| Kongamato | | | Creature | | | Name: | Kongamato | | AKA: | Breaker of boats (Translation) | | Classification | | | Grouping: | Cryptid | | Sub Grouping: | Living dinosaur | | Data | | | Country: | Zambia,
Angola,
Congo | | Region: | Border area of the above | | Status: | Unconfirmed | The Kongamato ("breaker of boats") is a reported pterosaur-like creature from the border area of Zambia, Angola and Congo, Suggested identities include a modern-day Rhamphorhynchus, a misidentified bird (such as the very large and peculiar Saddle-billed Stork), or a giant bat. // Cryptids are hypothetical species of animals known from anecdotal evidence and/or other evidence insufficient to prove them with certainty. ...
Suborders Rhamphorhynchoidea Pterodactyloidea Pterosaurs (, winged lizards, often referred to as pterodactyls, ) were flying reptiles of the clade Pterosauria. ...
Species ? ? Rhamphorhynchus was a long-tailed pterosaur of the Jurassic period. ...
Orders Many - see section below. ...
Binomial name Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis (Shaw, 1800) The Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), also known as the Jabiru Stork, is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. ...
Suborders Megachiroptera Microchiroptera See text for families. ...
Frank Melland, in his 1923 book Witchbound Africa, describes it as living along certain rivers, and very dangerous, often attacking small boats. It was red, with a wingspan of 4 to 7 feet. Members of the local Kaonde tribe identified it as a pterodactyl after being shown a picture of one from Melland's book collection. Kaonde, also known as Chikaonde and Kawonde, is a Bantu language (of the larger Niger-Congo family) that is spoken primarily in Zambia but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...
It is often described as inhabiting the Jiundu swamp; however this swamp is rarely mentioned outside the context of this creature.
It is curious to note that the area concerned is advertised as a prime birdwatching site [1], but this large, flying animal seems not to have been reported by any visiting birdwatchers. Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds. ...
There are reports of similar creatures (no details given) from Angola, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya.
See also
Pen and wash drawing by malacologist Pierre Denys de Montfort, 1801, from the descriptions of French sailors reportedly attacked by a Kraken off the coast of Angola. ...
Further reading - Clark, J. "Unexplained!" (Visible Ink 1993)
- Shuker, K.P.N. "The Unexplained" (Carlton 1996,2002)
External links - Pterosaur sightings in Africa
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