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Cryptid: A Fictional Novel Regarding The Continued Existence of Gigantopithecus

May 23, 2014, 7:26 pm
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Cryptid chronicles an epic tale based off of the hypothesis that Gigantopithecus are still alive and well among the wildernesses of North America (illustration by Thomas Finley).
I recently received an email from author Eric Penz regarding the possibility of my promoting his new novel and short film called Cryptid. While I usually do not use this blog as a platform for fictional works, the context of Cryptid is quite enthralling to me. As you most likely know if you have been following my writing, physical anthropologist Dr. Grover Krantz spent much of his professional career supporting and expanding upon the hypothesis that relict members of Gigantopithecus exist in the modern day forests of North America. It has been postulated that these Asian apes may have made their way into North America via a continuous span of deciduous and coniferous forests which formed a land bridge between northeast Asia and the Pacific Northwest of America. Dr. Krantz made the proposition that the jaws of Gigantopithecus exhibit a configuration and a relationship to the neck which indicate an upright stance, although several other scientists consider this inference to be
questionable. Other features cited as possible indicators of bipedalism for these apes include their apparent covalent evolution to Asian hominins, the likelihood of these apes being fully terrestrial, and the shearing forces which these giant apes would have likely had on their clavicle if they had a quadrupedal locomotion. Dr. Krantz was arguably most significant in developing the relict Gigantopithecus hypothesis, and proponents of the possibility of the idea continue to live on today, from Dr. John Bindernagel to yours truly. Such hypotheses have surely inspired Eric Penz in his writing of Cryptid, and reviews of the book state that he has created a believable, scientifically founded account of the evolution and migration of "Gigantopithecus americanus" (as he has dubbed it).


The blurb of this book helps to reveal how absolutely thought-provoking this plot is; it has been reproduced below.

Something haunts the woods of Olympic National Park, a nightmare in hiding. Its existence has been kept secret by a conspiracy that stretches back to President Thomas Jefferson and the Lewis & Clark expedition. The truth that we have not been alone on this earth would have forever been lost except that some species just won’t die. Dr. Samantha Russell has spent her career seeking for truth in the only way she knows how, on her hands and knees, painstakingly digging it up from the crust of the earth. When the truth arrives by way of FedEx, she cannot help but see it as nothing more than another scientific hoax, especially considering the source. Dr. Jon Ostman has practically been excommunicated by the scientific community for his interest in such subjects as the American Sasquatch. Suffering from her father's tragic sense of curiosity, though, Sam can't resist the question begged by the bones contained in the wooden crate. How could they be bones and not fossils since Gigantopithecus had been extinct for 125,000 years? Driven to know the answer, Sam delays going to her father on his deathbed and instead pursues Jon to a remote corner of Washington state where he is about to make the greatest discovery involving the origins of the human species, a discovery Lewis and Clark may have already made two hundred years earlier. However, Sam is not the only one pursuing Jon, for one of our nation's first secrets is still being kept by all means necessary. And if they do survive the centuries-old conspiracy, they will not only rewrite American history, but they will prove that we are not the only intelligent, bipedal primate to survive extinction.

As you can undoubtedly infer, such a storyline is sure to make for a riveting novel. However, as mentioned at the start of this post, there is more to this gripping literary legacy. Eric Penz has also been hard at work producing a short film project based on Cryptid. Links to YouTube videos containing excerpts from the phenomonal-looking film are posted below, and I encourage you to give them a look.


If my brief coverage of Cryptid was not enough to entice you into perusing the purchasing options for this novel, I encourage you to go to Eric Penz's website for the book. Penz's publication shows all signs of being an unprecedented piece of cryptozoological fiction, and it may just well predict one of the most momentous zoological discoveries in some of its elements.
Are relict Gigantopithecus individuals extant in North American wildernesses? Some will emphatically deny the possibility, while others entertain the hypothesis on the basis of evidence suggesting the presence of an unknown species of bipedal primate with cranial adaptations to durophagy (consuming tough foods). 
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Analysis of the Paula Schuman Picture: Profile of A Loch Ness Mystery Animal?

May 29, 2014, 6:27 pm
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While the search for the alleged unknown animals of Loch Ness has lasted for multiple years, a small amount of potential data has surfaced to the public eye in more recent times. Some consider the Paula Schuman image to be evidence for the animals' existence into the 21st century. (Artwork is by Thomas Finley)
While I have hinted at several articles in the works for this blog, I have not been able to complete them at the current time. This is due to the several other activities which I have going on in my everyday life; activities which are of far more importance than publishing for this blog. I have recently succeeded in being hired at the local zoo and, while I consider this to be a dream job finally obtained, it is yet another form of aforementioned activity. But thus is the busyness of life, and I will continue to publish here when time allows. So please bear with me and continue to peruse here even though posts will be few and far between for quite some time. To help fill in one of these gaps, I have decided to post an article by Scott Mardis which he recently shared with me. This superb write-up comments on an image taken by Paula Schuman via a Loch Ness online underwater camera. Ms. Schuman reported that the "animal" appeared to be feeding on something and was hiding behind a pillar. While there are those who have noticed its similarity to the frontal view of a Cryptoclidus skull, others have suggested that the object is simply weeds or a trout. I am currently unable to come to any solid inference myself, but I have also written some brief observations below the text of his article.

This is a guest post by Scott Mardis. Scott has been an active field investigator of the Lake Champlain “Monster” since 1992. He is a former sustaining member of the defunct International Society of Cryptozoology and a former volunteer worker in the Vertebrate Paleontology Dept. of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (1990-1992). He co-authored a scientific abstract about the Lake Champlain hydrophone sounds for the Acoustical Society of America in 2010. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida



Paula Schuman’s 2002 "Nessie" Photo: What Is It? 
By Scott Mardis

Between 1999 and 2003, the website Scotland Online maintained video cameras (both underwater and on the shore) with live streaming video at Loch Ness. Several claimed sightings and video captures of alleged Nessies from these cameras occurred during this period. In 2003, for reasons unclear, the plug was pulled on these cameras. A petition to get these cameras restored is online at this address. Limited space here prevents a thorough review of all the webcam images but we will address one of the more intriguing ones, the Paula Schuman image of 2002. The back story is somewhat mysterious but two old webpages provide a little information: here and here. My efforts to track down Paula Schuman for further info have so far been fruitless. With so little information to go on, we should be cautious in readily accepting this photo as evidence for an unknown animal in Loch Ness. Does it look like a Nessie? Does it look like a plesiosaur? Why, yes it does, strikingly some might say. Below is a montage comparing Schuman’s image with an actual fossil of the Jurassic plesiosaur Cryptocleidus oxoniensis. The lower right image is the Schuman image overlayed on the Cryptocleidus skull.
The object in Schuman’s picture also resembles the "muppet face" Nessie in Anthony Shiel’s infamous 1977 Loch Ness photos. The photos are generally thought to be an audacious hoax (probably a clever painting on a sheet of glass) and Shiel’s statements concerning them over the years have done nothing to enhance their credibility as evidence.
However, Schuman’s picture also resembles objects in stills from John Gillie’s 2002 Loch Ness video, for which no hoax allegations have been made.
The background visible in Schuman’s picture is consistent with the back ground of other images filmed with the Scotland Online underwater camera that was located at the end of Temple Pier, Urquhart Bay, Loch Ness, described by long-time Loch Ness researcher Dick Raynor at this link.
It is difficult to scale the object but it is conceivable that it could be a small aquatic animal such as an eel, a fish, a newt or a toad. Or even a baby plesiosaur.
It is what it is, whatever the hell that may be. Realistically, there is not enough space here to discuss all of the potential interpretations, either exotic or mundane.

My brief comments regarding the content of Scott's article are as follows. While the image at the top right in the underwater camera image compilation bears slight similarity to the apparent "snout" on the object in the Rines "head and neck" photograph of 1975, I see no reason to interpret the other images (with the exception of the Schuman picture) as actual animals. It is worth noting that similar facial profiles have been described for some reported "sea serpents". If the mystery animals of Loch Ness are long-necked "sea serpents" which are making occasional visits to the loch, as hypothesized by researchers such as Dale Drinnon, myself, and a recent proponent who has written an excellent article on the matter, then it would be expected that anecdotal and/or photographic data from the two environments would be of a similar nature. Two unidentified marine animal reports which entail a facial profile similar to that apparent in the Paula Schuman image are the accounts by the Groves family and Joan Borgeest (which I have written about before). As a rehash of the details behind these reports, I have reproduced my summarization of them below (based off of the accounts found in Heuvelmans'In The Wake of The Sea-Serpents).

"While the allegedly unknown animal seen off the Isle of Man by Major W. Peer Groves, his wife, and their children in 1928 could be initially dismissed as a mangled recounting of a known pinniped, it is worth noting that Michael (Grove's son who shared details of their encounter with Bernard Heuvelmans) was an oft traveler and was knowledgeable in zoology. The observation also apparently took place at a fairly close range and lasted for a lengthy period of time. Michael drew Heuvelmans a sketch of the witnessed animal which had a distinctly diamond-shaped head, large eyes which were described as gentle-looking, a wide mouth, a cylindrical neck, and sparse long whiskers. The account which Major Groves originally gave to the Daily Mail in 1933 included features such as the head being about as large as that of a bull with a long snout similar to that of a dog. The "sea serpent" reportedly seen by Joan Borgeest while she was on the coast of Easington, England around 1938 has a striking similarity to the Isle of Mann animal, although it does seem to have displayed some more reptilian characteristics. The animal was described as having a green colored body, a rather flat head, large protruding eyes, a mouth which opened and shut as it breathed, and movement through a 'humped glide'. It was approximately 100 yards away from Mrs. Borgeest and dived once she called out to other people nearby."
Image Source
Image Source
There are two eyewitness accounts from British Columbia which I have found to bear similarities to the apparent facial profile of the Schuman image, as well. I have reproduced the eyewitness sketches and accompanying details of these sightings from the CaddyScan website below.
Image Source
Image Source
Regardless of compelling similarities, Occam's Razor would suggest that the best identity which can be inferred from the ambiguous image is that of a small animal such as a newt or eel. This seems especially probable considering the shallow depth which the camera apparently resided in. However, as hinted at by Scott Mardis, further data suggesting a large animal with such an appearance in Loch Ness could lead towards strengthening the possibility of it being something along the lines of the long-necked "sea serpents" and "lake monsters" reported across the world.
Comparison of the Paula Schuman image to various newt profiles, by Scott Mardis. I feel that the object in the web cam image is most likely such an amphibian, or some other small animal.
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Data From Great White Shark Tag Causes Rampant Speculation

June 6, 2014, 6:48 pm
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Mysterious shark deaths do not necessarily indicate the presence of a massive, unknown marine predator. There are other, more mundane explanations. (Artwork by Thomas Finley)
I have been short on time lately due to the ending of the school year, but an oft-posted news item has caught my attention. Australian scientists recently reported that a tracking tag which they placed on a nine foot great white shark washed ashore with some "weird data". The tag recorded a rapid temperature rise and a sudden dive to depths of 1,900 feet. The device stayed in this state for quite some time, although occasionally fluctuating in depth, leading scientists to allegedly suspect that a predator had eaten the shark. As could surely have been expected due to the effect of mockumentaries from Animal Planet and Discovery Channel, people have started speculating in unfounded and unlikely directions. Rather than some kind of unknown apex predator, the shark in question may have been consumed or partially eaten by an orca, sperm whale, or even a larger shark. Or, as I suspect, the tag may have been brought into greater depths by scavengers. Either way, the speculation which has been rapidly occurring is unnecessary. As much as I'd like this to be evidence for the presence of some sort of macropredatory 'sea serpent', such as a giant abyssal pinniped or relict pliosaur if you want me to follow the current status-quo of rampant speculation, I feel that there are much simpler and more plausible explanations.

