Artist rendering
The Dungavenhooter (Crocodilus hauriens) is a fearsome critter from the tales of the lumberjacks from North America in the 19th & early 20th century It lived in Maine and in the upper peninsula of Michigan. It was described as a deadly alligator-like creature that has no mouth, but its nostrils were abnormally large. It also had short legs and a thick powerful tail. It makes no noise except a snort.
It preys on lumberjacks by hiding behind a bush with satanic cunning. When a person stumbles by, the Dungavenhooter leaps out and knocks its prey to the ground with its tail. The Dungavenhooter then jumps up and down on its victim until gases are produced which it inhales through its large nostrils. The Dungavenhooter is now thought to just have been a alligator. Rum-sodden prey are killed with especial eagerness. The Dungavenhooter is also said to not to be confused with the famous New Brunswicker ghost legend, The Dungarvon Whooper.
Further reading
"The Dungavenhooter" from Fearsome Critters (1939) by Henry H. Tryon
