the study of evidence tending to substantiate the existence of, or the search for, creatures whose reported existence is unproved, as the Abominable Snowman or the Loch Ness monster.
crypto- + zoology
cryp′to•zo•ol′o•gist, n. cryp•to•zo•o•log•i•cal(krip′tō zō′ə loj′i kəl),USA pronunciationadj.