Doing the Scales Again

This time around I thought I would do some Cryptozoology recaps from this site because we have been reviewing several Cryptids that are not on such things as the Checklists done by Heuvelmans and Shuker. These are Cryptids that for the most part are not adequately covered b the other sources. The one above is a revised version of the comparative chart from the article Whale Scale and it includes, top, the Emu carcass creature, possibly a type of beaked whale built along the lines of a zueglodon: Charcharodon megalodon in the midle and then the Tusked Whale below. The Southern Narwhal and Southern Walrus might or might not be identical to this last species: my feeling currently is that they are each distinct. Below is my set of true Sea-serpents derived from Heuvelmans' book and deleting the forms which I thought were invalid: it is still also possible that the Yellow-belly is a peculiar shark, but it remains poorly defined and poorly supported by reports. This version replaces Gambo with a shortnecked Plesiosaur after Tyler Stone's interpretation.

Since we just ran the Longnecked reconstructions chart here last time, I thought it was appropriate to include it along with the last chart. I also do support the Longnecked big sealion of Heuvelmans under his name of "Megalotaria", but some question persist as to exactly how long-necked it might be. There is only very fragmentary evidence for it, and some of the reports could refer only to a fairly standard type of sealion nor fur seal. There is also evidence for a North Atlantic elephant seal, but more definite evidence is needed before we can say it would be an unidentified species. The credit for identifying the type as a distinct Cryptid category probably goes to Roy Mackal.

Another largely ignored Cryptid category is a kind of giant grouper, here illustrated by Tim Morris

The very large and spidery Giant Spiders of Africa are more likely to be giant spidery land-crabs if there is any substance to the story at all. Along with this are several reports of coconut crabs turning up in various tropical locations "Where they are not supposed to be"

 On the article about Tatzelwurms, it became evident that multiple creatures were also being included under that heading in the various sightings. Some of the reports sounded like Ulrich Magin's candidate, a kind of giant salamander, which is known from the Orient but is rumored as a "Water Monster" from all over the Northern hemisphere including also North America. The more unusual Tatzelwurm seems to be a large two-legged burrowing Amphisbaena lizard suspected of being venomous (the Mongolian Death Worm could be something similar but is more likely a kind of conventional venomous snake) and some of the reports are "Chupacabras"-in this case meaning foxes that had lost most of their hair. The lizards are perhaps a yard long and the salamanders at one or two yards long for the most part (yards being about 90 cm each)

A distinctive type of "Marine Saurian" turns out to be the same as the Medcroc (probably including Tarasque) and the "Great Horned alligator" of the Mississippi delta and associated areas. It is like a larger version of Crocodylus porosis at double the dimensions and better adapted to swimming at the high seas, although it still must go into freshwaters to breed. As a parallel to this, there seems to be another kind of "Crocodile monitor" at double the usual dimensions, that shares the range of the more standard C. porosis. It is illustrated in the table below. Since there are claims for specimens much larger than the accepted maxima in both the accepted crocodile and monitor lizard categories, there is a slight chance we have mislabelled specimens from both species in our collections already.

Below is a more elaborate mockup chart for unknown species of monitor lizards, mostly using komodo dragons staged to the correct relative sizes. The really big one at top is the Australian Varanus priscus, more commonly (but erroneously) called"Megalania." The "Congo Dragon"  (monitor) might be as long but more thinly built throughout. There are also other (?Komodo-dragon-sized) monitors rumoured in both Madagascar and New Zealand, but the information is not good enough to determine if they are distinct species. The "Buru" (shown on the chart) might also be a separate, cold-adapted, highlands Asiatic species. Heuvelmans counts it as the same species as the "Sea Crocodile monitor" (shown at the bottom of this chart) but there is some room for doubt.

As far as the New World unknown lizards go, for the most part we might be dealing with one wide-ranging species of really big iguanas which tends to have different appearance and different habits at each growth-stage, also becoming very much larger through the various growth stages, and possibly with some variation betyween different geographic populations. The small ones are hardly any larger than a common iguana and greatly resembles that species (they could be cogeneric) but is more prone to running on its hind limbs like some other species of Iguanids (and not Iguana) The best evidence  is that large ones are albout the same length as large Komodo dragons, but not as heavily built: however there is also a set of reports of "Water Monsters" and "Dinosaurs" especially in Latin America but also including the Southwest of the USA, which are said to grow up to 20 feet long or more. All of these creatures have a row of spines down the back and red eyes in the males.