Update:
As was expected, it seems that the shark's predator has been identified as a larger shark. So much for all of the premature and wild speculation. Thanks to cryptozoological researcher Dale Drinnon, who has refrained from any sort of irregular speculation as a proper investigator of unverified animals should, for bringing this to my attention.
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An Alleged Florida 'Sea Monster' Video And A Review of Sunshine State Reports

June 12, 2014, 11:41 am
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Alleged 'sea serpent' evidence rarely makes it into the attention of the general public, but when it does, I scrutinize it in light of my extensive research. (Artwork by Thomas Finley which, interestingly, bears some resemblances to reports described in this article)
A YouTube video alleging to show a 'Loch Ness monster'-like animal in the shallow bay area of Sanibel Island, Florida has been making the rounds lately and puzzling those who have seen it. According to the individual who posted the footage, he was on a fishing boat with his fiancé when they witnesses what looked almost like a bus speeding through the water. Although they originally suspected it to be a manatee, it is stated in the video's description that the animal had a head which "resembled a sea otter" and a body which "looked like a giant 20 foot plus snake". Its length and width was likened to "a cement utility poll laying down horizontally". This video is quite ambiguous owing to its poor quality, thus the reason why viewers have been without a certain explanation for the animal's identity, but I have shared it below for readers to examine.
Supporting the idea of an unknown species of large marine animal visiting the waters off Florida is the fact that 'sea serpents' have been reported in this region before. I have attempted to compile every alleged sighting of a 'sea serpent' from The Sunshine State which I can locate with the resources available to me. While these may not bear any true relevance to the video in question, they are still interesting pieces of data which must be considered in regard to the aforementioned proposition. Two navy men stationed at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station reportedly observed a long-necked animal with 'antennae' atop a head similar to that of a dog.1 Two fishermen reported a similar animal on a separate occasion, reflecting some of the 'cadborosaurus' reports from British Columbia.1 In 1885, former President of the Humane Society Mr. Gordon reportedly observed a forty-two foot long carcass of an unknown nature in the New River Inlet. The animal carcass was missing a head and possessed a rather slender neck, two fore-flippers, a tail of great length, and protruding intestines and vertebrae.2 Like so many before and after it, the enigmatic carcass was lost after a storm washed it back into the sea.2 While some researchers had considered this to be the most likely genuine 'sea serpent' carcass, Bernard Heuvelmans suggested a decomposed whale shark turned 'pseudoplesiosaur', an idea owing to the rarity of basking sharks off Florida.2 Charles M. Blackford III related several reports of strange marine animals from his former shipmates in the merchant navy to cryptozoological researcher Ivan Sanderson, one of which involved a sighting occurring between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.2 The several members of the crew aboard the Craigsmere described seeing, in July of 1920, an animal which was "long with dorsal fins somewhat like a porpoise, only several in number" and possessed a head which was "some distance ahead of the body and submerged".2 While Heuvelmans likened this report to'sea serpents' with multiple lateral fins and round heads described elsewhere2, it sounds like a mistaken observation of dolphins to me. In March of 1943, former U.S. Marine Thomas Helm and his wife encountered an alleged 'sea serpent' while sailing in St. Andrew's Bay.2 When the animal was almost beside their boat, it turned its head and startled the couple with its peculiar appearance unlike that of an otter or seal.2 They reported the animal as having a basketball-sized head like "that of a monstrous cat" atop an approximately four foot long neck.2 It was covered with wet fur which was "uniformly a rich chocolate brown", and had glistening black eyes which were well-defined and about the size of a silver dollar.2 The animal appeared to have "a flattened black nose" and "a mustache of stiff black hairs with a downward curve on each side".2 Helm concluded his report by stating that "a great dragonlike head with tooth-studded jaws would be much easier to explain away than a catlike head as large as that of a Bengal tiger."2 As could be expected, his detailed and trustworthy report has continued to compel yet puzzle cryptozoological researchers to this day. However, Dale Drinnon has made the suggestion that Helm and his wife may have observed a female elephant seal, pointing out that "in some positions an elephant seal's neck could well look four feet long, especially if the fore flippers were held tight to the sides, and the neck would have a 'waisted' appearance behind the head, more narrow than the head."3 Arguably the most striking 'sea serpent' report from Florida (perhaps that of all the recorded anecdotes) is the alleged Penascola incident. On March 24, 1962, Edward McCleary and his skin-diving companions were supposedly the prey of a long-necked 'sea serpent' after attempting to dive to a shipwreck.2 The five teenagers were lost in the fog on a rubber raft when they suddenly heard a loud hissing sound and smelled a foul odor (a feature which has been reported at other locations like Lake Champlain, as researcher Chuck Pogan would surely point out).2 After a ten foot pole-like object which was described as leading up to a head like that of a turtle could be seen coming towards their raft, the divers panicked and went into the water.2 McCleary was apparently the only survivor to return, having spent the remainder of the night on the raft's wreckage.2 According to those who claim to have contact with him, he suffers from extreme 'survivor's guilt' to this day.1 Such an astonishing story and the unlikely conditions involved in it have led some researchers such as Heuvelmans to consider the report to be a probable hoax, although others continue to look into the case. I have received permission to make a subtle fedora tip to an ongoing project by cryptozoological researchers Scott Mardis and Lawrence DeMeza which will involve documenting the Penascola case in an unprecedented format. Possibly supporting McCleary's claims is the fact that a minister and five construction workers also claim to have seen a marine animal off Florida with a similar appearance to that described by him.1 Alleged Florida 'sea monster' footage taken by Gene Sowerwine caused much excitement when it was revealed on an episode of MonsterQuest in 2007, but it was later found to show a manatee with an injured tail and a wayward bearded seal.1 Lastly, it is worth noting that unidentified animals have been reported in Normandy (Dale Drinnon thinks that reports from this location are probably based off of large elephant seals), Lake Powell, and Lake Tarpon, but there are no specific reports which I feel are of importance to reproduce here.
A rendition of the New River Inlet carcass, by the superb artist Tim Morris, based off of Mr. Gordon's description and sketch.

















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Compilation of images related to the alleged Penascola incident from Scott Mardis: McCleary's sketch, a map showing the location of the supposed occurrence, and the cover of the Fate magazine originally featuring the report.
While compelling reports, sometimes made by trained observers, certainly raise the possibility of an unknown form of marine animal occasionally inhabiting the waters off Florida, the video in question is not irrefutable evidence for this prospect. From initially viewing the footage, I had inferred that a large marine mammal of some form may have been shown. I suspected a small to medium-sized whale or perhaps a manatee: a null hypothesis which has been repeated by those who I have discussed the video with. However, owing to its ambiguity, we are in no way claiming that these are the only explanations. Biological researcher Cameron McCormick made the conjecture that a manatee was filmed, on account of the apparent rounded flukes. Cryptozoological researchers Scott Mardis and Dale Drinnon suspect that it may have been a small whale, although Dale also wonders if the animal was a large seal. Although I do not wish to accuse possibly-honest witnesses of exaggerating encounters with known marine animals in order to advertise a good or service, it should be noted that a link to Boka's Bike Creation, Rental, and Repair Studio is included in the video's description. This, along with the dramatic video title, leads me to feel some suspicion. Thus, I feel that it was most likely a case of someone trying to gain business leads through alleging ambiguous footage of a known marine mammal to show a 'Loch Ness monster'-like animal. While it is extremely unfortunate that such things happen, it is important that critical minded researchers weed through such material in order to determine if there is any true substance behind cryptozoological allegations. But perhaps it was an honest case of misidentification or the couple behind the video truly were unable to identify the animal: I invite them to contact me if this was the case. In the end, as with a lot of alleged cryptozoological evidence, this video alone is not definitive evidence for anything unknown and will simply remain as an ambiguity in some peoples' minds unless further data supporting it arises.


References:
  1. Marlowe, Scott. The Cryptid Creatures of Florida. Great Britain: CFZ, 2011. Print.
  2. Heuvelmans, Bernard, Richard Garnett, and Alika Watteau. In the Wake of the Sea-serpents. New York: Hill and Wang, 1968. Print.
  3. Drinnon, Dale A. "Mediterranean Merhorse."Frontiers of Zoology. N.p., 8 July 2013. Web. 11 June 2014. http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2013/07/mediterranean-merhorse.html.
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The Return of Summer And Some Significant Updates

June 12, 2014, 7:45 pm
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This incredibly large Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) serves as a canon example of some of the bizarre zoological discoveries and hypotheses which are covered on this blog. (Image is from Scott Mardis; original source unknown)

This post serves as a notice regarding the end of the school year and start of my summer vacation. As a result of this change, I will have an increased amount of time available to work on and publish articles for this blog. So please be so kind as to continue to check back here for new articles, as I greatly appreciate your support.
I have updated several articles over the past months, reflecting my amending of previous hypotheses during ongoing research but also my noticing past mistakes in grammar. A list of the significantly updated articles is below, with links to them embedded.

