Anomaly - deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected
 

Anthropoid - resembling a human being in form
 

Archaic - of or belonging to the past; from an ancient period in history
 

Biped - a living being that uses two feet for standing and walking
 

Bipedalism - the condition of being two-footed or of using two feet for locomotion
 

Carnivore - meaning "meat eater"; a carnivore refers to those animals whose food and energy requirements derive solely from flesh, acquired through hunting or scavenging
 

Chimera - derived from the Chimera of Greek mythology, a fire-breathing monster characterized as having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail, the term has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals. In genetics, the term refers to living creatures that contain the cells of two or more individuals
 

Crepuscular - refers to those animals who appear, or are active at twilight
 

Cryptid - coined by John Wall in 1983, the term “cryptid” refers to those animals who have been claimed to exist but whose existence remain undetermined by science. Cryptids may be unknown species or animals which, though believed to be extinct, may have survived into modern times
 

Cryptozoology - Coined in the 1950’s by Scottish zoologist Ivan Sanderson, the term “cryptozoology” translates literally as ‘the study of hidden animals’ and refers to the study of unidentified and elusive species
 

Diurnal - refers to those animals who are mostly active during daytime
 

Elemental - supernatural nature spirits usually attuned with, or composed of, one of the classical elements: air, earth, fire and water
 

EVP - abbreviation for “electronic voice phenomena,” which refers to noises of a paranormal nature that can only be heard with the use of modern electronic devices
 

Extraterrestrial - a being or object from outside the earth or its atmosphere
 

Folklore - the expressive body of culture shared by a particular group of people, encompassing the customs, oral traditions, dance and art forms common to that culture, subculture or group
 

Fortean - relating to or denoting paranormal phenomena
 

Ghost - refers to the soul or spirit of a deceased human or animal that continues to exist and can appear to the living
 

Gigantopithecus - a genus of extinct ape inhabiting southern Asia throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs and believed to have been the largest hominoid that ever existed
 

Great ape - a higher primate of a family closely related to humans, including the gorilla, orangutan, and chimpanzees
 

Herbivore - an animal that feeds on plants
 

Hominid - any member of the family Hominidae, consisting of modern and extinct humans, great apes, and all of their immediate ancestors
 

Hominin - any member of the group consisting of all modern and extinct humans and their immediate ancestors, specifically members of the tribe Hominini
 

Hominoid - a member of the biological superfamily Hominoidea, including all modern apes and humans and a number of their extinct ancestors and relatives
 

Hominology - coined in 1973 by Russian researcher Dmitri Bayanov, hominology is best described as the study of unknown or hidden hominoids, including Almas, Sasquatch, Yerin, Yeti and other unknown hominoids
 

Homo floresiensis - a species of small, primitive hominin, also known as the “Hobbit”, that inhabited the island of Flores, Indonesia, until the arrival of modern humans about 50,000 years ago and has been theorized to be an evolved predecessor of the Orang Pendek
 

Humanoid - having human characteristics or form; resembling human beings
 

Inhuman Entity - a supernatural being that did not originate in human form such as a demon or jinn
 

Megabat - a family of large, Old World bat from warm and tropical regions that feed on fruit. The megabat family contains the world’s largest bat species, the ‘flying fox’, and is believed by some cryptozoologists to help explain the existence of the Ahool, Reopen and other flying cryptids
 

Myth - a traditional story, especially those that explain a culture’s origin, history or explain natural or social phenomenon
 

Neanderthal - an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago who were physically distinguished by their stocky build, receding forehead and prominent brow ridges. They most likely went extinct due to assimilation into the modern human genome, climatic change, disease, or a combination of these factors
 

Nocturnal - done, occurring, or active at night
 

Omnivore - an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin
 

Orb - refers to a ball of light or translucent, circular anomaly that can be seen in video footage, photography, or the naked eye, and is considered by some to be either extraterrestrial in origin or indicative of spirit energy

Paranormal - anything currently beyond the range of scientific explanation; supernatural

Paranormal Pop Culture - refers to paranormal-themed movies, TV shows, comic books, video games, music and literature

Paranormal Tourism - refers to the travel industry niche where tourists attend paranormal and/or cryptozoology themed conventions and festivals, camp to search for cryptids and UFOs, join ghost tours or participate in investigations of suspected paranormal activity

Parapsychology - field of study concerned with the investigation of evidence for paranormal psychological phenomena
 

Phenomenon - an observable fact or event considered exceptional, unusual or abnormal
 

Plesiosaur - any marine reptile of the extinct genus Plesiosaurus, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having a small head, a long neck, four paddle-like limbs, and a short tail. Considered by some cryptozoologists to explain the existence of some lake monsters 
 

Pongidae - an obsolete primate taxon containing chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans

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Preternatural - refers to matters of the natural world that are currently unexplained

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Pterosaur - any flying reptile of the extinct order Pterosauria, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having the outside digit of the forelimb greatly elongated and supporting a wing membrane. Theorized by some cryptozoologists to explain particular flying cryptids

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Relict - a species or community living in an environment that has changed from that which is typical for it; a remnant or survivor

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Sauropod - a large, quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck and tail, small head, and massive limbs. This group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land

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Shadow Person - a fast-moving, dark, humanoid entity that is often spotted out of the corner of the eye and has been construed as being an alien, ghost, or inter-dimensional being, among others

Spirit - the human soul after it has left the body and now exists in a metaphysical plane

Supernatural - that which appears to transcend the laws of nature; of, or relating to gods, demons or religious phenomena

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Tetrapod - a vertebrate (such as an amphibian, a bird, or a mammal) with two pairs of limbs

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Theropod - a carnivorous dinosaur of a group characterized by three-toed limbs and hollow bones whose members are typically bipedal and range from small and delicately built to very large

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UAP - abbreviation for ‘unidentified aerial phenomenon’, the preferred term utilized by government agencies to describe those objects observed in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or other known phenomena

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UFO - abbreviation for “unidentified flying object” which does not necessarily apply to extraterrestrial or secret governmental crafts, but can be anything unknown spotted in the sky

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Ufology - the study of unidentified flying objects

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USO - abbreviation for ‘unidentified submerged object’ and refers to any unidentified object submerged in water. The term does not necessarily refer to an object of extraterrestrial origin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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