Central European Water Monsters

The matter of Swiss Water-monsters and dragons  came up recently in regards to the "Nothosaur" said to reside in in Lake Como in Italy.
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2013/12/lake-como-monster-italy.html
 I said a sequel was following then but there were delays, and so to contribute toward tat discussion, here is the information from George Eberhart's Mysterious Creatures (2002) concerning Water Monsters in the general area of the highlands of Central Europe:

Germany
Chiemsee, Bayern State. Max Pertl hooked a
huge fish on June 22, 1991, probably a Wels catfish
(Siluris glanis). Ulrich Magin, Trolle, Yetis,
Tatzelwürmer (Munich, Germany: C. H. Beck,
1993), pp. 48–49.
Frickenhausen, Bayern State, lake near. Johann
Nepomuk Sepp, Altbayerischer Sagenschatz zur
Bereicherung der indogermanischen Mythologie
(Munich, Germany: E. Stahl, 1876).
Mummelsee, Baden-Württemberg State.
Athanasius Kircher, Mundus subterraneus (Amsterdam:
J. Janssonium and E. Weyerstraten, 1665);
Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen, Der
Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch (Nuremberg,
Germany: Johann Fillion, 1669).
Seealpsee, Bayern State. Contains a sleeping
DRAGON. Karl Reiser, Sagen, Gebräuche und
Johann Nepomuk Sepp, Altbayerischer Sagenschatz
zur Bereicherung der indogermanischen Mythologie
(Munich, Germany: E. Stahl, 1876).
Starnbergersee, Bayern State. Legendary animal.
“Drache,” in Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, ed., Handwörterbuch
des deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin: W.
de Gruyter, 1929–1930).
Uelmansee, Rheinland-Pfalz State. Two huge
fish appeared before the death of an Uelman heir.
Philipp Wirtgen, Die Eifel in Bildern und Darstellungen
(Bonn, Germany: A. Henry, 1864–1866).
Walchensee, Bayern State. A “giant whale” [sturgeon?]or
serpent allegedly lives here. Friedrich Panzer, Bayerische
Sagen und Bräuche (Munich, Germany: C.
Kaiser, 1848–1855); Johann Nepomuk Sepp, Altbayerischer
Sagenschatz zur Bereicherung der indogermanischen
Mythologie (Munich, Germany: E.
Stahl, 1876).
Weiße Elster, Sachsen-Anhalt State. Huge fish.
August Witzschel, Sagen aus Thuringen (Vienna:
W. Bräumüller, 1866); Robert Eisel, Sagenbuch des
Voigtlandes (Gera, Germany: C. B. Griesbach,
1871).
Ziereinersee, Brandenburg State. Legendary animal.
“Drache,” in Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, ed.,
Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens
(Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1929–1930).
Zwischenahner Meer, Niedersachsen State. A
12-foot animal was seen several times in April
1979. Possibly a Wels catfish (Siluris glanis). Die
Rheinpfalz, August 30, 1979; Ulrich Magin, “A
Brief Survey of Lake Monsters of Continental Europe,”
Fortean Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986):
52–59.

Italy
Lago Amadoier. Ulrich Magin, “A Brief Survey
of Lake Monsters of Continental Europe,” Fortean
Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986): 52–59.
Lago di Como, Lombardy. Rumors of a scaly
monster seemed to be verified when a large Sturgeon
(Acipenser sturio) was caught in November
1946, though a smugglers’ submarine was also
confiscated the following year. “Sea Monster Reported,”
New York World-Telegram, November
20, 1946; Gary S. Mangiacopra, “The Lake Como
Monster,” Pursuit, no. 71 (1985): 122–123.
Lago Maggiore, Piedmont.
Ulrich Magin, “A Brief Survey of Lake Monsters
of Continental Europe,” Fortean Times, no.
46 (Spring 1986): 52–59.
Po di Goro, Emilia-Romagna. A black, 10-foot
“snake with legs” was reported in June 1975 by
Maurizio Trombini. Experts claimed it was an escaped
crocodile. La Stampa (Turin), June 28–29,
1975; Edoardo Russo, “Meanwhile in Italy: The
Goro Monster,” Pursuit, no. 35 (Summer 1976): 62.
Die Rheinpfalz, July 21, 1982; Ulrich Magin,
“A Brief Survey of Lake Monsters of Continental
Europe,” Fortean Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986):
52–59.
Tiber River, Rome. In the sixth century, a
DRAGON appeared when the river was flooded. Its
body was like a large beam of wood. Gulielmus
Durantis, Rationale divinorum officiorum (Augsburg,
Germany: Günther Zainer, 1470).

