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"Creature Of The Dump" - Weird Landfill Cryptid

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Creature of the Dump

This is a report of an extremely weird creature seen in a landfill dump, from a site similar to the "It Happened To Me" section here... it seems at first sight to be nothing like any known animal! Any theories about what it was?

The thing I thought of when first reading it was a legless amphibian creature called a Caecilian which I saw in a book on tropical fish as a kid... looking it up on Google got me to http://www.caecilian.com which has pictures with the blue eyes she describes, but the only problem is they cannot survive out of water, so it couldnt have been a Caecilian unless there is an unknown, burrowing species which has somehow evolved to not need water and survive on land.

Also the site mentions "ingots"... any info on them?
 
That's an interesting tale, Goldstein!

It does sound a lot like a caecillian, is it possible that the insides of the dump were watery? Don't know much about caecillian behaviour - do they ever poke their head into the outside world?

The bit about "ingots" is also fascinating, never heard of them before.
 
The part about the ingots was really interesting, especially when it hinted to their role in the dissapearance of those French troops. As I was reading through the suggestions I definately felt the ingot came closest to what was described, but I loved the one at the end hinting it might have been the attractor for a larger underground predator. Reminded me of angler fish, and the little probe like thing they stick up through the sand to attract smaller fish.
 
Could have been a salamander. Some salamanders have very long, snake-like bodies and very tiny limbs. Some also have blue eyes, and not all species need to live in water- many have lungs and need only a moist area to live in. Many of them take advantage of pre-existing animal burrows (and these little holes soundlike mice to me) to use the greater humidity and higher temperature inside the burrow. Also, the dump site makes sense- any salamanders are fond of living in human refuse as long as there's just a bit of moisture.

Can someone tell me more about these ingots? I can't seem to find this info on the link, and this sounds really interesting. I thought "ingot" meant a small gold coin!
 
Re: "Creature of the Dump" - extremely weird crypt

Goldstein said:
it couldnt have been a Caecilian unless there is an unknown, burrowing species which has somehow evolved to not need water and survive on land.
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The caecilians that are most familiar are the aquatic ones of the genus Typhlonectes that are sold under various names (e.g. rubber eels), in the tropical fish trade.

There are loads of caecilian species that can survive on land, though. They are all burrowers, as far as I know, and are hence fairly rarely seen. They're thought to be relatively common in the tropics.

Interestingly, it was discovered not long ago that some caecilians have protrusible eyes- the only vertebrates which do.

The animal from the original article sounds more like an amphisbaenid to me- an equally obscure and wierd kind of primitive burrowing legless lizard.

Another possibility is a glass lizard- yet another burrowing legless lizard. They have very smooth glossy scales, so look quite scaleless. They're closely related to european slow-worms.
 
Re: Re: "Creature of the Dump" - extremely weird c

Beany said:
Another possibility is a glass lizard- yet another burrowing legless lizard. They have very smooth glossy scales, so look quite scaleless. They're closely related to european slow-worms.
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I was just going to say it could possibly be a slow worm or a skink that lost its legs, but beany kinda beat me to it :D
 
My god! That kind of snake usually has one eye, surely?!
 
A small stream rested at very bottom of the recess with slow moving water one to two inches deep. (...) "While I was moving about at the bottom of the recess, I thought I saw, from the corner of my eye, a clump of dirt move. It was about the size of my fist."
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So it was near water, at least.

It had no fur, scales or worm-like ripples on its skin. What it did have was patches of peach-like fuzz - very fine and spaced apart like the hair on a young human's arm - covering what looked like soft, dusty skin about the texture of a person's. It was not wet, slimy or tough looking.
"All of a sudden, while I was examining it, two big beautiful crystal blue eyes popped open! Now I knew what end of the animal I was looking at."
"The white of the eye surrounding its blue pupil was the whitest I'd ever seen - a pure virgin white. The size of the eyes were quite big in proportion to its body size. I wondered if it were a juvenile."
"Its slow motion movement and blinking reminded me of a turtle."
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Just as a quick reminder of the description.
 
I know this is rather naughty.....but it sounds like a penis with eyes....lol.

