An Asian equivalent of the Central American ajolote (Bipes spp.) could potentially explain the winged salami.
The winged salami is a death worm reported from Mongolia's Chongor Gobi region, described as a winged, worm-like animal. It was first reported by a Mongolian shepherd in a 1981 newspaper report.[1] The shepherd claimed that:
| “ | Its body looks like salami, half of which is taken up by the head, and on the rear it has wings. I have seen it twice. On both occasions it was lying dead at the well.[1]
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A driver working for a scientific expedition claimed to have encountered a similar animal in 1982, near a place named Eezh Chairchan. According to the driver:
| “ | As they got out of the car and looked down at the ground, they saw a strange trace in the sand, forming right before their eyes. It looked as if something was moving under the sand, displacing a wave of sand above it. [...] when he scraped away the moving sand, a strange animal with spade-like paws jumped out and immediately buried itself again. It was beige in colour, and similar in length to [?], and at the rear of its body it had paws or legs, but they did not move. The frightened men quickly withdrew.[1]
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Although this second animal was described as having paws or legs, not wings, the shepherd who saw the first animal saw it dead both times, not in flight, so it is quite possible that what he described as wings were simply paws. Assuming they were legs instead of wings, Karl Shuker notes that the animal resembles an ajolote (Bipes spp.), a species of amphisbaenid with legs. Although shaped like worms, ajolotes have a pair of small front limbs just behind their head, which are often mistaken for ears. Although ajolotes are only found in the Americas, an Asian amphisbaenid could have evolved into a similar form. Alternatively, if the second animal was not a winged salami, it may have been an unknown two-limbed lizard, many of which are already known to science. On the other hand, B. Avirmed suggests that the animal may be an undescribed species of giant mole.[1]
Shuker also suggests that it is possible that the winged salami is one and the same as the traditionally-limbless allghoi khorkhoi, since Mongolian nomads are known to avoid these worms, and might not notice if they had a pair of small limbs.[1]
Similar cryptids[]
Other death worms include the allghoi khorkhoi, the shar khorkhoi, the short grey snake, and the temeenii süül.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Shuker, Karl P. N. (2003) The Beasts That Hide From Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals, Paraview Press, ISBN 1-931044-64-3