Austria
River Glan, Kärnten State.
Goggau See, Kärnten State. Fish with a sawtooth
dorsal ridge. Georg Graber, Sagen aus Kärnten
(Graz, Austria: Leykam-Verlag, 1944).
Toplitzsee, Steiermark State. A 48-foot animal
bit through an underwater video cable and threatened
two divers. John Kirk, In the Domain of Lake
Monsters (Toronto, Canada: Key Porter Books,
1998), p. 244.[Possibly an exaggerated account of a big fish]
Urisee, Tirol State. “Seeschlange,” in Hanns
Bächtold-Stäubli, ed., Handwörterbuch des
deutschen Aberglaubens (Berlin: W. de Gruyter,
1929–1930).

Czech Republic
Zachrast’any, East Bohemian region, stream
near. Marie de Vaux Phalipau, Les chevaux merveilleux
dans l’histoire, la légende, les contes populaires
(Paris: J. Peyronnet, 1939), p. 258.

Switzerland
Doubs River, Canton Jura. A snakelike animal
with a blue back and yellow stomach was seen
in 1934. It moved by undulating.
New York Herald Tribune, June 20,
1934.
Lake Geneva, Canton Vaud. Ulrich Magin, “A
Brief Survey of Lake Monsters of Continental Europe,”
Fortean Times, no. 46 (Spring 1986):
52–59.
Reuss River, Canton Luzern. In 1468, a DRAGON
emerged from the Vierwaldstätter See and swam
into the River Reuss. Other appearances took place
in 1480 and 1566. Renward Cysat, Collectanea
chronica und denkwürdige Sachen pro chronica
Luchernensi et Helvetiae [1614] (Lucerne, Switzerland:
Diebold Schilling Verlag, 1961–1972); Johann
Jakob Scheuchzer, Helvetica (Leiden, the
Netherlands: Petri Vander Aa, 1723); Alois Lütolf,
Sagen, Bräuche, Legenden aus den fünf Orten Luzern,
Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden und Zug (Lucerne,
Switzerland: J. Schiffmann, 1862); Theodor von
Liebenau, Das alte Luzern topographisch-kulturgeschichtlich
Geschildert (Lucerne, Switzerland:
C. F. Prell, 1881).
Rotsee, Canton Luzern. In 1599, a serpent
emerged from the lake and provoked a panic; an
animal that looked like a wooden beam also lived
there. Renward Cysat, Collectanea chronica und
denkwürdige Sachen pro chronica Luchernensi et
Helvetiae [1614] (Lucerne, Switzerland: Diebold
Schilling Verlag, 1961–1972); Johann Leopold
Cysat, Beschreibung dess berühmbten Lucerner- oder
4.Waldstätten Sees (Lucerne, Switzerland: David
Hautten, 1661).
Selisbergsee, Canton Uri.  See ELBST.
Elbst
F reshwater Monster of Switzerland.
Etymology: From the Old German albiz
(“swan”).[Alternately a reference to the Alps, ie, "Alpine"]
Physical description: Serpentine. Sometimes
looks like a drifting log. Reddish color.
Head the size of a pig’s. Scales. Clawed feet.
Behavior: Favors stormy weather. Creates a
big wake. Travels on land at night. Eats sheep and cattle.
Distribution: Selisbergsee, Canton Uri, Switzerland.
Significant sightings: First reported in 1585
and last seen in 1926 by workers building a new
road.
Sources: Renward Cysat, Collectanea chronica
und denkwürdige Sachen pro chronica Luchernensi
et Helvetiae [1614], vol. 4 (Lucerne,
Switzerland: Diebold Schilling Verlag,
1961–1972); C. Kohlrusch, ed., Schweizerisches
Sagenbuch (Leipzig, Germany: R. Hoffmann,
1854); Josef Müller, Sagen aus Uri aus dem
Volksmunde gesammelt, vol. 1 (Basel,
Switzerland: Gesellschaft für Folkskunde, 1926).

