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Mapinguari
Mapinguari
An artist's depiction
Background
Type Cryptid
Continent South American
Country Multiple
One-Time? No
Theories  · Cryptid

The Mapinguari (often spelled as Mapinguary in English) is a large mammalian cryptid reported from the Amazonian rainforests of South America. A well-known figure of local folklore, the Mapinguari is portrayed as a vaguely ape-like mammal covered in red fur, and possessing a single eye on the head and a huge mouth located on the abdomen.

Appearance[]

It is a bipedal creature, reaching up to 2 meters in height when standing upright. It has tough skin which is usually considered bulletproof and is often described as having backwards feet and/or leaving circular footprints shaped like the mark left by bottle being pressed vertically into the ground. It is possible that the "backwards feet" and bottle-marks could be explained by the creature engaging in the hind-limbs equivalent of knuckle-walking, for which its feet would have to be considerably more flexible than ours. It is also described as emitting a maddening stench and loud vocalizations. The creature usually avoids water.

Possible Explanations[]

There are several explanations as to what the creature could be. Theories include:

  • An undiscovered species (a Cryptid)
  • A prehistoric ground sloth

Trivia[]

  • Some researchers (most famously David Oren) have proposed that the legend originates on sightings of a surviving species of the extinct ground sloth, in spite of the creature the legend describes bearing only the vaguest resemblance to that prehistoric beast. However, the ground sloth hypothesis could conceivably explain the semi-bipedal posture, the long clawed arms and even the bulletproof skin since mummified ground sloth remains reveal that these creatures had skin covered in dermal ossicles which could conceivably protect it from bullets and arrows.
  • Despite its traditional folkloric depiction; few of the actual witnesses report that it has one eye and a mouth on its stomach. Most say it has two eyes and a mouth on its head.
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Cryptids
North American Cryptids
Airborne Frogman · Batsquatch · Beast of Bray Road · Belled Buzzards · Bigfoot · Black Demon · Black Star Penguins · Blue Birdman · Boston Lemur · Buena Vista Giant Spider · Campfire Creature · Carmel Creature · Champ · Charles Mill Lake Monster · Chupacabra · Coonigator · Copenhagen Devil · Crawfordsville Monster · Crocodingo · Deer Man · Demon Leaper · Deridder Roadkill · Dos Palmas Winged Snake · Dublin Lake Monsters · East River Monster · El Verde Creature · Enfield Horror · Flannel Shirt Sasquatch · Flying Horse of Mexico · Flying Horse of Virginia · Flying Rays · Giant Penguin · Giant Shrimp in the Laundry Room · Gow-Row · Green Clawed Beast · Green Eyes · Grunch Road Monster · Herring Cove Sea Serpent · Highway Beast · Jackson Dragon · Killer Cactus · Kinderhook Blob · Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp · Lusca · Manor Road Pig-Dog · Mantis Man · Melrose Creep · Metepec Creature · Michigan Dogman · Montauk Monster · Moss Man · Mothman · Mountain Boomers · Mud Mermaids · Mutant Canine · Nightcrawler · Octoman · Oil Pit Squid · Oklahoma Octopus · Panama Creature · Pennsylvanian Albino Bigfoot · Red Devil-Bat of Chester · Ripley Ostrich-Horse · River Lizards · Riverside Monster · Rochester Rat-Dog · Sewer Blob · Sheepsquatch · Skunk Ape · Snallygaster · Sugar Bundle · Sun Birds · Swift Peter · Texas Big Bird · Texas Stiltwalkers · The Awful · Tick Canyon Giant Rabbit · Tumor Seal · Whatzit · Wood Devils
South American Cryptids
Arica Monster · Atlantic Ocean Winged Abomination · Beast of Macachín Airport · Brazilian Werewolf · Calama Creature · El Cuero · Gargantuan Globulous · Huallepen · Kap-Dwa · Manta Man · Mapinguari · Minhocão · Parana Creature · Sawtooth Dolphin · Telepathic Football
Asian Cryptids
Ahool · Buru · Con Rit · Ebu Gogo · Gilled Antelope · Inflatable Hedgehog · Iranian Toothed Bird · Jodhpur Baby · Kting Voar · Maltese Tiger · Man Dragon · Masbate Monster · Rock Apes · Sakhalin Island Sea Wolf · Sukotyro · Wuhnan Toads
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Bodmin Moor · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Flying Worm of Prague · Freiburg Shrieker · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
African Cryptids
Ambize · Dingonek · Emela-ntouka · Ennedi Tiger · J'ba Fofi · Kongamato · Manatee of Helena · Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu · Mokele-Mbembe · Mutant Muppet · Ngoubou · Spiny-backed Chimpanzee · Trunko
Australian Cryptids
Burrunjor · Elephantman · Hairy Lizard · Hook Island Sea Monster · Kabagon · Landsborough Gangle · Moha Moha · Pukehina Predator · Queensland Tiger · Tusked Yowie
Miscellaneous Cryptids
Antarctic Godzilla · Bermuda Beast · Ningen · Qupqugiaq · Rhinoceros Dolphin · Sky Jellyfish · Sky Serpents
v · e · d
South America
South American Cryptids
Arica Monster · Atlantic Ocean Winged Abomination · Brazilian Werewolf · Calama Creature · El Cuero · Gargantuan Globulous · Huallepen · Kap-Dwa · Manta Man · Mapinguari · Minhocão · Parana Creature · Sawtooth Dolphin · Telepathic Football
South American Alien Sightings
Arboreal Abomination · Brazilian Alien Corpse · Paciencia Abductors · Parque Forestal Alien · Potosi Sheepslayer · Varginha Devil
South American UFO Sightings
Olinda UFO
South American Hauntings
South American Phenomena
South American Beings
Argentina Gnome · The Hiper Bompreço self-immolator
South American Events
South American Locations

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Photo Gallery[]

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