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Raiju
Variations: Raijū, Thunder-animal, Thunder-beast In Japan, it is said that lightning cannot pass through a mosquito-net – and neither can the Raiju. These creatures also hate the smell of incense. A...
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Hrökkáll
Variations: Hrökk-áll A malicious Icelandic wizard once revived a dead, half-rotted eel, giving rise to an evil and toxic creature. It was the first Hrökkáll, or “coil-eel”. The wizard may be long...
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Tapirê-iauara
Variations: Tapir Nymph, Onça d’Água (Water Jaguar), Onça Pé de Boi (Cow-legged Jaguar), Paraná Pura Iuraretê (Turtle/Jaguar that Dwells in River Side Channels), Tai-açu-iara (potentially) The...
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Binaye Ahani
Variations: Bina’ye Ayani, Nayie A’anyie, Bina’yeagha’ni, Eye Killers, Evil Eyes The Binaye Ahani, or “Eye Killers”, were among the many Anaye that were slain by Nayenezgani. As with the other original...
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Tiddalik
Variations: Tiddalick, Karaknitt Tiddalik the frog was thirsty. He got up one day in the Australian bush and decided he needed more water. He began by drinking down all the water in his pond. After...
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Aíǰe
Variations: Aíge, Spirit-Tadpole The Aíǰe is associated with the Bororo of Brazil and Bolivia, and in particular the Páiwoe and Aróroe clans. It is a gigantic tadpole, somewhat like a hippopotamus....
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Aloés
The Aloés is a large fish from the Caribbean around Hispaniola, reported by Thevet. It looked like a goose in general shape, with the top of its skull in the shape of a bon-chrétien (Williams) pear....
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Bo
Variations: Poh According to the Guideways through Mountains and Seas, the animal known as Bo can be found around Mount Winding-Center (identified as Mount Xue), where Huai-trees grow and where jade,...
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Shahmat al-Ard
Variations: Kharȃti Shahmat al-Ard, the “fat of the earth” or “grease of the earth”, is a worm that contracts into a bead if touched. Al-Qazwini, who called it the Kharȃti, said that it was long, red,...
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Sarmatian Sea Snail
Variations: Sarmatian Snail, Limaçon de la Mer Sarmatique, Philosmon (Greek, potentially), Aknib (Turkish, potentially), Albakr (Tartar, potentially), Lucrab (Arabic, potentially), Cochlea Sarmatica...
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Nunda
Variations: Nundá, Eater of People The cat of Sultan Majnún was unusually fierce. One day it killed a calf, but the Sultan dismissed the event, stating that “the cat is mine, and the calf is also...
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Hrosshvalur
Variations: Hrosshvalr, Hrosshualar, Hrosshveli, Rosshvalur, Equinus Cetus, Horse-whale; Saehestur (Sea Horse); Stökkull (Jumper, probably erroneously); Stori Svinhvalur (Large Pig-whale); Pollur...
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Bocarin
Variations: Manati Thevet’s visit to the island of Hispaniola turned up a number of unusual and exotic creatures, one of which is a grass-eating fish known as the Bocarin or Manati. Found in both...
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Sirānis
Variations: Sirānas, Suryānās, Sirinā, Siwānis According to al-Qazwini, the Sirānis can be found in the undergrowth of Kabul and Zabulistan. Its name is derived from the Greek siren, from which the...
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Auñ Pana
Variations: Pehiwetinome The Auñ Pana are evil man-eating fish from the folklore of the Yanomami of Brazil and Venezuela. They are large, have arms, and are covered with hair. Apparently they also have...
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Zitiron
Variations: Zityron; Albiron; Barchora; Soldier of the Sea, Man-at-arms of the Sea; Soldat de Mer, Gendarme de Mer The Zitiron (perhaps a corruption of Ketos or whale), or Soldier of the Sea, is a...
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Mourioche
Variations: Guenne; Fausserole (possibly) Nobody knows for sure where Mourioche came from. Some say that he (for lack of a better pronoun) was once a Breton man or a woman, versed in the dark arts, who...
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Tabib al-Bahr
Variations: Doctor of the Sea, Sea Doctor The mysterious Tabib al-Bahr, the “Doctor of the Sea”, is found in the writings of the alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan. Its appearance is not very clear; we know...
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Danghu
Variations: Danghu-bird Upper-Shen Mountain or Shangshen is a rugged, rocky peak with no vegetation on it, but there are hazelnut groves at its base. There, Danghu birds can be seen flying from branch...
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Butatsch Cun Ilgs
Variations: Butatsch-ah-ilgs (erroneously, apparently a typo in Rose’s encyclopedia) The Lüschersee, a small Swiss alpine lake nestled in the heather-covered hills of Graubünden, seems tranquil enough...
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