During the late 19th century, a number of sightings were recorded in numerous parts of South America of a creature resembling a giant earthworm. One account, dating from the 1840s near the Rio dos Papaganaios in the Parana State, described a woman who went to draw water from a well one morning. She saw, a short distance off, an animal that she described as being as large as a house moving along the ground. In the same district, a young man later saw a huge pine suddenly overturn, the surrounding earth begin to move, and an enormous, black worm-like animal appear, about 80 ft long with two horns on its head. A report in the American Journal of Science from the period mentions instances where livestock had been captured by one of these creatures and dragged under the water, suggesting that it was actually a type of water serpent. The name Minhocao comes from the Portuguese word minhocar (earthworm). There is also a similar creature from the folklore of Nicaragua called Sterpe, which was described as being similar to a huge snake. Various suggestions have been put forward by cryptozoologists, including the suggestion that the Minhocao was a surviving Glyptodont (a prehistoric South American animal which resembled an armadillo); while others have suggested a giant Caecilian, a worm-like amphibian native to Mexico and South America. No sightings have been reported since 1870.
Text from The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews (HarperElement, 2005)
"Based on the extremely reliable and undoubtedly authentic accounts reported by Fawcett and others, we propose the existence of a veritable super-anaconda that we dub Stupendaconda portentificus, or the Stupendaconda. Its existence safely puts to rest the idea that gigantic size can only evolve in snakes when global temperatures are at an all-time high. What does a snake this large eat? Whatever it wants. Stupendaconda evolved alongside diverse large rodents, crocodyliforms, turtles and snakes, all of which it preyed upon in the past. A substantial decline in the diversity of these animals during the Holocene has resulted in Stupendaconda becoming rarer than it ever was, and it was never an abundant animal to begin with.
One of the most mysterious things about giant anacondas is that juvenile specimens have never been discovered or reported, despite the fact that this is the only time in their lives when they might easily be killed, captured and retained for study. Why is this? The reason is remarkable and preposterous, and challenges much of what we know about snake biology.
As is well known, adult Stupendacondas are gigantic beasts, 20m long or more. Rather than giving birth to umpteen live babies (as is normal for the other, smaller anaconda species), females grow one gigantic, hyper-developed mega-baby, the birth length of which is about 7m. That is, larger than virtually all large specimens of the largest known non-Stupendaconda large snakes. As predicted for an animal that puts so much investment into the growth of its baby, there is a strong maternal bond between the mother and juvenile and they stay in close contact for decades. This explains why Fawcett and other explorers often found several super-snakes in close proximity. Unfortunately, this reproductive strategy makes these snakes slow to replace themselves and prone to extinction. Today, they may be teetering on the brink. It may already be too late. Indeed, Fawcett himself may have single-handedly contributed to the downfall of one of the world's most incredible serpents."
Cryptids & Creatures of Folklore Drawtober Day 25 — Minhocão
The Minhocão is a creature from Brazil which is described as being either worm or fish-like in appearance. It is a gigantic beast and is said to be anywhere from 50 to over 200 feet in length. It is mainly aquatic but has been blamed for destroying roads and creating deep trenches in the ground and even uprooting trees. There are accounts of it having horns, sharp teeth, armor plating, and various other features—I figured maybe a giant lungfish beastie covered most of those.
The Minhocão is said to have a taste for horses and cows. It will lurk in a deep body of water and when an unsuspecting animal gets too close it grabs them by their belly and devours them.
December: In 1846, French naturalist Augustin Saint-Hilaire first described the Minhocao, a worm like creature seen near the Padre Aranda and Feia lakes in Brazil. The names comes from the Portuguese word “minhoca” which means “earthworm”.
[By the standards of cryptids, the minhocão has a pedigree in legitimate science, first reported in Europe by famed botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire and later discussed in Nature Magazine. It was Saint-Hilaire’s opinion that the minhocão was a large undescribed species of lungfish, although not nearly as large as the 20-50 meter claims that sometimes get thrown around. Since then, different cryptozoologists have played pin the character on the animal, with Bernard Heuvelmans claiming it was a giant burrowing glyptodont (!) and Karl Shuker giving it a caecelian identity. It’s this latter one that shapes most existing artistic representations, and what I went with for my version.
