What would the scientific names of mythical creatures be?
a werewolf would be Canis sapiens
what would the Jabberwock be?
What would the scientific names of mythical creatures be?
a werewolf would be Canis sapiens
what would the Jabberwock be?
The Loch Ness Monster has a scientific name, Nessiteras rhombopteryx
Sasquatch (bigfoot) could be Macropodus hirsutus, but the genus is already taken (by a fish!) So maybe Gigantopodus? :)
Fun topic!
Kraken: Architeuthis konungs
Formorion: Homunculus balor
Griffin: Accipitrimorph leopanthera
Sphinx: Accipitrimorph sapiens
Hydra: Echidna lernaea
Long (Chinese dragon): Draco orientalis
Equus unicornus for the unicorn
Lepus antilocapra or something similar for the jackalope - EDIT looked it up on wikipedia and i was right!
I think that there is one that is almost official; the phoenix is called in a lot of pages Phoenos inmortalis, not sure where it comes from though, but I think that it fits fairly well.
Merpeople could be from the genus Homopiscis (probably lots of species )
Centaurs: Equihominis sapiocaballus
Cockatrice/Basilisk: Gallus gallus var. basiliscus (still an egg from a rooster, so IMO same species)
the skunk ape can be Gigantopodus floridensis
or, alternatively, the big-foot description goes in the species and the genus is something dedicated to all sorts of mystery apes
Personally I’d argue the Long should be sufficiently different from members of genus Draco that it should be given its own genus. The same goes for the Lernaean Hydra and genus Echidna, though I have to admit the callback to mythology is a nice touch. Finally, though it’s a bit obscure, but genus Homunculus seems to refer to an extinct New World monkey.
Personally, I’d suggest Polycephalus lernaeus for the Hydra, and for the Long, maybe Apterylong or Sindraco? Admittedly, I got nothing at the moment. I don’t know anything about the Formorion, though, so you’re on your own there.
As for other cryptids and mythical beasts:
Yeti: Gigantopodus montanus or G. himalayensis
Mokele-mbembe: Potamosaurus congo
Jersey Devil: Diablopteryx leedsi (if you know how to translate “New Jersey” into Latin, that fits better as a species name)
Mothman: Anthropteryx erythropthalamus
Minotaur: Homo sapiens x Bos taurus hybrid
This is getting a bit long, so I’ll cut it off here. This was a really fun idea for a thread, though!
looks like its jerseyensis
A few from Dragonology: Field Guide to Dragons (complete with subspecies!):
European: Draco occidentalis magnus
Frost: Draco occidentalis maritimus
Mexican Amphithere: Draco americanus mex
American Amphithere: Draco americanus tex
Marsupial: Draco marsupialis
I’d go for Equus monoceros (I think monocephaloceros is a bit of a mouthful, also reminds me of Pachycephalosaurus)
thought about that one but went with the latin name
The thunderbird should be Teratornis fulgens
Some Fairies and Gnomes might be in the genus Microhomo
Cyclops: Gigantus monoculus?
Faun: Homocapra sylatica
Sphinx: Pteropanthera homocephalus
Cerebrus: Canus tricephalus
A few ideas for others: Chupacabra, Mermaids, Centaur, Selkie, Siren, Manticore
here’s a link if anyone is looking for inspiration: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hybrid_creatures_in_folklore
Glaresis Kafkaesque, the Metamorphosis beetle. The Glare and Sis also make sense.
Jabberwock: Unguladactyloa conjunctivita (family: Basiliskus, probably).
I have such fond memories of the -ology books
If you google a paper entitled “ICHNOTAXONOMY OF GIANT HOMINOID TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA” you’ll see that the tracks of bigfoot have been given the scientific name of Anthropoidipes ameriborealis. Ichnotaxonomy is the field of classifying sign of organisms (such as tracks) in the absence of the organism itself.
Chupacabra: Depending on the canid or the humanoid, it would probably be Canus vampyrus or Saurosapiens vampyrus
Mermaid: Homo piscis
Centaur: Homo equus
Selkie: Pinnipedia sapiens or Homo pinnipedia
Siren: Homopteryx musicis
Manticore: Leomorph scorpiones