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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.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Showing posts with label center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label center. Show all posts

Friday, March 13, 2009

THE AMATEUR NATURALIST #7 IS FINALLY AVAILABLE


After a string of technical issues, the first issue of the rebranded magazine is now available on Amazon:
CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE


3. EDITORIAL

4. CONTENTS

11. THE NEWS FEATURE: West Thurrock Marshes
15. MORE NEWS
17. ZOO NEWS
20. CRYPTO NEWS
24. CLUB NEWS DIRECTORY:
The Emirates Natural History Group.
The British Killifish Association
25. CLUB NEWS: Ryedale A.S Open Show
26. Exchange Publications
27. OBITUARY: Simon Wolstencroft
29. COSTA RICAN ADVENTURE: Central American Wildlife by David Loft
39. FRUIT BEETLES WITH ATTITUDE: Captive Cetoniinae by Max Blake
42. TALES FROM THE BUSH: In the Footsteps of Wallace by Stephen Backshall
47. ADULT BABIES: Axolotls by Trevor Smith
50. NOT QUITE JAWS: Freshwater `Sharks` by David Marshall
55. FROM THE SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Jade Mantis by Graham Smith
58. SNAKES WITH FINS: Channa chat by Max Blake
62. TREVOR’S TAILS
64. LUCY’S LIFE
66. A PRICKLY INDIAN: Bengal Spiny Stick Insect by Janice Holt
69. ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS: Your first snake by Richard Freeman
74. FREE RANGE NEPHILA: Orb spinner spiders at home by Ray Gabriel
80. ZEBRA RODENTS: African striped mice by Oll Lewis
84. IN DEPTH: Insect diets and the role of toxins in food plants by Curtis Lakin
86. GOING FOR A SONG: Charity Killifish Auction by Max Blake
87. BOOKSHELF: Reviews by Richard Freeman
89. HELP: I need somebody
CONTRIBUTORS

Jon Downes, Graham Smith, Graham Inglis, Corinna Downes, Ray Gabriel, David Loft, Janice Holt, Richard Freeman, David Marshall, Stephen Backshall, Oll Lewis, Ross Phillips, Ray Gabriel, Curtis Lakin, Tim Matthews, Lucy Henson, Trevor Smith,and Max Blake

Monday, March 09, 2009

GUEST BLOGGER MIKE HALLOWELL: The Geordie Lizard Man and others

First of all, my apologies for the hiatus between my last blog and this one; Casa Hallowell is currently undergoing a refit of monumental proportions, which involves the laying of new floors, a new bathroom and kitchen being fitted, a complete replumbing and rewiring and a multitude of other improvements, including the addition of a curious new form of energy called "electricity". Whether the rest of the British Isles will follow suit and also avail themselves of this new wonder is yet to be seen.
In my last blog, I mentioned the fact that two witnesses had come forward, both of whom claim to have espied a strange "lizard man"; one in Northumberland, and the other somewhat closer to home. I'm still investigating these claims, and have not, as yet, satisfied myself that they are entirely genuine. I believe they are at this juncture, mainly because the experients do not seem to know each other. Both appear to be perfectly sincere, and the intriguing thing is that their descriptions of the creature tally almost perfectly.

Witness A described the creature as five ft. in height, brown/green in colour and scaled. The beast, he said, was essentially anthropomorphic, but also possessed a tail, had no discernible ears and sported a reddish, serrated crest upon its head and spine. Its face was "snout-like" and resembled that of a German Shepherd in shape. I contacted him again several days ago, and asked him to relate to me once again his sighting in detail. His account is as follows, minus some details regarding the exact location which I am withholding at this time:

Last summer - one Sunday in July, as he recalls - Witness A left his home in Northumberland and drove to a remote spot further north to engage in a spot of rambling. He arrived at his destination and parked his car at approximately 1040hrs, and then walked up a path which took him between two small hillocks. In his backpack was a flask of tea and a packet of biscuits.