*laughs at hisself and dirty lil' mind....*
 
Originally posted by Goldstein
...someone suggested an Amphisbaenid whose scientific name is Bipes Biporus...http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/media/herp/089.herp.jpg
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I've been kinda mulling this over for a bit, and I think that pic is actually a Worm Lizard (Rhineura floridana), because the Bipes genus has short front legs, whereas, this is limbless. Also, with both animals, the eyes are buried under the skin; because of this, the "Creature of the Dump" has to be something else. I was considering an Amphiuma; however, ¹they only leave the water if the weather is wet enough for them, ²they do have legs (although small enough they might be overlooked), and ³the skin coloration's all wrong, although perhaps they are more flesh-toned when younger. They can get pretty long, though--sometimes up to, say, 45 inches or so, which is pretty impressive. Across the nation from these southeastern coastal plain creatures is the next likely culprit, the Western Blind Snake (Leptotyphlops humilis), which is found in the desert. I can't recall offhand where the sighting of the "Creature of the Dump" actually took place, but it could be one of these animals--the burrowing habits fit--yet, it has black eyes, rather than the blue ones that were stressed so much in the account given.

My feeling is it's either ¹one of these three animals and the description the witness has given is flawed, ²it's a previously unknown animal, or ³it's a known, but displaced animal. Personally, I'd go with Number One.
 
TorgosPizza said:
³the skin coloration's all wrong, although perhaps they are more flesh-toned when younger..........Across the nation from these southeastern coastal plain creatures is the next likely culprit, the Western Blind Snake (Leptotyphlops humilis), which is found in the desert. I can't recall offhand where the sighting of the "Creature of the Dump" actually took place, but it could be one of these animals--the burrowing habits fit--yet, it has black eyes, rather than the blue ones that were stressed so much in the account given.
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Don't forget albinism, or in this case partial albinism (can't remember the word for it), as most albino animals have red or pink eyes.
 
Originally posted by beakboo
Don't forget albinism, or in this case partial albinism....
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Excellent point, Beakboo. I'll have to dig out my Audubon Society field guide to check out possible albino matches. I'm glad you brought that up, because it's an excellent idea, and it never even crossed my mind. In fact, considering the coloration of the skin, it sounds likely. Good one!
 
TorgosPizza said:
I've been kinda mulling this over for a bit, and I think that pic is actually a Worm Lizard (Rhineura floridana), because the Bipes genus has short front legs, whereas, this is limbless.
Click to expand...

This picture does show one of the front legs- it's bent back along the body.

Here's another suggestion- the rare Oregon Giant Earthworm Driloleirus macelfreshi. It grows up to two feet long. And the sighting was in Oregon! Having said that, it doesn't sound that much like the witness described it.

I couldn't find any pictures, but there's a rather lurid description at http://www.portlandmercury.com/2000-08-24/scientific.html
 
Originally posted by Beany
This picture does show one of the front legs- it's bent back along the body.
Click to expand...

Good one, Beany; I don't know how I missed it.
Here's another suggestion- the rare Oregon Giant Earthworm Driloleirus macelfreshi.
Click to expand...

If it wasn't for the eyes and mouth described, this would be rather plausible wouldn't it? Hm....
 
Aliant said:
I'd rather opt for "unknown" than "trash".
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thats nice, we all hold your opinion in such high regard on this message board :rolleyes:
 
Re: "Creature of the Dump" - extremely weird crypt

Goldstein said:
Creature of the Dump

This is a report of an extremely weird creature seen in a landfill dump, from a site similar to the "It Happened To Me" section here... it seems at first sight to be nothing like any known animal! Any theories about what it was?

The thing I thought of when first reading it was a legless amphibian creature called a Caecilian which I saw in a book on tropical fish as a kid... looking it up on Google got me to http://www.caecilian.com which has pictures with the blue eyes she describes, but the only problem is they cannot survive out of water, so it couldnt have been a Caecilian unless there is an unknown, burrowing species which has somehow evolved to not need water and survive on land.

Also the site mentions "ingots"... any info on them?
Click to expand...


i think this sounds like a kappa but i may be wrong
 
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