Lore - Legends 26: Living Fossils

Episode Date: April 29, 2024

Some of the most frightening—and fascinating—stories in folklore are all about living remnants from the distant past. Let’s go hunting, shall we? Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Harry Marks and research by Cassandra de Alba.   Lore Resources:  Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music  Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources  All the shows from Grim & Mild: www.grimandmild.com Sponsors: Acorns: Acorns helps you automatically save & invest for your future. Head to acorns.com/lore to sign up for Acorns to start saving and investing for your future today! Stamps: Never go to the Post Office again. Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at Stamps.com/LORE. Skylight Frame: Share your memories with the ones that matter most. Get 15% off your purchase of a Skylight Frame when you go to SkylightFrame.com/LORE. To report a concern regarding a radio-style, non-Aaron ad in this episode, reach out to [e-mail] with the name of the company or organization so we can look into it. ———— To advertise on our podcast, please reach out to [e-mail], or visit our listing here. ———— ©2024 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

Welcome to Lore Legends, a subset of lore episodes that explore the strange tales we whisper in the dark, even if they can't always be proven by the history books. So if you're ready, finds a way. Of course, that was before dinosaurs took over the island he was on. But even though a film like Jurassic Park is just science fiction, there's still truth in those words. Because no matter how hard nature tries to keep a species down, they will always fight back.

For example, before the Industrial Revolution, peppered moths often had white wings, which helped them blend into the light-colored bark and lichen of local trees. Dark-winged moths were much more rare because they stood out. But coal-burning factories began spewing gallons of soot into the air, turning the once-light trees much darker. All of a sudden, those white moths were bright and visible against the trees, making them easy prey for any passing bird. Pretty soon, the peppered moth population started to dwindle.

That is, until they adapted and evolved. Dark-colored moths quickly grew in numbers, simply because they were better able to blend against the now soot-covered trees and therefore survive for longer periods of time. Humanity almost killed the peppered moth, but life found a way. But moths aren't the only creatures capable of giving nature a run for its money. And it's that notion of surviving the odds and sticking around that has led to the creation of some amazing stories. Tales that try to answer the question, what becomes of an animal that outlasts the dinosaurs

and Ice Age and multiple extinction events, only to wind up among us. And as we'll see, they often become legends. I'm Aaron Manke and this is Lore Legends. Since the 1950s, a popular theory has arisen regarding cryptids, essentially that they are much older than we realize. Some might even call them living fossils. In the mid-1950s, British author and zoologist Maurice Burton defined a living fossil as, "...an organism that has survived beyond its era." For example, some have speculated

that the famous Loch Ness Monster is actually a plesiosaur, a dinosaur that should have gone extinct over 60 million years ago with the rest of its kind. Around the same time Burton coined his definition, sightings of a living fossil began cropping up all over New Zealand. It was called a moa, a Polynesian name that came to represent nine species of large, flightless birds native to the island. Individual examples can be as small as 25 pounds or as large as 550 pounds with females weighing much more than males. Now you would imagine

that something that heavy would be difficult to get into the sky, but that's not actually why they are flightless. No, the Moa couldn't fly because they had no wings, not even a trace of them. But they did bear a slight resemblance to the Emu with feathery domed backs and long necks. Their feet were similar too, with three toes up front and a smaller one in the back. They're commonly referred to as megafauna, a category of large creatures that includes woolly mammoths and mastodons.

Even though these giants were, well, quite large, they were hardly apex predators. Moa mostly ate grasses and leaves, making them herbivores. And they were even at risk of becoming dinner themselves, being preyed upon by their natural enemy, the host's eagle. But neither species lived long once humans arrived in New Zealand. Early Polynesian settlers ate their eggs and even the birds themselves.

They used the feathers and skin to make clothing, while their bones were turned into fishhooks and decorative pendants. The moa and the host's eagle were forced into extinction pretty quickly. They eventually faded into history, relegated to campfire stories, and likened to other folklore creatures, such as the flying reptile known in Africa as the kanga-mato. There was no way the moa was coming back. Or so everyone thought. Some say that of all the cryptids believed to have lived in New Zealand, the moa is the

one that may still exist. Cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans said that they were, "...shy birds that like to be alone," meaning that they may have found safe haven far from the prying eyes and the pointy spears of humans, but they may not have stepped too far away. During the 1800s, numerous sightings of large feathered creatures were reported, and even painted by naturalists, artists, and other explorers. In another story, a whaling ship called Magnolia allegedly captured an enormous 500-pound bird in

1844. The captain, who also moonlit as a taxidermist, made sure to preserve it and shipped it off to the British Museum in London. Except it never arrived, and no one has seen it since. Sixteen years after the Magnolia, a survey party in the mountains of northern South Island reported the discovery of strange animal prints. Whatever had made them possessed feet with three toes, measuring 14 inches long. A group of miners followed up with a statement of their own in 1867. They had spotted a moa in July of that year, in the southern part of South Island.