[Lake Zurich Monster noted on Cryptozoology message board]

[A similar water monster is reported in Romania, I do not know the name for it]

Former Yugoslavia
Carska bara, Serbia. Smashing, bubbling, and
croaking sounds are heard. Karl Shuker, “Serbian
Swamp Squid,” Fortean Times, no. 150 (October
2001): 21.

In the seventeenth century, the Olm
(Proteus anguineus), a cave-dwelling, aquatic
salamander of Yugoslavia and northern Italy,
was thought to be the offspring of a Dragon.
It has an eel-like body, white skin, three
pairs of external gills, four tiny legs, and
vestigial eyes. It grows to about 12 inches
long. When washed out of their caves by
heavy rainfall, Olms gather in deep pools,
but they will not voluntarily leave the water.

This potentially means that the young of dragons resemble olms.
Young dragons are supposed to be wormlike and they are called "Wyrms"

Most "Dragons" reported in this area are big water lizards that are often reported as being loglike, often in the range of 5-10 feet long: probably none of them are very large. Ordinarily they seem to be like the larger form of Tatzelwurm (with four legs) but this kind ordinarily lives in the water and does not usually leave it (They are commonly blamed for losses in livestock, however) they are ordinarily brownish or black on the back and paler on the belly, also said to be spotted . The head is big, round and blunt, and often compared to the head of a pig.    

Secondary regions where the same species seem to occur include the Celtic lands of the British Isles and around the Baltic Sea. They have been becoming scarcer throughout historic times.

It is probably the modern survival of Andrias Scheuchzeri the famous "Man witness to the Flood" fossil found near Lake Constance, which is on the border of Switzerland  
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrias_scheuchzeri  

 Andrias scheuchzeri is an extinct species of giant salamander, which only is known fromfossils. It lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene.^[1] It and the extant A. davidianus [The Chinese Giant Salamander] cannot be mutually diagnosed, and the latter, only described in 1871, is therefore sometimes considered a synonym of the former.^[2]

History: In his book Lithographia Helvetica from 1726, Johann Jakob Scheuchzer described a Miocene fossil found in Oeningen as Homo diluvii testis (Latin: Man, a witness of the Deluge), believing it to be the remains of a human that drowned in the biblical Deluge. The fossil was about 1 m (3 ft) long, lacked its tail and hind legs, and could thus be interpreted as showing some resemblance to the remains of a violently trampled human child.

In 1758, the first to doubt his theory was Johannes Gessner, who thought it was a giant catfish (Siluris). In 1777 Petrus Camper thought it was a lizard (Lacerta), and at that time there was no differentiation between reptiles and amphibians by the scientific community. In 1802Martin van Marum bought this fossil along with a fossilized swordfish for 14 Louis d'or for the Teylers Museum, where it can still be seen in the original showcase. In 1811, the fossil was examined by Georges Cuvier, who recognized it definitively as not being human. After hacking away gently at the fossil, he uncovered the foremost limbs and the specimen was recognized as a giant salamander. The difference in color of the stone shows what Scheuchzer saw and what Cuvier later could see.

The specimen was renamed Salamandra scheuchzeri by Holl in 1831. The genus Andrias was only coined six years later by Johann Jakob von Tschudi. In doing so, both the genus,Andrias (which means image of man), and the specific name, scheuchzeri, ended up honouring Scheuchzer and his beliefs. The Teylers Museum has several other specimens in their collection in addition to this one. 

In Fiction: The fictional descendents of Andrias scheuchzeri are the primary antagonists in Karel Čapek's 1936 science fiction novel War with the Newts. 

