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bladesparkAll right internet, COUGH UP!!!
I have seen at LEAST four places now where somebody posts a photo of a sunbeam snake, and says something like "This used to be a cryptid, and then they found one, and now we know they're real, hooray for cryptozoology."
But NOBODY has the story. What was the legend? What did people say about it? It's not a cryptid just because nobody knows about it, that's called "an unknown species." A cryptid has stories. People talk about it. People know about it, and believe in it or disbelieve it. Yetis are cryptids. Theose cool little treefrogs that somebody discovered on an expedition to the middle of nowhere last year are not cryptids. The difference is that Yetis had stories and the little tree frogs did not. All these sites go "woo, cryptid" but not a ONE of them has the actual story. Who was telling legends? Who disbelieved? When was the truth found?
I'm pretty much 99% certain at this point that the whole thing is bunk and science has never disbelieved in the xenopeltis. They're not the least bit rare or uncommon in their native habitat, as far as I can tell. They're certainly not endangered, you can legally export/import them! (Which is a good thing for my desire to get one.) They're weird looking, and not known to the general public here in the USA, and I'm betting some random schmuck found a photo of one, said "ooo, shiny" and called it an ex-cryptid, because it looks like the kind of thing somebody might tell a story about. But honestly! I've found a forum where there's some guy from Thailand going "WTF is this snake that I found in my yard, will it eat my children?" And the people identify it as a Xenopeltis and say it's harmless. If it turns up in random guys' yards, it is not a cryptid, and never has been one.
Grrr. WHY do the cryptozology sites have literally nothing whatsoever but one single photo (always the same one) and "woo, cryptid"? *pokes at them* They are run by stupid people.
Also, I have found a site that lists a Xenopeltis for sale, but the site doesn't show any certain signs of being kept up to date. I've e-mailed them anyhow, and I can hope. *crosses fingers* but I'm trying not to hope too much.
I have seen at LEAST four places now where somebody posts a photo of a sunbeam snake, and says something like "This used to be a cryptid, and then they found one, and now we know they're real, hooray for cryptozoology."
But NOBODY has the story. What was the legend? What did people say about it? It's not a cryptid just because nobody knows about it, that's called "an unknown species." A cryptid has stories. People talk about it. People know about it, and believe in it or disbelieve it. Yetis are cryptids. Theose cool little treefrogs that somebody discovered on an expedition to the middle of nowhere last year are not cryptids. The difference is that Yetis had stories and the little tree frogs did not. All these sites go "woo, cryptid" but not a ONE of them has the actual story. Who was telling legends? Who disbelieved? When was the truth found?
I'm pretty much 99% certain at this point that the whole thing is bunk and science has never disbelieved in the xenopeltis. They're not the least bit rare or uncommon in their native habitat, as far as I can tell. They're certainly not endangered, you can legally export/import them! (Which is a good thing for my desire to get one.) They're weird looking, and not known to the general public here in the USA, and I'm betting some random schmuck found a photo of one, said "ooo, shiny" and called it an ex-cryptid, because it looks like the kind of thing somebody might tell a story about. But honestly! I've found a forum where there's some guy from Thailand going "WTF is this snake that I found in my yard, will it eat my children?" And the people identify it as a Xenopeltis and say it's harmless. If it turns up in random guys' yards, it is not a cryptid, and never has been one.
Grrr. WHY do the cryptozology sites have literally nothing whatsoever but one single photo (always the same one) and "woo, cryptid"? *pokes at them* They are run by stupid people.
Also, I have found a site that lists a Xenopeltis for sale, but the site doesn't show any certain signs of being kept up to date. I've e-mailed them anyhow, and I can hope. *crosses fingers* but I'm trying not to hope too much.
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Coelocanth
Date: 2007-12-05 07:03 pm (UTC)It's especially sad when considering there are animals that were considered legendary before being found to be true. The okapi is one example, and the one "cryptozoologists" holler the most about, but really the worst example, as the much more famous Komodo dragon and even the gorilla could be considered "found" cryptids once dismissed as myths.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 07:13 pm (UTC)As far as I know in this case they're confusing "nobody in the western world had heard of it before" with "considered legend."
no subject
Date: 2007-12-05 07:45 pm (UTC)Sounds like you're right though. It's amusing, at the very least. Hey, maybe I'M a cryptid too! Bet there's BILLIONS out there who've never even seen me, or heard of me before!