Australian Megafauna for Australia Day

The following picture of the presumably-extinct Australian megafauna was posted this morning on Facebook because of Australia Day. Most of the creatures shown on it have been nominated as survivals corresponding to recent Cryptid categories.

Monsters in America Map Dissection

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2923920/United-monsters-America-Infographic-reveals-strange-beasts-captured-nation-s-imagination.html

United monsters of America: Infographic reveals the strange beasts that have captured the nation's imagination 

• The map, created by artist Mark Adams, reveals the imaginary beasts that are feared the most in each state 
• 'It is a bit of a declaration of optimism and wonderment as to what might be possible on planet Earth,' he said
• Big Bird, for instance, has become notorious in Texas where some say they have seen an ape-like, winged beast
• Other monsters in the map include the Mothman in West Virginia, the Jersey devil in New Jersey, the Beast of Busco in Indiana and the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swap in South Carolina

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:26 EST, 23 January 2015 | Updated: 09:14 EST, 24 January 2015

This map has been highly circulated and promoted recently
It is also very misleading in creating multiple categories for what is really likely to be only the same thing over again. There are several known hoaxes included and several cases where the creatures in question probably belong to already known and established species.

 

I have a detailed intermediate map indicating which cases are hoaxes and so on, as formerly posted on Facebook. I think to save a lot of unnecessary argument I can leave it off here but I can add it if people are really interested in the rationale for all of the category eliminations

This is what the map reduces down to after throwing out the obvious sightings of known animals (Chupacabras-dogs, big cats and the Beast of Busco snapping turtle), known hoaxes and misrepresentation (Monsters of Bear Lake and Alkali Lake, and the Jersey Devil as cited is based on hoaxes, not the residual of unexplained sightings), and putting all of the closely similar sightings into larger categories. This leaves with a few well attested Unknown categories with candidate fossil antecedents (blue F), some Cryptid categories that are likely known species (red K, including the Caveman and Ape categories which boil down to being "Only" humans and apes, and probably alligator gars) and a couple of poorly articulated and poorly attested leftovers, the smaller and larger "Lizardmen" or swamp creatures. I do think there is something to such reports but we need much better information on the both of them. I think Tyler Stone's suggestion of an amphibious sort of macaque monkey does still hold up as the best explanation for the "Kappa" like Pukwudgie types)

These are also not categories I made up to begin with and they don't contain all of the reports that I would include as potentially interesting. The original map is sensationalistic and not very particular about the authenticity of the stories it is including, or the lack of the same. ALL of the categories in Cryptozoology are completely artificial and largely arbitrary.

This is just how the situation stacks up to me and I will be the first to admit that nothing is "Proven" in Cryptozoology, these are only the best suggestions I have. For some funny reason people assume that just because something appears on this blog I consider the matter to be "Proven" but I do not, these are only the best suggestions and not all of the evidence is equally good  across the board.

Administrative Notice

This blog has been hacked and I have not been able to add anything or edit it for most of the calendar year 2014. Nor have I been able to get into the comments to read them or approve them. Most of the comments have all been wiped in my absence.

We can just say I've been on Sabbatical since I started writing on most of these subjects in Yahoo discussion groups and that was at least seven years ago.

If I can get the blogs going again I shall be doing extensive editing of older posts and rewriting. Currently the blogs are being run on Facebook. I shall have to see if I can get the regular blogs on blogger back under control again.

My readers are still in there and showing much support. I am grateful for that part
Thank you.

PS. I checked and this blog had two unreleased drafts on backlog. Both had been wiped when I went back to see if they were salvageable.

PPS. It has become necessary for me to make the blanket statement once again that as a news service I cannot be held personally responsible for the opinions expressed by others as reprinted on this blog. That is the standard situation. For some reason my harshest critics have managed to miss the point that this is the standard situation when they criticize me personally for the statements and  opinions of others as expressed on this blog.  For the record, Darren Naish, Cameron McCormack, Loren Coleman, Dick Raynor, Karl Shuker and several others have all done that when mentioning me or this blog during public discussions. They really should have known better than that.