One miner wrote a letter to the local paper about what he had seen. He claimed to have witnessed the moa on Saturday, July 27th, in the middle of the afternoon. He had been sitting near a fire in a hut that he shared with other men when he suddenly noticed something by the mountains in the distance. It was more than a mile away. As he struggled to understand what the strange animal was, his companions shouted, It's a moa! It ran quickly, clearly unaffected by its massive size.

The miner compared it to movements of the emu or ostrich. A few minutes later, it was gone. The men tried to follow its tracks in the snow that had fallen along the range, but a fresh blanket was filling in around them and making it hard to see the footprints clearly. And since then, a number of other Moa sightings have been reported, almost all of them from South Island.

There are even statements from as recently as 1994, when a hiker noticed the plants along his trail had been damaged by what could only be described as a moa. So is this mythical bird still running rampant across New Zealand? Maybe, but it's not the only living fossil out there. Ancient creatures exist all over the world, on the land, in the sky, and especially beneath the waves. The Patagonian Andes Far from the islands of New Zealand are the Patagonian Andes, located in Western Argentina.

But Patagonia is more than a range of mountains along the tail of South America. It's also home to a lake that sits at its base, known as Nahauwapi. And this body of water is far from a shallow kiddie pool, going as deep as 1,400 feet in certain spots. Its cool blue depths make for a tranquil scene, but something lurks below its calm waters. It's said to be as old as time itself, a relic that should have gone extinct millions of years ago, but it's still there, gliding through the blue and waiting. Some have called it the Patagonian Pliasaur, while others refer to it as Argentina's

Loch Ness Monster, but most locals refer to it by another more unique name, Nahualito. It's been described as a large sea serpent measuring between 30 and 50 feet long, and apparently the Nahualito has two hunches, leathery skin, and occasionally a swan-like neck. And although stories of a massive lake creature go all the way back to the first peoples who lived in the area, the first use of the name Nahuatlito seems to have started around 1989. This was the same time when Argentina was becoming interested in North American tourism as well.

A coincidence? Maybe. But maybe not. You see, it was cited long before that name was coined. That being said, no one actually knows what it is. The most common belief, as I said before, is that it's a plesiosaur, an aquatic reptile from the Mesozoic era that has survived until now. Witnesses who claim to have seen it have described its long neck and similar features to that

of the ancient creature. Except there's one small problem with that theory. The lake and the Andes Mountains around it weren't formed until millions of years after the extinction of the plesiosaur. Others believe the monster is actually a creature affected by nuclear fallout, like a real-life Godzilla. Experiments in nuclear fission were carried out during the 1950s on an island in the lake. Some people believe that Nahuatlito is a byproduct of reckless science.

And yet sightings of an animal matching its description long predate these experiments. The Nahuatlito has been thought to be everything from a secret government submarine to gas bubbles to floating logs or clusters of sheep swimming together. In 1910, a man named Percy Garrett came forward claiming to have seen the creature with his own eyes. He and his son had been sailing on the lake when they noticed something large in the water a short distance away. According to a news article, it was described as being, and I quote, 15 to 20 feet in diameter and perhaps six feet above the water. The father and son raced their sailboat toward the object, but it disappeared almost as quickly

as it had derived. The younger Garrett wasn't sure if it was a plesiosaur, but it had definitely been a giant animal of some kind. Percy asked around and found out that native people in the area were familiar with this enormous creature. Yet, despite living in the region for a number of years, neither Percy nor his son ever saw the mysterious beast again. Sightings continued through the 70s and 80s, with little evidence beyond shaky camera footage.

But in 1994, several individuals got a closer look at the Nauolito than anyone had before. It was New Year's Day, and it had been sighted in the waters of the lake. They'd gotten so close, one witness claimed that she was able to hear the monster breathing. As you might imagine, the Nauolito has become something of a town mascot. It's featured on all kinds of souvenirs and merchandise. As far as we know, it's still out there, swimming and lurking. If it's truly out there, though, then it's hardly the only ancient creature that has survived millions of years of climate change and evolution. But if the stories are true, this one is much more dangerous.