Strangeness of the Stink Badger
Bizarre Hypotheses and Evidence for Bigfoot Juveniles
A Submarine Pilot's Alleged Plesiosaur Sighting
Comparisons Between "Sea Serpents" and Mammal Anatomy
Sasquatch Sketches and the Paranthropus Hypothesis
Scott Mardis' Plesiosaur Paradigm And Some "Horned""Sea Serpents"
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The Zombie Plesiosaur Society

June 16, 2014, 11:28 am
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Graphic made by Lawrence DeMeza
If you have checked the "Pages" sidebar at this blog recently, you will have noticed that there is a new addition. This is an embedded link to a new Facebook group created by cryptozoological researcher Scott Mardis, dubbed The Zombie Plesiosaur Society. It includes regular discussion of alleged evidence for 'lake monsters' and 'sea serpents', posts on science and critical thinking in 'aquatic cryptozoology', information on the latest discoveries regarding the biology and behavior of Mesozoic marine reptiles, and abundant files containing related scientific literature. It is an undoubtedly unique group, and thus I invite you to join here if you are on Facebook.
Here are some of the latest posts at The Zombie Plesiosaur Society (please note that I do not necessarily support the views expressed in this content):

From Dale Drinnon: "On the Plesiosaur Reconstructions pdf I was really impressed that some of the specifics for surface behavior were similar between the Cryptoclidus types (B in the first illustration) and the modern reports."

Horned 'lake monsters' with an interpretive sketch (middle right) from Scott Mardis.







Andres Salvador: "Nothosaur foraging tracks from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140611/ncomms4973/full/ncomms4973.html"

From Scott Mardis: "Pete Bodette's 'monster' (upper left) compared with various Champlain fishes: northern pike (upper right), bowfin (lower right) and sturgeons (lower left)."

Quote on skepticism from this source.

Data on oceanic exploration from this source.
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On The Matter of Alleged Civil War Pterosaur Photographs And Modern Day Reports

June 21, 2014, 8:45 pm
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Illustration by Thomas Finley depicting the form of animal which he feels may be behind reports of mystery bat-like animals in Africa and the Americas. If such reports are to be taken as accurate observations, I would opt for such a form of unknown/out of place bat, as well. In regard to the question of alleged living pterosaurs, I would suggest that a similar identity may also be in place for some cases. More on this later in the article.
Although it is common knowledge among serious cryptozoological researchers that such images are mere hoaxes, photographs alleging to portray the bodies of relict pterosaurs surrounded by soldiers or hunters have been circulating on the Internet once again. These images often come in compilations such as the one which was featured on the They Live Among Us Facebook page. As it appears that my leaving of comments has still not helped to hinder such innocent misinformation, I thought that it would be best to address these photographs here.
A greatly misleading image compilation from the They Live Among Us page on Facebook.
One of the 'Civil War pterosaur' photographs most often alleged to be genuine is that which shows an apparent Pteranodon specimen. There are those who claim that this photograph was taken near the city of Vicksburg in 1864 and that the infamous Freaky Links pterosaur photograph (shown at the bottom of the aforementioned image compilation) is an intentional doppelganger of this 'legitimate' photograph. However, as cryptozoological researcher Dale Drinnon stated in this article, there are multiple red flags in the photograph itself. These show it to be the almost certain work of photoshop, as are many other similar inages. I have reproduced the images illustrating the indicators of this below.
The Civil War 'Pteranodon' photograph in question. (Image source, and the source of the diagrams below, is here)







Another alleged photograph of a freshly killed pterosaur is that which shows the 'specimen' tied to a wall and surrounded by hunters. This arrangement appears to be a deliberate mockup of the notoriously lost 'Thunderbird photograph'. The backstory of this apparently missing image is that several researchers and journalists claimed to have seen the same enigmatic photograph, showing a large form of unknown bird surrounded by men wearing 'cowboy clothing', in the 1950s or early 1960s. There has been a degree of uncertainty as to whether the 'animal' looked like a vulture or a pterosaur and as to whether it was nailed to a wall or laying on the ground, as alleged witnesses have varied in recounting this. Cryptozoological researcher Ivan Sanderson had a photostat copy which was lost while on loan to other researchers, and no one was able to find another print of the image after this mishap. However, Dale Drinnon thinks that he may have identified the image as a hoaxed photostat which used a photograph showing the death of outlaw John Sontag as a basis. An article detailing this hypothesis and showing the possible 'lost Thunderbird photograph' can be found here. While the 'specimen' mentioned at the start of this paragraph bears a striking resemblance to the pterosaur species Pterodactylus, further examination has shown it to not be a genuine animal carcass. Four Corners cryptozoological researcher Jc Johnson has pointed out that you can see what appears to be deer legs hanging next to the men. Thus, it is likely that the creator of the photoshopped image had replaced the deer with the alleged pterosaur yet missed a few of the discreet features. Upon seeing the image, I thought that the 'pterosaur' looked rather familiar. I searched for Pterodactylus models on the Internet and, sure enough, found a match from the DK images website (image of the referenced model is reproduced below).
The alleged 'hunters with dead pterosaur' photograph. Further investigation reveals it to be the work of photoshop. (Image source is here)
A Pterodactylus model which is a precise match for the alleged pterosaur in the photograph, allowing for the necessary filters and adjustments. (Image source is here)
While it is a romantic strain of thought which has been popularized by multiple novels and films, the idea of relict pterosaurs suffers from many of the same issues that other 'prehistoric survivor' hypotheses are belittled by. These include the lack of any recent fossil record for the reptiles, the lack of niches not taken by the birds and bats which evolved following the animals' extinction, and the fact that the detailed reports of alleged 'living pterosaurs' bear very little resemblance to the fuzzy and hot blooded animals which paleontological research shows that they were. As paleozoologist Dr. Darren Naish has pointed out in this superb article on the matter, "these creatures sound more like imaginary generic winged monsters than the pterosaurs we know as fossils; they also recall the outdated reconstructions that are relatively familiar to the public due to their appearance in films and old books." It is likely that many alleged living pterosaur reports were misidentifications of bird species such as eagles, storks, cranes, frigate birds, and hornbills. Experimentation involving witness' animal identification skills and the like support this hypothesis. However, there may be something substantial to the more detailed and unexplainable reports. I suspect that, if there were any relict 'pterosaur' reports which were genuine observations of unknown animals, then a form of bat was involved. This notion is certainly supported by Ivan T. Sanderson and Gerald Russell's 1932 sighting of an unknown flying animal in the Assumbo Mountains of Cameroon. The creature, called the olitiau by the local people, reportedly possessed black skin, membranous wings which formed a wingspan of approximately twelve feet, and a semicircle of pointed white teeth set about their own width apart from one another on its opened lower jaw. The men determined that the animal was a form of unknown bat, and Sanderson displayed much unhappiness with the fact that his sighting was being cited by some as support for the relict pterosaur hypothesis. Interestingly, Sanderson and Bernard Heuvelmans both speculated that the observed animal may have been an unknown variety of hammerhead bat, similar to that hypothesized by this author as possibly being behind genuine reports of unidentified membrane-winged animals. Hammerhead bats are the largest African bats known, with wingspans up to three feet in length. Males are sexually dimorphic in possessing a large rostrum and squared off head, as well as pendulous lips and cheek pouches. A large form of hammerhead bat could certainly account for some of the more enigmatic bat-like animal reports. However, this is a purely speculative strain of thought for the time being as there is not enough data pertaining to the matter to hypothesize with any degree of probability. An alternate hypothesis along these lines which I have considered is that the reports outside of Africa may actually be of hammerhead bats either accidentally or purposefully released into the wild. Dale Drinnon and Dave Francazano have thought about this prospect as well, with an article detailing their hypothesis here. Scott Mardis has also voiced his thought to me there may have been a large Pleistocene American form of the hammerhead bat which remained extant in the Pine Barrens and led to the 'Jersey Devil' reports, although it should be noted that Brian Regal has done some excellent work regarding the likelihood that the 'devil' lore may have originated from colonial socio-political matters. So, although the possibility of relict pterosaurs appears to be unlikely, there may very well be something to occasional reports of unidentified flying animals with membranous wings. Either way, referring back to the main focus of this article, it is important that Internet goers are knowledgeable regarding the hoaxed Civil War 'pterosaur' photographs which circulate all too often and that they know that serious cryptozoological researchers do not fall for them.
The impressive skull of a male hammerhead bat; are such animals fodder for reports of membrane-winged mystery animals?
(Image source is here)

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Hagan Carcass Comparison Images (Part 5—Conclusions)

December 30, 2013, 7:42 pm
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Eyewitness sketch of the Hagan carcass (middle) and images of the two most plausible identities (above and below).
(Part 4 can be found here)
In this, the final installment of the Hagan Carcass Comparison Series, I will review two possible hypotheses which I have formulated after researching possible identities for the enigmatic carcass reported by Ms. Julie Hagan. The first hypothesis involves a scenario of misidentification: the carcass being that of a known species. Commenters have suggested a wide variety of animal species which could have been misidentified in this case, from oddly decomposed sturgeons to false catsharks. While many aspects of sturgeon morphology are in disagreement with those described for the Hagan Carcass, false catsharks can grow to a length of ten feet and can have a similar appearance to the carcass with their wide angular heads and other body features1. These sharks are also rare deep-water fish1, and thus would likely not be identified by the average person if found swollen and slightly decomposed on shore.
Comparison between Ms. Hagan's sketches of the Hagan carcass (middle), an image of a false catshark carcass (top), and several images of decomposing sturgeon carcasses (bottom).
(False catshark image is from here, sturgeon carcass image at upper left is from here, sturgeon carcass image at upper right is from here, and sturgeon carcass image at the bottom is from here)
Please click to enlarge

