13 MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMALS.

By Casandra Vicario.

This list is packed with mythological, monstrous beings usually known as urban legends from rural areas near lakes or forests. These legends are quite peculiar, and the sightings of them are unique. Here's a list of the strangest and perhaps best-known ones:

1.-THE LAKE WORTH MONSTER. In Texas, very close to Fort Worth, in 1969, someone discovered something huge and hairy near Lake Worth, described as a biped 2 meters tall, covered in short, dirty white fur, with a white goat-like beard. Cattle, along with dogs found dead and savagely mutilated, were allegedly this creature's doing… though to this day, no one has ever seen it.

2.- THE SU MONSTER. It supposedly lived in Patagonia, Argentina, near the water. It's described as terrible and detestable, with a feathered tail and a human head. When hunters try to catch it, it puts its young on its back and flees. It's also said that locals used to wear its hide many years ago to protect themselves from the cold. What became of it? We don't know…

3.- ATHOL. Native to the island of Java, it's described as having a body roughly the size of a one-year-old child and wings that, when spread, measure up to 3.7 meters. It has a flat face, similar to a monkey's, and its body is covered in short gray fur; its legs also appear to be turned backward. It lives in caves along riverbanks and eats fish.

4.- THE CHESAPEAKE BAY MONSTER. Its first documented appearance occurred in 1978. It was described as a grayish animal, about 7.6 meters long, that swam with undulating movements. Although a video exists somewhere featuring this monster as its star, the truth is its existence was never confirmed.

5.- COELACANTH. Native to Africa, it's a giant fish with a strange appearance, 150 centimeters long, weighing 45 kilos, covered in scales, with large, protruding eyes of a dark blue color. It's aggressive and, unlike other fish, can survive out of water for a long time; its fins look quite a lot like legs.

6.- KRAKEN. Described as the largest sea monster in the world, it's a kind of octopus with a circumference of 2.4 kilometers or more. It's said to be so large that when it's resting, it can be mistaken for an island—round and covered in tentacles. There are no reports of its existence, or perhaps no one has survived to attest that it's out there.

7.- LEVIATHAN. Mentioned in various passages of the Bible, it's a sea creature described as a great sea serpent with large, sharp teeth; its body is like shields cast in bronze and covered in scales, and its sneezes flash with light.

8.- PLESIOSAUR. A classic among the monsters no one has seen, it has a long, slender neck, a relatively small head, a heavy body, a thick tail that tapers to the tip, and four strong flippers. It could reach a length of 13.7 meters. If anyone spots it out there, let us know.

9.- THE HOPKINSVILLE GOBLINS. These are beings not originally from Earth. They stand 110 centimeters tall, and their head is round, very large, and topped with enormous pointed ears. They have large eyes set far apart, a mouth like a thin slit, and no nose; their arms reach down to the ground and end in large, claw-shaped hands.

10.- OANNES. A being half man, half fish that appeared suddenly. It's said that he spoke with men but wouldn't accept any kind of food, and he even taught some of them to write, build houses, and even the principles of geometry. At night, he would return to the depths of the ocean.

11.- HODAG. A monster from the swamps of Wisconsin, it had enormous claws, protruding eyes, large horns, a body covered in sharp spines along its spine, and legs with no joints.

12.- THE JERSEY DEVIL. It has a large horse's head, wings, and a long serpent's body. People supposedly used to hear its shrieks at night, and its appearance was associated with impending misfortune—don't worry, no one has ever seen it.

13.- JACKALOPE. An extinct species of horned rabbit, an American legend that's often seen stuffed and mounted somewhere, though it seems to be nothing more than a vile yet very cute fraud.