# What happens when mythological creatures are proven to have existed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589 "2018-06-07T02:56:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/41 "2018-06-11T23:42:06Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Into the 20th century is _vastly_ different than into the 21st. Just in 2017: Vangunu giant rat Tapanuli orangutan > **[Creatures great and small: New species discovered in 2017](https://newatlas.com/new-species-discovered-2017/52761/)** > > While it might seem like we've got the animal kingdom pretty well cataloged, new species are constantly turning up in the deep oceans, thick jungles, or even dusty museum store rooms. Here's our favorite new additions to the Tree of Life in 2017, as... The lesula Monkey Goodman’s Mouse Lemur three-toed pygmy sloth Callicebus monkey new species of dolphin The saola > **[10 new mammals discovered in past 10 years](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/sep/13/new-mammals-discovered-10-years)** > > As a new monkey is identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, here are more recent discoveries Oh yes, the the Giant Squid, which should be big enuf for you and was a mythological animal, the Kraken. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/42 "2018-06-11T23:53:43Z")
I feel it should be pointed out that “new species that are really similar and clearly in a family line with known species” isn’t quite the same deal as the “unicorns and dragons and giants and centaurs out of literally nowhere” that the OP proposes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/43 "2018-06-12T00:04:03Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Lemur866: > > Biblical zoology expert Rabbi Nathan Slifkin is of the opinion that the re’em was either an aurochs or an oryx, or possibly referred to both when used in different contexts. (Just in case you were wondering, the uncertainty has nothing to do with the similar-sounding English names for those animals.) It definitely was not a rhinoceros, as some contexts refer to it as a kosher animal. Could it have been a Rothschild’s Giraffe? [Giraffes have been declared kosher for eating](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/2084281/Giraffe-is-kosher-Israeli-vets-have-ruled.html), and the Rothschild’s uniquely has [five ossicones (horns) on it’s head, two fore and aft, and one in the center of the forehead](https://www.nrdc.org/experts/elly-pepper/endangered-species-act-could-prevent-giraffes-extinction). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/44 "2018-06-12T01:36:13Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I feel it should be pointed out that “new species that are really similar and clearly in a family line with known species” isn’t quite the same deal as the “unicorns and dragons and giants and centaurs out of literally nowhere” that the OP proposes. Yes, that’s true. But they still find new species of megafauna. And the Giant squid was indeed a mythological animal for thousands of years, until it was confirmed. Megamouth shark 6 meters long, discovered 1976. Komodo dragon, 3 meters long, discovered 1910. Okapi, 1901 giant forest hog 1904. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/45 "2018-06-12T09:50:04Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > However the creatures OP describes are genuinely mythical creatures. So was _Homo Floresiensis_. The locals had myths and stories about the ‘little people’. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/46 "2018-06-12T10:29:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, especially as the Unicorn was based upon reports of the Rhino. > > But yeah, there have been one-horned goats. A horned horse-like critter is not impossible. > > Centaurs- no way. > > Dragons? Well, not every mythological dragon breathed fire or flew. Early images of St George’s “dragon” show a animal (which does have wings) about the size of a very large dog. No reason such a creature couldn’t exist. A Komodo dragon-like lizard with vestigial wings? Sure. > > Gigantopithecus stood maybe 3 meters tall. Bigger than that runs into issues. But there’s no reason a hominid of sorts couldn’t be that big. What I read was they took the story of[flying lizards and snakes](https://www.livescience.com/10258-flying-snakes-secret-revealed.html) (which do sort of exist - actually they just glide) and [lizards that shoot venom](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/f/frilled-lizard/) and made something out of those. Their might actually have been larger “flying” lizards in the past which are now extinct. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/48 "2018-06-12T14:52:48Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Their might actually have been larger “flying” lizards in the past which are now extinct. [Flying Lizards](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk)? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/49 "2018-06-12T16:42:15Z")
