The Cryptid Zoo: Proto-Pygmies

Proto-pygmies are small hairy humanoids, with adult heights ranging from three feet to five feet. The hair on their heads is often a different length and texture than the fur that covers the rest of their bodies. Faces are usually fur-free, as are the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The prefered habitat of proto-pygmies is swamps, forests and seashores in tropical regions of the world. Their tiny footprints can be distinguished from those of human children because the foot shape is so different. Their faces look wizened, ancient, and distinctly non-human. Hair/fur colors tend to be black or red.

Creatures such as the duende of South American lore, the orang-pendek, the teh-lma variety of yeti and the Menehune of Hawaii are often classified as proto-pygmies. What could proto-pygmies be? Most researchers think they are some kind of primitive human, perhaps homo erectus, perhaps Australopithecus, or even a unique subtype of our own species, homo sapiens. Homo floresiensis, discovered in 2003, may also qualify as a proto-pygmy, especially if native legends regarding its extreme hairiness turn out to be true (right now, all specimens are known only from bones, so we have no idea how hairy they were).

You can find out more about the Proto-Pygmies from the following sources:

Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren. Cryptozoology A-Z. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Page 203, 233-234

Gee, Henry. Flores, God and Cryptozoology

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Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pages 14, 124, 139, 175-176, 186, 189, 198, 205, 222, 225-226, 228-229, 287, 292, 337, 345, 355-356, 369, 409, 419-420, 424, 433, 453, 462-463, 471, 473, 475, 482, 484, 486, 490, 498-499, 504

Weidensaul, Scott. The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species. New York: North Point Press, 2002. Pages 173-174

Wikipedia, The. Hibagon

Wikipedia, The. Homo floresiensis

Wikipedia, The. Menehune