The giant snakes of South America are commonly acknowledged as Cryptids, hoever a distinction must be made between the very large Sucuriju Gigante (here represented by a forced-perspective photograph) and the standard-Anaconda-length but very much thicker Black Boa

"Flying Serpent" reports seem to fall into three major subsections by geographic area. Alarge creatures: there is a sort of large Draco type lizard in Africa and South Asia, possibly Australia as well, and something more like a flying gecko that is called a Flying Serpent centered in Mexico and Central America but also occasionally in the US SW and in Northern South America. Both of these are reported in a size range of three feet long minimum, six feet long maximum, and the minimum is more likely than the maximum. The Draco lizard type has a probable "Wingspan" at the ribs of two feet when the total length is three feet: it has once also been reported in Japan.

The European Flying Serpent, Wyvern or Cockatrice appears to be a very large pheasant with some small still-persisting populations. A typical size given for this is nine feet long: it is a true bird with feathered wings, two scaled and clawed feet, and a beak. I recently posted some more artwork which seems to pertain to it. Superstitions  about the Evil Eye were evidently attached to it in ancient times

The Boobrie seems to have been at one time a much larger form of swimming bird much resembling the Great auk at twice its size. It is still being reported as a "Penguin" at various places around the Arctic Ocean and particularly noting Alaska, but not often. The large form is supposed to reach about human height.

In mentioning the matter of living moas, it is not usually emphasized how many species must be involved due to the reported variance in suzes. The actually seem to come in three sizes: small, medium and large, with the medium sized one resembling an emu (but heavier and living in a different habitat) mentioned mostly by Roy Mackal, the smaller size spoken of more often by Cryptozoologuists, but also some reports of a much larger bird, presumably Dinornis.

Thunderbirds seem pretty definitely sorts of Teratorns and their average reported wingspan is about twenty feet. At one point they inhabited the entire range of mountains in the West, from Alaska to Terra del Fuego, and could fly over any points Eastward. In more recent times their rabnge seems to have fallen off and they are seen much less often. I imagine their distribution still centers in the mountains out West.
A type of large dark-coloured Eagle with a feathered head is the origin of some reports but it is a "Known" species. John James Audubon recorded it as Washington's eagle. It is not unknown, but its existance as a separate species is disputed.




Similarly the Ivory-billed woodpecker is not an unknown animal, but its continued existance has been disputed. When such a thing is merely disputed, it falls outside of my definition for Cryptozoology (Although they are still on the "Frontiers of Zoology")

Some reports of "Thunderbirds" that seem to spend their lives over water and especially including the Arctic Ocean near Alaska and Siberia might well be a kind of black-backed Albatross. The wings of this creature are reported as extremely wide-spanning but very thin.

Partially tied in to "Ropen" reports, but also definitely established as a separate category of Cryptid, is the Kusa Kap or Giant hornbill.on its head but the shape of the crest is unclear from witness' testimony: the tail feathers are also rather long. There is a similar giant hornbill also reported in Japan as the Dragon Bird.

Another bird which may be involved in "Pterodactyl" reports and which seems to have a worldwide distribution but flying primarily over tropical waters (including New Guinea and Australia, and the South Pacific, but also the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean) is a kind of a "Toothed" bird with a spiky beak. Its wingspan might also top twenty feet broad and its head is also quite large in an actual sense. This would be a survival of such "Toothed" birds common throughout the Age of Mammals and they are prehistoric-looking enough that witnesses could be forgiven for describing them as actually being Pterosaurs.

The Giant Bats as reported in the New World are staged out by sizes and the equivalent in size and behaviour to the Old World Ahools. The unknown bats of the Old World and the New World presumably be unrelated members developing in parallel out of different original families.An "Old World vampire bat" mentioned by Karl Shuker could be another Old World bat developed in parallel to the New World kinds.

Above is a pasteup comparing  possibly persisting Ground Sloths: there are three kinds specified in reports and these correspond to animals known to have been living as recently as the Colonial age in the West Indies. The smallest one is compared to a "Monkey" or a small chimpanzee with claws, the nmedium sized one to a "Bear" with a dragging tail and the largest sized one is said to be the size of a cow but clothed in the thichk coarse coat like a wolf's hide. Ivan Sanderson heard of this last kind in Belize in the 1930s, where they were called "Cave Cows" and more recent reports come from the deeper forests of South America. These are NOT "Mapinguaris", there are separate names for them.