Sources

1. Jump up^ http://www.wahre-staerke.com/~madelaine/EGU2010_Andrias.pdf
2. Jump up^ Amphibian Species of the World 5.1. Genus Andrias. Accessed 2008-04-10

"Homo Diluvii Testis"

  [Cryptobranchus is the Hellbender of North America and it is generally conceded that this is a separate but related genus of Giant salamander]

                        Above, the living version of the species from China, which is a "Known" animal
Below, range maps for the Chinese giant salamander and then the Japanese giant salamander map at bottom. I found a second Chinese giant salamander map showing reports from outlying districts and superimposed that on the other map. The base maps are from BBC Nature and the red dots map is attributed to TEN - Treasure Sites [Threatened Species - Endangered Reptiles & Amphibians] on the reference site where I got the information (Think Quest) [NB, the European creature is NOT a Cryptid if this is its true identity]

Homo_diluvii_testis_by_Gastrolito on Deviant Art

Steve Plambeck's Loch Ness Giant Salamander

The latest in Nessie fashions: Steve Plambeck's Loch Ness giant amphibian.[Via Scott Mardis]

The most current update of the theory is published at:

http://thelochnessgiantsalamander.blogspot.com/

And I have an interest in the following and shall update the information when the final statements are to be added.
In this current version of the theory, Plambeck is basivcally updating Mackal's theory to fit the giant salamander model better.He still says (as Mackal did) that the reports of the long neck must mean the tail sticking out of the water. As in the case of Mackal's original statement, this simply will not work because the head is definitely stated to be at the end of a long neck on several occasions.

I DO still agree that giant salamanders are found in the British isles including Loch Ness at least formerly: and in fact they are sprinkled here and there at various places all over the Northern Hemisphere (Which is to say they have a Holarctic distribution, as their Miocene fossil forunners also had) However the larger creature seen at Loch Ness does have the longer neck, as explained, and using Plambeck's reconstruction while switching the "Long tail stuck up in the air" for a long neck (With a head of this specific size and shape as shown below, also covered on this blog recently)
the end result is once again remarkably like the other standard reconstructions such as Dinsdale's and Sanderson's (Including my own, with pretty much the exact same specified dimensions):

 

I should reiterate that I have seen at least three different eyewitness sketches showing Views-from-above that exactly match the swimming profile in the bottom reconstruction. Tim Dinsdale reproduces one in The Leviathans (Monster Hunt in the USA)

 

The primary criticism I would have with Plambeck's reconstruction is that it unnecessarily differs from the known giant salamanders anatomically. Plambeck does have a good number of other points worth repeating and I hope to get to them in due course.

Animal News: Giant Salamanders Helped to Spawn

Animal News: Giant Salamanders Helped to Spawn

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/giant-salamander-wcvin/

National Geographic News

Alternative "Lake Monster" Types of North America

Bear Lake Monster

The Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce made an online statement about their local monster as follows:
        Our website would not be complete without the story of our Bear Lake Monster. The story was written in 1868 by Joseph C. Rich and was sent to the Deseret News Newspaper. It goes as follows:

"The Indians have a tradition concerning a strange, serpent-like creature inhabiting the waters of Bear Lake, which they say carried off some of their braves many moons ago. Since then, they will not sleep close to the lake. Neither will they swim in it, nor let their squaws and papooses bathe in it.

Now, it seems this water devil, as the Indians called it, has again made an appearance. A number of our white settlers declare they have seen it with their own eyes. This Bear Lake Monster, they now call it, is causing a great deal of excitement up here. S. M. Johnson at South Eden was riding along near the Lake the other day when he saw something a number of yards out in the lake which he thought was the body of a man. He waited for the waves to wash it in, but to his surprise, found the water washed over it without causing it to move. Then he saw it had a head and neck like some strange animal. On each side of the head were ears, or bunches the size of a pint cup. He concluded the body must be touching the bottom of the lake. By this time, however, Johnson seems to have been leaving the place so rapidly he failed to observe other details.

The next day three women and a man saw a monstrous animal in the lake near the same place, but this time it was swimming at an incredible speed. According to their statement, it was moving faster than a horse could run.

