Complex sentence: Hyltén-Cavallius were ridiculed by Swedish scholars, and since nobody ever managed to claim the reward, it not only resulted in a cryptozoological defeat, but also that the rumours about the lindworms as actual animals in Småland rapidly died out (Sjögren, 1980).
Split into simpler sentences: Hyltén-Cavallius was ridiculed by Swedish scholars, and since nobody ever managed to claim the reward, it resulted in a cryptozoological defeat. Rumours about lindworms as actual animals in Småland rapidly died out (Sjögren, 1980).