Earth Hound
Location: Scotland
Time: 1867, 1915, notable in Scottish folklore.
Scotland plays host to some more obscure cryptids, as well as the famous Loch Ness monster. One such creature is the Earth Hound, a rodent-like burrower that supposedly inhabits graveyards, burrowing into graves to feed on corpses. It resembles a big rat, with large incisors, an upturned snout and a long, dog-like head, digging paws like a mole and a short, bushy tail.
Most sightings of this creature involve the animal being dug up with plows or by gardeners, who then kill it as a pest. It is unclear what this creature really is; it could of course simply be exaggerations and misidentifications of real animals such as rats and weasels. The morbid habits of this animal seem suspicious; there is a possibility that this creature is merely a mythical animal that is associated with corpses and graveyards. Whatever the nature of this beast, there have been very few recent sightings of it.
For our speculative account, we think it best that this creature be related to the mole. The Earth Hound (Terracanis morbidus) is actually a large relative of the Asian shrew moles (Uropsilus). It must have shared a common ancestor with shrew moles some time in the Oligocene, becoming a comparatively large and pugnacious animal, by insectivore standards. As large as a ferret, and something like a badger in shape, it has a long snout that is upturned at the end, and very sensitive. The large front teeth help it catch all manner of subterranean invertebrates, like beetle grubs, worms and crickets. The Earth Hound is often attracted to fresh corpses in order to feed on the maggots and beetles that they inevitably attract, it has even been known to invade fresh graves in search of insect food. It spends most of the daylight hours burrowing, like typical moles it has some permanent tunnels, and some temporary ones. During the evening, it will sometimes venture above ground in search of insects, and will even catch mice and lizards. The fur of an Earth Hound is dense, but generally longer and coarser than other moles, coloured a dirty brown. Present distribution may be relictual, localized around parts of Scotland, or other populations may exist in continental Europe, as yet undetected.
Location: Scotland
Time: 1867, 1915, notable in Scottish folklore.
Scotland plays host to some more obscure cryptids, as well as the famous Loch Ness monster. One such creature is the Earth Hound, a rodent-like burrower that supposedly inhabits graveyards, burrowing into graves to feed on corpses. It resembles a big rat, with large incisors, an upturned snout and a long, dog-like head, digging paws like a mole and a short, bushy tail.
Most sightings of this creature involve the animal being dug up with plows or by gardeners, who then kill it as a pest. It is unclear what this creature really is; it could of course simply be exaggerations and misidentifications of real animals such as rats and weasels. The morbid habits of this animal seem suspicious; there is a possibility that this creature is merely a mythical animal that is associated with corpses and graveyards. Whatever the nature of this beast, there have been very few recent sightings of it.
For our speculative account, we think it best that this creature be related to the mole. The Earth Hound (Terracanis morbidus) is actually a large relative of the Asian shrew moles (Uropsilus). It must have shared a common ancestor with shrew moles some time in the Oligocene, becoming a comparatively large and pugnacious animal, by insectivore standards. As large as a ferret, and something like a badger in shape, it has a long snout that is upturned at the end, and very sensitive. The large front teeth help it catch all manner of subterranean invertebrates, like beetle grubs, worms and crickets. The Earth Hound is often attracted to fresh corpses in order to feed on the maggots and beetles that they inevitably attract, it has even been known to invade fresh graves in search of insect food. It spends most of the daylight hours burrowing, like typical moles it has some permanent tunnels, and some temporary ones. During the evening, it will sometimes venture above ground in search of insects, and will even catch mice and lizards. The fur of an Earth Hound is dense, but generally longer and coarser than other moles, coloured a dirty brown. Present distribution may be relictual, localized around parts of Scotland, or other populations may exist in continental Europe, as yet undetected.