A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature (often known as "fabulous creatures" in historical literature). Some creatures, such as the dragon or the griffin, have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures. Others were based on real creatures, originating in garbled accounts of travelers' tales; such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, which supposedly grew tethered to the earth (and was actually a type of fern). The traditional unicorn may have come from garbled stories about the rhinoceros and/or narwhal. Examples of the legendary creatures can be found in medieval bestiaries. The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from mythologein to relate myths, from mythos, meaning a narrative, and logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that European dragon be merged into this article or section. ... An unusually naturalistic depiction of a griffin by Sir John Tenniel for Lewis Carroll’s Alices Adventures in Wonderland. ... The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from mythologein to relate myths, from mythos, meaning a narrative, and logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... The Vegetable Lamb in a 17th century illustration The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary is a legendary plant used by medieval thinkers to explain the existence of an imported fabric: cotton. ... Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) this dnt make sense A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ... The gentle and pensive maiden has the power to tame the unicorn, in this fresco in Palazzo Farnese, Rome, probably by Domenichino, ca 1602 The Unicorn (from Latin unus one and cornu horn) is a legendary creature. ... Black Rhino from Howletts Wild Animal Park For other uses, see Rhinoceros (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Monodon monoceros Linnaeus, 1758 Narwhal range The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... A bestiary is a medieval book that has short descriptions of various real or imaginary animals, birds and even rocks. ...

Conversely, some creatures downplayed as just storytelling, have been rediscovered and found to be real in recent times, such as the giant squid. In Africa, Natives of the Congo told European visitors of an animal that looked like a cross between a zebra and a giraffe. While the visitors assumed the stories were just folk tales, in 1901, Sir Harry Johnston brought back pelts that proved the creature, which we now call the okapi, was real. Species Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857 ?Architeuthis hartingii Verrill, 1875 ?Architeuthis japonica Pfeffer, 1912 ?Architeuthis kirkii Robson, 1887 ?Architeuthis martensi (Hilgendorf, 1880) ?Architeuthis physeteris (Joubin, 1900) ?Architeuthis sanctipauli (Velain, 1877) ?Architeuthis stockii (Kirk, 1882) Synonyms Architeuthus Steenstrup, 1857 Dinoteuthis More, 1875 Dubioteuthis Joubin, 1900 Megaloteuthis Kent, 1874 Megateuthis Hilgendorf in Carus... Binomial name (P.L. Sclater, 1901) Range map The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is a mammal of the Ituri Rainforest in central Africa. ...

The Red Dragon on the Flag of Wales.

Often mythical creatures are chimeras, a combination of two or more animals. For example, a centaur is a combination of a man and horse, a minotaur of a man and bull, and the mermaid, half woman and half fish. It should be noted that these were not always intended to be understood as literal juxtapositions of parts from disparate species. Lacking a common morphological vocabulary, classical and medieval scholars and travelers would attempt to describe unusual animals by comparing them point-for-point with familiar: the giraffe, for example, was called cameleopard, and thought of as a creature half-camel, and half-leopard. The leopard itself was so named as it was historically believed to be a half-lion (Latin: "leo") and half-panther (Latin: "pardus"). This etymology has been kept until the present day, despite its zoological inaccuracies. Image File history File links Flag_of_Wales_2. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Wales_2. ... Flag ratio: 2:3 The Welsh Dragon on the tailfin of an Air Wales ATR 42 aircraft. ... Chimera from Arezzo. ... In Greek mythology, the Centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. ... In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: Μινόταυρος, Minótauros) was a creature that was said to be part man and part bull. ... A mermaid (from the Middle English mere in the obsolete sense sea (as in maritime, the Latin mare, sea) + maid(en)) is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and torso of human female and the tail of a fish. ... Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Range map The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis pardus Linnaeus, 1758 The Leopard (Panthera pardus) is an Old World mammal of the Felidae family and one of the four big cats of the genus Panthera, along with the tiger, the lion and the jaguar. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of Lions in Africa Synonyms Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The lion (Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. ... Panther: Regionally, the leopard (Asia and Africa), cougar (North America, especially in reference to the Florida Panther subspecies), and jaguar (South and Central America) Black panther, Black Leopards and Jaguars most commonly thought of as panthers. ...

Many legendary creatures appear prominently in fantasy fiction. These creatures are often claimed to have supernatural powers or knowledge or to guard some object of great value, which becomes critical to the plot of the story in which it is found. Dragons, for instance, are commonly depicted as perched on a gleaming hoard of gold which becomes the target of adventurers. For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ...

Other legendary creatures are thought to exist even today including Bigfoot, Mothman, Chupacabras and the Loch Ness Monster. It has been suggested that Evidence regarding Bigfoot be merged into this article or section. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Chupacabra is a creature that resembles a living gargoyle said to exist in parts of Latin America, mostly Puerto Rico. ... For other uses, see Loch Ness Monster (disambiguation). ...

Throughout history legendary creatures have been incorporated into heraldry and architectural decoration. Legendary creatures have also been accepted into many facets of popular culture most notably in fantasy role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons or Everquest, video games, Hollywood movies and power metal bands (such as DragonForce). Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... Section of the dome of Florence Cathedral. ... Look up Decoration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Popular culture, sometimes called pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. ... In role-playing, participants adopt characters, or parts, that have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own. ... Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) currently published by Wizards of the Coast. ... EverQuest (EQ) is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was released on March 16, 1999. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... ... Power metal is a style of heavy metal music typically with the aim of evoking an epic feel, combining characteristics of traditional metal with thrash metal or speed metal, often within symphonic context. ... DragonForce are a British power metal band formed in London, England in 1999. ...

See also

• Cryptozoology
• Cryptids
• Fearsome critters
• Monster
• List of fictional species
• List of legendary creatures
• List of legendary creatures from Japan
• Legendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region
• An instinct for dragons, a hypothesis on the origin of several legendary creatures
• Book of Imaginary Beings

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Category:Fictional creatures