Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

with the sole exception of the Virginia opossum
(Didelphis virginiana) of North America, a relative
newcomer in the Pleistocene.
Marsupials achieved their greatest diversity in
Australia, where they faced no competition
from eutherian (nonmarsupial) mammals. The
largest was the extinct, hippopotamus-sized
Diprotodon optatum, which may have lingered
long enough for the earliest Australians to prey
on them 18,000–6,000 years ago. Other oddities
were the horse-sized, huge-clawed Palorchestes,
another Pleistocene survivor; Thylacoleo,
the marsupial equivalent of a lion, which had
saber-tooth incisors, huge molars, and clawed
thumbs; a giant wombat, Phascolonus; and the
sthenurine kangaroos, which may have looked
like giant rabbits.
Of the eleven cryptids in this section, only
one is South American (the Macas Mam m al);
the Phantom Kangaroo is an out-of-place visitor
reported with some frequency in North
America and Europe; the others are from Australia
or New Guinea and may represent survivals
of supposedly extinct species or folk memories
of them. A marsupial origin for the
Australian B ig C at has also been suggested,
but this animal looks too much like a real cat to
argue otherwise with any confidence.
Mystery Marsupials
Bunyip; Devil Pig; Giant Kangaroo; G iant
Rabbit; Gyedarra; Kadimakara; Macas Mam -
mal; Phantom Kangaroo; Queensland Tiger;
Tas m ani an D evi l ( Mainland); Thylacine
Matah Kagmi
A Native American name for Bigfootin California.
Etymology: Klamath-Modoc (Penutian) word.
The word bears a curious resemblance to
Metoh-Kangmi, a Tibetan name for the Yeti.
Physical description: Height, 8–10 feet. Covered
in coarse hair. Brown eyes.
Behavior: Call is a drawn-out “agooumm.”
Musky odor. Knows how to treat snakebites.
Trades with the Indians upon occasion.
Distribution: Mount Shasta, California.
Significant sighting: Tawani Wakawa’s grand-
322 MATAH KAGMI
father was helped by three Matah Kagmi when
he was bitten by a rattlesnake near Mount
Shasta, California, around 1900.
Source: Tawani Wakawa, “Tawani Wakawa
Tells of the Sasquatch,” Many Smokes 3 (Fall
1968): 8–10.
Mathews Range Starling
Mystery Bird of East Africa.
Physical description: Grayish plumage. Long
tail. Undertail coverts are red or chestnut.
Distribution: Mathews Range, Kenya.
Possible explanation: Female Red-winged starling
(Onychognathus morio), which has a gray
head and rufous primary feathers, suggested by
Jonathan Kingdon. It is found at high elevations
in the area.
Source: John G. Williams, A Field Guide to
the Birds of East Africa (London: Collins,
1980), p. 12.
Matlox
Cannib al G iant of western Canada.
Etymology: Nootka (Wakashan) word.
Variant name: Matlose.
Physical description: Covered with stiff, black
hair. Large head. Sharp fangs. Long arms. Claws
on fingers and toes.
Behavior: Emits terrifying shouts.
Distribution: Nootka Sound, British Columbia.
Source: José Mariano Maziño, Noticias de
Nutka: An Account of Nootka Sound in 1792
(Seattle: University of Washington Press,
1970), p. 25.
Matuyú
Wildm an of South America.
Physical description: Feet are said to be turned
the wrong way around.
Distribution: Brazil.
Sources: Simão de Vasconcellos, Noticias
curiosas, y necessarias das cousas do Brasil
(Lisbon: I. da Costa, 1668); Luís da Câmara
Cascudo, Dicionário do folclore Brasileiro (Rio
de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, 1962),
vol. 2, pp. 472–473.