What If Cryptids Were Realistic Animals?

What might legendary creatures look like if they were more realistic? Discover the bizarre creatures of ‘Cryptozoologicon,’ featuring the legendary author Darren Naish. (Links Below)
---

For the past century, stories of cryptids — like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster — have continued to fascinate. And while these creatures likely don’t exist, that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to speculate on their biology. Enter Cryptozoologicon, a book that imagines evolutionary backstories for legendary creatures. Created by renowned paleontologist Darren Naish, alongside channel mainstays C.M. Koseman (author of All Tomorrows) and John Conway — the volume is so detailed that it’s worth exploring further.

So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll investigate the speculative biology of the world’s most famous cryptids. You can purchase the book and follow and support the creators using the links in the description below.

Now, let’s explore the creatures of Cryptozoologicon…

0:00 Creatures of Cryptozoologicon
2:04 Bigfoot & Yeti
3:36 Chupacabra
4:41 Loch Ness Monster?
6:26 Bunyip
7:44 Beast of Gevaudan
9:18 Megalodon
10:42 Ahool
11:40 Kelpie
12:56 Mbielu-Mbielu-Mbielu
14:29 Goatman
15:31 Lost Dinosaur
16:29 De Loys’s Ape
17:41 Long Necked Seal
18:31 Tizheruk
19:30 Hoop Snake
21:03 Support the Creators

Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. All video/image content is edited under fair use rights for reasons of commentary.

I do not own the images, music, or footage used in this video. All rights and credit goes to the original owners.

Beauty Flow, Unseen Horrors, Majestic Hills, Bittersweet, Floating Cities
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

#CuriousArchive #Worldbuilding #SpeculativeBiology

[yidielsuarez]

I love that when Curios Archive calls an author he doesn’t say hello and just starts asking questions, truly a based interviewer

[longlethanh]

i love how the hoop snake is literally just a hoop snake with practically zero contrivance added in.

[chadgorosaurus]

Rhedosaurus being an original dinosaur and not a mutant really makes it's evolution a true mystery. Like how it evolved to be able to not get crushed by it's own weight and how it became able to roar.

[robwalsh]

Steve Alten, who wrote The Meg, also wrote a novel called The Loch. It's not a great novel, but he reimagined Nessie as a type of giant predator eel that migrates back and forth between the Sargasso Sea and inland freshwater habitats.

[TheCreativeNick]

This definitely deserves a part 2, I think it would be cool to cover even more cryptids like the Mothman.

[WalkinStereotype]

I personally love to imagine that the idea for hoopsnakes came from a guy spooking a sidewinder on a steep desert hill, it tumbled a bit as it tried to get away, looking like a floppy loop at times, and the guy went “yeah, it meant to do that”

[Shoyro]

I will love a second part for this, focused on more unknown cryptids like the Ropen. They're described as pterosaurs with glowing bellies and are strong enough to break into concrete coffins to feast on the human corpses within.

[thoughtfuldevil]

Without the Cryptozoologicon, my YA horror series (Jackie and Craig) could never have happened. Thanks for covering, Archive. Hope this video goes far and wide 🐲

[vde]

Hoop-snakes are actually the American version of a creature from Scandinavian and German folklore called lindorm/lindwurm. The German version is basically a wyvern, though sometimes without wings, but the Scandinavian version (also called hjulorm, manorm or ormkung) is almost exactly like a hoop-snake. They are said to live in burial mounds amongst linden trees, have a frill or mane behind their head, and can roll like wheels to chase after people or even split them in two. Sometimes they are the result of magic: either as an evil wizard who has turned himself into a king of snakes, or as a punishment for reckless and greedy people who have tried to use sorcery to gain wealth.

[MrFish]

Video idea:

A documentary about unkown Celtic myths from Scotland.

[PaleoAnalysis]

Love your stuff CA! ❤️ I actually just started to dip my toes into the endless possibilities of Speculative Biology on my channel today! You're channel is actually a huge inspiration behind my decision to do this.

[hrpang]

Man, now I wanna know if there's one for Yokai. Imagine a biological take on how Yokai can exist if they were real animals. A lot of them can work as candidates since some are animals turned yokai or resemble real life animals already.

[fabriziobiancucci]

14:21 That stegosaurus should be even more than asteroid-proof... stegosaurids were already extinct almost 90 million years before the KT event😂

[carolynallisee]

4.40- CA said that the re-imagined Zuiyo Maru monster's tassels and strands would help camouflage it and hide it from predators, but there's another possibility, A lot of fish and sea creatures with this type of camo are hiding not from predators, but prey. In act, the cryptid painting reminds me of the Wobegong, a kind of shark that is flattened a bit like a ray or skate, and has s fringe of weed-like tendrils around it's face. It's an ambush predator, and blends in well with its surroundings. As for Zuiyo Maru, well, if it looks like a rotting carcase, perhaps it preys on scavengers!

[Jacob-yglz]

IMO, unless you're going for the Gigantopithecus angle, the best speculative bigfoot lineage would be the Robust Australopithecines, because they're bipedal and part of the human lineage but also distinct and occupy a different niche, that could differentiate into a more bigfoot-like niche.

[captainidiot]

This is more interesting cause the guy is a proper scientist, so it feels more realistic and I love that.

[GatesOfAvalon]

7:13
This photo is setting off my primal fear responses badly. Props to the artist!

[cyrealism]

I think it's worth noting that orangutan, phonetically, can be translated as forest people (the actual spelling is a bit different) whereas orang pendek literally means short people in the Malay language. A small detail, but interesting to note!

[raimonrossitto]

I like to think that the Chupacabra is actually a type of venomous vampire bat, but rather than flying it hops. It would have two fangs that inject a fast acting paralysis venom that would immobilize prey and then it's tongue which is similar to the humming bird's acts as a straw so the Chupacabra can drain the victim of it's blood. The Chupacabra may have some remnants of wings that it might use to glide short distances.

[Phantryx]

A fun fact about the Wolpertinger:
The Wolpertinger originated in Bavaria in Germany since after the Unification of Germany a lot of Tourists from Prussia came to visit.
Because the local hunters wanted to fuck with the new guys, they started taking random parts of animals and putting them together, normally a rodent body with antlers as the most basic form, sometimes with duck feet or wings.
A very funny and fascinating piece of history