Below is a comparison for the "Water-Rhino" or Emela-Ntouka with an African elephant: when all of the more exaggerated folklore is dealt with (including the notion that the horn is made of ivory), this seems to be simply a large rhinoceros much like the INDIAN variety that somehow found its way into Central Africa. Older sources called this the African Unicorn.

Below are representations for the Siberian (and Alaskan) wooly Mammoth and two kinds of "Unicorns" of Central and South Asia. The "Unicorn" rumours persisted up into the late 1800s but were never confirmed. Surprlsingly Wooly Mammoth reports continued in Siberia up into the WWII period and legends still persist, but there is no good recent evidence of tracks, feces or the like.

Continuing the list of large unknown animals that might have survived down to the present day  are several more animals usuall associated with living in the water or wallowing around in water-holes: the Toxodons or Water-Bulls of South America; The  Giraffid Sivatheres still reported in Western and North-Central Africa but apparently once widespread also in the Middle-East; The tralia, thought to be the basis of some "Bunip" stories; and large hyracoids once evidently common in parts of China and called "Water-horses" there (Historically). To the right are represented the Gazeka of New Guinea, possibly  a local equivalent of the Australian Bunyips, and the Pygmy hippopotamus of Madagascar, possibly persisting under the name of Water-cow-not-cow or Tsy-Aomby-Aomby
(Latest reports in 1976: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_Hippopotamus )
 

Two different sorts of large aquatic fur-bearing mammals are lumped into one category by Loren Coleman: Giant Beavers and Giant Otters. The giant beavers are well known from Ice-age fossils in North America but the Giant Otter is only known from one incomplete specimen. Nevertheless, the Giant otter is also well-attested in Europe and in the Orient as well as in North America: the European sort is also known as the Master-Otter. The North American kind is known traditionally as the Water-Panther since it is about the same size and shape as a puma. There also seems to be an unrelated giant otter in tropica Africa of much the same size and shape. The giant otter of South America is a "Known" animal.

Recent photo of  an oddly-coloured leopard. This is my reminder that oddly-coloured or out-of-place big cats of known species are NOT UNKNOWN ANIMALS!

Sabertoothed cats, suspected by Bernard Heuvelmans as surviving in parts of Africa and South America, and living on mainly as an ambush predator that lurks at water holes.

Arctodus the Shortfaced bear, possibl surviving in different forms from Eastern Siberia and Alaska all the way down to Patagonia, including forms also called "Bigfoot" and "Ucu"

Above is my recently-published chart illustration showing continuit between Orang Pendek and Yeatis of Central asia, which are in turn also like erens and Hibagons of China and Japan, and the North American Apes/"Skunk Apes" of the New World.

Above is my comparison illustrating why the Brazilian Mapinguari  is an Orangutan-like ape, and below, a photo of siamangs and an orangutan on Sumatra, my parallels for the Mono Grande and Mono Rey of South America. (in English, Big Monkey and King Monkey)

Keeping things in order we are also incorporating Tyler Stone's and my composite catalogue of the various types of Cryptid hominids. Above are my Australopithecines from Central Africa, out of Heuvelmans' information (much of it still not published in English)

Here once again is the comparison of normal Homo sapiens and H. heidelbergensis skeletons, and at the right, Western Vs. Eastern Bigfoot witness' drawings. And below once again we have "the Lineup" of the various mystery primates Ivan Sanderson called "ABSMs" including Tyler Stone's Freshwater Monkey type [The well-known "Merfolk" type is left off this chart, but reports continue to come in from various places where "Manatees are not supposed to be"]

And just for comparison, here is the "Frogman" figurine by Santani that corresponds to the reports of the Freshwater Monkey: a little too wall-eyed, but otherwise a good effect.

Best Wishes, Dale D.


PS, If anybody sees a Cryptid missing from this page they would like to have represented in a future discussion, please leave a message below.

RAHEEL MUGHAL MSc REPOST from CFZ Blog

My comments about these lesser-known African Cryptids are at the end and I will be wanting to expound on several of the ideas in a series of new blog postings here. Because of that, I thought it would be best to repost Raheel's original Blog article as a springboard to work from. In particular, I would like to address item number 9 first. Best Wishes, Dale D. Take it away, Raheel!