A continent away, in the deepest recesses of the Congo, is a creature that is believed to be a true living fossil. This ancient relic of another age has been described as a sauropod, with a head and neck like a snake and a long tail. It can be anywhere from 15 to 30 feet long, and although it's technically an herbivore, it's still a predator and will kill any creatures that get too close. It just won't eat them. It's called Mokelemembe, which means one who stops the flow of rivers in the native language.

And this impressive beast is about as close to a living dinosaur as anyone has ever seen. Now, as I said, it doesn't eat meat, but that doesn't mean that it won't defend itself, if necessary. Hippopotami have allegedly met unfortunate ends when grazing too close to Mokelemembe, and humans haven't fared much better. In fact, one cryptozoologist noted that wherever the creature lives, hippos are nowhere to be found. Of course, this is pure speculation, but if it's true, then that's one heck of a coincidence. Sightings date back to 1776, when a French missionary to the region recorded footprints in the dirt measuring three feet in circumference.

According to his report, they could only have come from Moqueli-Membe. Since then, others have noted their own run-ins with the creature, or at least with its tracks. In the 1870s, for example, a British trader in nearby Gabon claimed to have had a similar experience when he wrote in his memoirs that the prints he had seen were about the size of a good frying pan in circumference and had three claws instead of five. In 1909, Mokele Membe was one of several dinosaur-like creatures catalogued in the book Beasts and Men by circus showman Carl Hagenbach. It's likely that he was capitalizing on the recent dinosaur craze sweeping the globe following the discoveries of sauropod skeletons in 1905 and 1907.

He claimed, though, that he was told of a huge monster living in the wilds of Africa that was a combination of an elephant and a dragon. And it was much larger than 30 feet long, too. According to Hagenbeck's sensational description, it was more like a brontosaurus. He chartered an expedition to find it, but nothing ever came of it. Four years later, a German crew ventured into the African jungle in search of Mokele-Membe after being told

about it by local hunters. In his official report of the expedition, Captain von Stein also compared it to an elephant and mentioned its long neck, but added that it only had one very long horn-like tooth. He also noted how canoes that drifted too close to it would be destroyed and the men inside them killed, but not eaten. These reports and witness statements only added to the creature's notoriety and encouraged others to come try their luck at finding it themselves. And this fun went on until 1959 when it came to a violent end.

A group of locals claimed to have killed Mokele Membe near Lake Tele in the northeast Likwala area of the Republic of Congo. It didn't seem like they had gone out intending to catch one that day. The group had been fishing and had built a dam of wooden spikes to keep any large animals away. According to their story, though, Mokele Membe came up to their makeshift wall and tried tearing it down. And that's when the villagers turned their spears on the beast, killing it once and for all.

But their victory was short-lived. The creature was brought back to the village, cooked, and eaten. But in a strange twist, apparently dead or alive, Mokele Membe was a formidable foe. Everyone who consumed that meal soon passed away. Some 22 years later, new expeditions in search of the animal were conducted with no more success. Some teams couldn't even make it

to Lake Telle where the creature dwelled. But one group did have some luck. In 1981, an American engineer led a team to the lake where they camped out for two whole weeks. And during that time, they reported several sightings of Mokele Membe. They spotted it breaching the water to look around, along with what they described as the sound of a low, windy roar over the surface. But soon enough, that roar dropped to a growl. Unfortunately, they couldn't obtain any evidence of what they had seen. The humidity in the area had grown too high, and their cameras failed as a result. As with all tales of Moqueli Membe, all we have to go on are the stories brought back

from the region. But that might be enough to convince certain cryptozoologists of the creature's existence. As it turns out, of all the mythical living fossils in the world, Moqueli-Membe might be the most real of them all. There's something attractive about ancient holdovers. From movies and TV shows like The Highlander or Marvel's Eternals, this notion of something from deep in the past managing to stick around into the present is a thrilling idea. Perhaps that's because these living leftovers represent a piece of what we've lost. Or maybe it's because we simply love rooting for characters who defy the odds and extend their presence well beyond normal expectations.

Either way, the living fossils of folklore offer us a lot of thrills and chills. As for Mokele-Membe, the jury is still out on whether it's a real living creature or not. Clearly, the stories have persisted, but is there an actual animal behind them? It's hard to answer that definitively, but one thing is for certain. If you wanted to hide something away from the world, the Likwala region of the Congo is a great choice. Even today, it's largely uncharted and covered with swampy forest.

Those who believe in the stories argue that the area has remained largely unchanged for millennia, making it the ideal lost world for a dinosaur to thrive in. Critics however suggest that much of the topography actually has changed, with the mountains rising and falling over time, changes that would have had a major impact on any animals living there. Today the debate is still open and still heated. But whatever each side might offer as proof of their argument, for you or I the priorities are much different. Moquele Membe represents something that lovers of folklore can't help but get excited about.

