Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

northeast India. However, it’s only about 15
inches long.
(2) A large lemur from Madagascar, such as
the Indri (Indri indri ) or the as yet
unknown TRATRATRATRA.
Source: André Thevet, Cosmographie
universelle (Paris: P. L’Huilier, 1575), bk. 2,
chap. 10.
The Thing
Giant INVERTEBRATE of the Caribbean Sea.
Physical description: Wormlike. Segmented.
Length, 7–15 feet. Diameter, 1.5–2 inches.
Color, maroon or copper, with fluorescent,
multicolored speckles. Bulbous head, described
as walruslike. Feathered gills. Hundreds of leglike
protuberances or setae along the sides.
Behavior: Nocturnal. Extremely sensitive to
light. Tends to break apart when handled. Eaten
by moray eels.
Habitat: Coral reef.
Distribution: Anse Chastanet dive resort,
Soufrière, St. Lucia.
Significant sighting: Felix Voirol saw the
Thing during a night dive in the summer of
1993. It was as big as a medium-sized moray eel,
copper-colored, and segmented. It instantly disappeared
into a crevice.
Present status: Photographs exist of the animal,
but they have not been published.
Possible explanations:
(1) A hoax on the part of the dive resort is
unlikely, since it would be difficult to set up
and maintain.
(2) A giant, segmented, unknown species of
polychaete worm, suggested by Michael
Allard and Susan Marsden. Rock worms
(Family Eunicidae) are omnivorous
polychaetes that live in coral reefs. Some
species grow to more than 6 feet long.
(3) Outsize individual worms of known
eunicid species.
Sources: Ben S. Roesch, “‘The Thing’: A
Cryptic Polychaete of St. Lucia,” Cryptozoology
Review 1, no. 1 (Summer 1996): 12–19; Mary
E. Petersen, “‘The Thing’: A Specialist’s View,”
Cryptozoology Review 1, no. 2 (Autumn 1996):
5–6.
542 THE THING
Three-Starred Anglerfish
One of BEEBE’S ABYSSAL FISHES of the North
Atlantic Ocean.
Scientific name: Bathyceratias trilynchus, given
by William Beebe.
Physical description: Oval anglerfish. Length,
6 inches. Black. Three “fishing rod” antennae
(illicia) on the head tipped with a pale-yellow
light organ. Small eyes.
Significant sighting: Observed only once at
2,470 feet by William Beebe in a bathysphere
off Bermuda in the early 1930s.
Distribution: North Atlantic Ocean.
Possible explanation: Unknown species allied
to the Angler fishes (Family Ceratiidae).
Source: William Beebe, Half Mile Down
(New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1934).
Three-Toes
Dubious FRESHWATER MONSTER or SEA MON-
STER of Florida.
Etymology: From its tracks.
Variant name: Old three-toes.
Physical description: Length, 15 feet. Hairy or
furred. Gray or dirty-yellow color. Blunt head
like an alligator’s or rhinoceros’s. No neck.
Front flippers hang from its shoulders. Back legs
like an alligator’s but heavier. Huge, three-toed
feet. Long, blunt tail.
Behavior: Amphibious. Bipedal; runs or waddles.
Churns up foam when swimming. Makes
a gurgling growl.
Tracks: Three clawed toes. Length, 13.5
inches, from middle toe tip to heel. Width, 15
inches. Stride, 2 feet 7 inches.
Distribution: Clearwater-Tampa area and
Suwannee River, Florida.
Significant sightings: The first incident took
place in February 1948 when a young Clearwater,
Florida, couple on a beach road early in the
morning reported to police they had seen some
kind of monster stomp out of the sea. Tracks
were discovered soon afterward coming out of
the water, wandering on the beach, then returning
to the sea. Other track discoveries were
made in the Clearwater-Tampa area in March
and April.
On July 25, 1948, fliers George Orfanides