Wednesday, December 08, 2010. RAHEEL MUGHAL MSc:

Congo: Lesser Known Mystery Beasts from the Heart of Darkness

I have always been fascinated by dinosaurs, palaeontology and zoology. I remember that I developed a deep interest in cryptozoology soon after hearing about the Mokele Mbembe on Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World (incidentally, I saw the re-run on Discovery Channel in the early '90s – I must have been 8 years old then); the idea that dinosaurs or dinosaur-like creatures may still exist in largely unexplored places on earth didn’t seem so odd any more. However, when you get older and you start to see things a bit more logically (the sad truth of life; I wish I still had that wishful-thinking streak that we all had when we were children). Nevertheless, that being said there a number of other lesser known mystery animals with allegedly dinosaurian identities from in and around the Congo basin region. In this blog I will attempt to describe these creatures in more detail along with my own opinion on what the creatures may be based on my research. Please note that the Kasai Rex has not been included in the following discussion because there isn’t enough evidence to support its alleged existence.

(1) The Dodu: Gorilla Killer The Dodu or Gorilla Killer is said to be a bloodthirsty 8-10 ft tall ape man, for it is said to decapitate and disembowel Gorilla’s and Chimpanzees. Locals live in fear of this monstrosity which is known to eat the maggots which are found soon after death in the abdominal cavity of its unfortunate simian victims, only to scoop them up in handfuls to eat, the dead apes serving only as reservoirs for the grubs to accumulate. Reports of this horrifying beast were collected by Dr. William Gibbons during his Operation Congo expedition during the early twenty first century.

(2) Emela Ntouka: A New Species of Forest Rhino? Also known as "the killer of the elephants" in the Lingala language, is believed by some researchers and cryptozoologists to represent a relic population of Ceratopsian dinosaur – most notably Centrosaurus. This particular cryptid is described as being as large as an African Bush Elephant. Having a body of similar shape and appearance to a rhinoceros, including one long horn on its snout and a heavy tail. It is described as being brown or grey in colouration and it is said to possess four short, stump-like legs supposedly to keep its bulky body at ground level. It is described as having no frill or ridges along the neck. The animal is also described as being semi-aquatic and herbivorous (with its favourite food being the leafy plants of the Malombo). The Emela-ntouka has been claimed to vocalize regularly, this noisy beast has been described as making calls that resemble a snort, rumble or growl, respectively. They are claimed to be solitary, herbivorous animals. The beast is said to inhabit the vast shallow waters of the Congo River Basin. The inhabitants of the area are said to treat the creature with great fear. In the 1930s an alleged Emela Ntouka was killed near Dongou. The New Zealand Documentary World Mysteries included an interview with a man who claimed to have encountered a dead Emela Ntouka. He claimed to still possess the animal's horn, which he removed from the body. Unfortunately, the episode was filmed but never aired. Nevertheless, there is considerable controversy to what an Emela Ntouka horn (if the creature does exist), could be made of, if scientists ever retrieve a horn it would also help in revealing the creature’s true identity. If a horn is found and DNA tests reveal the horn to be made of ivory, then it would undoubtedly prove to be a tooth. In fact a species of rhinoceros, namely the Asiatic One Horned Rhinoceros does possess small tusks. If on the other hand, the horn turns out to be made of keratin then it is most certainly belongs to an as yet unknown semi-aquatic rhinoceros. However, if the horn turns out to be made of bone then it most certainly belongs to an as yet hitherto unknown species of semi aquatic reptile or possibly a relic from the Mesozoic though I doubt this hypothesis along with other alleged dinosaurian survivals. Moreover, in terms of evidence pertaining to the beast’s alleged survival a number of curious stone currency in the form of both Mokele Mbembe and Emela Ntouka has been found by archaeologists in this remote region, some native tribes still use it today.

(3) Giant Spiders: More than a Hollywood Myth? Many Mokele Mbembe expedition members over the years have come back with tales of giant spiders. The Ba’Ka Pygmies of the Congo Basin Region and the Cameroons refer to them as J’Ba FoFi. They are described as having a leg-span of five to six feet and capable of killing many men. Moreover, they are said to make intricate blankets of web found throughout the deeper parts of the jungle to ensnare unwary potential prey.

