Stronsay Beast
Encyclopedia
Globster
A globster, or blob, is an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water. The term was coined by Ivan T. Sanderson in 1962 to describe the Tasmanian carcass of 1960, which was said to have "no visible eyes, no defined head, and no apparent bone...
that washed ashore on the island of Stronsay
Stronsay
Stronsay is an island in Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland. The main village is Whitehall, home to a heritage centre. It is in size, and at its highest point....
(at the time spelled Stronsa), in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
, after a storm on September 25, 1808. The carcass measured 55 feet in length, but as part of the tail was apparently missing, the animal was actually longer than that (Wernerian Society Notes, 1808–1810, Library, Royal Museum, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
). The Natural History Society (Wernerian Society) of Edinburgh could not identify the carcass and decided it was a new species, probably a sea serpent
Sea serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
. Later the anatomist Sir Everard Home
Everard Home
Sir Everard Home, 1st Baronet FRS was a British physician.Home was born in Kingston-upon-Hull and educated at Westminster School. He gained a schoalrship to Trinity College, Cambridge, but decided instead to become a pupil of his brother-in-law, John Hunter, at St. George's Hospital...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
dismissed the measurement, declaring it must have been around 36 feet, and deemed it to be a decayed basking shark
Basking shark
The basking shark is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally harmless filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations to filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged...
(basking sharks can take on a 'pseudo plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
' appearance during decomposition). In 1849 the Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
professor John Goodsir
John Goodsir
John Goodsir was a Scottish anatomist, born at Anstruther, Fife. He was a pioneer in the study of the cell.- Life :Goodsir was trained in St Andrews and Edinburgh...
in Edinburgh came to the same conclusion. However, the largest reliably recorded basking shark was 40 feet in length, so at 55 feet in length, the Beast of Stronsay still constitutes something of a cryptozoological enigma.
- The Stronsay beast was 55 feet long, as measured by three witnesses (one was a carpenterCarpenterA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and the other two were farmers). - It was 4 feet wide and had a circumferenceCircumferenceThe circumference is the distance around a closed curve. Circumference is a special perimeter.-Circumference of a circle:The circumference of a circle is the length around it....
of approximately 10 feet. - It had three pairs of 'paws' or 'wings'.
- It had skin that was smooth when stroked head to tail and rough when stroked tail to head.
- Its fins were edged with bristleBristleA bristle is a stiff hair or feather. Also used are synthetic materials such as nylon in items such as brooms and sweepers. Bristles are often used to make brushes for cleaning uses, as they are strongly abrasive; common examples include the toothbrush and toilet brush...
s and it had a 'mane' of bristles all down its back. - The bristles glowed in the dark when wet.
- Its stomach contents were red.
Yvonne Simpson, a geneticist from Orkney, has researched the evidence and suggests that the Stronsay Beast may indeed have been an unusually large basking shark
Basking shark
The basking shark is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally harmless filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations to filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged...
, or possibly an unknown species of shark closely related to the basking shark. The drawings of the Stronsay Beast's decayed carcass are strikingly similar in shape and size to the popular image of "Nessie
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
". The monster is described as cartilaginous rather than bony, which would place it as a shark or related animal, and not a plesiosaur or whale. The third pair of appendages could be a male shark's "claspers", but male sharks are generally smaller than the female of the same species. There is also the possibility that the creature may have been an oarfish
Oarfish
Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, pelagic Lampriform fishes comprising the small family Regalecidae. Found in all temperate to tropical oceans yet rarely seen, the oarfish family contains four species in two genera...
which has shown similar disparities.
See also
- Basking sharkBasking sharkThe basking shark is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally harmless filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations to filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged...
- GlobsterGlobsterA globster, or blob, is an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water. The term was coined by Ivan T. Sanderson in 1962 to describe the Tasmanian carcass of 1960, which was said to have "no visible eyes, no defined head, and no apparent bone...
- JiaolongJiaolongJiaolong or jiao is a polysemous aquatic dragon in Chinese mythology. Edward H. Schafer describes the jiao.Spiritually akin to the crocodile, and perhaps originally the same reptile, was a mysterious creature capable of many forms called the chiao . Most often it was regarded as a kind of lung – a...
- List of Scottish loch-monsters
- Loch Ness MonsterLoch Ness MonsterThe Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
- Sea monsterSea monsterSea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...
- Sea serpentSea serpentA sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
- Zuiyō MaruZuiyo MaruThe Zuiyo-maru carcass is a creature initially claimed to be a prehistoric plesiosaur that was caught by the Japanese fishing trawler off the coast of New Zealand in 1977...