Teens

On this page I'm going to give a brief overview of the more popular cryptids (the name used to describe creatures of cryptozoological interest), and hopefully give some of you an interest to look into this subject further (unfortunately cryptozoology is not yet a recognised science so don't go looking for a learning institution to teach you more about it).

Hominids:
The most well known hominids are Bigfoot (or Sasquatch) and Yeti (or the Abominable Snowman).
Although these days the name Bigfoot is given to any hairy unknown hominoid, the ones that warrant that name in cryptozoology are the ones found in the Pacific Northwest of the United States that leave large human-like footprints (Sasquatch is identical, but found in Canada).
The name Sasquatch was coined in the 1920's by J. W. Burns and although for the most part is used primarily to describe the Canadian cryptid, in recent years it is being used more by scientists and folklorists trying to bring respectability to the subject, leaving the name Bigfoot to be used mostly by people with only a passing curiosity in the subject.
The name Bigfoot first appeared in the October 5, 1958 copy of the Humboldt Times, as a headline to an article written by the paper's editor Andrew Genzoli on a local man named Jerry Crew who had shown up at the paper's office with a plaster cast of a footprint found in Bluff Creek Valley.
The most famous evidence of Bigfoot's existence is the Patterson Film taken on October 20, 1967 by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. Although widely regarded as authentic there are still debates about whether or not the film is a hoax.
Americas "other Bigfoot" is the Skunk Ape which is located in Florida.

Abominable Snowman, the more popular name for Yeti, got its name from a translation mistake in 1921. The name sparked many peoples imaginations though, and interest in Yeti sky-rocketed. Yeti is found in the Himalayas.
The term Yeti comes from the Sherpa phrase yeh-teh, which translates roughly as "that thing". The first reference to the creature in English was in 1832 in an issue of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. All that's mentioned is native reports of a hairy, tailless biped.
There are reportedly three types of Yeti: teh-lma (little ones), meh-teh (medium ones), and dzu-teh (big ones). The sizes are used to describe different subspecies and not age differences. The Yeti is said be apelike, similar to Bigfoot.

Other well known hominids are the Alma's (from Mongolia and its neighbouring Chinese provinces) who are said to resemble Neanderthals; Orang Pendek (from Sumatra), that some cryptozoologists say may be related to the orang-utan; and de Loys' Ape (an apelike creature shot in Venezuela in 1920 by Francois de Loys).

Bigfoot!: the true story of apes in America by Loren Coleman.

Lake Monsters and Sea Serpents:
The most popular of these is, of course, the Loch Ness Monster (found in Loch Ness, Scotland).
The world was first exposed to Nessie in 1933 when the Inverness Courier reported a sighting made by a couple who had been travelling near the lake. Over the next six months more and more sightings were reported and the "monster" of the lake quickly became legend.
The two most common descriptions of Nessie are that of a plesiosaur (a marine reptile thought to have become extinct in the Mesozoic Era) and one that matches that of a kelpie (a water spirit of Scottish legend). Indeed some cryptozoologists believe that there may be more than one cryptid living in or around the Loch.

Other well-known lake monsters are Champ (found in Lake Champlain, Vermont, and reportedly first sighted in 1609), and Ogopogo (found in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia).
There are over 300 lakes worldwide said to contain "monsters".

Sea Serpents are the creatures that have fascinated people for the longest period of time. As long as people have sailed the seas, people have seen Sea Serpents.
It wasn't until 1555, however, that someone, Olaus Magnus, tried to address their existence scientifically. For the next few centuries they were regularly discussed in scientific journals, however with lack of evidence people began to ridicule the scientists interested in the subject.
While once the most popular unknown creature, there is now only one well-known Sea Serpent and that's Cadborosaurus - or Caddy - which has been seen from Alaska to Oregon. One of the most common explanations as to what Caddy is, is a zeuglodon, a serpentine-shaped whale thought to be extinct.
The most interesting evidence of Caddy is the "Naden Harbour carcass" which was pulled from the stomach of a whale in 1937. A museum at the time dismissed it as a whale foetus and the carcass was disposed of before it could be studied further. Fortunately photos of this still exist.

Other cryptids from the sea are the Giant Squid (Kraken) and Globsters (unknown masses of flesh which wash up on beaches from time to time).

Dinosaurs:
One of the greatest (re)discoveries for cryptozoologists was that of the coelacanth (which was thought to have been extinct for 65 million years), which was caught near Cape Town, South Africa on December 23, 1938, by Captain Hendrick Goosen. Unfortunately a taxidermist got hold of the specimen and discarded all of its internal organs before scientists could study it properly. The next living specimen wasn't found until 1952.

Reports of surviving dinosaurs have been coming from the jungles of central Africa for hundreds of years. The first printed reference being in a book published in 1776 which relates Abbe Proyhart's discovery of supposed dinosaur footprints. In 1913, a German expedition met a band of pygmies who described an animal they called mokele-mbembe which means "one who stops the flow of rivers". Descriptions of mokele-mbembe match that of a sauropod.

Also seen in Africa is Kongamato ("overwhelmer of boats"), which has been described as a pterosaur-like creature. Most cryptozoologists believe it's more like to be an undiscovered species of giant bat.

The most commonly reported dinosaur sightings are those of plesiosaurs (see Lake Monsters).

Chupacabras:
El Chupacabras ("the goatsucker") is the most recent cryptozoological "sensation".
The first reports of chupacabras came from Puerto Rico in 1995 when a number of livestock were found drained of blood. From there the legend spread throughout South America, Mexico, and the southern United States. Around this time there were hundreds of reports of farm animals being found dead with all the blood drained from their bodies and tiny puncture wounds left on their necks or chests (one description I found mentioned a dog found with it's eyes sucked out). Then around the end of 1996 the fad started to die and there have been very few reports of chupacabras since.
One notable exception being an incident in Chile in mid-2000 where three chupacabras were apparently captured and later collected by NASA (?!?!)
Common attributes reported by eyewitness': 3-5' tall; grey skin; coarse hair; black or glowing red eyes; fangs; clawed hands; spines running down back; strong hind legs which they hop on like a kangaroo; some reports give them small bat-like wings; and that it hisses.
Some theories as to the identity of chupacabras are that it's an alien, an escaped biological experiment created by the US government, a demon, and an interdimensional being to name just a few. However there was one theory which caught my eye and that was that it may be a whippoorwill, which is a type of bird known as a goatsucker:
"The term goatsucker is used to describe any bird that has a weak beak with bristles. The bristles help the birds catch their prey in the air. It is believed their large mouths enable them to suck the milk [of goats]."
Goatsucker on Encyclopedia.com
If you're interested in learning more about chupacabras the library has Chupacabras and Other Mysteries
by Scott Corrales.

New Zealand Cryptids:
Unfortunately New Zealand's cryptids aren't the fantastical beasts of other countries. What we have are: the waitoreke - a otter-like animal found in the South Island (a quick note here - all NZ cryptids are in the South Island); the still surviving moa; and the recent Black Panthers.
There was also a creature found in the 1970s dubbed the 'New Zealand Monster' that was later identified as a basking shark (although some people still dispute this) as well as a 'Globster' (a lump of unknown flesh found washed up on beaches, these usually turn out to be basking sharks although some are giant octopi).

Other:
There are many other small time cryptids out there, I recommend reading
Cryptozoology A-Z by Loren Coleman.

Further reading: Tom Slick: true life encounters in cryptozoology by Loren Coleman.

Links:
Cryptozoology
De Loys' Ape
Mystical Universe - Chupacabra