Mapinguari

Origin and tradition

Indigenous Amazonians tell of a legendary beast whose horrific belly-mouth roars when it scent trails human hunters.

Illustration in this atlas

A shaggy forest giant with one central eye and an additional mouth across its belly. This plate selects a documented folkloric variant; other accounts describe ape-like or sloth-like beings, so these features should not be treated as universal.

References and further reading

1. en.wikipedia.org — Mapinguari
2. fao.org — i2360e.pdf
3. myweb.fsu.edu — FolktalesExcerpts sm.pdf

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