Possible Origins of Legendary Animals

Myths are usually based on facts as attested by many scholars. Just for fun let's take a guess at where some of our myths may have originated by finding potential matches.

A great flying reptile that spits fire?

It has been theorized that before Noah's Flood the world was covered by a canopy of water vapor and had a uniform temperature averaging at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It has also been suggested that since people are recorded to have had increased longevity during those times, animals also may have lived long and favored the warm climate and the pure clean air. There are some sorts of lizards that grow for the entire duration of their lives. The iguana is a good example, and unfortunately some pet iguanas that outgrow their owners' expectations end up as unwanted pets.

Someone out gathering fruit and nuts, looking up and seeing a very large pterodactyl soaring overhead, might tell stories later at home of the strange, large animal. The stories would then be passed on and would grow in detail as they went around the village. Over time and generations the stories could become quite exaggerated until we have a beast of the size and description of a dragon.

Breathing fire? It is not so impossible. That is to say, several animals we know can squirt or spray unpleasantries. The spitting cobra brings up a distinctively dangerous connotation, and the skunk aims its spray in the eyes of the attackers in an attempt to blind. Plants such as the chili pepper contain hot chemical compounds. Several scientists have suggested that a certain dinosaur with extra room in its skull may very well have possessed glands that produced either a toxin or some sort of chemical heat, giving way to our legends of creatures that breathe fire.

Fireflies light up, as do many sea creatures. If the original dragons didn't spray a chemical burning substance, maybe they glowed, and the fire was not really fire at all! Bioluminescence was not yet discovered and may have been described in the only terms they knew.

The original unicorn was said to have a goat's cloven hoof, a horse's tail, a horse's body, and a single horn.

Supposing someone at a glance saw a gemsbok oryx from a side view and only perceived one of its horns?

It has a tail very much like a horse's and fulfills all the other requirements of the description excepting that it has two horns. But these are very straight, and this mistake might have resulted in a fireside story that grew into today's legend.

It arises out of the lake to look around and get its bearings.  The quiet moonlight is bright to its underwater eyes.  Motion on the bank catches its attention.  Will they never leave me alone?  The disturbed people start yelling and throwing stones, and the weary reptile sinks into the cool deep peace of the lake.

There may have been many plesiosaurs trapped in many lakes after they survived Noah's flood, although in recent times we only know of the one in Loch Ness.

The Greeks were fond of sporting events. Discus throwing, foot races, and equestrian events, to name a few.

All of the above were reported to have been carried on without the benefit of clothes. (A good time to invent spandex, don't you think?)

If man and horse were viewed from certain angles, the man's torso would have hidden the horse's head, thus possibly giving rise to storytelling of a strange creature with a man's upper torso attached to a horse's body.