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Cryptozoologicon
The Biology, Evolution, and Mythology of Hidden Animals
By John Conway, C. M. Kosemen and Dr. Darren Naish
Cryptozoologicon is a celebration of the myths, legends, evolution and biology of hidden animals. Always sceptical, but always willing to indulge in speculative fun, Cryptozoologicon aims to provide a new way to approach cryptozoology: as fictional biology.
Cryptozoologicon will be available at all good digital retailers in early December.
By John Conway, C. M. Kosemen and Dr. Darren Naish
Cryptozoologicon is a celebration of the myths, legends, evolution and biology of hidden animals. Always sceptical, but always willing to indulge in speculative fun, Cryptozoologicon aims to provide a new way to approach cryptozoology: as fictional biology.
Cryptozoologicon will be available at all good digital retailers in early December.
102 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 31, 2013
24 people are currently reading
548 people want to read
About the author
John Conway
2 books14 followersJohn Conway is an artist, podcaster, and palaeontology person who spends most of his time drawing and painting dinosaurs, pterosaurs, cities, giant robots, fairies, and ugly old people. He has written two books: All Yesterdays, and Cryptozoologicon.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 12, 2015
This book had a lot of potential to be great, and I very much looked forward to reading it. The basic premise was that three scientists would take a faux-serious look at cryptozoological beasts, giving them a more creative and nuanced interpretation than their, shall we say, "less professional" cohorts. The book did deliver on that premise, and contained some very creative and fun artwork of the creatures to boot. However, the three authors barely disguised their utter contempt for people who are "real" "cryptozoologists", and their cleverer-than-thou tone really ruined the book for me. I understand that it is undoubtedly very frustrating to be a professional in various biology-related fields who believes that it would be an incredible, exciting, and interesting thing if, say, a Sasquatch was actually found, but who also believes that the rigors of the scientific method should not be carelessly cast aside in favor of sketchy accounts and reports riddled with contradiction. The tension there is a microcosm of a broader way of thinking, of a deep mistrust, pursuant to the age-old feeling that if one cannot intuitively grasp Science or the work of scientists, then one should be wary of it. It is an unfortunate reality of the world: many people fear what they don't (or can't) understand. All of that aside, however, I don't think the overall tone of this book helps matters (one heading in the chapter on Kelpies, for example, reads: Could Kelpies be real? No, stupid). The authors go to great lengths in the introduction to maintain a balance between "We believe in the importance of scientific rigor and the hard work people to do find and study animals" and "We wish these creatures were real, too!" In the end they alienate even casual readers like myself who only wanted to get more imaginative, science-rooted "information" on these creatures.
January 28, 2014
A selection of 28 creatures from the pages of cryptozoological literature, this is an entertaining look at a range of claimed "monsters". Ranging from the famous (yeti, bigfoot) to the relatively obscure (Cadborosaurus, De Loy's ape) to a few that I confess I'd not even heard of (the mbielu-mbielu-mbielu, for instance), each gets a page or two of discussion and a large, full-colour illustration.
The discussion for each beast is in three parts: what the legend says, what it might actually be, and how it would fit into our understanding of biology if it turned out to be real. With regard to the second section, there isn't always a clear answer, and not everything in here is inherently ridiculous. (A lot of them are, though, at least if they've been accurately described by those who claim to have seen them).
The third part of the analysis is often the most entertaining. Some of it is a little technical at times, but the imaginative game of "if it were real, what would it be?" is a fun one to play, and comes up with some suitably bizarre answers. Having done something similar myself with imaginary creatures, I have to say I enjoyed the scientific names they came up with for some of them... although that might just be my sense of humour!
Probably not a great book to read if you think that bigfoot is absolutely real, and don't want it treated together with the truly barking mad, or with anything other than total seriousness. This book does have something of a mocking tone at times, if the "monster" is sufficiently bonkers, which might put some off.
For the most part, though, it's a fun and interesting read, with some semi-serious speculative zoology that should appeal to people that liked, say, Dixon's After Man. And where else will you find a cladogram of bunyip evolution, or a painting of a fifty foot prawn?
The discussion for each beast is in three parts: what the legend says, what it might actually be, and how it would fit into our understanding of biology if it turned out to be real. With regard to the second section, there isn't always a clear answer, and not everything in here is inherently ridiculous. (A lot of them are, though, at least if they've been accurately described by those who claim to have seen them).
The third part of the analysis is often the most entertaining. Some of it is a little technical at times, but the imaginative game of "if it were real, what would it be?" is a fun one to play, and comes up with some suitably bizarre answers. Having done something similar myself with imaginary creatures, I have to say I enjoyed the scientific names they came up with for some of them... although that might just be my sense of humour!
Probably not a great book to read if you think that bigfoot is absolutely real, and don't want it treated together with the truly barking mad, or with anything other than total seriousness. This book does have something of a mocking tone at times, if the "monster" is sufficiently bonkers, which might put some off.
