Legendary creature
Encyclopedia : L : LE : LEG : Legendary creature
- For creatures that are fictional creations, see . For creatures whose existence is claimed by Cryptozoologists, see .
Conversely, some creatures once believed in have been found in recent times, such as the giant squid.
Often, legendary creatures are chimeras, a combination of two or more animals. For example, a pegasus is a combination of a horse and bird, a centaur of a man and horse, a minotaur of a man and bull. It should be noted that these were not always intended to be understood as literal juxtapositions of parts from disparate species. Lacking a common morphological vocabulary, classical and medieval scholars and travellers would attempt to describe unusual animals by comparing them point-for-point with familiar: the giraffe, for example, was called camelopard, and thought of as a creature half-camel, and half-leopard.
Many legendary creatures appear prominently in fantasy fiction. These creatures are often claimed to have supernatural powers or knowledge or to guard some object of great value, which becomes critical to the plot of the story in which it is found.
Many legendary creatures have been incorporated into heraldry and architectural decoration. Legendary creatures have also been accepted into many facets of popular culture, most notably in video games and Hollywood movies.
See also
- Cryptozoology
- Monster
- List of fictional species
- List of legendary creatures
- Legendary creatures of the Argentine Northwest region
- An instinct for dragons, a hypothesis on the origin of several legendary creatures
- Book of Imaginary Beings
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