However, not all false catshark specimens have the same appearance as the one in the comparison above, and it seems that a marine mammal is a much likelier explanation based off of Ms. Hagan's description. Going off the likelihood that the carcass was mammalian in nature, it seems that the carcass was possibly that of a known beaked whale species (or a different cetacean species known to science). As eyewitnesses are notoriously bad at recalling features of animal carcasses which are unidentifiable to them, this seems to be a quite plausible explanation. The hind flippers alleged to have been present on the carcass may have been an atavistic trait (as seen on this four-flippered dolphin found off the coast of southwestern Japan), a mangled dorsal fin which was twisted in a manner which was lateral to the body (also suggested for the "Gambo" carcass2, although it wouldn't explain the appearance of two hind flippers), or possibly mutilated strips of flesh which were hanging off the carcass giving the appearance of hind flippers (as suggested by cryptozoological researcher Tyler Stone in correspondence with me). Looking at Ms. Hagan's sketches of the carcass, it appears that the animal had a characteristically domed head which indicates a melon. Modern day, advanced cetaceans possess this fatty structure which is located in the forehead and acts as an acoustic lens for echolocation sound production.3Thus, it seems that a very plausible explanation for the identity of the Hagan carcass is that of a known cetacean species.
3D models of the melons of various cetaceans (including a beaked whale: Ziphius) compared to Ms. Hagan's sketches of the unknown carcass. (Source for image at left is here)
 A possible candidate for the species which the Hagan carcass may have been representative of is the giant ziphiid known as Baird's beaked whale, as previously suggested by Scott Mardis. These marine mammals grow to maximum lengths of 42 feet (males generally reach sexual maturity at 32-36 feet) and have a range which includes the southern California/Baja region, although they are rarely sighted.4 Their heads have a distinctively bulbous forehead (location of the melon) which slopes steeply into a long and rather thin beak.4 These cetaceans also have small, triangular dorsal fins and crescent shaped blowholes which are located near their large foreheads.4 The aforementioned features and the 15 foot length of Baird's beaked whale juveniles4 point to the possibility that the Hagan carcass was the decomposed/mutilated or mutated body of such a cetacean (or a similar species). Furthermore, the fact that carcasses of these beaked whales have been misinterpreted as relict archaeocetes and even relict plesiosaurs strengthens the notion.
A drawing and images of Baird's beaked whales compared to the Hagan carcass drawings.
(Source of the image at the top is here; image at upper right is from here; image at middle right is from here; image at lower right is from here)
Aside from the mutated or mutilated known beaked whale hypothesis, there is the possibility that the carcass belonged to an unknown or relict cetacean species. Could it have been a form of unknown beaked whale, as Coleman and Huyghe have tried to explain the Gambo carcass as2? This notion is certainly plausible as beaked whales are very elusive animals, with some species growing to the size of an elephant yet still never seen alive.5 The reported presence of four flippers on the Hagan carcass brings another possibility to the cryptozoological surface. As discussed in previous articles on the matter (here and here), this is the idea that the Hagan carcass belonged to a relict member of Archaeoceti. The thought of relict archaeocetes being behind some unknown aquatic animal reports is not a novel one, as other cryptozoological researchers have previously suggested this. In his book Follow The Whale, biologist and cryptozoological researcher Ivan Sanderson briefly wrote on the possibility of relict forms of archaeocetes (including smaller species like those previously suggested to be related to the Hagan carcass) and suggested that "perhaps there are Acrodelphids still cruising the oceans, Zeuglodons browsing in lakes, lochs, and fjords, the ancestors of these in tropical rivers, and even some 'First Ancestors' on their banks."6 Although cryptozoological researcher Bernard Heuvelmans felt that Sanderson was a bit too enthusiastic at times (quite a justifiable feeling, in the opinion of this author), he thought that Follow The Whale held "the key to the whole of the problem of the great serpentiforms": the point that the bodies of sea-animals tend to be more elongated with increased body size.6 Heuvelmans himself hypothesized that witnesses of "sea serpents" which possessed a string of dorsal humps, a narrow medium-length neck, a dorsal fin, and a bilobate tail were seeing relict archaeocetes which he referred to as "Many-Humped sea-serpents."6 These hypothetical unknown aquatic animals are, according to Heuvelmans, close relatives of the basilosaurids which grow between 60 and 100 feet, have a longitudinal series of humps forming a crest like that of sperm whales, move in vertical undulations which produce an effect "like a caterpillar's motion", primarily inhabit regions of the North Atlantic, and have been reported approximately 59 times since 1968.6 Noteworthy in regard to this article, as the Hagan carcass was reported to have small wiry hairs on its body, Heuvelmans also suggested that some reports of whiskered "sea serpents" may have been sightings of relict archaeocetes.6 He backed up this suggestion by pointing out that newborn cetaceans tend to have a few hairs around their mouth, possibly hinting that their ancestors had "moustaches."6 While details of the Hagan carcass do not fit with what Heuvelmans defined as his "Many-Humped sea-serpents", it has been pointed out in a previous article that the carcass does match Bruce Champagne's Type 2B "sea serpent." I do not feel that overviewing the possible archaeocete candidates for the Hagan carcass is necessary again because, as mentioned before, I and other authors have written extensively about them before. The fact that several other cryptozoological researchers have hypothesized that Archaeoceti lineages may still survive suggests that the concept of the Hagan carcass being the body of such an animal is plausible.
A rendition of Heuvelmans'"Many-Humped sea-serpent" by Oberon Zell. (Image Source: here) 
Sketches from reports which Heuvelmans cited as anecdotal evidence of relict archaeocetes; most appear to have been standing waves or
 known animals/groups of known cetaceans. (Source of images is here)
(Please click to enlarge)

In conclusion, I feel that the hypothesis that the Hagan carcass belonged to a mutilated or mutated known beaked whale species is most likely. The archaeocetes hypothesis suffers from multiple factors such as the ghost lineage in the fossil record which would have to exist for such species to have survived to the modern day and advanced cetacean features which the sketches indicate the carcass possessed (notably, the blowhole and possible melon). Occam's Razor would suggest that, as deceased beaked whales have been misinterpreted as unknown animals before, this is the most plausible explanation. I am not doubting Ms. Julie Hagan's reliability or observation skills by saying this, but I feel that past occurrences and other information infers that she witnessed the carcass of a known member of Ziphiidae (possibly Baird's beaked whale). Thus, she did likely see an elusive and enigmatic marine animal after all, just not an entirely unknown species. However, in the absence of photographs or samples from the carcass itself, researchers are left to speculate. Perhaps the carcass did belong to an unknown animal, one of the sea's many remaining secrets; it's impossible to be certain for now. While this seems to sadly be another dead end, it is an interesting report which may gain much importance if a similar carcass arises in the future. Thank you for taking the lengthy dive into these anomalous depths with me, an endeavor which began on that fateful June day. With a final thanks to Ms. Hagan for being so kind with discussing what she witnessed with me, I end my research into the Hagan carcass....for now.

Beaked whales are extraordinary cetaceans; growing to stunning sizes and often remaining unseen from humans.
My research indicates that Ms. Hagan most likely witnessed the carcass of such a bizarre beast.

(Please click on the "Hagan Carcass" label located on the right side of my blog for my previous articles on the subject)
The previous Hagan Carcass comparison articles are as follows:Hagan Carcass Comparisons (Part 1—Introduction)
Hagan Carcass Comparisons (Part 2—"Gambo" and Type 2B "Sea Serpents")
Hagan Carcass Comparison Images (Part 3—Mammals)
Hagan Carcass Comparison Images (Part 4—Marine Reptiles)

 References:
  1. "False Cat Shark, Deep Sea Sharks, Deep Sea Animals, Sea Sharks."False Cat Shark, Deep Sea Sharks, Deep Sea Animals, Sea Sharks. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. http://www.deepseawaters.com/deep_sea_cat-shark.htm.
  2. Coleman, Loren, and Patrick Huyghe. The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep. New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2003. Print.
  3. "Cetacea."Tree of Life Web Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. http://tolweb.org/Cetacea/15977.
  4. "Baird’s Beaked Whale."American Cetacean Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2013. http://acsonline.org/fact-sheets/bairds-beaked-whale/.
  5. Black, Richard. "Beaked Whales - into the Abyss."BBC News. BBC, 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 29 June 2013. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7641537.stm.
  6. Heuvelmans, Bernard, Richard Garnett, and Alika Watteau. In the Wake of the Sea-serpents. New York: Hill and Wang, 1968. Print.
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Scrutinizing Alleged Photographs of the 'Bristol Crocodile'

June 26, 2014, 8:44 pm
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Duckbilled Sea Crocodile by Pristichampsus
Crocodile-like unknown aquatic animals have been reported in the past; while
 the 'Bristol crocodile' reports are unlikely to reflect observations of genuinely
unknown animals, could they indicate crocodilians in areas where they are unverified to inhabit? The illustration depicts a form of 'marine saurian' reported 
in the Indo-Pacific and is by Tim Morris.
Ever since a bus driver in Bristol claimed to have spotted a six-foot crocodile under the Bedminster Bridge, the media has been very active in producing news articles regarding the matter. The aforementioned report launched a police investigation to no avail. The concept of a pet crocodile being accidentally or purposefully released is plausible and such a reptile could survive brief periods of cold temperatures, but how does the evidence for a crocodilian in the River Avon stand up to scrutiny? The few reports of the alleged animal aren't spectacularly compelling in their details, and although there are alleged videos and photographs of the animal, they are not anywhere near conclusive either.
Bradley Stoke town councilor Tom Aditya claimed to have recorded video of the purported crocodile at the mouth of the River Avon in October. However, the camera suspiciously pans away from the object several times and it is rather dissimilar from the appearance of a common crocodile. While cryptozoological researcher Dale Drinnon suspects that the footage may show displaced seal, the object appears to be nothing more than wood debris to me. The latest alleged photograph of the 'mystery crocodilian' was taken by jogger Tamara Blanco, who claims to have obtained the image when she suddenly noticed something in the water. She said that she "wanted to stay to see it properly but there was no one around and [she] just didn't feel comfortable." The object in the photograph itself does bear a superficial resemblance to a basking crocodile, but it also looks like it may have simply been a small object draped onto the water. Dale Drinnon suspects that the alleged alligator is either a model or a piece of wood, and points out that the appearance and position of the apparent eyes are dissimilar from those of crocodilians. Following the encounter, Tamara apparently recollected that others had reported such a reptile in the area before, and she discovered the recent allegations after searching on the Internet. Is it possible that she misidentified an object in the water and later came to believe that she had seen and photographed the famed 'Bristol crocodile' due to the expansive media hype? I suspect that similar scenarios have occurred before in regard to this local 'legend'. But perhaps this is not the case and a displaced reptile genuinely inhabits the River Avon. Further investigation will be needed in order to confirm or deny this concept, but the prospect is not looking probable at the moment regardless of what media outlets claim.
Bristol crocodile
The latest alleged 'Bristol crocodile' photograph. (Image source is here)
Bristol crocodile
Close-up of the alleged 'Bristol crocodile' photograph. Object laid out onto the water, model, or genuine reptile? (Image source is here)

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More On The 2013 Maine 'Sea Serpent' Report: Persistence of Unidentified Marine Animals?

