Origin
Some mythical creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures, for example the dragon, the unicorn, and griffin. Others were based on real encounters, originating in garbled accounts of travelers' tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, which supposedly grew tethered to the earth (and was actually a type of fern), or the Sukotyro, a elephant- and ox-like quadruped from Java, included in George Shaw's Zoology based on just one sighting in 1563.
Conversely, some creatures downplayed as just storytelling, have been rediscovered and found to be real in recent times, such as the Giant Squid (the Kraken). In Africa, Natives of the Congo told European visitors of an animal that looked like a cross between a zebra and a giraffe. While the visitors assumed the stories were just folk tales, in 1901, Sir Harry Johnston brought back pelts that proved the creature, which we now call the okapi, is real.
Modern researchers of mythology and folklore, like Adrienne Mayor, have theorized that some legendary mythical creatures were based on finds of real animal fossils by ancient civilizations. Dragon tales have been theorized to be based on finds of dinosaur fossils. Ancient miners all over the world probably found fossil skeletons of the extinct giant lizards in deep mines, leading to globally similar stories of dragons dwelling in caves. Cyclops have been theorized to be based on finds of dwarf elephant skulls by ancient Greeks. The dwarf elephant skull has a large opening located in the center upper front for the nasal cavity of the trunk. This opening resembles a centrally located eye socket of a gigantic person, leading to the stories of one eyed giants. Unicorn myths are theorized to be based on depictions of rhinoceros passed along and acquiring inaccuracies by being told by story tellers unfamiliar with the animal. The general description of a four legged beast with a large horn centered on its head might have been described as horselike, and over time depicted as such.
Read more about this topic: Legendary Creature
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