ON THE TRACK

MAX BLAKE: Another Taxonomy Fail

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: A CALIFORNIAN WILDMAN FROM THE 1880s

The other day, whilst researching in Stockport Library, I came across the following story, which has not yet been cross-referenced with The Historical Bigfoot by Chad Arment. If anyone would be so kind as to do this I would be most grateful.

According to The Stockport Advertiser Notes and Queries September 9th 1882:

A WILD MAN IN CALIFORNIA

While hunting for deserters from a ship, at Guaymas,* a few days ago, the searchers discovered a man covered from head to foot with long, shaggy hair, of a reddish colour. On their approaching him he commenced to run, and they chased him, following him for a distance of a mile or more, to the beach, where he jumped from rock to rock with the agility of a chamois, and was soon lost to sight behind a jutting point. They afterward discovered the cave which he inhabits, the floor being covered with skins, and the indications were that he subsisted entirely upon raw flesh. Organized efforts will be made to capture him. (1)

(*Now in N.W Mexico)

Well, what do you make of that my dear cryptid lovers? I am interested in the reddish coat and cave dwelling. Is this common of sasquatch/bigfoot? Please let us know.


1. Stockport Advertiser Notes & Queries Sept 9th 1882 p.115.

CHAD ARMENT POSTED THESE TO THE 'STRANGE ARK' E-MAIL GROUP

For those interested in the ongoing debates over new methods in naming species, here are a few open papers you can read online:

Availability of new Bayesian-delimited gecko names and the importance of character-based species descriptions
Aaron Bauer, et al.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/278/1705/490.short

A coalescent perspective on delimiting and naming species: a reply to Bauer et al.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/278/1705/493.full

Describing New Species Alain Dubois
http://sljol.info/index.php/TAPRO/article/viewFile/2703/2179

Abundance and conservation status of two newly described lemur species ...
http://ajol.info/index.php/mcd/article/viewFile/63138/51003


Not available online, but could be of interest:

Leopoldo H. Soibelzon and Blaine W. Schubert (2011) The Largest Known Bear, Arctotherium angustidens, from the Early Pleistocene Pampean Region of Argentina: With a Discussion of Size and Diet Trends in Bears. Journal of Paleontology: January 2011, Vol. 85, No. 1, pp. 69-75.

GLEN VAUDREY: I'd Go the Whole Wide World #4

Paraguay
Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America that I don’t know all that much more about. It is sometimes referred to as the heart of South America based on its location but I am sure it has some more points of attraction other than that and its cryptids.

To represent Paraguay I will have a look at one of the more remarkable mystery cat stories to be told.

Sometime in 1975 a large mystery cat weighing 160lb was shot in Paraguay. At the time it was recorded as being a mutant jaguar, a cracking description that conjures many an image, but does your imagination match the following?

Supposedly when zoologist Juan Acavar examined the animal’s corpse he discovered that it possessed fangs measuring 12 inches in length; quite remarkable, far longer than you would expect and enough to suggest that the mutant jaguar was nothing less than a Smilodon. A rather impressive identity as it is widely suggested that the Smilodon became extinct around 10,000 BC.

In best conspiracy tradition, as important as this sighting could be, the official line is that it was still only a mutant jaguar, after all the thought of sabre-toothed cats roaming the countryside could cause undue panic. Unfortunately there is still not enough evidence to suggest if the report is as good as it sounds, but who knows what might turn up one day.

Leaving tales of sabre-toothed cats behind, next we shall skip across the border to neighbouring Bolivia.

COMING SOON FROM CFZ PRESS

As regular readers/CFZ buffs will know, whenever I give a list of books that we are planning to publish it all goes wrong. However, these are the titles that are being worked on at the moment:


Haunted Skies Volume 2 by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway (Out this week) **
CFZ Yearbook 2011 (final touches being done)
I Fort the Lore by Paul Screeton **
Monstrum by Tony `Doc` Shiels
The Inhumanoids Barton Nunnelly
Space Girl Dead on Spaghetti Junction by Nick Redfern **
Mystery Animals of the British Isles: London by Neil Arnold
Mystery Animals of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire by Paul Williams
Snap! by Steven Bredice
Green Unpleasant Land by Richard Freeman
Death by Bigfoot by Michael Newton
Weird Waters: Lake and Sea Monsters of Scandinavia and the Baltic States by Lars Thomas


Quite a few other books are in the planning state, but these are the ones being actively worked on (designed, mastered, laid-out, proof-read) at this moment.



** Fortean Words rather than CFZ Press.

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today

http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

On this day in 2003 the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere killing all crew members.
And now, the news:

Romney Marsh & Dungeness the last refuge of rare s...
Klamath Chinook Salmon Groups Seek Endangered Spec...
Species-proving Kunimasu trout goes on display in ...
250 species of birds counted in Berks in 2010
Shark-Catching Nations Fail To Protect Threatened ...
Wolf sighting is ruled unsubstantiated

Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOg5VxrRTi0