# Did you ever accidentally capture a movie monster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Nature Talk\ **Tags:** mostly-humor\ **Created:** [August 30, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726 "2026-08-30T17:25:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nilshelstrom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/nilshelstrom/32/43620_2.png) [@nilshelstrom](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/nilshelstrom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/1 "2026-08-30T17:25:16Z")
I doubt anyone will have anything to contribute to this topic, but I wanted the excuse to post these two pictures… I accidentally photographed the giant monster chameleon from the 1959 movie _Journey To The Center Of The Earth_. First is my photo, second is a still shot from the film. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/1/a/1abd0a6b5d5bbe3119ee1f95cde59d3ee643ee3d.jpeg) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/8/1/81fc19d15c775044caad54371a5bdc46f50feef8.jpeg) (My photo is actually a Common Five-lined Skink (_Plestiodon fasciatus_)). ---
**Author:** ![AdamWargon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/adamwargon/32/44649_2.png) [@AdamWargon](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/AdamWargon)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/2 "2026-08-30T17:45:05Z")
I have _not_ ever **accidentally captured a movie monster** , but the iNatter in me wondered about the monster from _Journey To The Center Of The Earth_. Is it an [Argentine Tegu _Salvator merianae_](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/318758-Salvator-merianae), painted red? @petezani @cthawley ---
**Author:** ![wildwestnature](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/wildwestnature/32/20310_2.png) [@wildwestnature](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/wildwestnature)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/3 "2026-08-30T17:49:54Z")
This is cheating for sure, but this diorama from the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, depicts a Godzilla movie happening in Pittsburgh with the Spotted Lanternfly as the menace. This was fall 2024 and the lanternfly was being depicted as a highly invasive pest. The lanternfly observation is from Pittsburgh ![IMG_0419](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/a/8/a8384c4aff26d6958c344fb0c95aadd57f08980d.jpeg) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/380411023](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/380411023) ![IMG_9481_Original](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/a/d/adf44a8386b562de5a84b289d9b30a02b0b259f9.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ItsMeLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/49beb7/32.png) [@ItsMeLucy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ItsMeLucy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/4 "2026-08-30T18:13:23Z")
[This Anolis sagrei](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51704272) was devastated when the casting director declared it neither fast enough nor furious enough to appear in _Godzilla Wants Revenge_ (1998). ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/c/9/c9a16587322d471a895fd1679229e1d4291b2f22.jpeg) ![Screenshot 2026-08-30 12.08.52 PM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/0/f/0fc038a3640440cd3b1682a305c217db53def424.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![nilshelstrom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/nilshelstrom/32/43620_2.png) [@nilshelstrom](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/nilshelstrom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/5 "2026-08-30T18:20:44Z")
I love this. ---
**Author:** ![nilshelstrom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/nilshelstrom/32/43620_2.png) [@nilshelstrom](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/nilshelstrom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/6 "2026-08-30T18:23:30Z")
According to Mark Berry’s _The Dinosaur Filmography_ (a critical reference for any naturalist), the “chameleon monster” as he calls it was a “two-foot long tegu lizard”. It changes color during it’s appearance in the film which was achieved by painting it red! ---
**Author:** ![nilshelstrom](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/nilshelstrom/32/43620_2.png) [@nilshelstrom](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/nilshelstrom)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/7 "2026-08-30T18:24:05Z")
The giant lanternflies fighting Godzilla are funny on a whole different level. ---
**Author:** ![misumeta](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/misumeta/32/32226_2.png) [@misumeta](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/misumeta)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/8 "2026-08-30T20:05:54Z")
Not really but I call this true bug: Count Dracula Bug [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215760316](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215760316) ---
**Author:** ![jnstuart](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jnstuart/32/1623_2.png) [@jnstuart](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jnstuart)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/9 "2026-08-30T22:23:34Z")
I captured the terrifying appearance of a startled jackrabbit, also seen in the less-than-horrifying horror film Night of the Lepus (1972). [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1416022](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1416022) ---
**Author:** ![ItsMeLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/49beb7/32.png) [@ItsMeLucy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ItsMeLucy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 11:36pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/10 "2026-08-30T23:36:26Z")
Whether espionage agents ought be considered monsters is a debate for another forum but here is [another Anolis sagrei](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74234273) who felt disheartened for being passed over for a plum cinematic role. ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/f/6/f61896b397372469f0bea9965d921d786289d35b.jpeg) ![Screenshot 2026-08-30 5.28.48 PM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/6/3/63975c55cfa4048b9bb37d8aa5ddb191948c2468.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![tallastro](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tallastro/32/1145_2.png) [@tallastro](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tallastro)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/11 "2026-08-31T14:28:22Z")
He should be disheartened. He showed a better depth of emotion. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/did-you-ever-accidentally-capture-a-movie-monster/84726/12 "2026-10-30T14:29:20Z")
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