A story that's just too fantastical to be possible, and yet comes with centuries of first-hand accounts to back it up. In the end, each of us gets to make up our own mind. That is, of course, until one of two things happens, which will move the conversation in a whole new direction. Either definitive proof is discovered that Mokeli Membe is nothing more than legend, or someone somewhere will stumble upon the evidence that we've all been looking for.

And either way, it's going to give us some amazing stories to tell. Ancient creatures that should have vanished long ago but somehow managed to hold on are one of my favorite topics, and judging by the number of stories about them out there, I'm not the only one. So if that's you, I hope today's tour through a few of them was a rewarding journey. But don't go just yet, I've got one more living fossil tale to tell. Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. This episode of Lore was sponsored by Acorns. Okay, I know that I should be investing, but if you're like me, maybe you're not sure if

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LORE. Stamps.com. Never go to the post office again. And last but not least, this episode was made possible by Skylight Frames. As Mother's Day approaches, you've probably been thinking about ways to connect with your mother or grandmother. You don't want her to miss a moment of your life, whether it's just the day-to-day stuff, or big events, or day trips, or vacations.

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Mother's Day is coming right up, so order today to get 15% off your purchase at skylightframe dot com slash lore. It doesn't happen very often, but every now and then a species thought to have been extinct is actually rediscovered as a living, breathing part of our modern world. These animals are called Lazarus taxon, and one of the most famous examples is the coelacanth. The coelacanth is a fish thought to have gone extinct millions of years ago. They can grow pretty large, too. Too big for most fish tanks, that is, coming in at around 6 feet long and weighing nearly

200 pounds. You might think that something so massive would have been easier to find, but the Coelacanth's elusive nature speaks to just how large the ocean truly is and how much of it we have yet to explore. Because they have lived for so long, these enormous fish have also developed some interesting features that are all their own. For one, they have something called a rostral organ located in their snouts. This unique trait makes up a component of the animal's electro-sensory system, helping to catch prey in the dark. It also has an enormous mouth,

thanks to what the Smithsonian describes as, and I quote, an intercranial joint or hinge in the skull. And this allows the coelacanth to open its jaw much wider than other fish. For a very long time, people thought that it completely disappeared. But a fish that large and unique couldn't hide forever. It was only a matter of time before it was finally found. Two days before Christmas in 1938, Captain Hendrik Goosen caught something off the coast of South Africa.

Of course, a fisherman catching fish wasn't all that uncommon, but he had struck a deal with a woman named Marjorie Courtney Latimer to let her inspect anything in his net in case there were some interesting specimens there. Marjorie was the curator of East London, South Africa's Natural History Museum, and she was always on the hunt for something new. Agusen rang her up as he always did, and she hopped into a taxi to meet him on his boat. And as she sorted through the pile of fish that he had brought in, Marjorie noticed a blue fin sticking out from the sharks and the rays. She later said, I picked away at the layer of "'to reveal the most beautiful fish I had ever seen.

"'It was a pale mauve blue with flecks of whitish spots. "'It glistened in the sunlight "'in shades of green, silver, and blue, "'which reflected off its armor-like scales. "'Its fins were huge, almost like arms, "'and had a long tail.' "'Oh, and it was almost five feet long, too. Marjorie knew that she had to get it back to the museum, but the taxi driver took one look, and probably

one whiff, of the fish and told her no. He wouldn't drive her with that thing stinking up his cab. The two argued and eventually came to an agreement. The fish was allowed to ride along with them back to the museum, And once she returned, Marjorie wrote to another curator and fish expert, J.L.B. Smith, and included a description and a sketch of the animal along with her note. Smith responded several days later. It was as clear as day to him. Marjorie had found a coelacanth. As you'd imagine, the fish became a sensation, with 20,000 people reportedly coming to see it

the one day it was put on display in the museum. Its genus was named Latimeria, after Miss Courtney Latimer herself. Almost 60 years later, a different species of coelacanth was discovered over 6,000 miles away off the coast of Indonesia. In fact, according to the fossil record, there used to be around 90 species

of these underwater beasts occupying the ocean. Although the two that we've discovered are considered endangered, there may be more out there just waiting to be discovered. Because, as I said before, life finds a way. This episode of Lore Legends was produced by me, Aaron Manke, with writing by Harry Marks and research by Cassandra Dayalba. Don't like hearing ads in the podcast? I have a solution for you. There is a paid version of Lore on Apple Podcasts and Patreon that is 100% ad free.

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