Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

Sources: A. Blayney Percival, A Game Ranger
on Safari (London: Nisbet, 1928), p. 243; J. L.
B. Smith, Old Fourlegs: The Story of the
Coelacanth (London: Longmans, Green, 1956),
pp. 189–190; Bernard Heuvelmans, Les
derniers dragons d’Afrique (Paris: Plon, 1978),
pp. 429–430.
Trash
BLACK DOG of northern England.
Etymology: Named after the sound its feet
make, as if on a muddy road.
Variant names: Guytrash (in West Yorkshire),
Gytrash, Padfoot (near Leeds), Skriker
(“screamer,” in Lancashire), Striker.
Physical description: Large dog the size of a
sheep or lion. Eyes are like saucers. Shaggy coat.
Large feet.
Behavior: Screams. Walks backward in front
of people. Said to drag a chain. Vanishes when
the witness stops paying attention.
Distribution: Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Sources: “‘Trash’ or ‘Striker,’” Notes and
Queries, ser. 1, 2 (1850): 52–53; William
Henderson, Notes on the Folk Lore of the
Northern Counties of England and the Borders
(London: Longmans, Green, 1866), pp.
237–238, 273–274; James Bowker, Goblin Tales
of Lancashire (London: W. Swan Sonnenschein,
1878); John Harland and T. T. Wilkinson,
Lancashire Folk-lore (Manchester, England: John
Heywood, 1882), p. 91; Katharine M. Briggs, A
Dictionary of Fairies (London: Allen Lane,
1976), pp. 321, 370, 412.
Tratratratra
Unknown PRIMATE of Madagascar.
Etymology: Malagasy (Austronesian) word,
possibly based on its call.
Variant name: Trétrétrétré.
Physical description: As large as a two-year-old
calf. Frizzy hair. Face is round and very humanlike.
Ears are humanlike. Front and hind feet are
like an ape’s. Short tail.
Behavior: Solitary. If the name is onomatopoetic,
its call would be a chatter.
Distribution: Madagascar.
Present status: The only known mention was
by Etienne de Flacourt in 1658.
Possible explanations:
(1) A surviving giant lemur of the genus
Palaeopropithecus, which was formerly
widespread in Madagascar and apparently
persisted until at least the sixteenth century.
It weighed 85–130 pounds and was largely
ground-dwelling.
(2) A surviving giant lemur of the genus
Megaladapis, which weighed 85–175
pounds. However, its face was elongated
and tilted upward in a way found in no
other primate and would probably not be
described as like a human’s. Its arms and
legs were short, but its hands and feet were
extraordinarily long. It was arboreal but
probably slow-moving in the trees.
(3) A surviving giant lemur of the genus
Archeolemur or Hadropithecus, which
weighed around 30–55 pounds, probably
too small for this animal.
Sources: Etienne de Flacourt, Histoire de la
grande isle Madagascar (Paris: G. de Luyne,
1658), p. 154; Raymond Decary, La faune
malgache, son rôle dans les croyances et les usages
indigènes (Paris: Payot, 1950), p. 206; Elwyn
L. Simons, “Lemurs: Old and New,” in Steven
M. Goodman and Bruce D. Patterson, eds.,
Natural Change and Human Impact in
Madagascar (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian
Institution, 1997), pp. 142–166.
Trauco
LITTLE PEOPLE of South America.
Variant names: Fiura (for the female), Huelli,
Pompo’n del monte, Thrauca (for the female),
Thrauco, Trauko.
Physical description: Height, 1 foot 6 inches–2
feet 6 inches. Covered with coarse, shaggy hair.
Broad back. No feet.
Behavior: Both nocturnal and diurnal. Frequents
hollow trees or treetops. Eats fruit. Said
to wear a conical hat and use a walking staff and
stone axe. Hypnotizes and assaults women.
Distribution: Los Lagos Region, southern
Chile.
Sources: George Chatworth Musters, At
TRAUCO 555