Well-known specialist on ecology of invertebrates Fritz Muller in the nineteenth century, wrote: stories about the giant worm, minhocao look so incredible that one is tempted to take them for ordinary tale. Is it possible to smile, hearing from adults fables about serpentine monster length of about 45 meters (!) covered with bony carapace.

Minhocao can attack a large mammal.

That it is able to uproot mighty pine trees, to change the course of rivers and turn the land into a bottomless swamp? But... after careful consideration of such messages automatically start to believe that minhocao existed as recently as the middle of the XIX century.
Snake, who survived the Great flood

They look like a huge earthworms. In fact, the name of this bespozvonochnykh comes from the word minhoca - "the worm" in Portuguese. The Indians of Brazil call it betta, MBO-Assou or MBO-Tata. Last name comes from the old language of the tribes of Tupi and means "fiery serpent".

In most cases, observers were determined by the length of this strange creature in tens of meters, and the thickness is from three to five. Minhocao has scaly skin and a couple superseobizua growths protruding from his head. Giant worm is able to overturn the fishing boats, grabbing grazing animals and to captivate him under the water. To that zheon digging a huge underground tunnels and trenches, which crumbling houses and roads.

Most often minhocao appeared in Brazil, as mentioned, in the nineteenth century. The first message about the worm appeared in 1847 in article Augustin de Saint-Hilaire, published in the American journal Science. The author described the attacks of minhocao on livestock near the Rio-shower-saw-timber, where the monster is not only fished, but hunted cows, mules and horses crossing the river Ford. The same was and lakes Padre Aranda and FAA in the Brazilian province of Goias.

Terrible spawns dungeon

In 1877 saw the light of the most significant publication about minhocao, owned by Peru zoologist Fritz Muller. His article he informed the German publication Der Zoologische Garten. Muller presented new facts about the worm giant, was, in particular, it about the huge trenches dug by the worm. They were so great that gave river and destroyed gardens.

To tell the truth, cases of direct observations of minhocao was marked not so much. So, in 1840, some Brazilian living near the river Parana, was going to get water from the swimming pool next to the house, when he saw nearby huge as a house pet. In the same area the young man watched in the complete absence of wind sway huge pine. Looking closely, he noticed among the trees of a worm-like creature in length, probably 25 meters, with two horns on his head.

Some Francisco de Amaral of Varela told that in 1870 on the river Rio-shower-Caseiras encountered a strange worm, whose thickness was about one meter, and the face resembled the snout of a pig.

In his article Muller led and the story of a wealthy planter, Labina Jose DOS Santos, who heard about the dead minhocao found near the river Arapaho in Uruguay. One of the monsters was squeezed between rocks. He had a thick, like a pine bark, skin, something like the shell of the ship.

Wow furrows!

More often eyewitnesses saw traces of chiropody monsters. For example, a week after the mentioned observations Francisco de Amaral Varelli were seen other trench probably left minhocao six kilometers from the place of their first meeting. In the end, the Rangers came to the roots of the big pines, where the traces from a giant worm was lost in the boggy ground.

And some Antonio Jose Branco, returning home after an eight-day absence, found the road turned almost into one huge trench. Traces of the activity of the giant excavator" began at the source of the stream and came to an end after about a kilometer in the swamp. Width deep furrows reached three meters.

In the vicinity of Rio-shower-Papagayos that in the province of Parana, one night (1849) after the end of the rains in the nearby forest was heard the sound of the shower, though the sky was cloudless. The next morning it was found that a large plot of land from a nearby hill has changed beyond recognition. It developed a deep trench. Walking along them, curious villagers reached the rocky plateau. It was decorated with a huge pile of freshly dug clay. Potolkavshisv, the people dispersed, and the planter of Labino Jose DOS Santos after some time he returned to this place. Examined him with assistants and came to the conclusion that such a great job could do two giant worm, which diameter is from two to three meters.

But back to the records Fritz Muller, with which we began this story. In the course of their research, scientists have discovered a communication dated 1856 year. It has been reported that the fishermen from the river Aragua saw a snake, like earthworm. Its length reached 40 meters. The roar of this monster was heard for many miles. Minhocao?.. Yes, to all appearances, it was he.

What is the whangdoodle?..

From the end of XIX century certificate meetings with the bloodthirsty worm stopped, left them trench is still intact. Some researchers believe that monsters are extinct. For others, worms people meet and until now, only dubbed them the giant Anaconda. As for the origin of minhocao, there are several hypotheses.

The surface is excessive size of the worm. It is known that the giant earthworms exist. They can be found in Australia. Such invertebrate creatures are up to three and a half meters, but the diameter of the trunk does not exceed three centimeters. In addition, earthworms are not predators.

Another hypothesis: minhocao - glyptodont, i.e. large armadillos, seemingly extinct during the Pleistocene. Proponents of this theory remind that glyptodonts were shells. Besides, if necessary, they could dig trenches.

Another famous French naturalist and traveler Augustin Francois de Saint-Hilaire suggested that minhocao is a huge variety deacetylase fish lepidosiren. In the resemblance with acne they have a length of more than one meter, extremely voracious and prefer still water, first of all drying up and wetlands. Supporters of this hypothesis believe that lepidosiren huge size would have lived near water arteries. Having a great weight, he would leave the movement of deep traces of the trench.

But the most plausible still hypothesis British cryptozoology Karl ?uker, which suggested that minhocao belongs to the family of legless amphibians. These beings, according to paleontologists, appeared on our planet 170 million years ago, and today live in the tropics of Asia, Africa and South America. Outwardly they look like snakes or worms, living underground in the thickness of the earth, have a strong skull with a sharp snout, which is conveniently loosen the soil, light and reach five feet in length. Some representatives of this family are well-adapted for swimming in water, have a large fleshy fins. Interestingly enough, all of these worms have tentacles, located between the eyes and nostrils. This is an additional sense organs. It is the tentacles can distinguish minhocao from Anaconda.