For the most part, though, it's a fun and interesting read, with some semi-serious speculative zoology that should appeal to people that liked, say, Dixon's After Man. And where else will you find a cladogram of bunyip evolution, or a painting of a fifty foot prawn?
November 22, 2014
Speculative evolutionary biology of cryptozoological creatures? With footnotes?
This is all sorts of my jam.
This is all sorts of my jam.
March 20, 2014
I'm a bit ambivalent about this book. For a smallish softcover of a hundred pages it's a bit expensive. The idea behind the book is neat though. For each cryptic a historical overview is followed by both a skeptical and a tongue-in-cheek believer analysis. The fake credulous accounts are steeped in real scientific jargon with often biologically plausible arguments, at least to a lay person.
April 7, 2018
Zoologists and paleoartists talking about the biology of Bigfoot and other monsters as if they were real? Even if you're not a believer, this sounds like a book that mixes the fun of a What-If? comic with a medieval bestiary. How could you lose?
Well, Cryptozoologicon (Optimistically labeled Volume 1) is a 102 page paperback priced at almost forty dollars that is constantly spitting on its audience. It's a book that's written for people interested in cryptozoology by people that think cryptozoology is beneath their contempt, and this attitude infects every page.
The illustrations are lovely and if the writers had also treated this as a creative exercise in speculative zoology rather than a chance to take potshots at their audience it could have been a lot of fun. Instead, it's an overpriced exercise in trolling.
Well, Cryptozoologicon (Optimistically labeled Volume 1) is a 102 page paperback priced at almost forty dollars that is constantly spitting on its audience. It's a book that's written for people interested in cryptozoology by people that think cryptozoology is beneath their contempt, and this attitude infects every page.
The illustrations are lovely and if the writers had also treated this as a creative exercise in speculative zoology rather than a chance to take potshots at their audience it could have been a lot of fun. Instead, it's an overpriced exercise in trolling.
December 30, 2013
This quick read is an interesting twist on the normal rehash of many cryptozoology books. For each of the beasts covered in this volume, the authors start from the premise that it does not exist. They then apply their zoological training to speculate about what such an animal might be. This leads to amusing results. In the end, some of the discussion is fairly technical, but each chapter is short and the scope of the book is impressive in that they go way beyond the big three (i.e., Yeti, Bigfoot, and Loch Ness) to cover lesser known cryptids. The art is quite good, although reading it on a small screen does not do the art justice.
October 21, 2014
Interesting book, written by one of the authors responsible for a great dinosaur book I read recently.
Cryptozoologicon looks at 'Cryptid' animals, such as the Bigfoot or Chupacabra, whose existence has been suggested but not proven.
Each chapter looks at a different cryptid and breaks into three parts, (a) What is the animal, (b) Does it really exist (spoiler, pretty much no) and (c) If it did exist, what would it be like.
For a subject that deals with mostly nonsense, it's an interesting and enjoyable read. Surely a better way to spend a couple of hours than by watching a few episodes of 'Finding Bigfoot' at the very least.
Cryptozoologicon looks at 'Cryptid' animals, such as the Bigfoot or Chupacabra, whose existence has been suggested but not proven.
Each chapter looks at a different cryptid and breaks into three parts, (a) What is the animal, (b) Does it really exist (spoiler, pretty much no) and (c) If it did exist, what would it be like.
For a subject that deals with mostly nonsense, it's an interesting and enjoyable read. Surely a better way to spend a couple of hours than by watching a few episodes of 'Finding Bigfoot' at the very least.
March 25, 2017
a short, fun, and skeptical zoological perspective of various popular and not so popular cryptids. At some points is a little dry and assumes the readers knowledge of various biological epochs, but never the less enjoyable, especially the speculative descriptions of the mystery creatures.
April 17, 2020
This book is a fun read, but is a bit too brief and excluded some interesting cryptids like the Loch Ness monster, Mokele-mbembe and Mothman while profiling many very similar entities. I would advise purchasing a digital copy over a hard copy as this book is definitely not worth $40.
January 30, 2023
I found this book thanks to the YouTube channel of Curious Archive who, in his series of describing fictional animals, mentions the book and highlights some of the author's hypothesis.
However, this analysis does not do the book justice by a longshot. The sheer shade thrown on cryptozoologists and the flippant tone of the book are honestly the best part of it. And their reason for doing so makes perfect sense and do not allow an ounce of objection from those cryptozoologists.
However, this analysis does not do the book justice by a longshot. The sheer shade thrown on cryptozoologists and the flippant tone of the book are honestly the best part of it. And their reason for doing so makes perfect sense and do not allow an ounce of objection from those cryptozoologists.
February 5, 2019
This book is both informative AND hilarious. Sadly, the print quality does no favors to the (otherwise fantastic) illustrations. The images are mostly pretty dark (on purpose) but the print is so low quality that all the dark colours are just... the same, and comparing the images in the book to the ones they showed online while working on it one can see how much was lost.
