Kalmykian Exploding Snake/Kalmykia’s Exploding Worm/Short Grey Snake/Exploding Enigma

The Kalmykian Exploding Snake is an extremely obscure cryptid. This creature is briefly mentioned in the book The Beasts That Hide From Man by Karl Shuker in a section talking about the Mongolian Death Worm. The account of this creature comes from a letter written to a cryptozoologist named Michel Raynal, from another cryptozoologist named Dr. Marie-Jeanne Koffmann on January 6, 1997. The accounts themselves were lost when Dr. Koffmann’s office was robbed. It’s described as a short grey snake, roughly 50 centimeters (20 inches) long and 15-20 centimeters (6-8 inches) in diameter. It has smooth skin, is rounded at the front of its body, and has a very short tail that ends abruptly. They usually have no visible facial features, except for a smaller variation that has a clear mouth. Despite being described as a snake, it supposedly has no bones, leading to some speculation it could be some kind of vermiform. It lives in the steppes and dunes in the deserts of Kalmykia and moves around like a worm. According to those who’ve seen this thing, striking its center with enough force causes it to burst into a puddle of slime over a meter in diameter. As bizarre as this creature is, there’s no clear indicator as to whether this creature is actually dangerous.

Citations:

Eberhart, George M.. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. United Kingdom, ABC-CLIO, 2002.

Shuker, Karl. The Beasts That Hide from Man: Seeking the World’s Last Undiscovered Animals. United States, Paraview Press, 2014.