“In or round 1557, Jean Lerius and two other members of the company were trekking through a forest in the interior of Brazil with some local Tupinamba Indian guides but armed only with swords or bows and arrows when, while passing through a deep valley there, they abruptly encountered at a distance of only thirty paces or so a very large reptilian creature of extremely distinctive appearance, squatting on top of a hill in the heat of noon, with one of its forefeet raised. Lerius described it as a lizard bigger than the body of a man, measuring 5-6 ft long, yet its most eyecatching feature was not its size but rather its extraordinary tegument. For according to Lerius, this unfamiliar animal was entirely covered in rough white scales that resembled oyster shells (and presumably, therefore, were opalescent, or nacreous, i.e. resembling mother of pearl?”
https://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2024/07/an-oyster-scaled-oddity-from-brazil.html
#cryptozoology
It must be amazing to have possibly been the first learned human to see a creature like this. The very roots of cryptozoology, to find undiscovered creatures such as this. I feel like people believe it’s just about filming a weekend stake out at a bigfoot hotspot. And as fun as that is, don’t forget to look around the rest of the forest as you may be the next person to discover something new.
Looking for bigfoot evidence is important to me, as you probably know, but learning the fascinating historical tales of every creature’s first appearance to man is wonderful and fascinating…
TGIF everyone, be safe in the forest this weekend…
And follow along with the Shuker Nature’s blog if you get a chance, link is above….
ShukerNature: AN OYSTER-SCALED ODDITY FROM BRAZIL
— Read on karlshuker.blogspot.com/2024/07/an-oyster-scaled-oddity-from-brazil.html
Sasysquatchgirl 
Hi Kerry, what a story! A real shame that no-one could have taken a picture of that particular cryptid of course…
🦪 Talking of oysters – I'm racking my brains now – I don't think that I've ever eaten an oyster!! Isn't that odd? I've travelled widely and eaten so many different foods but never one of those babies! Strange… I think I read somewhere that some people eat oysters with Tabasco sauce – I used to put Tabasco on minced beef and onions when I cooked that and also I used to put it on steaks. I don't eat Tabasco any more, I used to find the taste too bitter really – I now use chillies – fresh chillies, chilli flakes, chilli sauce, etc. Anything chilli-related really, LOL!
Also – I found this albino gator baby (!) image on one of Shuker's blogs – I've told you before that I'm most interested in any albino/white critters – I don't think that I've seen an albino alligator before though – a remarkable looking chomper and no mistake!
Albino American alligator, (© Sherrif2966/Wikipedia – CC BY-SA 4.0 licence)
What is far less clear, conversely, is this reptile's precise taxonomic identity, as no lizard of that size and pallid appearance is known from Brazil or, indeed, from anywhere else, today. Might it have been albinistic, as I tentatively labelled it a little earlier here, or possibly leucistic? Leucistic American alligators Alligator mississipiensis with shiny white scales but black eyes are well known, for example, as are other reptile specimens of similar form, as well as true albino specimens with pink eyes. Perhaps it was a leucistic or an albinistic iguana, whose size had been over-estimated by an evidently shocked Lerius. Or might Lerius have been incorrect in labeling it a lizard – could it have actually been a white alligator?
I know of no other reports alluding to this singularly distinctive reptile, so the riddle of what it was seems destined to remain forever unsolved – like so many others in the fascinating if frustrating chronicles of cryptozoology.
Sent: Friday, July 12, 2024 at 6:24 PM
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I love the the white critters as well, especially a white opossum! They are fascinating but have low survival odds because they stand out to their predators sadly…
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Hi Kerry, sad to hear about the plight of white opossums. Something else that is sad – England lost in the final last night – Spain beat us 2-1 – I was going to go and watch it with people that I know but I had severe misgivings prior to kick-off and I decided to stay in – I'm glad I did now! England are always the bridesmaid but never the bride… I now have a month of very few sporting events to cover until the new soccer season starts – I won't know what to do with myself, LOL!
Take care,
J
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 7:38 PM
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