Anybody else fascinated by the concept of cryptids? I love reading about stuff like the mothman or chupacabra.
What's your favorite?
My favourites would have to be monsters that dwell in the water, such as the Loch Ness Monster or the Krakken. The deep ocean is so mysterious that it feels like there's always a possibility such strange creatures actually exist. ;D
Dragons, Scylla, Hydra.
where i live we have cryptobranchus, real ones.
creatures from way off the beaten path:
(https://paherpsurvey.org/vouchers/15637-23741.jpg)
(https://paherpsurvey.org/vouchers/15637-23742.jpg)
these are cooler than shit
I like unicorns. Unicorns fart rainbows.
Yowies are real, naked white apemen.
I'm digging your toenail polish, Billy. :D
thats not me
might be my daughter?
not the slipprry one
What the hell is that thing billy. Is it some sort of lizard, amphibian, worm from the fourth ring of Hades?
I can't see the pictures Billy
OK I looked up the description of that creature.
He/she/it is called by several vernacular names. The names are Hellbender, snot otter, mud cat, devil dog, Alleghany Alligator, and so forth. It is a large salamander that can grow to two and a half feet long. The one in the picture may be a young one.
Those are strange looking aquatic creatures, part of God's will I presume.
yes
cryptobranchus alligheniensis
where i live is one of the best habitats for em. giant things.
(https://i.imgur.com/0R7mu5ul.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hPOOe1El.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/d2k5Sqcl.jpg)
the ones in china are much bigger
Giant salamanders.
yes. but salamanders and newts and efts and such are generally delicate things, often beautifully colored and patterned.
the hellbenders are gian t things that look more like a huge slimy booger than anything else. theyre in my local watershed. captina creek
(https://www.captina.org/uploads/4/1/7/1/41713165/pxl-20210920-153941475_orig.jpg)
used to be poisoned by runoff from the coal mines, but has recovered mostly. the hellbenders are not common, but thats where they live, and if you want to look you will find them
Salamanders are said to be invulnerable to fire, what's a bit of pollution?
Quote from: billy rubin on May 06, 2023, 08:49:25 PMyes. but salamanders and newts and efts and such are generally delicate things, often beautifully colored and patterned.
the hellbenders are gian t things that look more like a huge slimy booger than anything else. theyre in my local watershed. captina creek
(https://www.captina.org/uploads/4/1/7/1/41713165/pxl-20210920-153941475_orig.jpg)
used to be poisoned by runoff from the coal mines, but has recovered mostly. the hellbenders are not common, but thats where they live, and if you want to look you will find them
Are the hellbenders poisonous like newts? It takes ingesting them to die from the poison, so maybe handling isn't an issue?
amphibians are highly vulnerable to chemical pollution. selenium runoff in californias central valley is a famous example.
Quote from: billy rubin on May 06, 2023, 08:49:25 PMyes. but salamanders and newts and efts and such are generally delicate things, often beautifully colored and patterned.
the hellbenders are gian t things that look more like a huge slimy booger than anything else. theyre in my local watershed. captina creek
(https://www.captina.org/uploads/4/1/7/1/41713165/pxl-20210920-153941475_orig.jpg)
used to be poisoned by runoff from the coal mines, but has recovered mostly. the hellbenders are not common, but thats where they live, and if you want to look you will find them
That place is beautiful Billy. I could sit there for a while and be soothed by the tranquility. Hellbenders be damned.
We don't have anything like that scary looking thing, but we do have cute little corroboree frogs
(https://images.takeshape.io/86ce9525-f5f2-4e97-81ba-54e8ce933da7/dev/ddf0c806-aa14-4b51-83e7-4de6c3abe8d5/corroboree%20frog%20dreamstime_188683624%20(1)-2.webp)
Feckin' OZ. Even the poison frogs are endangered! :lol:
J/K; the biosphere is shrinking in not-good ways.
There are some so far successful effort to breed these guys in captivity. I understand that recently, a number of them were released into the wild in areas that have been protected from exotic predators (i.e. cats and foxes)
The gnomes in their mines
study their gems - rainbows.