June 29, 2014, 9:35 pm
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Thomas Finley's sketch depicting kayakers' run-in with two long-necked mystery animals at Lake Champlain. Could a similar scenario have occured in Somes Sound on August 22, 2013?
Last August, cryptozoological Loren Coleman made a brief mention of kayakers off Somes Sound, Maine allegedly observing a 'sea serpent' just weeks before. As the common person generally considers 'sea serpent' sightings to be a matter of the past, I was quite thrilled to hear about such recent allegations. I wrote about the report here, and have been meaning to add a sort of an update to it ever since. Due to my expectations of further data arising, I delayed publishing an amendment. I had hoped that the witnesses would come forward with more details, possibly giving us a better idea of what was supposedly observed. However, my own investigation attempts into this report have yielded a much dreaded dead-end. Still, the information that I have uncovered is of importance as pertaining to this case.
Illustration by Thomas Finley depicting a composite based off of reports of 'sea serpents' with large eyes and manes. Essentially a rendition of Heuvelmans' merhorse but modified with additional features inferred from reports. While many researchers such as myself now consider such a model to not be entirely consistent with reports, horse-headed 'sea serpents' continue to be described by witnesses.
With the goal of receiving more information regarding what the middle-aged kayakers reported seeing on August 22, 2013, I contacted Loren Coleman via his email. I received the following reply:

"There is no more information. I attempted to gather as much data as I could. The two eyewitnesses reported their sighting anonymously to an information officer at the ranger station at Mt. Desert Island's Acadia National Park. The individual who took the report did not take the names of the eyewitnesses. The report was not officially placed in any kind of record at the park, and only was given to me due to a personal contact who had casually talked to the information officer. The officer has refused to speak further about the incident. As the park was short-staffed and working under abnormal situations during the government shutdown, usual guidelines to more completely record the circumstances of the sighting were not followed."

So, there we have it. Perhaps my joking with classmates about the government shutdown was not in good taste after all, as the event seems to have cost us what may have been a valuable 'sea serpent' report. Nonetheless, I decided to contact the ranger in which the report was originally posited with hopes that it was offhandedly recorded. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I received a reply:

"Dear Jay,
I'm sorry, but I've contacted our law enforcement division and they can't find a record of that report. Someone in the office remembers the two gentlemen coming in during an extremely busy time, but apparently the report didn't get filed. I'm sorry we can't be of more help and wish you the best in your research."

While I was impressed that an official at the ranger station was willing to look into and reply to my inquiry for information regarding a mystery animal sighting, it is further confirmation that this report may be lost forever. However, it is worth noting that there are a few other alleged 'sea serpents' which have been described in a similar manner, perhaps leading credence to the idea that the kayakers had observed a genuine unknown animal. One report containing an especially similar description to that of the Maine 'sea serpent' was that made by Charles Bungay and C. Clarke. As chronicled in J.P. O'Neill's The Great New England Sea Serpent, the two men were fishing in Fortune Bay off the coast of Newfoundland on May 4, 1977 when they suddenly witnessed what appeared to be garbage bags floating in the distance. As they neared the objects, a six foot neck rose into the air and turned a head to look directly at them. The animal's head was like that of a horse but possessed "ears" or "horns" which were approximately six to eight inches in length and dark eyes on the front of its face. Its overall body length was estimated at around thirty to forty feet, and it apparently had scaly skin. In regard to the 'scales' alleged to have been present on the Fortune Bay and Somes Sound 'sea serpents', cryptozoological researcher Nick Nordöstrom suggested to me that the animals may have been host to barnacles. As any long-necked marine tetrapods would likely inhabit the 'benthic grazer' niche supposedly left vacant by the plesiosaurs, this concept is certainly a possibility. In the comments section of my previous article on this eyewitness account, cryptozoological researcher Dale Drinnon relayed the manner in which long-necked 'sea serpents' are generally described in Maine. As Dale has conducted statistical analyses of features reported in global longneck reports, I consider him to be a reliable source in regard to this matter. His findings are reproduced below:

"The common long-necked animal reports in the area ordinarily have a 'periscope' ten feet out of the water and a foot across [or] 'somewhat bigger than a human head' and about in that ball park since the late 1700s. Three feet long is a much larger than usual head than they commonly have historically, about 150% of the norm. Two feet or 'the size of a barrel' is the norm, and an ordinary beer keg is about 16 inches across and two feet high."

Dale went on to note that he feels the animal observed was most likely a moose with dried hair looking like scales, a possibility noted in the previous article on this report. Apart from the description of a three foot horse-like head, he also speculates this on the basis that 'waterhorses' which were allegedly twelve to sixteen feet in length and came to shore have been reported in Maine: likely entailing misidentifications of moose. While I have been unable to find specific reports from Maine containing these cited features, they are reminiscent of the maned 'sea serpent' supposedly observed in St. Margaret's Bay of Nova Scotia. The animal was described by William and Henry Crooks as measuring sixteen feet in length, having a brown coloration, and "endeavoring to get ashore". This certainly sounds like a plausible mistaken observation of a swimming moose, although Bernard Heuvelmans felt that it was a 'merhorse' sighting and some may feel that locals in the area would not be so unable to identify a common ungulate. In regard to the Maine 'sea serpent', I pointed out to Dale that the majority of witnesses are unlikely to be exactly correct with measurements during a startling encounter with a large animal. If we allow such a plausible mistake, the head length reported for the alleged Maine 'sea serpent' isn't too far off from the typical estimate of two feet. Thus, it may very well have not been a simple misidentification of a moose, but such identity-related speculation is useless without extensive details behind the sighting.
The classic LeBlond and Bousfield 'cadborosaurus'/swimming moose comparison created by Dick Raynor. While some reports of horse-headed 'sea serpents' certainly sound like honest misidentifications of such cervids, there are others which appear to more likely entail animals of an unidentified nature.
Although I would wish to remain a positive attitude pertaining to the matter of the 2013 Maine report, it appears unlikely that any important data will come forth. While the only hope for the desired information behind this alleged sighting is for the witnesses to step forward, this is not the only 'sea serpent' report of more recent years. On August 16, 2010, cryptozoological researcher John Kirk (whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in person) observed an unidentifiable animal with a neck sticking three feet out of the water and a head rather similar to that of a cow swimming in the Fraser River. The 'cadborosaurus' possessed two low humps behind its head/neck region, ear-like protrusions, and a sort of apparent mane. Interestingly, John noted that the animal's snout appeared similar to that that of the Naden Harbor carcass when its head slightly turned for a brief moment. As has been reported in multiple other long-necked 'sea serpent' sightings, the animal "sunk down vertically" when a boat approached it. In August of 2013, an unnamed witness allegedly observed an animal with the "body of a snake" which was "the size of a small car" in Cadboro Bay. Its head was apparently "looking around". Another unnamed witness claims to have seen an animal which "looked like a giant snake" off Galiano Island on December 15, 2013. The 'sea serpent' reportedly possessed a "black glossy body" which was "standing out of the water about 3.5 to 4 feet high". Its full body length was approximately forty to fifty feet with a diameter of twenty to twenty five inches. The animal was apparently "wagging" a long tail in and out of the water and was turning its head back and forth during this action. The source in which I learned the details of these compelling reports is the superb CaddyScan website, perhaps the only working database of 'sea serpent' reports online. Thus, thanks to the work of such great investigators, the notion that 'sea serpent' sightings are purely a matter of the past is being broken. Hopefully, witnesses will continue to come forward and possibly help the discovery of the animals behind 'sea serpent' reports (if such animals exist) and conservation of their habitats to occur in the near future.
John Kirk's sketch of the animal he observed where the Fraser River empties into the Salish Sea. I have not received permission to reproduce the eyewitness sketches of the other recent reports mentioned above, but they can be found at the bottom of this page.
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My Upcoming Appearance On CryptoLogic Radio

July 1, 2014, 7:44 pm
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Thomas Finley's illustration of the alleged 'sea serpent' described by Captain McCamis of the Alvin submersible. Dale, Scott, and I have each spent time looking into this report, and we feel it to be one of the more credible and thus significant of alleged sightings.
Tomorrow night, I will be making an appearance on the CryptoLogic Radio show. I will be joined by fellow cryptozoological researchers Scott Mardis and Dale Drinnon, both of whom I have had much correspondence with. I consider these men to have helped strengthen my basis in this field, and thus it will be a great honor to speak alongside them. We will be discussing matters of 'aquatic cryptozoology' such as our views on the most compelling reports, most substantial evidence, and likeliest hypotheses. The official description for the upcoming radio show is as follows:

"This week we’ll be discussing water cryptids such as Cadborosaurus, Champ, and Loch Ness with Jay Cooney, Scott Mardis, and Dale Drinnon. Jay Cooney is a writer/author who writes a blog called Bizarre Zoology which contains articles about strange facts and theories of zoology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, and cryptozoology. He’s a high school student with a vast amount of knowledge on the subject of cryptozoology, an impressive grasp on science, and has massive potential in the field for years to come. Scott Mardis is one of the leading researchers into the mystery of the creature named Champ from Lake Champlain. He is a specialist in paleontology and has been a valuable volunteer contributor to the Vertebrate Paleontology Department of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Scott starred on the first episode of Monster Quest, has led many expeditions for the creature, had a possible sighting in Vermont in 1994 when his interest in cryptozoology began, and even moved to the area for quite some time in order to concentrate on his research into the creature. He is part of the team and website called Brite Yellow Champ Camp and runs a Facebook group named Zombie Plesiosaur Society. Dale Drinnon is a writer for the Centre for Fortean Zoology and also writes a blog named Frontiers of Zoology. He has been a researcher in the field of Cryptozoology for 30 plus years and has a degree in Anthropology from Indiana University. He has an interest into a wide array of cryptids world-wide."

