Maripill

The Maripill is an unusual creature in Mapuche folklore that’s said to live in the lakes and rivers of northern Patagonia. It’s described as a large, carnivorous reptilian creature with a jagged, saw-like back. It has a long neck, a lizard-like head, and long limbs. 

​

One of the only reports of this creature outside of folklore and mythology was by Edgar Morisol. He heard of the creatures from locals when he was prospecting a site for a reservoir that was going to be under construction in the 1960s in the Colorado River in Argentina. A local man named Crispín Giles told Edgar that there was a creature he called a “water animal” that they would hear make frightening vocalizations and splashing as if it was diving into the water. According to the workers who saw the animal, it was as long as a boa and strangely, was more mammalian than Mapuche mythology usually describes it, recounting that it had dark, shiny hair. The construction workers occasionally came across its footprints as well. This cryptid, if real, may be the same as the lemisch, another unknown semi-aquatic animal in Patagonia.