Water beckons us. It is soothing and seductive...but it's also capable of unleashing deadly force. The mythic creatures that inhabit the depths give form to water's essential mysteries. They arouse feelings of curiosity, hope--and bottomless fear. Like water itself, these creatures can be beautiful and enticing.

We share the land with countless living animals. Some are familiar; others seem quite bizarre. Creatures from the lands of myth can be both recognizable and strange. Sometimes they appear to have body parts from ordinary animals combined in very unusual ways.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to fly? The smallest bird has powers we will never share. But mythic creatures of the air have even greater powers. Imagine a bird so huge it blocks out the sky, or stirs up storms with its wings.

Of all mythic creatures that rise from the water, prowl across land, or fly through the air, the dragon is the most famed. Stories of serpentlike beasts with fabulous powers inspire awe in almost every part of the world.

Mythic Creatures was co-curated by Mark A. Norell, Curator, Division of Paleontology; Laurel Kendall, Curator, Division of Anthropology; and Richard Ellis, Research Associate, Division of Paleontology.

Giant and colossal squids have the largest eyes of any living creature; each eye can be as large as a human head.