A link to the live broadcast can be found here, and I strongly encourage you to tune in at 8:00 EST. Also, feel free to call in at (646) 652-2569 to ask questions regarding our research or views. It should be an engrossing and thought-provoking show.
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Happy Fourth of July! (With Details On My Looking For Local Aquatic Mystery Animals)

July 4, 2014, 8:30 pm
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Many 'sea serpent' reports have been made by men and women in the midst of protecting our country's freedom. (Artwork by Thomas Finley)
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! May we express our immense gratitude to each and every veteran, and keep their well-being in our prayers. In line with the theme of this blog, it is definitely worth noting that many reports of unidentified marine animals or 'sea serpents' have been made by the valiant men and women protecting our country's freedom. On this beautiful day, my family and I are going boating on the Allegheny River near the Kinzua Dam, and I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for the car-sized giant catfish which have been reported to inhabit the area by dam maintenance workers. Apparently some divers described observing a long-necked animal down there as well, and although the account was supposedly first brought to light by a park ranger, I personally find this claim to be dubious. Nonetheless, it doesn't hurt to do a little looking for aquatic mystery animals while out enjoying nature anyway. Have a fantastic day, and may God bless America and our veterans!
Image illustrating an alleged encounter between a diver inspecting a dam for maintenance and a giant catfish. Such scenarios have reportedly occurred near in the Kinzu dam area, as well. 
Update: At the end of the day, no evidence of aquatic mystery animals near the Kinzua Dam has been uncovered by my admittedly passive efforts. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic Fourth of July. I hope everyone had a good one, especially the veterans who have given so much to protect our country's freedom.
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My Appearance On CryptoLogic Radio

July 14, 2014, 10:28 am
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Find Additional Podcasting Podcasts with CRYPTOLOGIC on BlogTalkRadio

On Wednesday, July 2, I spoke on the CryptoLogic Radio show with fellow cryptozoological researchers Scott Mardis and Dale Drinnon. It was an excellent show, to which a link has been embedded above, and it served as a great group discussion regarding 'aquatic cryptozoology'. We covered a plethora of excellent topics, from what could possibly allow air-breathing plesiosaurs to remain hidden in the modern day to the significance of long-necked aquatic mystery animal reports extending across a belt of specific Northern latitudes. British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club president John Kirk called in towards the end of the show and sparked a heated discussion regarding the 'Surgeon's photograph(s)'. This was not heated in the sense of the emotional discourse which sometimes occurs in the less scientific corners of discussion regarding mystery phenomena, but rather was reflective of the heavy disputation surrounding this particular piece of data. I personally did not give much input at this point as I am admittedly not versed as well in this case as the other gentlemen were, but it was thought-provoking nonetheless. I do not feel that the 'Surgeon's photograph(s)' carries the same weight of importance as Scott and Dale insinuate, although I am doubtful regarding the toy submarine explanation. While the similarity to the Sandra Mansi photograph and its apparent vertical submergence are interesting, I do not feel obliged by the images alone to necessarily support the idea of a longneck being present in them (primarily due to the object's apparent small size and the controversy surrounding it).
First of the 'Surgeon's photographs' at top, with the second below it. (Image source is here)
Direct comparison between the Sandra Mansi photograph of Lake Champlain and the 'Surgeon's photograph'. (Image is from this previous article)
Scott and John's possible unknown aquatic animal sightings (Scott's being at Lake Champlain and John's being at Lake Okanagan and at the Fraser river) were discussed at this point, as well. The details of John's observations at Lake Okanagan bear remarkable similarities to other freshwater and marine reports around the world, and thus I have been compelled to look further into the idea of possible inland 'sea serpents' inhabiting the lake. The discussion certainly helped to spark further development of this line of research. So, as mentioned above, I implore you to take a listen to this show and to go back to CryptoLogic Radio for more!
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The Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm And More On Possible Post-Cretaceous Plesiosaurs

July 15, 2014, 9:27 pm
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Excellent relict plesiosaur illustration by cartoonist Peter Loh
If you have been following my articles regarding aquatic mystery animals, you will most likely know that I was once a fervent supporter of the idea that long-necked 'sea serpents' and 'lake monsters' are almost certainly not relict populations of plesiosaurs. However, further research into reports and photographs, as well as speaking to respectable fellow researchers, has led me to think otherwise. I now feel that there is some plausibility to the hypothesis that relict plesiosauroid lineages continue into the present day, although I will refrain from going any further into this here. One important point which I feel necessary to touch upon is that regarding the apparent absence of any recent fossil record for these Mesozoic marine reptiles. Arguably one of the most crucial weaknesses in regard to the Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm, the line of thinking that some cryptozoological reports are based off of the continued existence of some prehistoric fauna, is that of a lack of recent fossil record for the animals. However, as Scott and others have pointed out, this may not be the case in regard to plesiosaurs. 'Reworked' plesiosaur fossils have been found ranging from Paleocene to Pleistocene deposits, and although there is the possibility of them having eroded into younger deposits, they have yet to be receive proper radiometric dating. The following article by Scott Mardis discusses some of these and similar cases, and their possible significance. While I am satisfied with the contention of the few post-Cretaceous dinosaur remains having actually been reworked, I find the plesiosaur material to be compelling. Still, none of this is concrete, although it is rather interesting in the opinion of this author and certainly suggests the need for further examination into the relict plesiosaur 'hypothesis. Following the reproduction of Scott's Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm article, I have included and commented on some other notable material pertaining to the enigma of alleged living plesiosaurs.


This is a guest post by Scott Mardis. Scott has been an active field investigator of the Lake Champlain “Monster” since 1992. He is a former sustaining member of the defunct International Society of Cryptozoology and a former volunteer worker in the Vertebrate Paleontology Dept. of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (1990-1992). He co-authored a scientific abstract about the Lake Champlain hydrophone sounds for the Acoustical Society of America in 2010. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida.


Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm Under Fire?
By Scott Mardis

     Matt Bille, at his blog Matt’s Sci/ Tech Blog, recently posted about another article by Sharon Hill questioning the validity of the so-called “Prehistoric Survivor Paradigm” (see here), the idea that presumably extinct animals have managed to survive into the modern era without leaving a conspicuous fossil record and are in fact responsible for various modern day “monster” sightings and data. Vertebrate paleontologist Darren Naish has also been very critical of this idea, particularly in regard to the idea of relict plesiosaurs (see this Cryptomundo post for more info).
     While I encourage you to read and listen to what Sharon Hill and Darren Naish have to say and they do make some powerful arguments, I feel some very relevant things to the debate have been left out. We must remember that the best case for most cryptids at this point in time is based on ambiguous, circumstantial evidence and any possible connections to extinct animals are tenuous at best. Assuming the bulk of descriptive and photographic evidence might be correct and bear some resemblance to a known fossil form, we should not overlook the remarkable phenomenon of convergent evolution. It’s within the realm of possibility that some recently evolved animal, unknown to us in fossil form, has developed features similar to some well known extinct forms.
     Having said that, there is the phenomenon of “reworked” fossils. These are fossils of animals believed to have gone extinct found in younger fossil deposits after their presumed extinctions. They are called “reworked” because it is thought they have been worked out of their original strata into younger deposits by a host of physical phenomena. The mechanisms are usually tidal and fluvial erosion, tectonic activity, glacial scouring, erosion by wind and rain, volcanism, burrowing by animals on land and in the sea, even dislodgement by tree roots. The dating of fossils is done by radiometric dating, rare earth element testing and by the range correlation of diagnostic microfossils directly associated with the fossil or within the fossil matrix. Sometimes this information is not available, so assumptions have to be made based on the general consensus of the geologic range of the particular animal or the taphonomic state of the fossil itself. There do remain questions in some cases and there is considerable debate about the possible validity of some reputed Paleocene dinosaur specimens (see here). There have been isolated dinosaur teeth found in Miocene fossil deposits in France (see here) and in Louisiana (see here). My own searches through the paleontology literature have yielded anomalous plesiosaur material spanning from the Paleocene to the Pleistocene ice ages (see here and here).
     There are also the geological phenomena of “Lazarus taxa” and “ghost lineages”. A Lazarus taxon is the reemergence in the fossil record of a type that had been thought to have died out much earlier. The term ghost lineage refers to the missing fossil record of such a Lazarus taxon. One example might be the controversial putative Paleocene therapsid (mammal-like reptile) Chronoperates paradoxus from Canada, which if correctly interpreted gives the therapsids as a group a 100 million year range extension (see here). Additionally, the Iranian ichthyosaur Malawania is believed to have a 66 million year ghost lineage (see here) and the Megachasmid sharks (Megamouth) may have a 70 million year ghost lineage between the mid-Cretaceous and Miocene (see here). This is compared to only a 65 million year extinction record for the plesiosaurs.
     This is all very speculative but I submit to you that you cannot ignore this evidence in question to the whole PSP debate. The presence of living plesiosaurs or non-avian dinosaurs today will only be demonstrated by confirmed type specimens. And while the fossil records of plesiosaurs and coelacanths may show very different patterns of diversity through time and deposition, the post-Cretaceous coelacanth fossil record is only represented by two specimens, the recently described Macropomoides palaestina from the Miocene of Israel (see here) and a highly questionable specimen from the Paleocene of Sweden (see here).

At this point following the reproduction of Scott's article, I felt that the list of 'reworked' plesiosaur fossils from his Lake Agasiz paper should be reproduced once again to recap the argument being made. I still have to publish the paper as a full-text article rather than a mere link to a PDF, but I have not had the ample time to do so. Two other cases of 'reworked' plesiosaur remains were detailed in Scott's article but were not given in a list format, and thus I have chosen to not reproduce them here for the sake of brevity.

1. Elasmosaurid plesiosaur fossils mixed with Paleocene microfossils in the Takatika Grit formation (Cretaceous-Paleocene) of the Chatham Islands of New Zealand.

2. The discovery of a specimen of Plesiosaurus crassicostatus in the Paleocene Waipara Greensand of North Canterbury, New Zealand.

3. The discovery of two sets of Elasmosaurid vertebrae (one articulated) allegedly associated with Paleocene microfossils in the Paleocene San Francisquito Formation near Cajon Pass, California.

4. A plesiosaur tooth in the Aruma Formation (Paleocene-Eocene) of Saudi Arabia.

5. A plesiosaur vertebrae, assigned to the now-discarded genus Discosaurus vetustus, allegedly from the Eocene marine deposits of Choctaw Bluff, Clarke County, Alabama, deposits that have also produced specimens of basilosaurine whales.

6. A set of fossil vertebrae from alleged Cretaceous deposits in Mullica Hills, New Jersey is acquired by paleontologist Richard Harlan in 1824. He describes one of the vertebrae and assigns it to the Plesiosauria that same year. In 1851, paleontologist Joseph Leidy mysteriously reassigns Harlan’s plesiosaur vertebra to the dolphin genus Priscodelphinus and declares it to be from the Miocene epoch. What about the age and identity of Harlan’s other vertebrae? Is the age and identity of the Priscodelphinus vertebra completely resolved?