What do I think? I think that there may well have been a lungfish at the heart of some of the reports, but it’s probably just misidentifications and folklore surrounding the anaconda.]
Minhocão
CR 10 N Animal
This creature looks something like an immense earthworm, except that earthworms do not have fang filled jaws, or short tentacles on the upper jaw. Its skin is leathery, and small scales are visible beneath the surface.
The minhocão, or giant caecilian, is an enormous burrowing amphibian found in poorly drained soils in warm environments. They are ambush hunters, preying on creatures both above and below the surface. Giant vermin are a favored prey, but if these are scarce, they will grab livestock, megafauna or even giants in their jaws and drag them below ground to devour. They are sometimes hunted by purple worms and other even stronger predators, but defend themselves with a hemolytic toxin in their skin. A creature that touches a minhocão with its bare hands (or worse, mouth) have their blood cells die, fluid accumulate under their skin, and eventually die of liver and kidney failure.
A minhocão is completely blind. Its eyes are covered by skin, and it senses the world with nostrils set on short tentacles and a powerful sense of vibration. They are typically solitary, but females are attentive parents. They grow extra layers of fatty skin along their bodies, which the juveniles eat, regrowing it and repeating the process several times before the young minhocãos are strong enough to hunt on their own. They prefer subtropical climes to tropical ones.
Minhocão as Animal Companions
Starting Statistics: Size Medium; Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft., swim 20 ft.; AC +3 natural armor; Attack bite (1d8); Ability Scores Str 12, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 8; Special Qualities blind, blindsight
7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +3 natural armor; Attack bite (2d6); Ability Scores Str +8, Dex -2, Con +4; Special Qualities grab, toxic skin (Con based DC)
Minhocão CR 10
XP 9,600
N Gargantuan animal
Init +6; Senses blindsight 60 ft., blind, Perception +10
Defense
AC 24, touch 8, flat-footed 21 (+2 Dex, +16 natural, –4 size)
hp 138 (12d8+84)
Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +7
Immune gaze attacks, visual spells and effects
Defensive Abilities toxic skin
Offense
Speed 20 ft., burrow 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +18 (4d6+19/19–20 plus grab)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks swallow whole (2d8+19 bludgeoning, AC 18, 13 hp)
Statistics
Str 36, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +9; CMB +26 (+30 grapple); CMD 38 (can't be tripped)
Feats Blind-fight, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Toughness
Skills Perception +10, Stealth +11, Swim +21; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth
SQ hold breath
Ecology
Environment warm swamps or underground
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Blindsight (Ex) A minhocão’s blindsight is based on detecting scent and vibrations. If it is in an area of strong scent, such as a stinking cloud spell, it is treated as having tremorsense instead.
Toxic Skin (Ex) A creature that strikes a minhocão with an unarmed strike or natural weapon exposes itself to the creature's poisonous skin. Skin—contact; save Fort DC 22; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d4 Constitution damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution based.
In the Cuiabá river in Brazil, there supposedly lives a terrible monster. The Minhocão is a giant worm-like creature that burrows in the riverbanks, causing them to collapse. This process changes the shape and course of the river. It is also known to attack boats to capsize them. The squirming movements of this creature can also cause large waves. It is said that it dislikes fishermen in particular because of the noise their boats make.
This artist of the second image seems to be inspired by the ‘Graboid’ monsters from the Tremors series. Fittingly, the Minhocão are often depicted as giant earthworms or earthworm-like monsters, and sometimes as large monstrous fish.
The monster has also been blamed for tremors and damage to riverbanks. Despite supposed sightings, no evidence of the existence of these creatures has ever been provided (obviously). The story of the Minhocão may have originated as a way to explain seismic activity.
