El Chupacabra

Origin and tradition

Chupacabra reports spread from Puerto Rico in the 1990s after animal deaths were attributed to an unknown predator. Early descriptions emphasized a spiny, upright creature; later mainland reports often described a hairless doglike animal. These different images show how a recent legend changes as it travels.

Illustration in this atlas

A bipedal reptilian lizard-dog standing 3 to 4 feet tall, with large crimson alien-like eyes, leather gray skin, and a row of sharp dorsal spikes.

References and further reading

1. britannica.com — chupacabra

These references offer further reading. Accounts and depictions vary; the atlas illustration is interpretive artwork, rather than historical or scientific evidence.