Scientific names for mythical creatures

What would the scientific names of mythical creatures be?

a werewolf would be Canis sapiens

what would the Jabberwock be?

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The Loch Ness Monster has a scientific name, Nessiteras rhombopteryx

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Sasquatch (bigfoot) could be Macropodus hirsutus, but the genus is already taken (by a fish!) So maybe Gigantopodus? :)

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Fun topic!

Kraken: Architeuthis konungs
Formorion: Homunculus balor
Griffin: Accipitrimorph leopanthera
Sphinx: Accipitrimorph sapiens
Hydra: Echidna lernaea
Long (Chinese dragon): Draco orientalis

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Equus unicornus for the unicorn

Lepus antilocapra or something similar for the jackalope - EDIT looked it up on wikipedia and i was right!

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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 :joy:)
Centaurs: Equihominis sapiocaballus
Cockatrice/Basilisk: Gallus gallus var. basiliscus (still an egg from a rooster, so IMO same species)

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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

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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!

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looks like its jerseyensis

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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

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I’d go for Equus monoceros (I think monocephaloceros is a bit of a mouthful, also reminds me of Pachycephalosaurus)

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thought about that one but went with the latin name

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The thunderbird should be Teratornis fulgens

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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

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here’s a link if anyone is looking for inspiration: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hybrid_creatures_in_folklore

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Glaresis Kafkaesque, the Metamorphosis beetle. The Glare and Sis also make sense.

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Jabberwock: Unguladactyloa conjunctivita (family: Basiliskus, probably).

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I have such fond memories of the -ology books

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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.

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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

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