TriPolar: > [@](#): > > Could it have been a Rothschild’s Giraffe? Giraffes have been declared kosher for eating, and the Rothschild’s uniquely has five ossicones (horns) on it’s head, two fore and aft, and one in the center of the forehead. The book I’m referring to, “Sacred Monsters”, puts forth some pretty good arguments (forgive me for not summarizing) for the aurochs or oryx as the “re’em”, and the giraffe isn’t even suggested on that topic. He does consider the giraffe as a possibility for another supposed Biblically-mentioned unicorn, the “tachash”, but in the end concludes that that word doesn’t really indicate an animal at all. Most modern Jewish Biblical scholars identify the giraffe with the animal referred to by the Hebrew word “zemer”, in the list of kosher beasts in Deuteronomy 14:5. (the NIV seems to translate that word as “mountain sheep”) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/50 "2018-06-12T16:58:34Z")
I gave it a shot. Next time I’m at a kosher deli I’ll ask if I can get a giraffe sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/51 "2018-06-12T17:27:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, that’s true. But they still find new species of megafauna. And the Giant squid was indeed a mythological animal for thousands of years, until it was confirmed. No it wasn’t. Look, I’ve got a question for you. The [giant squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid) and the [colossal squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid) are real creatures. What’s your evidence that these creatures were the basis for the mythological Kraken? Because these creatures are nothing like the mythological Kraken. The reason we’ve only recently learned anything about them is that they are deep ocean species. They don’t frolic about on the surface destroying ships. They aren’t several miles long. They don’t interact with humans in any way. So how exactly would a Norwegian fisherman see one of these things? They didn’t. Nobody did. These species are not the basis for the legend of the Kraken, any more than the Komodo Dragon is the basis for the legend of the Dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/52 "2018-06-12T17:41:57Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Because these creatures are nothing like the mythological Kraken. The reason we’ve only recently learned anything about them is that they are deep ocean species. They don’t frolic about on the surface destroying ships. They aren’t several miles long. They don’t interact with humans in any way. > > So how exactly would a Norwegian fisherman see one of these things? They didn’t. Nobody did. These species are not the basis for the legend of the Kraken, any more than the Komodo Dragon is the basis for the legend of the Dragon. Except almost every one of your assertions is contrary to, like, [facts & stuff.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_giant_squid_specimens_and_sightings) Ergo, Bigfoot is totes real now thanks to you. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/53 "2018-06-12T21:08:28Z")
TriPolar: > [@](#): > > I gave it a shot. Next time I’m at a kosher deli I’ll ask if I can get a giraffe sandwich. I hear the neck is the best part. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/54 "2018-06-13T03:21:20Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > No it wasn’t. > > Look, I’ve got a question for you. > > The [giant squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid) and the [colossal squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid) are real creatures. > > What’s your evidence that these creatures were the basis for the mythological Kraken? > > Because these creatures are nothing like the mythological Kraken. The reason we’ve only recently learned anything about them is that they are deep ocean species. They don’t frolic about on the surface destroying ships. They aren’t several miles long. They don’t interact with humans in any way. > > So how exactly would a Norwegian fisherman see one of these things? They didn’t. Nobody did. These species are not the basis for the legend of the Kraken, any more than the Komodo Dragon is the basis for the legend of the Dragon. > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Except almost every one of your assertions is contrary to, like, [facts & stuff.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_giant_squid_specimens_and_sightings) Ergo, Bigfoot is totes real now thanks to you. And one of the early photos is of a giant squid…found in [Norway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_giant_squid_specimens_and_sightings#/media/File:Giant_squid_Ranheim.jpg). BTW, I thought about giving the Kracken as an example in the first post, but didn’t because a. they were probably just giant cephalopods so that’s not too unexpected and b. they don’t fossil very well. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/55 "2018-06-13T14:30:03Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > And also note. > > The unicorn appears in the Bible. So the unicorn must really exist? > > No, because “unicorn” is just how the guys who created the King James Version translated the Hebrew word “רֶאֵם‬”. > > [But what exactly is this re’em](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re%27em)? Was it a white horse-deer with a spiral horn? > > No, it probably meant a wild ox. Or maybe a rhinoceros. Nobody knows for sure, but in the Bible the re’em is depicted a wild strong creature with horns or a horn. It is a creature comparable to the Behemoth and the Leviathan. That is, a terrible wild creature vastly more powerful than any mere human, but firmly under God’s power. Usually assumed to be an aurochs. Which is weird enough (and now extinct). [Aurochs - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs) They were very large compared with other cattle, hence all the hyperbole in the Bible about how gigantic they were. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/56 "2018-06-13T19:01:38Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So was _Homo Floresiensis_. The locals had myths and stories about the ‘little people’. Yeah, but so did England, Ireland, Germany, Iceland, Sweden, many Native American cultures, 20th century United States, and nearly every other human culture in existence. It’s like #3 on the list of ‘develop your own culture’. After language and Big Gods comes ‘What’s your variant of little people/elves/dwarves/fairies/gnomes?’. I don’t think there’s necessarily a connection between a population 60,000 years ago, and stories of little people in a modern culture that’s the result of many, many, waves of colonization/conquering/immigration/trade over the intervening period. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/57 "2018-06-14T01:33:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > No it wasn’t. > > Look, I’ve got a question for you. > > The [giant squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid) and the [colossal squid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid) are real creatures. > > What’s your evidence that these creatures were the basis for the mythological Kraken? > > Because these creatures are nothing like the mythological Kraken. The reason we’ve only recently learned anything about them is that they are deep ocean species. They don’t frolic about on the surface destroying ships. They aren’t several miles long. They don’t interact with humans in any way. > > So how exactly would a Norwegian fisherman see one of these things? They didn’t. Nobody did. These species are not the basis for the legend of the Kraken, any more than the Komodo Dragon is the basis for the legend of the Dragon. > **[Kraken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken)** > > The kraken (/ˈkrɑːkən/) is a legendary sea monster of enormous size, etymologically akin to a squid or octopus, said to appear in the sea between Norway and Iceland. It is believed the legend of the Kraken may have originated from sightings of giant squid, which may grow to 12–15 m (40–50 feet) in length. > Kraken, as a subject of sailors' superstitions and mythos, was first described in the modern era in a travelogue by Francesco Negri in 1700. This description was followed in 1734 by an accoun... Authors over the years have postulated that the legend originated from sightings of giant squids that may grow to 13–15 meters (40–50 feet) in length. > **[BBC Earth | Environment, Climate Change, AI, Food, Health, Social, &...](https://www.bbc.com/future-planet)** > > As we face the world’s greatest environmental challenges, BBC Earth brings you solutions in psychology, food, climate change, health, social trends, and technology that can make the world a more sustainable place. > **[The real-life origins of the legendary Kraken](http://theconversation.com/the-real-life-origins-of-the-legendary-kraken-52058)** > > The myth of a monstrous giant squid prowling the oceans has persisted for centuries but scientists have been able to reveal the truth behind the stories. _But when, in 1853, a giant cephalopod was found stranded on a Danish beach, Norwegian naturalist Japetus Steenstrup recovered the animal’s beak and used it to scientifically describe the giant squid, Architeuthis dux. And so what had become legend officially entered the annals of science, returning our image of the Kraken to the animal that originated the myths._ > **[The Legend Of The Kraken Vs. The Actual Giant Squid](https://www.ranker.com/list/legend-of-kraken-vs-giant-squid/erin-mccann)** > > The legend of the giant kraken has made its way into books, movies, and countless tales of the sea. The beast was whispered to wait at the bottom of the ocean for victims to pass by. Then, it would burst to the surface, its... \*The kraken was likely based on numerous mythological sea monsters as well as sightings of giant squid, something that probably looked pretty freaky at the time. A closer examination of the kraken vs. the giant squid reveals the legend is a little exaggerated, just like any good myth. The fact and fiction of the kraken becomes even more interesting when you consider the actual marine creature. Was the kraken just a giant squid? Here’s a look at the legend compared to the real thing.\* ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589/58 "2018-06-14T01:45:17Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > TriPolar: > > I hear the neck is the best part. I was thinking tongue. There must be plenty of the tender tip meat in an 18-20" tongue. Perfect on rye with a little mustard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-mythological-creatures-are-proven-to-have-existed/815589.md?page=2)