Cryptids are animals or other beings whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology, the study of cryptids, is a pseudoscience claiming that such beings may exist somewhere in the wild; it has been widely critiqued by scientists.[1][2][3][4] The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information[5] and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method.[6] Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence,[7] likely misidentifications[8] and misinterpretation of stories from folklore.[9] While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor.
Dinornis robustus (South Island giant moa), Dinornis novaezelandiae (North Island giant moa), Anomalopteryx didiformis (Bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa)
^Otodus is the currently accepted genus name for megalodon. Older sources refer to the genus as Carcharodon, Carcharocles, and several other names.
^There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the bush moa through genome editing, this entry refers to the possibility of surviving original populations
^There is an ongoing de-extinction project to revive the species through genome editing, this entry refers to the unconfirmed sightings and reports of surviving original populations
References
^Mullis (2021: 185): "Eschewing the rigors of science, cryptozoologists publish for a popular audience rather than for experts resulting in the practice itself frequently being derided as a pseudoscience."
^Loxton & Prothero (2013: 332): "Whatever the romantic appeal of monster mysteries, cryptozoology as it exists today is unquestionably a pseudoscience." Loxton & Prothero (2013: 320): "Cryptozoology has a reputation of being part of a general pseudoscientific fringe—just one more facet of paranormal belief." (Both quotes from Donald Prothero)
^Church (2009: 251–252): "Cryptozoology has acquired a bad reputation as a pseudoscience [...] Until detailed, methodical research becomes standard practice among cryptozoologists, the field will remain disrespected by more traditional biologists and zoologists."
^Roesch & Moore (2002: 71–78): "Pointing to this rampant speculation and ignorance of established scientific theories in cryptozoology, as well as the field's poor record of success and its reliance on unsystematic, anecdotal evidence, many scientists and skeptics classify cryptozoology as a pseudoscience."
^Simpson, George Gaylord (1984). "Mammals and Cryptozoology". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 128, No. 1 (Mar. 30, 1984), pp. 1–19. American Philosophical Society.
^Fuller, Errol (1999). The Great Auk. Southborough, Kent, UK: Privately Published. ISBN 0-9533553-0-6 pp. 404-413
^Gilmore, David D. (2003). Monsters : evil beings, mythical beasts, and all manner of imaginary terrors. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN978-0-8122-0322-6. OCLC802059457.
^Montgomery, Joy (7 June 2024). "How Megalodon Worked". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 31 October 2024. Most scientists, paleontologists and other experts believe from the fossil evidence that megalodon became extinct over 2 million years ago during the Plio-Pleistocene period, but some cryptozoologists and researchers think that this giant shark may still exist in the undiscovered depths of the ocean… Proponents of the theory of megalodon's continued existence often point to eyewitness accounts to debate the possibility of the species' survival. Occasionally, a report will surface about a large, unidentified shark in the ocean, but those accounts have been mostly discounted as tall tales. Some researchers say that the discovery of new, unfossilized teeth proves that megalodon lives, but zoologist and cryptozoology expert Ben Speers-Roesch explains that these reports are erroneous and ignore the fact that no truly unfossilized teeth have ever belonged to megalodon.
^"Twilight of the mammoths: Ice Age extinctions and the rewilding of America". Choice Reviews Online. 43 (8): 43–4679-43-4679. 1 April 2006. doi:10.5860/choice.43-4679 (inactive 1 July 2025). ISSN0009-4978.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^Smith, Malcolm (1996). Bunyips & bigfoots : in search of Australia's mystery animals. Alexandria, NSW: Millennium Books. ISBN1-86429-081-1. OCLC36719441.
^Nickell, J., & RANDI, J. (2004). Cryptids “Down Under.” In The Mystery Chronicles: More Real-Life X-Files (pp. 289–295). University Press of Kentucky. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tv62q.39
^Crane, K. (2012). Myths of wilderness in contemporary narratives : Environmental postcolonialism in australia and canada. (pp.145) Palgrave Macmillan
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