At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

CYNOCEPHALUS

This is the ordinary Latin word for a baboon.  However, in ancient times it was used as a name for a dog-headed human.  According to legend, the Roman emperor Diocletian appointed one to serve in his army.  In another legend, St Christopher once had a dog's head.  Aelian, the Roman scholar and the first person to mention fly fishing, placed the cynocephali in India.  He said they were good people, who could not talk but understood human speech.  Pliny placed them in Ethiopia.  However, in Roman times, the terms India and Ethiopia were used somewhat interchangeably.


 

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