Bunyip

The Bunyip is a large creature from Aboriginal mythology. Its favourite habitat is said to be swampy areas such as marshes and riverbeds. Although the history of this creature's mythology dates back a long time, the first proper written accounts on Bunyips were made in the early nineteenth century, when white settlement began to spread across Australia.

Meaning
The word "bunyip" is translated as "evil spirit" by most Aboriginal Australians today. George Angus, in 1847, however, nicknamed the beast "water spirit" in his famed account of a dreadful creature that inhabited the Murray River. Other sources simply say that bunyip is most accurately translated as "devil".

Characteristics
In George Angus's aforementioned account of the bunyip, the man described the creature as resembling a huge starfish. This portrayal is wholly different from that of the "regular bunyip", characterized by a dog-like face, dark fur, flippers, tusks or horns and perhaps a duck-bill.