On Sunday last, N. C. Davis and Allen Davis of St. Charles; Thomas Sleight and James Collings of Paris, with six women were returning from Fish Haven when about midway from the latter place to St. Charles, their attention was suddenly attracted to a peculiar motion of waves on the water about three miles distant. The lake was not rough, only a little disturbed by the wind. Mr. Sleight ways he distinctly saw the sides of a very large animal that he would suppose to be not less than 90 feet in length. Mr. Davis doesn't think he was any part of the body, but is positive it must not have been less than forty feet in length, judging by the waves it rolled up on both sides of it as it swam, and the wave it left in the rear. It was going south, and all agreed it swam with a speed almost incredible to their senses. Mr. Davis says he never saw a locomotive travel faster, and thinks it made a mile a minute. In a few minutes after the discovery of the first, a second followed in its wake, but seemed much smaller, appearing to Mr. Sleight about the size of a horse. A larger one followed this, and so on until before disappearing, made a sudden turn to the west a short distance, then back to its former track. At this turn Mr. Sleight says he could distinctly see it was of a brown color. They could judge somewhat of the speed by observing known distances on the opposite side of the lake; and all agree that the velocity with which these monsters propelled themselves, was astounding. They represent the waves rolling up on each side as about three feet high. This is substantially their statement as they told me. Messengers Davis and Sleight are prominent men, well known in the country, and all of them are reliable persons, whose veracity is undoubted. I have no doubt they would be willing to make affidavits to their statements.

Was it fish, flesh. or serpent? Amphibious, of just a big fib, or what is it? I give up, but live in hopes of some day seeing it."

The Deseret News ran the story July 31, 1868. Great excitement followed. A news staff member during the next month quizzed many Bear Lake people and found hardly a person who doubted it.

However, the inevitable skeptics did appear on the scene. [The Wikipedia article states: "The myth originally grew from articles written in the 19th century by Joseph C. Rich, a Mormon colonizer in the area, purporting to report second-hand accounts of sightings of the creature. However, he later recanted the stories.^{[citation needed]}-The all-important statement now being made that the allegation that the stories were recanted is itself unsubstantiated!-DD]

        The Indians had taken a great deal of interest in stories of the monster and claimed that their ancestors told them about a monster. They were telling some pretty good-sized stories about the creatures.

In 1874, a traveler named John Goodman came through the Bear Lake Valley. He described an Indian legend about two lovers whom, upon being pursued by some of their fellow tribesmen, plunged into the lake and were changed by the Great Spirit into two large serpents. However, this is just a legend.

The description of the Monster was the following: A creature with a brown-colored body, somewhat bigger in circumference than a man, anywhere from 40 to 200 feet long [Typo for "Anywhere from 20 to 40 feet long"in standard accounts, a much more modest range!]. Its head was shaped like a walrus without tusks or like an alligator's, and the eyes were very large and about a foot apart. It had ears like bunches, about the size of a pint cup. It had an unknown number of legs [usually 4], approximately eighteen inches long, and it was awkward on land, but swam with a serpent-like motion at a speed of at least sixty miles an hour. No one ever described the back part [tail end]of the animal since the head and forepart was all that was ever seen. The rest was always under water.
Make believe? No one knows for sure. Come on up to Bear Lake and find out for yourself.

http://www.bearlakechamber.com/bearlakemonster.aspx

Found on recent Google photo searches and matched against their most likely real-life counterparts: the "Bear Lake Monster Model 1" is at top and "Bear Lake Monster Model 2" shown to thr Left. Model 1 seems to be something like Collossal Claude wandered inland along the Columbia and Snake river systems, and Model 2 is the "Canadian Alligator" or "Ooogiboogies"-reported in British Columbia and the High Rockies area ofMontana (Waterton lakes district) as well as more familiarly in California where they are more regularly recognised to be akin to the Giant salamanders of Japan and China. The second reconstruction drawing comes from Animal Planet: http://animal.discovery.com/tv/lost-tapes/bear-lake-monster/

 Although the giant salamanders do have numerous small sharp-pointed teeth (Skull shown at left) the teeth are made out to be more formidable in the reconstruction drawing.

