Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.
The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.
Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...
In the October of last year, we were donated an unusual little gecko that
not only had cryptozoological cogitations because it was non-native and found in
Warwickshire, but when closely examined it actually appeared to have a single
horn almost central on top of its head (it was actually offset slightly to the
right - see images). Of course this wasn't a legitimate horn as there was no
bony core present, rather it was simply the location of a previous injury that
had already healed, producing a horn-like protrusion or "pseudo-horn" from the
damaged head scales, re-forming a flap of fairly solid tissue. However at a
quick glance, at least at certain angles, an observer could easily yet
erroneously think they had briefly witnessed a single horned (Unicorn) gecko. It
does initially look quite convincing and to add to the
would-be confusion, arboreal gecko's are lightening fast when making a fleeting
getaway. Maybe certain other mystery reptiles such as crested snakes and cryptid
horned snakes have their origins in this type of injury, especially if they were
cryptic species of Boids and Pythons as they have similar granular-like scales
on top of their heads that can readily re-form in this fashion. However I
personally consider retained shed on the head and nape, building up
over successive moults in unhealthy individuals, as a possible identification
for many of the worlds crested snake reports. 
New at Frontiers of
Zoology:
In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that - whereas the study of out of place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot, or lake monsters - it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean Zoologist to be interested in. So, after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo, Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.
It is always surprising to me how the
season of tinsel and paper hats melts away as if it had never been, and within
days one finds oneself back in the normal routine. However, very little about
our lives can be described as normal really. Last night I was up late chatting
to the Gonzo grande fromage Rob Ayling about the forthcoming Michael Des Barres
releases, and I also finished reading Philip Norman's wonderfully waspish
biography of Mick Jagger. It is only the 3rd of January and I have already read
three of my four Christmas books. Richard Muirhead and I are also trying to find
out whether it is true that the Hong Kong Department of Agriculture and
Fisheries have now added the Indopacific crocodile to the official species list
for the former British Colony. Life goes on...
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