THE REALM OF EXOTIC ZOOLOGY
October 4, 2024 10:00pm
Ask Dr Hal
THE REALM OF EXOTIC ZOOLOGY
PROFILES ORGANISMS that were once but rumored to exist, or were thought to be impossible, that were subsequently scientifically shown to be real; and others that were once accepted as fact that were later determined to have never existed. The show speculates about dragons and sea serpents, wingless birds and Abominable Snowmen, starting with the Gryphon or Griffin. We examine ancient sources, including Sir John Mandeville's Travels. Some of the claims we make here may become later criticized or ridiculed, which is a casualty of this species of erudition. We note entries in certain rare and antique texts, including the Aviarium by Hugh of Fouilloy, the Bestiaires of Gervaise, Guillaume le Clerc, Philippe de Thaon, Pierre de Beauvais, Isodore of Seville's Etymologiae, De Naturis Rerum by Hrabanus Maurus, De Proprietatibus Rerum by Bartholomaeus Anglicus and the renowned Bestiaire d'Amour by Richard de Fournival. Was the marine Scolopendra a fantasy or a giant form, now extinct (or extremely rare) of the Robin Fish, which has evolved multiple insect-like legs to walk upon the bottom of the sea? Hmmm... who knows? Could be...