Legendary creature

Several mythical creatures from *Bilderbuch für Kinder* (lit. '*picture book for children*') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch

A legendary creature, also called a mythical creature, is a type of extraordinary or supernatural entity that is described in folklore (including myths and legends) and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically proven.

In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops and the Minotaur appear in heroic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity.^[1]^[2]^[3] Some legendary creatures are hybrid beasts.

Some legendary creatures originated in traditional mythology and were believed to be real creatures--for example, dragons, griffins and unicorns. Others are based on real encounters or garbled accounts of travellers' tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a sheeplike animal which supposedly grew tethered to the earth.^[4]

Some animals, such as the gorilla, the kangaroo, the okapi, the Komodo dragon, the giant squid, and the platypus, were thought to be mythical before they were discovered by science.^[5]

^ Phillips, Catherine Beatrice (1911). "Unicorn" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 581–582.
^ Bascom, William (1984). Alan Dundes (ed.). Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Mythology. University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780520051928. table.
^ Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Steve (2000). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192100191. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
^ Large, Mark F.; Braggins, John E. (2004). Tree Ferns. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Incorporated. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-88192-630-9.
^ Contributor, Guest (12 December 2020). "Seven species that used to be cryptids – ScIU". blogs.iu.edu. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)

[Britannica-1] Phillips, Catherine Beatrice (1911). "Unicorn" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 581–582.

[Dundes1984-2] Bascom, William (1984). Alan Dundes (ed.). Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Mythology. University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780520051928. table.

[SimpsonRoud2000-3] Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Steve (2000). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192100191. Retrieved 24 March 2013.

[Large&Braggins-4] Large, Mark F.; Braggins, John E. (2004). Tree Ferns. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Incorporated. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-88192-630-9.

[5] Contributor, Guest (12 December 2020). "Seven species that used to be cryptids – ScIU". blogs.iu.edu. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)

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Legendary creature

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