(4) Mahamba: Cryptic Crocodiles! From the humid and impenetrable jungles of the Congo (formally Zaire), come reports of the ‘Mahamba’, a lesser-known water monster from native Bobangi accounts. This fearsome beast is said to resemble a gigantic crocodile which is reported to reach an astounding 50 ft (15.2 metres) in length. Reports collected by cryptozoologist Dr. Roy Mackal during his 1980 expedition to hunt for the Mokele Mbembe (an alleged living sauropod dinosaur) also turned up amazing accounts of other alleged ‘prehistoric survivors,’ one of which is the Mahamba. According to eyewitness testimony from the Bobangi, the animal in question resembles a Nile Crocodile but it is not a ‘Nkoli’ (the native term for a Nile Crocodile). The creature may in fact pertain to a new species of undiscovered giant crocodile. That having been said, some researchers such as Dr. Mackal believe that the Mahamba indicates a ghost-lineage of a large freshwater variety of Mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous.

(5) Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu: When is a Stegosaur not a Stegosaur? The Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu is another lesser-known cryptid reported from the Likouala Region of the Republic of the Congo. The creature is described as semi-aquatic, herbivourous and most notably having planks covered in algae growing out of its back. Some cryptozoological investigators tentatively suggest that it could represent a relic population of Kentrosaurus (Stegosaur from the Late Jurassic of Africa). However, I would liken it to a large turtle (Ndenki are purported to be large turtles living in Likoula region lakes, as we shall see later). Unfortunately, only a few claimed sightings have been reported, at the villages of Bounila and Ebolo, so if it did exist in one point in time, it may possibly be extinct. All reports of Mbeilu Mbeilu Mbeilu along with other Likoula Mystery Beasts were collected by Dr. Roy P. Mackal during his expeditions to the region.

(6) Mulilo: The Mighty Mollusc! The Mulilo is described as a giant slug purported to live in the dense forests of the Congo, Zaire and Zambia. Not much is known about this mighty mollusc except that it is herbivorous, greyish-white to brown in colouration and tends to climb trees albeit at a slow pace. Nevertheless, it could be possible that such a creature does indeed exist. For example, one species of land snail, the Giant African Snail, can grow to be 15 inches (38 cm). So it is not that much of a stretch of the imagine to suggest that other land-dwelling molluscs can grow to be much larger than the Giant African Snail.

(7) Ndenki: Titantic Turtles in Lake Tele Little is known about this particular cryptid other then the fact that it is described as a giant turtle and is said to inhabit more or less the same area as Mokele Mbembe, Emela Ntouka, Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu, and Mahamba, respectively.

(8) Ngoima: The Monkey Eating Eagle The Ngoima was seen by visiting French political commissioner André Mouelle during the early twentieth century. He described it as eagle-like, dark brown to black (black above, with a lighter shade below), and it is described as having a hooked beak. It is also described as having a wingspan of 9-13 ft (4.2 metres) and it said to possess sharp talons. Furthermore, it is said to prey on monkeys and small goats and is thought to prefer forests (where it nests on the tallest trees) and in some cases open savannah. Unfotunately, this is the only report that the author is aware off. Based on the somewhat detailed description above, the Ngoima may represent a subspecies of Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus (the Ngoima having a larger wingspan at 9-13 ft as opposed to the Martial Eagle’s 5 ft).

(9) Ngoubou: Emela Ntouka’s Long Lost Cousin? During one of William Gibbons expeditions to the Cameroon in search of the Mokele Mbembe, he and his team came across local reports of an elephant-sized, six-horned, herbivorous animal (similar in aspects to Emela-Ntouka) that fought elephants for land and that lived in the savannah region of that country. Gibbons likened the beast to a surviving form of Styracosaurus (a Late Cretaceous Ceratopsian Dinosaur from North America). When the local pygmies were questioned all asserted that Ngoubou was not a regular rhinoceros to which they were all familiar. A senior hunter further exclaimed that a hunting party had killed one of these beasts with a spear a number of years ago. Moreover, the elder added that Ngoubou populations have declined over recent years owing to over hunting and that they have since become very hard to find.

(10)Nguma-monene: An African Naga? Also known as Ngakoula-ngou or Badigui, in all aspects this serpentine cryptid sounds very similar to the Nagas reported for centuries in Asia. The Nguma-monene is described as being 10 metres long (atleast the tail part which is often reported), it is described as greyish-brown in colouration with the underneath of the neck a lighter shade. The neck is also described as being as thick as a man's thigh. Two credible eyewitness accounts exist which both occurred near the Dongu-Mataba (a tributary of the Ubangi River located in the Congo region). The first was occurred in 1961. Nevertheless, in 1971 Joseph Ellis a pastor had an incredible encounter with a beast he could not identify. He estimated the length of the (visible) tailpart as 10 meters long (equal to his dugout, no neck or head could be seen), this was at a diameter of 0.5 to 1 metre. The colouration of the creature appeared to be a greyish-brown. When Pastor Ellis returned to the village he started asking natives about the strange creature, to his amazement it appeared that the subject was taboo. Dr. Roy, P. Mackal collected many reports of this and other cryptids whilst on his first and second expedition in search of Mokele Mbembe. Dr. Mackal concluded that the animal has a low-slung body, and therefore is more like a lizard than a snake, perhaps an intermediatery between snakes and lizards, a possible “living fossil.” Dr. Mackal also noted that the animal's triangular or diamond-shaped ridges were similar (but smaller) to those from the Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu but not the animals themselves. This issue has caused much confusion on the Internet and Dr. Mackal’s seminal work A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe.

Africa is a fascinating continent indeed and I am absolutely positive that a number of startingly new zoological discoveries will emerge from its dark heart – the Congo in years to come. Posted by Jon Downes at 1:02 PM Labels: arthur c. clarke, congo, mokele mbembe, Raheel Mughal

comments: Dale Drinnon said...

1)Dodu is the name of a demon in some other sources and it is described with features traditionally ascribed to demons in Folklore (including three clawed fingers and toes)The horrific condition of the chimps and gorillas as described is how they are left after the poachers have got to them. It isn't that the poachers are after the maggots, they are after the trophy heads and hands. Raising maggots is just all they are good for after that.

2)When i did some checking into this I found that not only do some one-horned rhinos have large tusks, in some of them the tusks are counted as their primary weapons. And I found that some descriptions make out the Emela-Ntouka out only as an ordinary rhino, without the supposed tail, only with the one horn. There is every reason to believe that is what it is-a one-horned Rhino of the ASIATIC type, somehow in Africa. And the horn itself would never be made of ivory.

3) My own interpretation is that the stories of Giant spiders are based on sightings of large spidery-legged land crabs. And that they are tied into stories of the Trickster-spider Anasi somehow.

4)Mahamba is probably one of those oversized ALLIGATOR-faced crocodiles Heuvelmans spoke of in his first edition of On The Track of Unknown Animals. He had dropped the category later, but here is new evidence for it again.

5)Mbeilu-Mbeilu-Mbeilu turns out to be possibly a sort of a crocodile with an exaggeratedly jagged back-crest. Other analogous cases occur both within Africa and in other places. Another one is called Muhuru (ie, "The Muhuru Bay monster" In Lake Victoria)

6) Mulilo is at base probably nothing more (and nothing less) than a melanistic form of Gaboon viper: the size and shape matches otherwise. Gaboon vipers are highly venomous and have enormous fangs, but they are stout and sluggish snakes otherwise.

7)Ndenki probably is, as alleged, only a sort of soft-shelled turtle of very large size. That does not necessarily mean it is an unknown species. The greatest size for the Ndenki and how it was measured are both questionable.

8)Ngoima sounds very interesting and I have my own ideas as to what kind of an eagle it is. But it is definitely "Just" a very large eagle of dark colour.

9) Ngoubou is also possibly a relic Sivathere or Libytherium, a stout one of large size, but a giraffid with mooselike horns. Rock art supports the idea this animal survived the die-off of the other African megafauna and it even turns up in some old etchings illustrating "Darkest Africa" in Victorian times!

10)Nguma-monene was originally counted the same as Mokele-Mbembe and later as a giant monitor lizard. Perhaps both things are true. 4:41 PM

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African Giant Spider Invasion

[Giant Orb Web Spider Recently Discovered in South Africa]

A Brazillian member at the Frontiers of Zoology discussion group recently sent in the links to the articles as reproduced below:

http://english.pravda.ru/science/mysteries/09-08-2010/114542-giant_spiders-0/
From PRAVDA (English-Language version)

Fact or Fiction? Giant Spiders in Africa...and USA09.08.2010
New research has been conducted into the J’Ba FoFi (Giant Spider) in the Congo, said to have a leg span of five feet across. Records of this monster have been documented in African Folklore for centuries, however further studies have unearthed encounters with westerners and, according to one, this creature has also been spotted in the United States of America.
New research by Terrence Aym* has documented tales from African folklore, of a species of giant spider living in the Congo, Uganda and Central Africa in densely forested areas. More than this, he has uncovered testimonies from Western travellers in the area, who confirm the reports of a monster spider with a leg span of five feet across.
Terrence Aym’s piece in his site helium.com tells of massive spiders living in forests near African villages, with webs stretched across pathways and trip-wires to ensnare passers-by, including humans, who are then pounced upon and injected with venom by the creatures’s fangs.
Aym’s research shows these monster arachnids are more than flights of fantasy in African folklore: there are documented encounters with explorers. Cryptozoologist George Eberhart writes of an encounter between a British couple and the J’Ba FoFi in 1938, when what they thought to be a cat or a monkey crossing the path in front of them turned out to be a giant spider three feet across.
Another cryptozoologist, Willian J. Gibbons, was told of the J’Ba FoFi by the pygmies inhabiting the Congolese jungle on his third expedition to the region. Their description of the J’Ba FoFi was the same as that told in other accounts, namely a giant spider which can reach a span of five feet across, brown on top with a purple abdomen which weaves nests of leaves and web. The article reveals that this creature was once very common in the region but its numbers have dwindled in recent years due to the destruction of its habitat.
Other sightings have been made, one as recently as the year 2000, when two Americans were informed by a village leader that a giant spider had built a nest in the forest behind the village.
Sighting in the USAHowever it is not only in Africa that the giant spider has been seen: according to Cryptomundo** there was a sighting in Leesville, Lousiana one evening in 1948, when a spider “as big as a washtub” crossed the road in front of a family of church-goers.
*Terrence Aym is a US-based writer. Read the original article:
http://www.helium.com/items/1824206-possibility-of-the-existence-of-the-congolese-giant-spider

** http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/giantspiders/

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY
PRAVDA.Ru


Possibility of the existence of the Congolese giant spider
by Terrence Aym
May 05, 2010
Spiders might exist that have crawled out of nightmares. They're called the "J'ba FoFi" (giant spider, pronounced ch-bah foo fee) in Central Africa.

Many people might define a giant spider as one that's bigger than their hand. Some may think bigger and envision the horrifying Goliath 'bird eating spider' that dwells in the darker corners of the ancient Amazon rain forest. That eight-legged terror spans a whopping 14-inches.[14 inches is larger than officially allowed-DD]
Unfortunately, those people aren't thinking big enough.

The size of the Congolese Giant spider-when its legs are included-is said to be up to five feet across.

According to cryptozoologists (researchers that investigate unknown creatures that have not been recognized by orthodox science), most of the J'ba FoFi dwell in the Congo. Natives tell stories of the giant web-nests the spiders build, similar to a trap-door spider.

Most of the many anecdotal tales describe the spiders digging a shallow tunnel under tree roots and camouflaging it with a large bed of leaves. Then they create an almost invisible web between their burrow and a nearby tree, booby-trapping the whole thing with a network of trip lines. Some hapless creature—soon to end up on the menu—will trip the line alerting the spider. The victim will be chased into the web. This predatory entrapment is similar to some species of tarantula.

Presumably, the J'ba FoFi eggs are a pale yellow-white and shaped like peanuts. Native claim the hatchlings are bright yellow with a purple abdomen. Their coloration becomes darker and brown as they mature.

Some of the natives indigenous to the regions in the Congo where the J'ba FoFi has been seen assert that the spider was once quite common, but has become very rare.

Other than the testimonies of natives, the fullest account by Westerners appears in a cryptozoological book by George Eberhart. On page 204, Eberhart relates the terrifying experience of an English couple traveling through a jungle region of what is now called the Congo:

"R.K. Lloyd and his wife were motoring in the Belgium Congo in 1938 when they saw a large object crossing the trail in front of them. At first, they thought it was a cat or monkey, but they soon realized it was a spider with legs [spanning] nearly 3 feet [across]." [1]

Famous naturalist and cryptozoologist, William J. Gibbons, has hunted for what some think may be a living African dinosaur called Mokele-mbembe. On his third expedition in search of the creature he came upon natives who related their experiences
with giant spiders. He shared his experience with readers upon his return to Canada:

"On this third expedition to Equatorial Africa, I took the opportunity to inquire if the pygmies knew of such a creature [giant spider], and indeed they did! They speak of the Jba Fofi, which is a "giant" or "great spider." They described a spider that is generally brown in color with a purple abdomen. They grow to quite an enormous size with a leg span of at least five feet. The giant arachnids weave together a lair made of leaves similar in shape to a traditional pygmy hut, and spin a circular web (said to be very strong) between two trees with a strand stretched across a game trail."

