Cryptid Anatomy 101

What's happening, ATS?

I tell you what, I'm a cryptid fiend. Also, I loves me some medical illustrations. I present for you here the best of both worlds.

First up, the astounding work of Walmor Correa, a South American artist.



This is a capalobo. From monstropedia:

"Wolf's cape is said to derive from an old Indian who leaves his village to live his last days alone in the forest. Instead of dying, however, he gradually transforms into a foul-smelling hairy ape armed with longs, canine fangs and a single eye protuding from his forehead. The terrestrial creature walks upright and leaves rounded footprints in the soil, similar to those left if one presses the bottom of a bottle into the ground."

Here we have a curupira.

The Curupira takes the form of a wild human boy with flaming red hair and green teeth. Its most startling characteristic, however, is that its feet are turned to face backwards.

Backwards feet would make negotiating through the thick undergrowth of the Amazon no fun at all, I would think.



This? Is an ipupiara; a critter so obscure, I was unable to find any pertinent info on it.

Next up, the Japanese! And boy, do they excel in this field. Prolific and masterful. And balls out weird.

From pinktentacle:

The Kuro-kamikiri ("black hair cutter") is a large, black-haired creature that sneaks up on women in the street at night and surreptitiously cuts off their hair. Anatomical features include a brain wired for stealth and trickery, razor-sharp claws, a long, coiling tongue covered in tiny hair-grabbing spines, and a sac for storing sleeping powder used to knock out victims. The digestive system includes an organ that produces a hair-dissolving fluid, as well as an organ with finger-like projections that thump the sides of the intestines to aid digestion.

The Bisha-ga-tsuku is a soul-stealing creature encountered on dark snowy nights in northern Japan. The monster -- which maintains a body temperature of -150 degrees Celsius -- is constantly hidden behind a fog of condensation, but its presence can be detected by the characteristic wet, slushy sound ("bisha-bisha") it makes. Anatomical features include feelers that inhale human souls and cold air, a sac for storing the sounds of beating human hearts, and a brain that emits a fear-inducing aura. The Bisha-ga-tsuku reproduces by combining the stolen human souls with the cold air it inhales.

The kappa, a mischievious water sprite.

Uh, and this, well. Your guess is as good as mine.





Hoo boy. Yeah, I guess I choose you.

Back to basics with our last cryptids:



Werewolves? You betcha!

And enough mermaids to choke a horse, here's a sampling:





I'm thinking of drafting up a few anatomical illustraions of my local cryptids, and would be delighted if you guys had any other finds to contribute.

Thanks OP.

Although I'm not into the whole Cryptid thing, but I have to admit those illustrations are pretty cool. There's some serious imagination going on there!

Cheers

Robbie

Fun and awesome post OP!

S+F

reply to post by stratsys-sws

I have to admit those illustrations are pretty cool. There's some serious imagination going on there!

That's what I thought also.

I hadn't seen these creatures before.

Isn't one of those a Pokemon Character? Bulbasaur?

Yeah, Thanks Anyway.

reply to post by emaildogs


Yeah, I was hoping that wouldn't slip by unnoticed.

reply to post by mistermonculous


Poor Ondina, she never saw it coming. The Black Hair Cutter has to be my favorite. I get grossed out immediately by the idea of eating hair, so he is especially nasty with his special digestive juices.

And what...



the heck is this? Has the plant taken over the control of the dinosaur's nervous system? That's cool.

Thanks for visual feast. I am going to be enjoying this.

Originally posted by Frater210
reply to post by mistermonculous

 

And what...

the heck is this? Has the plant taken over the control of the dinosaur's nervous system? That's cool.

Thanks for visual feast. I am going to be enjoying this.

It's Bulbasaur. Duh.

Ivysaur pictured below

reply to post by mistermonculous

Freakishly weird, and I like it, but hey it's me after all.

Think I got something here Monkey........

reply to post by mistermonculous


just to nit pick , lets look more carefully at the " mermaid " illustrations , now it doesnt matter wether you attribute developments to evolutionary development or design

while the lower body is quite well thought out - the head has zero adaption for an aquatic environment

That's a star and flag for you, from one biology nerd to another. And I figure the heap-looking thing is either from some Japanese monster movie, or it's the Enfield Horror. I'm leaning towards monster movie, as I'd swear I've seen it on Bogleech.

EDIT: I was right, it was a Japanese monster movie. It's called Hedora, and it fought Godzilla a few times, apparently.

Originally posted by timewalker
reply to post by mistermonculous

 

Freakishly weird, and I like it, but hey it's me after all.

Think I got something here Monkey........

I believe that monster is Hedorah from the old B-movie Godzilla vs Hedorah( the Smog Monster)

Whoa, guys, the Bulbasaur was a deliberate inclusion. The Hedorah is not, and if it managed to slip in; I now feel sorry that I didn't include the sweetass Godzilla illustrations I found in the course of research. It was a wrench, but I thought I should stick w/ non-fictional cryptids (uh, you know what I mean).

Thanks for the sterling sleuth-work!

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by mistermonculous

 

just to nit pick , lets look more carefully at the " mermaid " illustrations , now it doesnt matter wether you attribute developments to evolutionary development or design

while the lower body is quite well thought out - the head has zero adaption for an aquatic environment

Nit-pick away, it makes for good conversation. And yeah, I totally agree with you. Maybe the head is more of an ornamental "lure", seeing as this ladyfish is known to munch on a randy sailor from time to time.

reply to post by mistermonculous


It depends. The head could be a lure, yeah, but there's also the possibility that the lower body mutates much more rapidly to adapt. "Mermaid syndrome" is a documented medical condition. Assume that the current variant of Homo sapiens has been around for 200,000 years. That gives a very small window of opportunity for an aquatic species to evolve. Sirenians (that's manatees and dugongs, not Sirens) have been around since the Eocene, and they're still not perfectly suited to water.

This is pretty darn cool! Thank you for posting these wonderful images. I had not seen them before.

(Also a big fan of both medical illustration and cryptozoology)