Cryptids are animals or other beings that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science.
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and has been widely critiqued by scientists.
[1][2][3][4] The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information[5] and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method.
[6] Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence,[7] likely misidentifications[8] and misinterpretation of stories from folklore.
[9] While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor.