Animalia Paradoxa
Encyclopedia
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "contradictory animals"; cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
) are the mythical, magical or otherwise suspect animals included in early editions of Carl Linnaeus' seminal work under the cryptid
Cryptid
In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...
wastebasket taxon of "Paradoxa". It includes fantastic creatures
Legendary creature
A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature.-Origin:Some mythical creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures, for example the dragon, the unicorn, and griffin...
found in medieval bestiaries
Bestiary
A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson...
as well as those reported by explorers from abroad. According to Swedish historian Gunnar Broberg
Gunnar Broberg
Gunnar Broberg is since 1990 Professor in History of Science and Ideas at Lund University, Sweden. Among other writings, Prof. Broberg has written about the compulsory sterilization activities in Sweden and about the scientist Carl Linnaeus. In 2005 he was elected Chair of the Royal Humanistic...
, it was to offer a natural explanation and demystify the world of superstition. Paradoxa was dropped from Linnaeus' classification system as of the 6th edition (1748).
Cryptic creatures
Included in the 1st (1735) edition:- HydraLernaean HydraIn Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even...
: in 1735 Linnaeus inspected the alleged remains of a Hydra in Hamburg which turned out to be made from weasels and snake skins. - Rana-PiscisPseudis paradoxaPseudis paradoxa, known as the paradoxical frog or shrinking frog, is a species of hylid frog from South America. Its name refers to the very large—up to long—tadpole , which in turn becomes an ordinary-sized frog, only about a quarter of its former length.Pseudis paradoxa is green...
: a South American frog which is significantly smaller than its tadpole stage; it was thus (incorrectly) reported to Linnaeus that the metamorphosis in this species went from 'frog to fish'. In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Linnaeus named the species Rana paradoxaPseudis paradoxaPseudis paradoxa, known as the paradoxical frog or shrinking frog, is a species of hylid frog from South America. Its name refers to the very large—up to long—tadpole , which in turn becomes an ordinary-sized frog, only about a quarter of its former length.Pseudis paradoxa is green...
, though its genus name was changed in 1830 to PseudisPseudisPseudis is a genus of frogs in the Hylidae family, and are found in the Guianas, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, southern Brazil, Paraguay, southeastern Peru, eastern Bolivia, northeastern Argentina and Uruguay....
. - MonocerosMonocerusThe monocerus is a legendary animal with only one horn. It derives from the Greek word Μονόκερος, a compound word from μόνος which means one and κέρας which means horn. Although the name has been applied to a variety of genuine and mythological animals, it is usually applied to the unicorn or...
is in reality MonodonNarwhalThe narwhal, Monodon monoceros, is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the beluga whale, the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight, helical tusk extending from their...
. - Pelecanus: "Linnaeus thought [pelicans] might reflect the over-fervent imaginations of New World explorers"
- SatyrusSatyrus (ape)Satyrus is a species of ape described in some medieval bestiaries. It is said to always give birth to twins. Of these twins, it hates one, but loves the other, just as the callitrix, cericopithicus and cynocephalus apes of medieval bestiaries. The ape is also described as lively and has a pleasant...
: Linnaeus wrote "hairy, bearded, with a manlike body, gesticulating much, very fallacious, is a species of monkey, if ever one has been seen." - BorometzVegetable Lamb of TartaryThe Vegetable Lamb of Tartary is a legendary zoophyte of central Asia, believed to grow sheep as its fruit. The sheep were connected to the plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the land around the plant...
(aka ScythiaScythiaIn antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
n Lamb) "Linnaeus [...] had seen a faked vegetable lamb taken from China to Sweden by a traveler" - PhoenixPhoenix (mythology)The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
- Bernicla (aka ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Goose) Frederick Edward HulmeFrederick Edward HulmeFrederick Edward Hulme was known as a teacher and an amateur botanist. He was the Professor of Freehand and Geometrical Drawing at King's College, London from 1886. His most famous work was Familiar Wild Flowers which was issued in nine volumes....
noted: "[The] barnacle-goose tree was a great article of faith with our ancestors in the Middle Ages." - DracoDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
: Linnaeus wrote that it has a "snake body, two feet, two batlike wings which is a Lacerta alataLacerta (genus)Lacerta is a genus of lizards of the family Lacertidae. It is fairly diverse containing around 40 species.-Classification:Genus Lacerta*Sand lizard *Anatolian Rock Lizard...
or could be identified as a dried and rebuilt rayRaja (genus)Raja is a genus of skates in the family Rajidae, containing nearly thirty species. They are flat-bodied cartilaginous fish with a rhombic shape due to their large pectoral fins extending from or nearly from the snout to the base of their tail. Their sharp snouts produced by a cranial projection of...
." - Automa MortisDeath watch beetleThe death watch beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, is a woodboring beetle. The adult beetle is long, while the xylophagous larvae are up to long....
Four taxa were added in the 2nd (1740) edition:
- ManticoraManticoreThe manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth , and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned, winged, or both...
- Antilope
- LamiaLamia (mythology)In ancient Greek mythology, Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya who became a child-eating daemon. Aristophanes claimed her name derived from the Greek word for gullet , referring to her habit of devouring children....
- SirenSirenIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...