September 13, 2022
From three authors that can do no wrong, comes the most unique zoology book ever written. Some of the most beautifully haunting artwork in the field accompanies Naish’s blunt scepticism and genius when attempting to create real-life speculative justifications for beasts of legend and lore.
A dream come true for many such as myself. Bring on Volume II.
A dream come true for many such as myself. Bring on Volume II.
November 2, 2024
An entertaining book that examines cryptids through the lens of speculative evolution. Each creature is illustrated in color and explained by three short texts. The first neutrally describes the lore, the second skeptically debunks said lore, and third and final oneruns wild with spec-evo explanations for the lore.
September 5, 2023
Pretty fun ngl
January 21, 2025
Highly entertaining, thought provoking and utterly fascinating.
August 31, 2025
A very interesting read and a scientific take on many cryptids. Personally, I really enjoyed this type of speculation and learned a lot on the zoology of real animals as well.
November 16, 2025
Really liked the book.
The taxonomic and biological explanations of the cryptids are great.
Reading one cryptid a day is really a good idea.
A must-read for any bored wannabe biologist like me.
The taxonomic and biological explanations of the cryptids are great.
Reading one cryptid a day is really a good idea.
A must-read for any bored wannabe biologist like me.
January 2, 2017
I wish they would have written more on the speculative scenarios, that these outlandish cryptids could exist in. To give an example: Chupacabra as a carnivorous possum, marine frogs with no front legs and the last survivor of an otherwise extinct branch of mammals are pretty interesting. I would have wanted a tad more all in all.
They are nice ideas, but the fact that the chapters on the speculative biologies of these cryptids was a bummer for me. Even though some of them were equally part smart and ridiculous, I mean here the "goat man" based on it's first ever description (describing it as a bigfoot on goat like legs) would be a big digitigrade monkey and we have a frog so adapted to marine life that it lost it's front legs and basically flattens should it ever come on land. Those speculations sound both idiotic and quite ingineous, I mean who would ever think of something like that?
They are nice ideas, but the fact that the chapters on the speculative biologies of these cryptids was a bummer for me. Even though some of them were equally part smart and ridiculous, I mean here the "goat man" based on it's first ever description (describing it as a bigfoot on goat like legs) would be a big digitigrade monkey and we have a frog so adapted to marine life that it lost it's front legs and basically flattens should it ever come on land. Those speculations sound both idiotic and quite ingineous, I mean who would ever think of something like that?
February 19, 2017
A fun and quick read.
February 12, 2025
Although a fun book, I found the unrelenting bashing of "cryptozoologists" annoying. I did not believe in these animals existing ex ante and just wanted some wild daydreaming that they did.
March 26, 2017
As a longtime follower of Darren Naish's Tetrapod Zoology blog, I've been looking forward to this book ever since it was announced. After finally getting my hands on the book, I was both satisfied and disappointed.
Firstly, we should start with the obvious: this is not a long book. Coming in at just under 100 pages, there's so little material I couldn't help but feel let down. What you get is a book which is tight, terse, gets right to the point, and doesn't overstay its welcome, but which simultaneously leaves the reader wanting far more. I suppose all of this can be construed as praise, but if I'd purchased this book I would have felt severely let down (I rented it from the library).
The art (I suppose the main selling point of the book) is quite good. While I enjoyed most of the write-ups, I must confess that I was disappointed at some of the "reimaginings", far to many of which phoned it in. I also felt that the authors tried too hard to be obviously tongue in cheek. We know you don't believe that there's a 90 meter viviparous anaconda living in the Amazon, you don't need to spend a paragraph telling us it's implausible.
Given that this review has been so negative, you might wonder: why the 4 star rating? By way of closing illustration, allow me to draw the following analogy.
The overall effect of reading The Cryptozoologicon was similar to dating a midget fashion model. There's really not a lot there, but what is there is so good, you desperately hope that she has a normal sized sister.
Firstly, we should start with the obvious: this is not a long book. Coming in at just under 100 pages, there's so little material I couldn't help but feel let down. What you get is a book which is tight, terse, gets right to the point, and doesn't overstay its welcome, but which simultaneously leaves the reader wanting far more. I suppose all of this can be construed as praise, but if I'd purchased this book I would have felt severely let down (I rented it from the library).
The art (I suppose the main selling point of the book) is quite good. While I enjoyed most of the write-ups, I must confess that I was disappointed at some of the "reimaginings", far to many of which phoned it in. I also felt that the authors tried too hard to be obviously tongue in cheek. We know you don't believe that there's a 90 meter viviparous anaconda living in the Amazon, you don't need to spend a paragraph telling us it's implausible.
Given that this review has been so negative, you might wonder: why the 4 star rating? By way of closing illustration, allow me to draw the following analogy.
The overall effect of reading The Cryptozoologicon was similar to dating a midget fashion model. There's really not a lot there, but what is there is so good, you desperately hope that she has a normal sized sister.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews