
“Animaux inconnus en Afrique?” Connaissance
de la Chasse, no. 60 (April 1981): 62–65, 92.
Dimorphic Beaked Whale
Unclassified Cetacean of the eastern Pacific
Ocean.
Etymology: From its two distinct color forms.
Scientific name: Mesoplodon species A.
Variant name: Unidentified beaked whale.
Physical description: Length, 16–18 feet.
Long, wide beak. Relatively flat head with a
small but distinct melon. Low, triangular dorsal
fin. Males have a broad, white swath across the
body; the head and beak are reddish-brown or
tan, while the back and flanks behind the swath
are black-brown or chocolate-brown. Females
and young are gray-brown, fading to pale gray
on the underside.
Behavior: Usually seen traveling in tight
groups at a moderate pace. Feeds on squid.