Comments on: Emela Ntouka Artwork

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 01:41:12 +0000

Thanks, and it does resemble an Indricothere.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 18:04:14 +0000

Check out the link in one of the comments on the supposed southeast Asian stegosaurid carving, it’s a creationist site, but it does have a picture of the gate in question…

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:10:11 +0000

If the builders of the Ishtar gate had never seen a real Indricothere, they may interpret it differently than a giant rhino with no horn.
Indricotheres had medium length heads, and short hoof-like nails. If they did not know all parts of any Indricotheres seen, they may put in parts of known animals to fill in gaps.

Could someone post a link to a picture of the Ishtar gate animal?

By: U.T. Raptor

U.T. Raptor — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 04:31:47 +0000

The beast on the Ishtar gate is likely mythological (notice the snake head, cat paws, and eagle talons, which is an impossible combination for a real animal) or an attempt to represent something known at best from secondhand accounts (you can see this kind of thing in medeival bestiaries as well).

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 03:13:00 +0000

I have to agree. Indricotheres were a giraffe-like species of rhino that did not have a horn. It was the largest land mammal ever, and certainly may be able to swim. As for the rhino theory for Emela Ntouka, I think it is possible, but the tail that Emela Ntouka has is way to long, and also too thick.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:46:12 +0000

An Indricotherium would also seem to be a better match, morphologically, for the creature depicted on the Ishtar Gate in Babylon. I know it has since been translated differently, but I believe most people still know it as the sirrush. The scale motif has always struck me as ornamental (Not that I’ve ever seen a Dinosaur depicted with scales anyway).

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:35:47 +0000

I’ve always considered the Emela Ntouka a likely form of rhinoceros as well, based on available information. Oddly, I’ve never seen any alternative proposals for Mokele M’Bembe other than that of a Sauropod, which, although I’d love for it to be, seems rather improbable. My thought, and maybe someone else has beaten me to it, I don’t know, is that perhaps it is a survival of Indricotherium or something similar. has anyone ever offered a picture of one of them amongst those of dinosaurs shown to the natives?

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:23:41 +0000

Looks to me like a ceratopid, the “ears”, are the vestigial frill, and the rest just falls into place.

By: Neila

Neila — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:53:54 +0000

This looks like an example of the chimera phenomenon due to the amalgamation of different animal characteristics that are easily identifiable, such as the rhino horn, elephant ears, elephant body, and crocodilian-like tail. I don’t think it is uncommon for cultures that revere and/or fear certain animals to begin combining animal features into mythological creations that serve either as totems or bogeymen; as an example the gryphon, sphinx, and pegasus. I’m no anthropologist, though. I’m just tossing this out there as a point-of-origin hypothesis.