Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Cryptids and Mythological creatures were real? What would that be like? How would they affect the environment? How would they be classified? Find out in this encyclopedia that mysteriously appeared fro...
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Animal Class: Amphibian
Diet: Carnivorous
Mishipeshu are a perfect example of Convergent Evolution as despite looking like a species of Feline, and therefore being a Mammal, they are actually a type of Amphibian.
At nearly triple the size of the Chinese Giant Salamander, Mishipeshu are the largest living species of Amphibian.
Like most Amphibians, they go through an aquatic Larval stage( But unlike most Amphibians, they give birth to live young). With them looking like giant Tadpoles that gradually gain more Cat-like features the older they get. This stage can last for up to nine years.
Their teeth begin to develop around two and a half years into their larval stage, they are filter feeders until then, and from then on, Mishipeshu become pack hunters until they reach adulthood. They are the only know species of Amphibian to participate in that behavior.
As the previous fact suggests, adult Mishipeshu are solitary hunters. Usually relying on ambush tactics to capture prey that comes to the water to drink like a Crocodilian would( Another example of Convergent Evolution). However, they are more than capable of swimming after prey or even running it down on land over short distances.
Like the previous fact says, they are capable of chasing their prey on land. But, they can't venture too far away from the water as their skin drys out quickly leading to severe dehydration. Because of this, they rarely venture more than a mile away from the water.
Although they are solitary hunters as adults, they are not very territorial towards each other meaning one body of water can be home to multiple adult Mishipeshu.
After maturing, the vast majority of Mishipeshu will leave the body of water that they were born in and go find another one to live in, this is one of the rare times that they are seen far away from water. To avoid dehydration, they usually do this during times of increased rainfall such as late Spring and early Summer.
Due to the fact that they are only native to the Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada, Mishipeshu were always considered to be a species with a low population, but now Climate Change has decimated them and they are classified as Critically Endangered.
While they don't fully hibernate, they, like many Amphibians, have the ability to go into a state of Brumation for an extended period of time and because their native range has such harsh winters, it's extremely rare to see a Mishipeshu during that time of the year.
Extra Fun Fact: Their association with being guardians of deposits of copper from Native American legends stems from the fact that their native range is full of copper deposits and they are fiercely territorial towards Humans. Leading many People to believe that they were actually protecting the copper deposits.