7. In 1859 the same Joseph Leidy described the genus Ischyrotherium antiquus as a probable sirenian (manatees/dugongs) of presumed Miocene age from the Judith River Formation of South Dakota based on a few vertebrae and rib fragments, though he expressed some doubts about this and suggested it might be some kind of plesiosaur-like reptile. Edward Cope decided it was a plesiosaur in 1871 and renamed it Ischyrosaurus antiquus. Oliver Perry Hay tentatively assigned Ischyrotherium / Ischyrosaurus to the Champsosauridae in 1902, admitting that the animal’s true position remained unresolved. There would appear to still be confusion in the modern scientific literature over the affinities and age of this obscure genus.

8. The paleontologist Florentine Ameghino described the now-discarded plesiosaur genus Polyptychodon patagonicus based on teeth from the Santa Cruz formation of Patagonia in 1893 and associated them with Cenozoic mammal teeth allegedly from the same deposits. These fossils are currently classified as Plesiosauria indet. and there now seems to be some doubt over whether the Cenozoic mammal fossils are from the same deposits as the plesiosaur teeth.

The text following this section is of great importance to this matter, as well.

Is there any evidence to suggest fossils formerly classified as “reworked” may turn out not to be so? James E. Fassett and colleagues claim to have found evidence of Paleocene dinosaurs in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico based on U-Pb dating of dinosaur bones but this has been disputed. Anton Wroblewski has made the case that selachian paleofaunas of the Paleocene deposits of the Hanna and Ferris formations of Wyoming are not “reworked” Cretaceous fossils but represent Paleocene faunas that lived in extensions of the Cannonball Sea/ Western Interior Seaway. The discovery of Eocene seed ferns (thought to have gone extinct at the K/Pg boundary) in Tasmania has now questioned the “reworked” status of seed fern pollens found in the Cenozoic deposits of southeastern Australia. Some have argued that it is unlikely that any large vertebrate would have a ghost lineage (a long stratigraphic interval with no known fossil representatives, despite the known persistence of the lineage in later strata) as long as 70 million years. Dicynodonts (large herbivorous mammal-like reptiles) discovered in early Cretaceous deposits of Australia imply a ghost lineage for dicynodonts of 110 million years. The alleged Paleocene therapsid Chronoperates paradoxus from Canada implies a ghost lineage for therapsids of 100 million years, if the therapsid identity is correct. The oldest undisputed megachasmid shark teeth known are from the late Oligocene/early Miocene of California, but the controversial Megachasma comanchensis, based on teeth from middle Cretaceous deposits in Colorado, may give the megachasmids a 70 million year ghost lineage. DNA testing of Megachasma pelagios, the extant megamouth shark, has also suggested a mid-Cretaceous origin for megachasmids. The coelacanths were not known to have any fossil representatives younger than 90 million years old until 1986. Today, the Cenozoic fossil record for coelacanths consists of one occurrence from the Paleocene of Sweden and one from the Miocene of Israel. One Jurassic ichthyosaur genus, Maiaspondylus, may have a ghost range of 50 million years. If we accept the possibility that the fragmentary plesiosaur material spanning from the Paleocene to the Pleistocene may not be “reworked”, then there may be no 70 million year ghost lineage for plesiosaurs. Would not the emergence of marine mammals such as cetaceans and pinnipeds have severely hampered any potential post-Cretaceous comeback the plesiosaurs may have made, had a few squeaked through the K/Pg extinction event? Perhaps not. Plesiosaurs seem to have persisted through such ecological shifts as the presumed extinction of ichthyosaurs, the rise of mosasaurs and the coming and going of metriorhynchid crocodiles. Would the introduction of cetaceans and pinnipeds be that different? Some would argue that warm-blooded, highly intelligent marine mammals would have had a distinct advantage over any reptilian competitors. There is some evidence to suggest that plesiosaurs may have been homeothermic, lived in gregarious social groups and cared for their young. [JC: It is also worth noting that, as pointed out by Michael Woodley, the 'benthic grazer' niche of the plesiosaurs was supposedly left vacant with their extinction. Thus, there is ecological space for long-necked marine animals in the modern day.]

Scott Mardis recently posted the following image in the Zombie Plesiosaur Society group on Facebook with the caption of "A 40 million year gap in the plesiosaur fossil record is not a whole lot different from a 65 million year gap in the plesiosaur fossil record." It certainly is an interesting piece of information to consider along with the other material regarding the possibility of relict plesiosauroid lineages.
In regard to the question of plesiosaur-like aquatic animals remaining unknown in the present day, it is worth noting that artifacts and ancient depictions showing supposed animals of a similar nature have been found around the world. Some researchers like Scott Mardis suggest that these act as a potential bridge between the anomalous post-Cretaceous plesiosaur remains of prehistory and the present day reports of plesiosaur-like animals. Dale Drinnon recently wrote an excellent article on the matter, as well. I personally feel that such depictions can be unreliable and often prone to artistic license, and the more interesting pieces tend to be interpreted as the result of ancient peoples uncovering the fossils of Mesozoic marine reptiles. Nonetheless, consideration of the other possibility, especially in light of the more compelling longneck reports and photographs, leads to very compelling prospects. Some of the more interesting examples of these artifacts are reproduced in comparative image format below; these paste-ups were made by Scott Mardis. Please note that I do not necessarily support any of the suggestions made in the comparisons, nor the idea that every piece of alleged longneck evidence included in them is valid.

Lake Erie 'horned serpent' motif from a stone pipe (top), Lake Champlain powder horn engraving (lower left), and Lake Erie 'Great Horned Serpent' depiction (lower right)


Comparison between Patrick Grant's 1934 eyewitness sketch, Lake Erie 'Great Horned Serpent' depiction, and Vancouver Island "Naitaka" petroglyph

Mediterranean Paleolithic drawing interpreted originally as a 'penguin' or seal and later suggested by Francois de Sarre to have been the depiction of a long-necked 'sea serpent', compared to Arthur Grant's Loch Ness mystery animal sketch and Tim Morris' illustration of a blubbery Antarctic cryptoclidid.


Paleolithic 'penguin' drawing and Lake Erie 'horned serpent' motif with an excerpt regarding 'reworked' plesiosaur material.


Lake Erie 'horned serpent' motif from a stone pipe compared with various marine animal beach drag traces; created by Scott Mardis to go along with the suggestion that the marked line trailing behind the depicted animal represents such a trace.


Lake Erie 'horned serpent' motif from a stone pipe compared with two photographs from the Rines Loch Ness expeditions and Patrick Grant's 1934 eyewitness sketch. Scott Mardis' interpretation of the sort of animal possibly behind this data is at the middle right; he has suggested that the marked lines trailing from the 'horns' of the Lake Erie motif are representative of wakes produced by these protrusions at the surface.


Lake Champlain powder horn engraving compared to Patrick Grant's 1934 eyewitness sketch, Greta Finlay's 1952 eyewitness sketch, and Sir Peter Scott's interpretation of the 1975 Rines 'gargoyle head' photograph.



Another Lake Champlain powder horn engraving compared to the 1975 Rines 'gargoyle head' photograph, an interpretation of the image, and the 1972 Rines 'flipper' photographs.


Queensland Aboriginal artwork depicting the "Yarru"; while some like myself feel that it appears dubious, it was apparently made by a tribal artist of the Kuku Yalanji people. It is shown here with an excerpt from literature regarding the stomach anatomy of plesiosaurs and other animals which swallow(ed) gastroliths, as Scott has pointed out that similar anatomical features can be seen in the depiction.


Painting from the ancient Kykkos Monastery on the island of Cyprus compared to a Cryptoclidus skeleton and a plesiosaur restoration.


Ancient painting depicting the Roman sea monsters called "Ketos", dated between the 2nd century and the 4th century, A.D., from the catacomb of Callixtus, Rome, Italy (top image). There are countless ancient depictions of long-necked 'sea monsters' with trident-shaped tails. If such artwork is to be interpreted as based off of real life encounters rather than the result of artistic license, then such a hind flipper configuration (see bottom image)similar to that exhibited by the inset juvenile leatherback could have inspired a three-pronged tail stylization.



6th century (B.C.) artistic representation of the presumably mythological 'sea monster' Ketos Troias from the island of Troy, compared with plesiosaur skulls. The Troy depiction appears to possess similar sclerotic rings, temporal skull openings, and nostril locations. As Scott Mardis notes: "Before we get too excited, it's possible that the ancient Greeks found actual Mesozoic fossils and incorporated them into their mythology (re: Adrienne Mayor). After all, this representation of Ketos does look rather skeletal. But that interpretation does not necessarily have to follow, as there are many reports of plesiosaur-like sea monsters in the modern era and there are anomalous post-K/T plesiosaur fossils in the paleontology literature."
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Recent Material On 'Cadborosaurus'

July 22, 2014, 8:23 pm
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"Female Caddy" illustration by Tim Morris, reflecting the line of thinking that the Naden Harbor carcass and reports of elongate
 'cadborosaurus' are based off of a form of marine mammal suggested to be named Cadborotherium. It is of course worth noting
that, as pointed out by Dale Drinnon, a majority of 'cadborosaurus' witnesses do not describe anything like this concept. 
Over the past several months, I have been constructing and compiling comparative images which feature matters relating to unidentified marine animal reports. These have generally been posted in the Zombie Plesiosaur Society group as food for thought items, but I felt that it would be appropriate to reproduce some of these here. A majority of these comparisons deal with eyewitness sketches or images of alleged 'cadborosaurus': 'sea serpents' reportedly observed in Pacific waters from Monterey Bay in California to the rocky fjords of Alaska. These mystery animals are best known to supposedly inhabit the Cadboro Bay region of British Columbia, as it is this area to which they owe their locally-given name. The general description involves a horse, sheep, or camel-like head with large eyes, a long neck which is sometimes maned, a body which is either elongated with vertical coils or of a girth like that of a barrel, flippers located anteriorly and/or posteriorly, and a tail which is sometimes described as jagged or fluked. It is clear that there are multiple animals involved in these reports, with many likely being misidentified known species and some possibly being unknown (I generally tend to agree with the basics of Dale Drinnon's writing on this matter; it can be found here, here, and here). This will be another image-heavy article with brief explanatory text, as I have been very busy with my job and other activities.

