Cryptids

Cryptids are the main enemy of the Extinction game mode in Call of Duty: Ghosts. They were unearthed in Colorado following the events of Ghost Stories.

Origin
The Cryptids originated before the dinosaurs, when the earth was a huge planet of gas and fumes. Skies were stained black from countless volcano eruptions. Sometime later, a comet ignited the oxygen from the atmosphere, causing a devastating fire storm that incinerated all life on the surface of the earth. The Cryptids foresaw this catastrophe, and devised an ark to insure their survival of the ancient apocalypse in a underground cave area under Colorado. It was only after an ODIN Strike, due to the Federation taking control of the orbital weapon, that the cave was unearthed. Now free, the Cryptids swarmed the surrounding area, killing everything in their path.

Known Types of Cryptids

 * Scouts are mere cannon fodder and are the smallest and weakest species of the Cryptids. They prance on four legs and attack the player and the drill.
 * Scorpions are an odd species within the Cryptids, as they pose very little similarity to the rest of the species. Scorpions are large aliens who use their large tails to shoot a powerful, noxious green gas that can choke and poison the player within a small area.
 * Hunters are essentially evolved Scouts, sharing a very similar body shape, albeit three times larger. They can run on two legs in a charge or they can run on all four. They have the most amount of health, save for the Rhinos, and can inflict massive damage toward the player and the drill if not dealt with immediately.
 * Seekers are another odd species as they are a small, sphere-shaped alien that are able to self-destruct. Seekers will always appear from a fallen meteorite and will immediately begin to seek out the player and drill in the hopes of inflicting damage.
 * Rhinos are an extremely powerful and evolved Cryptid that can prove to be a great challenge. The Rhino has an armored hide that makes it resiliant to gunfire. Rhinos are known to run on their hind legs and fists in order to catch the player. They are able to charge at the player and slam the area near them to try and inflict shock damage.
 * Lepers are a unique and rare evolution of the Hunter. The Leper is unique as it is the only cryptid that intentionally runs away from the player. The Leper will only spawn when the "Find and kill the Leper in 30 seconds" challenge has begun.
 * Phantoms are a breed of cryptids introduced in Nightfall. Phantoms are the next step in evolution for the Hunters. This allows the Phantom to become stronger and gives it the unique ablity of turning invisible when it jumps.
 * Breeders are a dangerous breed of Cryptid introduced in Nightfall. The Breeder is a large, spider-like creature that easily towers over the player. The Breeder posseses several different attacks. It can use its razor sharp claws to try and kill the player and can also shoot a gas similar to that of the Scorpion. The Breeder posseses a unique machine gun attack that can damage and kill a player very quickly. Like its name suggests, the Breeder can lay eggs that will spawn more Cryptids. So far, the Breeder is the first and only Cryptid with its own health bar.
 * Seeders are a breed of cryptid introduced in Mayday. Seeders have the ability to shoot toxic gas clouds like the Scorpians, but also can shoot out pods that grow into mutated plants. These plants will act like turrets. These plants can be killed or kept from growing if the pod they spwan from is destroyed. Seeders are the only cryptid encountered to walk across ceilings
 * Krakens are a dangerous breed of cryptid. The Kraken gets its name from the famous fokelore of a huge sea monster, referred to as a Kraken. The Kraken was seen at the end of Nightfall's epilouge teasing the next map. The Kraken is bay far the largest cryptid encountered in the game thus far. It is the only cryptid that is water based, but there were smaller, squid-like cryptids seen in Nightfalls epilouge that have not been seen in Mayday's trailer or mentioned by the Infinity Ward staff. The Karken is expected to be the boss of Mayday, just like the Breeder was in Nightfall.

Additional Cryptid species
After the standard Cryptid sub species are the hives. The hives are a fungal conglomeration that reach deep into the earth's core to tap into the rich geothermal energy which they use over a source of light. The hives have the ability to rapidly regenerate lost cells, making destroying them nearly impossible without the use of Laser Drills. By releasing pheromones in order to communicate with the Cryptids, they in turn protect the hives.

Seeders have the ability to produce pods that, if not destroyed in time, grow into dangerous plants. These plants shoot projectiles that can damage the player significantly if directly hit. These plants can be killed directly or killed by destroying the pods before the grow into the plants