After walking between the hillocks, Witness A came across a large area covered with shrub, and scattered amongst it were a number of small, boggy areas filled with peat. He noticed that as he walked forward the ground was becoming increasingly waterlogged and spongy. Suddenly, to his right, he saw what he at first thought was a man running across the ground "at high speed". He estimates that he was approximately twenty yards away from him, and was puzzled as he could not see where he had came from.

"He seemed to come out of nowhere", the witness told me, "as if he had suddenly popped up out of the ground".

Witness A told me that the creature - by now he'd realised that it certainly wasn't human - had a gait that was perfectly human-like: "There wasn't anything funny about the way he ran. If it hadn't been for his strange appearance I would have thought it was just a man".

Within seconds the creature had crossed the path of Witness A and gave no indication of being aware that he was not alone. It was, said the witness, "as if I wasn't there". The witness also recalled seeing occasional splashes of water near the creature's feet as it disturbed the boggy ground beneath him. Then, without warning, he claimed that it, "just seemed to sink into the ground, as if he had fallen into a hole. There was no noise or anything...he just disappeared."

Witness A then retraced his steps, found his car and proceeded to drive home. His ramble had been of incredibly short duration, but the incident had removed any desire to prolong it.

Witness A said that although the creature had not threatened him or even looked in his direction, he was extremely frightened. He remembers his heart beating incredibly fast and said that his mouth dried up so much that, even if he'd wanted to speak or shout, he would have been unable to.

In my last blog I appealed for anyone who had heard similar tales to come forward. No one has done so. This may simply be because no one else has spotted the creature - the area Witness A was in is quite remote - or simply because the creature never existed in the first place.

I have still to verify Witness B's testimony and ascertain further details of his own sighting, but its intriguing to think that he may have seen the same creature. Geographically I think its unlikely, but who knows.

I'd also like to appeal to any cryptozoological fanatics out there to get in touch if they know of any other "lizard man" sightings from around the globe with which I can compare this one.

Well, must dash - Bob the builder, Terry the tiler and Pete the plasterer have just arrived...

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

GUEST BLOGGER TONY LUCAS: Giant eels in New Zealand

Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology. New Zealand is a particularly fascinating place because of its zoological isolation from the rest of the world.....
Tales of giant Eels abound worldwide and New Zealand has its fair share. There are two species of Eel which are endemic to New Zealand. The Long-finned Eel - Anguilla diefenbachii (Grey 1936), they are known for their great size and aggressiveness, The other is the Short-finned Eel - A schmidtii (Schmidt 1927), a shy, retiring creature more common than its long finned relative.

The largest Eel caught was officially recorded at 5ft in length and weighed an estimated 46lb. There is, however rumour of an Eel captured at Lake Waitapiti weighing 120lb. Other rumours abound from different regions of Eels reaching 7-10 feet in length, having a girth as thick as a mans thigh and weighing on average around 80-100 lbs.

How do they get so big you may well ponder? It's all to do with age and senility.
Eels can live up to 80 years, and as they age, they become a bit bone idle and defy the urge to migrate and spend the rest of their days in freshwater fattening up, growing to gargantuan proportions. These colossuses prefer to reside in slow flowing, deep, vegetation filled streams.

The females of both species are generally bigger than the males; from this we can therefore deduce any extremely large Eel is going to be female. Another supposition that can be made is the fact that the Long-finned Eel is larger than the Short-finned. It is therefore safe to infer that any Eel of giant proportions must be a female Long-finned Eel.

Both species feed on living and dead flesh.

Not having any predatory species of fish in this country, such as Pike ect, they are the top freshwater predator in the lakes and rivers. Accounts of giant Eels, or Eel-like creatures, date back to the time of early Maori colonisation. One engrossing account comes from the Bay of Plenty, in the North Island, from an area near what is now Whakatane.

A giant Eel-like creature known as Tuna Tuoro occupied a local river, it is said that its touch was able to paralyse a person. Could this be an account of some hereto unknown species of Electric Eel?

