A partial rostrum of Schizorhiza stromeri with attached rostral denticles; photo by Gyik Toma (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0). The sawskate Schizorhiza stromeri was named by Weiler (1930) for isolated rostral denticles from various units across Egypt. One of these units was the phosphates at Gebel Hefhuf in the Bahariya Oasis, then regarded as 'Senonian' in age … Continue reading No Schizorhiza from the Bahariya Formation →

A photograph of the Field Museum O. megalodon jaws (left) and their location marked on the floor plan of hall 36 (right), from FMNH (1917) and Anon. (1894) respectively. Reconstructed jaws of Otodus megalodon have become a staple display in many museums, aquariums, and exhibitions. The most famous example, which arguably started the trend, was mounted at … Continue reading The first reconstructed jaws of Otodus megalodon →

Drawings of one spurdog (left) and photograph of another (right) with supernumerary dorsal fins, from Quéro (1978) and Frøiland (1975) respectively. Supernumerary dorsal fins (sensu Seligmann, 1898)1 are an extremely rare malformation in sharks whose cause remains unknown. They have only been documented twice thrice [see addendum] to my knowledge, both all three times in … Continue reading Supernumerary dorsal fins in sharks →

The first (left) and second (right) photos of a 'giant' Hawaiian octopus reported by Robert T. Aiken, from Anon. (1935a) and Anon. (1935c-f) respectively. Last year I covered the Oklahoma octopus, but this time I will be examining another cryptid cephalopod from a more reasonable location. In 2000, cryptozoologist Nick Sucik published a collection of … Continue reading ‘Giant’ octopus photos rediscovered →

Fossilized bark of Lepidodendron showing the characteristic diamond-shaped leaf scars; photo by James L. Stuby from Wikimedia Commons (public domain). The acronym OOPART ('out-of-place artifact') was coined by cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson for human artifacts discovered in unexpected time periods and/or geographic locations (Sanderson, 1967). They are key pieces of evidence used by pseudoarchaeologists and … Continue reading Iowan ‘OOPART’ was really a fossilized tree →

Examples of barbels in four species of living sharks (left) and skeletal and life reconstructions of Gansuselache tungshengi (right), from Timm & Fish (2012) and Wang et al. (2009) respectively. The extinct hybodonts, like most other sharks in the fossil record, are mainly known from isolated parts like teeth and cephalic/fin spines. However, there are … Continue reading Hybodont barbels →

The skull of a modern hippo figured by Grew (1681) that was used for comparison to the Long Island teeth. Naturalist Samuel L. Mitchill wrote about many early paleontological discoveries in the United States, some of which remain mysterious. One of them was a destroyed 'sea serpent' skeleton which may have been megalodon teeth associated … Continue reading Long Island hippopotamus: another Mitchill mystery →

A chart showing influence pathways between paleontology and cryptozoology, using the ellengassen as an example. The Mylodon is modified from Toledo et al. (2021; suppl. info) and the Stegouros is modified from Soto-Acuña et al. (2021). In some of my papers (Greenfield 2023a, b, 2024), I have discussed the effects that paleontology has on cryptozoology and vice … Continue reading Prehistoric animals named after cryptids →

A drawing (left) and photograph (right) of the holotype caudal vertebra of “Capitalsaurus” potens, from Lull (1911) and Gilmore (1920) respectively. “Capitalsaurus” is a nomen nudum coined by paleontologist Peter Kranz as a new genus for Creosaurus potens Lull, 1911.1 This theropod species, known from one caudal vertebra, is notable for being the official dinosaur of Washington, D.C. The few publications … Continue reading The authorship of “Capitalsaurus” →

An illustration of the Irish elk skeleton from Rathcannon, from Hart (1825). In 1824, Reverend William W. Maunsell briefly described an Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) in a letter published by the Royal Dublin Society (Maunsell, 1824). He had assisted with the excavation of a nearly complete skeleton from a peat bog at Rathcannon, which he … Continue reading Irish elk soup →