Mythical Animals: 5 Fantasy Creatures Based On Real Life Animals

One's imaginative mind can basically craft anything. From the basic features of an animal, one can transform these into another creature with peculiar and quirky formations.

Almost everyone grew up with the idea of the existence of mythical creatures, with thoughts that they really exist and not just a product of one's imaginations. Research have found that most of these fantasy and mythical creatures have been based on the characteristics of real life animals.

There are a lot of creatures in mythology that people were fond of; but here are just some of the fantasy creatures that were found to be based on animals:

Read Also: Mythical Creatures List: Bizarre Animals in History Misidentified as Mythological Beasts

Kraken

The Dodo has listed Kraken as one of the mythical creatures based on animals due to the legend that years ago, sailors have encountered a giant squid that is believed to be very elusive. However, there were no photos of this sea animal, which was said to be capable of destroying a sailing vessel.

In an entry posted on the Natural History Museum, the Kraken was believed to have originated from the Scandinavian folklore. It is believed that this cephalopod-like creature can bother sailors and bring massive destruction to ships.

Jon Ablett, Senior Curator of Mollusca, said squid and octopus are really considered a "unusual animals." These animals' body plan is not similar to other creatures living in the waters.

"I think the fact that they are such odd creatures, with some very large species being very rarely seen, make it very likely that they could be the starting points for the kraken and other sea beast legends," Ablett said.

Griffin

The Griffin is actually a combination of two mighty predators, the eagle and the lion.

Legends and myths about the Griffin were known during ancient Egyptian times. Usually the Griffin was used to portray the role of being a guard of a precious treasure as well as a symbol of wisdom and power, similar to a king.

Some theories about the Griffin include the idea that it was born out of ancient gold miners who had discovered the fossils of a dinosaur called the protoceratops, which was characterized as having four legs and a mighty beak.

Griffins have been popular in ancient Greek art as well as in medieval bestiaries and heraldry.

Chupacabra

Also included in the list is the Chupacabra. According to the American Museum of Natural History, Chupacabra acts similar to that of a vampire as they kill animals by sucking their blood.

Studies have shown that farmers in Puerto Rico had seen Chupacabra during the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were described as fierce as they reportedly attacked farm animals. However, they have similar size to that of an average dog.

There were varying descriptions about Chupacabra, but they were depicted as having red eyes and large fangs. Others tend to believe that they have two legs but some said they have four.

Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster is described as having a resemblance to the plesiosaur, a long-necked water-dwelling dinosaur.

Some scientists and paleontologists also believed that the creature could be based on a real sea monster in Loch Ness, which is called the ichthyosaur, that lived millions of years ago.

This creature had been popular in Scotland, however, there was no sufficient and concrete evidence about its existence in the modern times.

Dolphins

Known at present for its amusing characteristic, dolphins, in mythology, are believed to be the messenger of Poseidon.

Dolphins have been living in all oceans of the world; therefore it is obvious that they are include in the stories of civilizations in the previous years. There were stories that they rescue people who were at risk in the sea and they also helped fishermen, according to the Dolphins World.

Research also found that dolphins were frequently mentioned in Classical mythology. They were shown on frescoes on the bathroom wall in the Palace of Knossos in Crete, which dates to 1600 BC.

At present, dolphins are known to be playful for humans because of their tricks.

Aside from that, one will be amused of the wide grins they make to the public.

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