A more contemporary account refers to a farmer from the Wairarapa region of the North Island.
As is the practice on many farms, he had just dispatched a sheep to feed his dogs.

At the top of a small cliff with a stream running below it, he proceeded to dress the animal, hurling the offal over the cliff to the stream below. Suddenly, he heard a loud turmoil coming from the base of the cliff and looked below to see the water boiling as two colossal Eels tugged at each end of the scrap of offal he had just thrown over the cliff.

With the copious food supply, lack of competition and ample ideal habitat you would think more Eels of giant stature would be captured. These giants, however, stick to the deep waters and it is said are intelligent enough to know all the tricks to remain hidden from the sight of man.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A round-up of some newly discovered fish species

New species of animal are discovered a lot more regularly than you might think. Bringing joy to Max and Jon's hearts are several new species of freshwater fish, which will - no doubt - turn up in the pet trade before long. As Max pointed out some weeks ago, the pet trade has new and undescribed species in on a regular basis.

1) Apistogramma erythrura
Location: Mamoré River, Bolivia.

A new dwarf cichlid, related to the well-known `ram` or Ramarezi dwarf cichlid, beloved of aquarists over the years. It is very similar to the `ram` in appearance, although is slightly smaller.
This one spawns in caves and measures less than 4 cm in length. It was described by Wolfgang Staeck and Ingo Schindler in 2008.
2) Australoheros spp
Location: Southern Brazil

Felipe Ottoni and Wilson Costa have recently described nine new species of Australoheros cichlid: Australoheros autrani, A. barbosae, A. ipatinguensis, A. macacuensis, A. muriae, A. paraibae, A. robustus, A. Saquarema. There are currently no photographs available, not even any that we could steal citing `fair use` (which covers a multitude of sins), but PFK have a series of technical descriptions of the fish HERE
3) Crenicichla tesai and Crenicichla mandelburgeri
Two new pike cichlid species have been described from tropical South America. C. tesai was taken in the Iguazú River, Argentina. This species was described last year in the journal Revue Suisse de Zoologie 115 by Cisciotta, J and A Almiron in the article Crenicichla tesai, a new species of cichlid (perciformes: Labroidei) from the Rio Iguazu basin in Argentina.

Pike Cichlids are a group of South American fishes of the genus Crenicichla. They inhabit the freshwaters lakes, streams, rivers and pools of most of the Amazonian rivers, but there are many species found in Colombian, Venezuelan and Guyanan waters to the north of the Amazon. To the south, there are representatives of the genus all the way down to coastal regions of central Argentina. Basically, they are found east of the Andes, from the island of Trinidad in the north to the area around the Argentinian Rio Negro just north of Patagonia.

This species is named after the tear-shaped suborbital stripe (the name comes from the Guaraní word for tears) and is known from the Iguazú River upstream of Iguazú falls in Argentina. According to the authors, the species was caught in streams whose bottoms were composed of mud, sand and mostly stone; the streams had falls and pools, with clear, rapidly-flowing water.

Crenicichla mandelburgeri however comes from the Paraná River, Paraguay, and was discovered in two different habitats, one with rapids and brown muddy water with a depth of 1 meter and the other with shallow water where visibility regularly fluctuated. Some of the specimens were collected from rapids in a large stream, 5–10m wide, to 1m deep, with turbid, brownish water, while others came from small, shallow brown-water streams up to about 3m wide, with varying velocity and transparency, with bottom of sand and stones, and generally without vegetation.

4) Hyphessobrycon spp
Location: Northern Venezuela

Two new species of tetra, Hyphessobrycon paucilepis and H. tuyensis were described in the journal Vertebrate zoology 58in 2008. Hyphessobrycon paucilepis originates from the small drainages in Lara state, northern Venezuela. H. tuyensis from the Tuy River drainage in northern Venezuela. Again, at present, there are no photographs available.

5) Puntius kelumi
Location: Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan scientists have described a new species of barb from southwestern Sri Lanka in a recent issue of the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. Puntius kelumi is found in the south west of Sri Lanka, mainly in large, clear-water streams flowing from mountains that contain a granite, pebble or sand substrate and are often strewn with boulders.


