Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

“Nov’ĭ vid kosatki (Cetacea, Delphinidae) iz
vod antarktiki,” Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 62
(1983): 287–295; Michael A. Bigg et al., Killer
Whales: A Study of Their Identification,
Genealogy, and Natural History in British
Columbia and Washington State (Nanaimo,
B.C., Canada: Phantom, 1987).
Antarctic Long-Finned Whale
Unknown CETACEAN of the Antarctic.
Physical description: Length, 20–30 feet.
Black. Long, erect, slightly curved dorsal fin situated
toward the tail.
Distribution: Antarctic waters.
Significant sightings: In 1841, commander of
the Erebus James C. Ross and surgeon Robert
McCormick reported seeing a high-finned
whale in the Ross Sea off Ross Island, Antarctica.
Zoologist Edward A. Wilson observed groups
of similar cetaceans on January 28 and February
8, 1902, during Robert Scott’s Discovery expedition
to the Antarctic. They were black, with
some white around the mouth or chin. The dorsal
fins were 3–4 feet long and sabre-shaped.
Cetologist Robert Clarke and colleagues
logged eight sightings of a high-finned mystery
whale about 20 feet long off the coast of Chile,
November 24–27, 1964.
Sources: James Clark Ross, A Voyage of
Discovery and Research in the Southern and
Antarctic Regions, during the Years 1839–43,
vol. 1 (London: John Murray, 1847); Edward
Adrian Wilson, Mammalia (Cetacea &
Pinnipedia) (London, 1907), pp. 4–5; Robert
Clarke, Anelio Aguayo L., and Sergio Basulto
del Campo, “Whale Observation and Whale
Marking off the Coast of Chile in 1964,”
Scientific Report of the Whales Research Institute,
no. 30 (1978): 117–177; Darren Naish,
“Multitudinous Enigmatic Cetaceans, or
‘Whales in Limbo,’” Animals and Men, no. 11
(December 1996): 28–34.
Antipodes
WILDMAN of North Africa or India.
Etymology: Greek, “feet on the opposite side.”
20 ANTARCTIC LONG-FINNED WHALE
Variant name: Opisthodactyles.
Physical description: Feet said to point
backward.
Present status: Interpreted both as men with
feet pointing backward (toes to the rear) and as
men on the opposite side of the world (whose
feet would be pointing toward us through the
earth). Significant for cryptozoology in that
many WILDMEN are said to have their feet
pointing backward.
Sources: Isidore of Seville, Origines, XI. 3, 24;
Bernard Heuvelmans, Les bêtes humaines
d’Afrique (Paris: Plon, 1980), pp. 149–150, 162.
Apris
Venomous SNAKE of East Africa.
Etymology: Somali (Cushitic) word.
Behavior: So venomous that merely touching
it causes death within seconds.
Distribution: Somalia.
Possible explanation: Positively identified as
the East African sand boa (Gongylophis colubrinus),
a nonvenomous, orange or yellow snake
with chocolate-brown to black splotches.
Source: Stephen Spawls, Sun, Sand, and
Snakes (London: Collins, 1979).
Apsarās
MERBEING of Hindu mythology.
Etymology: Sanskrit (Indo-Aryan), “moving in
water.”
Physical description: Not fish-tailed. Depicted
as a voluptuous, large-hipped young woman.
Behavior: Both aquatic and celestial. Has a
sweet fragrance. Enjoys singing and dancing.
Skilled lute and cymbal player. Often carries
lotus flowers. Able to foretell the future. Promiscuous.
Distribution: India; Cambodia.
Source: Gwen Benwell and Arthur Waugh,
Sea Enchantress (London: Hutchinson, 1961),
pp. 31–32.
Arabian Flying Snake
FLYING REPTILE of the Middle East.
Physical description: Looks like a water snake.
Has wings like a bat.