The Animal Planet description states: 

 

MAKING OF A MONSTER: Since its first reported sighting in 1868, the Bear Lake Monster has been a source of pride for locals in a small Idaho town. A Mormon colonizer, Joseph C. Rich, published a series of articles in the Desert Evening News claiming locals had seen a monster on the lake. Witnesses gave differing descriptions of the monster; some compared it to a [tuskless]walrus, while others described it as a large reptile or crocodilelike creature. Rich later recanted his stories, but the legend of the Bear Lake Monster prompted an influx of tourists hoping to catch a view of the lake beast. NEW SIGHTINGS: Well over a century later, in 2002, a new report of a sea monster living in Bear Lake surfaced. Brian Hirschi, a local business owner recalled seeing two humps just above the water's surface while out on his boat one summer day. Hirschi said the humps disappeared, and then he suddenly felt his boat move. The monster reappeared right next to his boat and Hirschi came eye to eye with a creature he described as having "dark [blackish]green, slimy skin and beet red eyes." As quickly as the monster appeared, it disappeared. Bear Lake residents weren't sure what to make of Hirschi's tale, but they all agreed on one thing: The Bear Lake Monster continues to be good for business. [Italics added for emphasis by DD]

VIDEO: Myth or reality? Get a closer look at the Bear Lake Monster. ON TV: Check the Lost Tapes Episode Guide for air dates.

Earlier on, I was willing to grant that there had been authentic "Creature" sightings but that they were actually of known animals. The "Fact" that Joseph Rich had allegedly recanted seemed to account for all of the earlier, first-publicised reports. But still given that some of the accounts were spot-on for an elephant seal: a tuskless walrus-like beast some 20 feet long with four flippers. And there were some authentic accounts that came along later that were recorded by Rangers in the area but written off as mistaken views of swimming elk leaving the "String-of-Buoys" effects in their wakes.
Allowing for some exaggeration, many of the Lake Monsters of Washington and Oregon sound like Elephant seals and they are often compared to Hippopotamuses in appearance. Thuis includes not only "Big Wally of Wallowa lake, the Monster of Upper Klamath Lake, sightings on the Cloumbia river itself, and in Crescent Lake, also compared to "colossal Claude" and discudded in the same articles.John Kirk in the book In The Domain of Lake Monsters, on page 163, speaks of a description of what sounds like a definitel large pinneped carcass found far inland by a trapper in the earlies, no definite location cited.This in turn cited Strange Northwest as its source.

Map I-various kinds of Water Monsters-most are of or are similar to known species: giant Salamanders and
Lizards are possible new unknown species but of genera otherwise well-known. Reports and locations
Are very widely scattered over large slices of territory and there are not many reports in any one locatiom

Map II -Eastern generalised areas for "Canadian Alligators", "Giant Hellbenders", and the Giant-Pink ones on the Eastern coast-Evidently the Eastward extensions of the same species that are Canadian Alligators (Pitt Lake Alligators) and the Californian Giant salamanders of the Far West. There could be Alaskan ones too , but that part is unconfirmed

                  

 Zemoguani, painted kiowa medicine lodge, collected by James Mooney, 1891-1904

 

Some of the water monsters and "Serpents" spoken of by the Navajo and Kiowa are also probably Alligator gars similar to the ones which must live at Walker Lake and at associated areas. Some of these creatures are traditional and are represented on prehistoric pottery and on petroglyphs. The Mimbreno design on the lower Left shows that these large fishes were thought to transform into human beings and to walk on land.

 

 

Unknown Giant Lizard preparing to pounce on Goth Girl. By Angelia Mclean, Colorado
This would be the "Faux-Alligator" again by the way the feet look-In Colorado, their young are said to lurk in trees

http://angeliamclean.blogspot.com/

Terracotta plaque from Northern Mexico, looks to be two iguanas of very large size mating and with a human figure pastered over on top of it, which does not match (white square area, I have removed more of the mass over the middle of the figure where it did not match because I could not make out what it was and it looked foreign to me.Iguanas are important in Mythology of Central America and representations of giant iganas keep turning up every now and then. The surface of this plaque matches  some of the older pottery types in texture and the facial features of the creatures also matches later representations of the giant Iguana lizard types.from both Mexico and also Northern South America (Colombia) But the human figure (if that is what it is) is of a different style and it looks to me like it is pasted on (It also has a much smoother surface)