6) Lithogenes wahari
Location: Cuao River, Venezuela.

This species of catfish was first observed over 20 years ago, but not found again until 2001.
As described on the bloggo earlier this year, recently a type specimen was obtained and it was described in the journal American Museum Novitates. It has also been proposed by ichthyologists that an ancestor of this species may have been capable of climbing rocks.




Sunday, February 22, 2009

More on the Swanpool Beast

Our friend Kithra has given an update to the story of the Swanpool mystery creature on her blog:




She also writes:


I found this longer article about the weird creature spotted in Falmouth, in the local weekly edition of The West Briton, so thought I'd forward it; although it doesn't really say much more than was reported in The Packet newspaper:

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/falmouth/Experts-puzzled-sighting-Swanpool-beast/article-708934-detail/article.html

Saturday, February 14, 2009

THE AMATEUR NATURALIST #7 IS AVAILABLE: Download it today for only £2.50


"In all things of nature there is
something of the marvellous."

Aristotle

As promised last week, the first issue of the new look, 108pp magazine, renamed The Amateur Naturalist is available.


CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE


3. EDITORIAL
4. CONTENTS
11. THE NEWS FEATURE: West Thurrock Marshes
15. MORE NEWS
17. ZOO NEWS
20. CRYPTO NEWS
24. CLUB NEWS DIRECTORY:
The Emirates Natural History Group.
The British Killifish Association
25. CLUB NEWS: Ryedale A.S Open Show
26. Exchange Publications
27. OBITUARY: Simon Wolstencroft
29. COSTA RICAN ADVENTURE: Central American Wildlife by David Loft
39. FRUIT BEETLES WITH ATTITUDE: Captive Cetoniinae by Max Blake
42. TALES FROM THE BUSH: In the Footsteps of Wallace by Stephen Backshall
47. ADULT BABIES: Axolotls by Trevor Smith
50. NOT QUITE JAWS: Freshwater `Sharks` by David Marshall
55. FROM THE SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Jade Mantis by Graham Smith
58. SNAKES WITH FINS: Channa chat by Max Blake
62. TREVOR’S TAILS
64. LUCY’S LIFE
66. A PRICKLY INDIAN: Bengal Spiny Stick Insect by Janice Holt
69. ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS: Your first snake by Richard Freeman
74. FREE RANGE NEPHILA: Orb spinner spiders at home by Ray Gabriel
80. ZEBRA RODENTS: African striped mice by Oll Lewis
84. IN DEPTH: Insect diets and the role of toxins in food plants by Curtis Lakin
86. GOING FOR A SONG: Charity Killifish Auction by Max Blake
87. BOOKSHELF: Reviews by Richard Freeman
89. HELP: I need somebody

CONTRIBUTORS


Jon Downes, Graham Smith, Graham Inglis, Corinna Downes, Ray Gabriel, David Loft, Janice Holt, Richard Freeman, David Marshall, Stephen Backshall, Oll Lewis, Ross Phillips, Ray Gabriel, Curtis Lakin, Tim Matthews, Lucy Henson, Trevor Smith,
and Max Blake


This magazine is available in two formats. The perfect bound paperback format costing £4.99/$US8.99 and the digital format costing £2.50/$US4. If you have purchased the hard copy format you are entitled to have a free digital copy. This is a service of the magazine and its publishers who realise that although the hard copy is more durable and looks well on your bookshelf, the contents are in black and white, so email info@cfz.org.uk with proof of purchase, and download instructions will be sent forthwith.
The digital version is now available, and can be purchased if you click the image of the cover on the top right hand side of this page, and the hard copy version will be available next week.

