minhoc

One of the most extraordinary mystery beasts of the world is the Minhoc?o. Relatively unknown to the rest of the world, the Minhoc?o has been reported from the forests of South America since the 19th century. The Minhoc?o is commonly described as a giant worm-like animal up to 75 feet long, with black scaly skin and two tentacle-like structures protruding from it?s head. Known best as being a burrowing animal, the Minhoc?o is commonly blamed for houses and roads collapsing into the earth. It is also said to frequently visit the local lakes and rivers of the areas in which it?s reported.

The first published reference to the Minhoc?o appeared in the American Journal of Science in an article written by Auguste de Saint-Hilaire. In the article Saint-Hilaire stated several instances where a Minhoc?o was seen near fords of rivers in the Brazilian province of Goyaz. Saint-Hilaire also stated his belief that the name Minhoc?o is derived from the Portugese word meaning earthworm, Minhoca.

Publications of the Minhoc?o ceased until 1877, when zoologist Fritz M?ller wrote an article on the beast for a German publication Zoologische Garten. M?ller?s article included new information on the Minhoc?o, including reports of huge mysterious trenches that were so big they?d divert rivers and destroy orchards. Unlike Sanit-Hilaire?s article, M?ller?s included actually sightings of the Minhoc?o including a story told by Lebino Jos? dos Santos who had heard tales of a dead Minhoc?o being found near Arapehy, Uruguay. According to the tale the creature was found lodged between two rocks, the reputed skin was said to be ?as thick as the bark of a pine-tree? and armored with ?scales like those of an armadillo?.
With the end of the 19th century also came the end of Minhoc?o sightings. There are still large mysterious trenches from time to time, but no actual sightings. Some researchers believe that the Minhoc?o, sadly, went extinct. While others think it is more likely that Minhoc?os are still seen, but are thought to be giant anacondas and are reported as such.
There is still the question of what the Minhoc?os could possibly be. Some researchers take into account that it is said to be a giant earthworm, but known species of giant earthworm do not grow over 12 feet and are only native to Australia. Also despite their large sizes, these giant earthworms are only about an inch thick.
Some researchers believe the Minhoc?o to be surviving glyptodont -- large armadillo-like animals believed to have gone extinct in the Pleistocene. Researchers say that the glyptodont would be capable of digging the mysterious trenches and burrowing underground, it also had and armored shell over it?s back. What is normally not mentioned about the glyptodont is that it was not a borrowing animal and it was probably not capable of doing so. There is also the fact that they do not fit any descriptions of the Minhoc?o.

Yet another theory goes on to say that the Minhoc?o is a lepidosiren (serpentine South American lungfish). If a lepidosiren were to grow to a large enough size it could explain the sightings of Minhoc?o near waterways. The large trenches could also be caused by a lepidosiren when it unborrows itself from the ground and returns to the rivers. One of the most likely theories of the Minhoc?os identity was proposed by cryptozoologist Karl Shuker. He believes that the Minhoc?o may be a form of caecilian, a worm-like burrowing amphibian. Caecilians are native to South America and some fit the description and lifestyle of Minhoc?o perfectly, only in a smaller form. The largest of the caecilians only gets up to 5 feet.
If the creature existed at all, it may now be extinct -- there has not been a sighting in 130 years. Hopefully this is not the case and some day soon a living Minhoc?o will be discovered in the rainforests of South America.