Myths in Paleontology

As a paleontology major, the first "myth sightings" I came across are in my own field.  Many ancient animals are named for mythic figures that reminded the scientists of the animals they discovered.  Perhaps the most famous is the gigantic long-necked dinosaur Sauroposeidon, meaning "Lizard of Poseidon".  Poseidon was the Greek god of earthquakes, and Sauroposeidon, some 108 feet long and weighing about 85 tons surely lived up to its namesake.
Other names I have come across that allude to mythology include the indricothere, a giant prehistoic rhinoceros named for the Russian monster Indrik; Quetzalcoatlus, the largest of the pterodactyls, which was named for Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec god; Minotaurosaurus, an armored dinosaur with unusually long horns; Achelousaurus, a horned dinosaur with a bony mass on its face rather than the long horns known on its relatives, which remined the paleontologist who named it of a Greek figure who's horn was broken by Hercules; and the prehistoric sperm whale Livyatan, meaning "Leviathan", a monster mentioned in the Book of Job in the Old Testament.  This simply goes to show that myth affects science and is present in places one would least expect it.