Dracula-like fangs, a parrot-like beak, porcupine-like spikes… this may sound like a check list for the starring role in a new monster movie, but it’s actually the description of a new species of dinosaur called Pegomastax Africanus that scientists have recently been examining. The bones were actually discovered nearly 50 years ago, but are only now beginning to be fully studied, but that’s not what caught our attention. Here in the SGRA Cryptozoology division, the branch of our study which focuses on strange creatures like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, the description of this dinosaur bears uncanny resemblance to a creature known to us as the “Chupacabra.”
Legends stretching from South America to Mexico – and even more recently across the border of the Southern United States, speak of the Chupacabra (which translates to “goat sucker”), a mysterious creature that is said to kill smaller animals, especially chickens and goats, and then drain them of their blood. So what’s this have to do with the descriptions of this dinosaur? The description that scientists are offering of what this dinosaur looked like are eerily similar to what people who have claimed to encounter the Chupacabra have described, except those encounters date back to long before this dinosaur was uncovered.
The stories of the Chupacabra really started to gain attention in the mid-1990s, but there have been some stories found that predate these modern examples. Critics of the Chupacabra legends have pointed to the fact that no physical evidence has ever been presented to support the claims, and what evidence was turned over for examination always turned out to be either dogs or coyotes that were infected with disease. Simply discovering that an animal once existed which seems to match up with Chupacabra descriptions well does not serve as proof that such a creature is actually roaming the forests of South and Central America, but it certainly makes for an interesting correlation.
Scientists have said that the “Dracula dinosaur” mainly inhabited areas of Africa, was less than 2 feet long, and probably weighed no more than 15 pounds. The “quills” like a porcupine would have been spread across most of its body, from its neck to the tip of its tail. Aside from a defense mechanism, the quills on such a creature like this would have made it appear larger than it actually was, so predators would be turned off… in exactly the same way modern porcupines use their quills.
The interesting features that draw resemblance to Chupacabra legends include long stabbing fangs, the quills which would have appeared more like spikes on the creatures back, the fact that it walked on two legs, and that it likely had eyes which would have certainly appeared to “glow” at night. One interesting factor however is that while scientists say the creature had everything expected of a carnivore, they strongly believe it actually did not eat meat, and was in fact mostly an herbivore. Making it quite different from Chupacabra claims.
Even though the revelations about this dinosaur don’t support Chupacabra legends in any way, it does make for a good reason to stop and ponder the possibilities. What if a creature like this from ancient times had somehow survived in the dense jungles of Africa or South America, and because of our constant human nature to cut down forests and move inward to areas we did not live in before, what if such a creature did exist?
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So the dinosaur was discovered in Africa yet the modern sightings took place in South America?
I don’t see the connection.
The connection between the two creatures is merely in description. However, as we have observed countless times with other species. Even though one is discovered in a different location, they are often represented by a similar creature in another area. The fact that this creature has features that are quite similar to many reports simply makes one wonder if it could be possible that a similar creature once existed in South American and other regions where Chupacabra stories can be found. Another point of interest for this particular story is the fact that we know civilizations of the past mistook the discovery of dinosaur bones as being mythical creatures… so, if similar bones were found at some point in the region where Chupacabra legends are recorded, this could perhaps be a cause of them.
… It is also important to note here that while the Chupacabra legend originates in South America, there are vastly similar stories (called by different names of course) that can be found in the legend of Afican tribes and areas of the country. Those, however, have not gotten the attention of modern Chupacabra sightings.