This is exactly the same description that other researchers have heard. Although the spider seems to have been spotted mostly in the Congo, there are reports of the same—or similar—spiders inhabiting Uganda and the Central African Republic.

"These giant ground-dwelling spiders prey on the diminutive forest antelope, birds, and other small game, and are said to be extremely dangerous, not to mention highly venomous," Gibbons states. "The spiders are said to lay white, peanut-sized eggs in a cluster, and the pygmies give them a wide birth when encountered, but have killed them in the past. The giant spiders were once very common but are now a rare sight."

Many of the natives describe the spiders as once being numerous, but now a vanishing species. Encroachment by civilization in the form of rain forest being converted to farming may have driven the spiders from their natural habitats.

[Although their numbers are dwindling] they are still encountered from time to time. The Baka chief, Timbo, casually mentioned to us that a giant spider had taken up residence in the forest just behind his village in November 2000, when I and Dave Woetzel from New Hampshire had visited him! He did not think that we would have been interested in the creature as our interest was focused on Mokele-mbembe at the time! Valuable evidence had eluded us."

Cryptozoologists—like any other researchers—sometimes only get the information they specifically ask for!

If these giants do indeed exist, their physiology is puzzling. As some entomologists have rightly pointed out, spiders of that size would have to overcome the limitations of their exoskeletons. In addition to that hurdle, many of the more primitive arachnids have a primitive book-lung respiratory system. Modern spiders, however, often have a trachea and book-lungs. That combination allows for a smaller heart, more efficient blood flow and greater speed and stamina. If the Congolese giant spiders exist, they would most likely have both trachea and book-lungs. [2]

"On questioning our group of six Baka guides," Gibbons narrative continues, "they have all seen these spiders at one time or another and state that they are quite capable of killing a human being. According to the Baka (and the Bantu hunters who have encountered them) the giant spiders were once surprisingly common and would often construct their lairs very close to human villages. They have become quite rare now thanks mainly to the deforestation of Central Africa, but my guess would be that they are still to be found in numbers in the vast and still untouched forests of the former [Belgian Congo or Zaire] where the Lloyds encountered one in 1938." [3]
Gibbons knew the Lloyd's personally and adds that Mr. Lloyd tried to get a photo of the spider while Mrs. Lloyd was so stricken with fear all she wanted to do was return to their home in Rhodesia.

Other stories of giant spiders abound. Some of the stories are little more than spotty tales told in the villages of unnamed missionaries whose porters were killed by giant spiders.

An English missionary named Arthur Simes related an incident that occurred in Uganda during the 1890s. While trekking near the shore of Lake Nyasa, his porters became entangled in a monstrous web. Several giant spiders swiftly descended upon them, injecting the men with poisonous venom. Later, all the men's extremities swelled, they grew feverish, delirious and then died.

Simes claimed he drove the giant spiders off with his pistol.

Whether the Congo spider is real, or a myth remains to be seen. And hopefully, whomever the researcher is hunting for it will see the spider before it sees him.

[1] "Mysterious Creatures – A Guide to Cryptozoology," George M. Eberhart, Giant spider, p. 204.

[2] "The spider"[Information retrieved from book of speculative cryptofiction]

[3] "The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology"


-I had always associated such stories with the West African taditions of Anasi the spider, transported to the Southern USA by slaves and then turned into stories about the spider Aunt Nancy. If there is anything to the allegations of reports in the US, it is probably from the Aunt Nancy tradition. Anasi is said to sometimes appear as a giant spider 'As big as a hut'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi

[Left: Anasi the Spider] [Right:Anasi The Spider Shadow Puppet]






I had heard of Gibbons' information from another Cryptozoology group owner on yahoo (since retired) and satisfied myself that the giant webs did exist, but they were the product of a much smaller spider. The thought occurred to me that the "Giant Spider" did not actually need to be a spider at all-it could be a land crab built like the deepsea Japanese spider crab only smaller, maybe half the size. It would live in a hole in the ground covered by leaves and then jump out at small prey when it felt vibrations through the ground. The web-tripline would be based on mere supposition, and other crabs also behave in that same manner. So I made a pasteup of the concept as a scale illustration of such a land-spidercrab in comparison to an African Pygmy, both images from Wikipedia:

Best Wishes, Dale D.