GUEST BLOGGER NAOMI WEST: Jackalope Joe's

Some years ago, I was in San Antonio in Texas. I was investigating the stories of blue, hairless dogs which had been described as the chupacabras although they obviously were coyotes of some description. During our stay, my ex-girlfriend and I found a shop called Jackalope Joe's which specialised in the sale of those singular artefects called Jackalopes. When our new Texas rep Naomi (profiled last week on Corinna's blog)asked whether there was anything she could do for us when she and her husband Ritchie visited San Antonio, I asked her to go and visit the shop. The rest is history....

Citizens and passersby of the Western United States expect to see some interesting creatures: waddling, squinting armadillos, gracefully bounding antelopes, massive, meditative long-horns… but a rabbit with antlers? If you haven’t heard of the Jackalope, you can spot one on any given day in a small retail store located in San Antonio, Texas. Jackalope Joe’s specializes in the sale of this odd breed – all of them dead and mounted alongside the more commonly hunted horned creatures. You can even purchase a hunting license for the Jackalope, as its population is not likely to be endangered anytime soon.

Jackalopes are manufactured in South Dakota by Matthew and Brenda Pates. The business began over 40 years ago by a taxidermist named Russ Bachus. But it wasn’t just a moment of creative genius that inspired Russ to stick a pair of antlers on a rabbit carcass: the legend of the Jackalope began in 16th Century Germany, when rabbits with what appeared to be horns spawned rumors of a new breed. It wasn’t until the 20th century that scientists discovered Shope papillomavirus, a disease that causes these horn-like growths.







This fatal disease afflicts both Jack Rabbits and Cottontails.



The appeal of the Jackalope endures despite its sobering origins, and people continue to purchase these cuddly, horned oddities. Rachel, the manager of Jackalope Joe’s, says that much thought goes into customers’ decisions when choosing which Jackalope to buy: they study the eyes, the facial expressions, and even look for resemblances to family members.




"This one looks like Grandpa!” one customer exclaimed. Many buyers choose the Pheasant Jackalope, which sports a pair of wings, bird legs, and a long, vertical, feathered tail.






Another best-seller is the “couple”: a mounted Jackalope head with a Jack Rabbit head snuggled adoringly against it.

Children are especially enamored by the Jackalopes, and Rachel says parents often request that she “confirm” to the kids that the Jackalope is real. This deception brings children as much delight as the myth of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.



The popularity of the Jackalope among adults, however, proves that people of all ages would rather entertain a myth than concern themselves with facts. And what myth could be more entertaining than a bunny with a rack of horns?




Although some locals claim they have spotted live Jackalopes in the Texas Hill Country, probably the only ones you will see can be found at Jackalope Joe’s.

Friday, February 13, 2009

YET ANOTHER MYSTERY CREATURE FROM FALMOUTH BAY

A very peculiar news story has just been published by the Falmouth Packet Newspaper.

"It was between 4pm and 5pm when Sam Bradbury left work and decided to go for a walk along the coastal path. Halfway around she spotted something moving in the bushes, but was unprepared for what she says she saw. She said: “I assumed it was a bird or maybe a dog being walked that was rustling the bushes. I stopped as I got nearer, when I realised it was neither.

It was a little bigger than a dog and had the face of a cat with eyes that were glazed over and luminescent like a lion’s at night. It left when it saw me but appeared to only walk on two hind legs much like a kangaroo would and had behind it a bushy tail like a fox.”

This story is very peculiar, not only because I have absolutely no idea what this creature could be, but because the aforesaid footpath is right in the middle of Owlman country. There have been no owlman sightings reported to us since 2002, but as we know from our own experience opver many years it is a particularly strange bit of woodland.

Richard Freeman, our Zoological Director suggests that it looks like a springhaire or springhaas, a south African rodent that looks superficially like a small kangaroo. They are kept in several British zoos, and as they are not in the slightest bit endangered, and not covered by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act it would not surprise us at all if they were kept locally by a private collector.

We know someone in the Falmouth area has a taste for exotic rodents because, a few years ago, we had a report of a jerboa turning up at Falmouth Art College.

Richard Freeman is contactingThe Falmouth Packet as we speak, and will be getting in touch with the original witness. Ain't Fortean Zoology grand!