Every year, on shorelines all over the world, many people discover numerous things that have washed up from the great leagues of the deep.
The St. Augustine Monster is an example of a mysterious "cryptid" that has divided Zoology and, for a time, mystified the world.
The St. Augustine Monster is an example of a mysterious "cryptid" that has divided Zoology and, for a time, mystified the world.
In the Deep
The vast and deep seas have and will always fascinate Man. Stories of sea monsters have been shared and passed down for many generations, and become parts of many of the myths and legends in numerous cultures, scaring many of the people who stayed on land. Some of the most exotic and mysterious leviathans that swim in its dark and mysterious depths are yet to be discovered by Science, and every so often the ocean will tease us by unveiling and depositing mysterious remains for us to view that create intrigue, speculation and wonder within the scientific community.
Whether its the remains of long submerged vessels, human skeletal parts or trinkets from pirate bounty, there has been and will always be things that find their way onto our shores, having travelled many miles to be found, studied and classified by science, historians or mystery enthusiasts.
Whether its the remains of long submerged vessels, human skeletal parts or trinkets from pirate bounty, there has been and will always be things that find their way onto our shores, having travelled many miles to be found, studied and classified by science, historians or mystery enthusiasts.
The St. Augustine Monster
The blob like "monster" One of the most enigmatic "deposits" was discovered by two boys in late 1896 on a beach near St. Augustine, Florida. The carcass was half buried in the sand, having sunk due to its large size, and was initially thought by the boys to have been the remains of a beached whale. It is known as the "St. Augustine Monster", and is an early example of what cryptozoologist and paranormal writer Ivan T. Sanderson would term a "globster", or an unidentified organic mass that may wash up on the shore of any body of water.
The two boys told a local physician of their discovery and he, Dr. DeWitt Webb, examined the carcass the following day. He noted that it was of a pale pinkish colour, almost white and had a silvery reflection in the sunlight. He deducted that its was a very mutilated and rapidly decomposing animal, speculating it was an abnormally large octopus, as it appeared to have had visible stumps of possibly four tentacles. He estimated it weighed at least five tons, it was nearly six metres long and about two-and-a-half metres wide.
A few days later the remains were photographed, however they were never published and considered lost for many years. Drawings of the mass inspired by the pictures, made by zoologist, author and explorer Alpheus Hyatt Verrill, were for many years the only known records of the find until they were discovered in 1993.
The two boys told a local physician of their discovery and he, Dr. DeWitt Webb, examined the carcass the following day. He noted that it was of a pale pinkish colour, almost white and had a silvery reflection in the sunlight. He deducted that its was a very mutilated and rapidly decomposing animal, speculating it was an abnormally large octopus, as it appeared to have had visible stumps of possibly four tentacles. He estimated it weighed at least five tons, it was nearly six metres long and about two-and-a-half metres wide.
A few days later the remains were photographed, however they were never published and considered lost for many years. Drawings of the mass inspired by the pictures, made by zoologist, author and explorer Alpheus Hyatt Verrill, were for many years the only known records of the find until they were discovered in 1993.
Webb with the remains. Webb sent photographs and a description of the carcass to a noted zoologist at Harvard University, but Addison Emery Verrill, a professor at Yale became intrigued with the discovery. Verrill was at that time the leading expert on cephalopods, and first speculated that the "monster" was the remains of a Architeuthis Dux (Giant Squid). However, he soon changed his mind and named the creature Octopus giganteus, claiming it was a larger and yet unknown class of octopi.
The carcass was moved further inland closer to St. Augustine after a storm tide had dragged it out to sea, it having washed ashore again soon after near its original location. It attracted a lot of tourists to the area, but the fate of the carcass remains unknown.
Verrill soon after announced the "blob" was nothing more than the upper remains of a sperm whale, and it is here that the great debate, and divide, in the zoology community began in regards to the identity of the "monster". Samples of the carcass still survive today, and over the years a number of biologists and cryptozoologists have, since the 1970's, analysed the samples using the technology available at the time and in most cases the findings support the Octopus giganteus conclusion. However, as of recent times, biologists have claimed its nothing more than whale blubber, tissue comprised mainly of collagen.
The carcass was moved further inland closer to St. Augustine after a storm tide had dragged it out to sea, it having washed ashore again soon after near its original location. It attracted a lot of tourists to the area, but the fate of the carcass remains unknown.
Verrill soon after announced the "blob" was nothing more than the upper remains of a sperm whale, and it is here that the great debate, and divide, in the zoology community began in regards to the identity of the "monster". Samples of the carcass still survive today, and over the years a number of biologists and cryptozoologists have, since the 1970's, analysed the samples using the technology available at the time and in most cases the findings support the Octopus giganteus conclusion. However, as of recent times, biologists have claimed its nothing more than whale blubber, tissue comprised mainly of collagen.
Decomposing Whale Matter
Dr DeWitt Webb. Many cryptozoologists (and some zoologists!) still maintain to this day that the carcass was of a gigantic-sized octopus, and that the original findings were correct. Many zoologists and biologists will happily concede the possibility of massive cephalopods existing, but maintain that this "blob", as well as others that have been found all over the world, are nothing more than deposits of whale blubber.
Many cryptozoologists maintain the evidence supports the existence of legendary creatures like the Lusca, a massive octopus or octopi said to inhabit blow-holes near an island in the Bahamas.
Science may tell us the St. Augustine Monster was nothing more than decomposing whale matter, but many still believe that it was proof of huge sea monsters, washed ashore to remind us humans once again the sea has many mysteries and horrors waiting to be discovered.
Many cryptozoologists maintain the evidence supports the existence of legendary creatures like the Lusca, a massive octopus or octopi said to inhabit blow-holes near an island in the Bahamas.
Science may tell us the St. Augustine Monster was nothing more than decomposing whale matter, but many still believe that it was proof of huge sea monsters, washed ashore to remind us humans once again the sea has many mysteries and horrors waiting to be discovered.
Matty Sweeney 2014
Put together by Ashley Hall 2014
Put together by Ashley Hall 2014
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