"Cadborosaurus on Parade": a compilation of eyewitness illustrations depicting unidentified marine animals allegedly observed off the coast of British Columbia. The depiction of Dr. LeBlond and Dr. Bousfield's hypothetical Cadborosaurus willsi is shown in the lower center; it appears to be a depiction of the Naden Harbor carcass as a live animal and is clearly shrinkwrapped, rather than being an accurate representation of 'cadborosaurus' anecdotal/photographic data.

The first compilation compares the surface profile of the object in the Sandra Mansi photograph with that shown in two eyewitness sketches of long-necked 'cadborosaurus' from off the coast of British Columbia. While these are not conclusive evidence for the presence of unknown long-necked animals inhabiting marine and freshwater environments in their own respect, they are interestingly suggestive in their similarities. 


One explanation proposed for the identity of the 'sea serpent' observed by David Miller and Alfred Webb while off Discovery Island in 1959 is that of a surfacing moose. While I do not personally suspect this to be the animal's probable identity due to features such as its alleged neck length and extreme swimming speed, it is a hypothesis which has considerable proponents such as Dr. Darren Naish (my apologies if I am incorrect in this statement) and Dale Drinnon.


While some 'cadborosaurus' reports entailing horse or camel-like heads can likely be explained as mistaken observations regarding swimming moose or elephant seals, it is worth noting that an unknown animal could certainly give such an impression as well. The photograph below shows a leatherback turtle individual which has a rather ungulate-like facial appearance, a point of importance in regard to the reptilian identity which has been proposed by some for the animals behind 'cadborosaurus' reports.


This Basilosaurus isis model also shows a slightly cameloid head.


The well-known story of the juvenile unidentified marine animal reportedly caught by Captain Hagelund has been suggested to be a case of misidentification by Woodley et al. 2011, with the most likely candidate being a pipefish. Scott Mardis has made a comparison between a version of Hagelund's sketch redrawn by Cameron McCormick and a juvenile sturgeon, which is reproduced below. Still, others like John Kirk and Nick Nordström feel that Hagelund would not have made such a misidentification as an experienced fisherman and point out that he had spent a considerable amount of time researching the appearance of juvenile marine fauna after the alleged encounter. 

A reader once left the following diagram on my Facebook wall suggesting that the portion highlighted in red could account for the camel-like head seen in the Naden Harbor carcass. Going off of the suggestion that the strange remains are those of a shark, I created the comparative images which follow the image below. 


In this image, the Naden Harbor carcass is compared to the Cherbourg 'pseudoplesiosaur' (basking shark) carcass found in 1934. One similarity which I found interesting was the rather stubby appearance of the foreflippers on both carcasses, as this was one feature of the Naden Harbor carcass which previously had me stumped.


This paste-up compares the Naden Harbor carcass with the Henry Island basking shark carcass found in 1934. The Henry Island carcass was originally suspected to have been that of a Steller's sea cow, making it especially relevant to the alleged 'cadborosaurus' carcass in question as there has been speculation that it belonged to a form of unknown sirenian.


Looking at the recorded 'cadborosaurus' reports, it seems that the description with proportions and features most like those of the Naden Harbor carcass is the animal reportedly observed by Osmond Ferguson and D. Mattinson in 1897 (the sketch of which is shown in the comparative image below). If such accounts weren't simply the result of encounters with known animals and natural occurrences, there are quite a few reports (one as recent as 2013) which bear rather similar features to those exhibited in the Naden Harbor carcass. Proponents for the carcass being that of an unknown animal continue to remain vocal, one being marine biologist Bruce Champagne who has made some rather interesting arguments. However, if the 'cadborosaurus' described as having elongated bodies forming loops are based off of valid observations involving unknown animals, then it is worth noting that the locomotion proposed by Dr. Paul LeBlond and Dr. Ed Bousfield is highly unlikely. There are no precedents in nature, and it would most probably be biomechanically inefficient and maybe even physically impossible due to anatomical and gravitational factors. In regard to the idea of the animals compressing their body to take on the hydrodynamic characteristics of a fish, Matt Bille has pointed out that there would likely be aerodynamic issues owing to the shape causing too much drag. Sebastian Wang has also pointed out that, if the proposition of 'cadborosaurus' inhabiting deep waters of cold temperatures is correct, the rib region would need to be much thicker than that described by LeBlond and Bousfield for Cadborosaurus willsi.


This next comparison is between a still from the 2007 Nushagak Bay 'cadborosaurus' footage (first revealed on a disappointing Discovery Channel show) and a sketch of the 'sea serpent' reportedly filmed in 1963 by fishermen in Barnstable Harbor, Massachusetts. Ivan Sanderson apparently viewed the five minute film and described the animal in the footage as possessing a long snake-like body with a blowhole and amber tufts of hair running down the back of its head (as detailed on The Big Study blog). The Barnstable Harbor animal (as sketched from observation by Sanderson) bears rather striking similarities to one of the alleged Nushagak Bay animals in its surface profile and the position from which it is spraying water. As the footage from Nushagak Bay containing the "stunning" segment described as showing "a living, breathing version of the animal depicted in the photos of the Naden Harbour carcass" was filmed on a second camera which is now apparently missing (as chronicled here), the 2007 footage may end up to be a forever-lost "Holy Grail" just like the Barnstable Harbor footage. This is assuming that the researchers who have viewed the footage have made accurate observations, and I currently feel that the available segments from the Nushagak Bay footage are not compelling enough to definitely discount the possibility of it showing a pod of known marine animals.


Lastly, I have reproduced a composite of sorts which contains an excerpt from a poster made for the 9th European Symposium of Cryptozoology by Dr. Darren Naish and an illustration depicting Heuvelmans'"Merhorse" (hypothetical maned 'sea serpent' inferred from reports). The illustration is by Cameron McCormick and it is quite superb, although unlikely to reflect the appearance of any real animal species (a thought which we both hold).

Postscript:

On Cryptomundo, John Kirk recently released images showing the front and back cover of a new book on 'cadborosaurus' evidence written by himself, Jason Walton, and Dr. Paul LeBlond. This publication will be released in autumn with the publisher being Hancock House. I am quite excited for the release of a new book on 'sea serpents'. as it is a subject which deserves much more attention than it has received in recent times. I will be waiting to read and scrutinize it with much anticipation.
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Previously Undocumented Oregon Coast 'Sea Serpent' Report

August 7, 2014, 7:07 am
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Today, August 7 of 2014, has been officially recognized as Sea Serpent Day. Reports of unidentified marine animals often referred to by the probable misnomer of 'sea serpents' continue to be the most compelling form of cryptozoological matter to many researchers such as myself, and it seems that those who have disregarded all such accounts as mere oarfish or giant squid have little knowledge of the intriguing cases in this area of study. While anecdotal data is generally viewed as unpredictable, several scientific minds have found 'sea serpent' reports to be of interest in that they often involve trained observers like naval men as witnesses and frequently occur at a close range. Also, unlike other areas of cryptozoological study, it seems that the greed of media and misinforming reality or "mockumentary" television shows have yet to taint the research into 'seas serpent' sightings. I have spent about a year researching alleged reports and evidence of unidentified marine animals and will continue to do so in the hope that efforts such as mine may help to bring this cryptozoological question to the scientific forefront. To mark this special occasion I have written on a previously undocumented 'sea serpent' report, and I ask you to read on if you are interested...
A rather fanciful rendition of the 'sea serpent' described by Deah Lael; commissioned by Ray Gardner.

Several months ago, I was contemplating the idea of writing a book specifically focused on reports of 'sea serpents' with horse-like heads and manes, owing to my strong interest in such eyewitness accounts at that time. While I have since dropped the idea due to the lack of fresh material which could be produced, I happened to have a successful lead through this ordeal. Following a discussion on Facebook that B.S.C.C. founder John Kirk and I had about such alleged animals, sasquatch report researcher Ray Crowe notified us that he knew of two witnesses of horse-headed 'sea serpents' off the Oregon Coast. He later emailed us with further details which revealed that the first witness supposedly had a sighting with her husband and that the second witness is a friend of the first and apparently photographed such an animal in 2013. Ray left the first witness' phone number in the email, allowing me to conduct a proper interview. While I am admittedly new to gathering details on reports, I based my inquiries off of those used in a 'lake monster' eyewitness questionnaire created by cryptozoological researcher Gary Mangiacopra.
An illustration based off of Bernard Heuvelmans'hypothetical "Merhorse" sea-serpent, by Cameron McCormick. The proposed book
mentioned early was to examine the anecdotal data behind this hypothetical animal, although I have since come to realize it as a messy
conglomeration of probable mistaken identity cases and possibly a few observations of genuinely unknown marine animals.
'Sea serpent' sleuths: British Columbia cryptozoological researcher John Kirk with me at the Ohio Bigfoot Conference.

The name of the aforementioned first eyewitness, which I have received permission to publically share, is Deah Lael. On June 16 of 1957, Mrs. Lael and her husband were strolling along a beach located ten miles south of Lincoln City, Oregon. The couple was at the location for their honeymoon, and were probably enjoying the warm weather present at the time before they were disturbed by an unexpected observation. Around one or two o'clock in the afternoon, Deah was standing on a three or four inch surf when she reportedly noticed an animal swimming about 100 feet offshore. The animal was approximately twenty feet in length (this estimate was made in comparison to the length of the cabin they had rented) and possessed a shiny, greenish black body with mottled-looking skin. There were three humps on its back which she estimated as measuring about two feet above the water. These protuberances were covered with what she interpreted as a bumpy ridge, described as "humps on humps". This animal had a small head which was similar to that of a horse, but apparently with an overall appearance which was "dragon-like". Distinct eyes and nostrils were not able to be discerned. Its head was situated atop a neck which stretched approximately four feet out of the water. Needless to say, Mrs. Lael was unable to identify it as any known marine animal species. She brought her husband's attention to the unidentified animal, but he seemingly didn't want anything to do with seeing something which was not supposed to exist. He promptly wrote it off as a group of seals before going back to their cabin, and he is apparently still reluctant to speak about the encounter. According to Deah, the animal kept pace with her for another block or two, almost as if it was observing her, before submerging.
Image of a segment of the Oregon coast near Lincoln City: potential 'sea serpent' habitat? (Image source is here).
When taking this account into consideration, it should be noted that there have been other 'sea serpent' reports similar in location and description. In Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans' 1968 epitome In The Wake of the Sea-Serpents, there is a brief description of an animal with a ten foot long neck and "astonished eyes" being seen at the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon by a halibut fishing crew.1 This 1939 account appears to have been the only Oregonian report which Heuvelmans included in his database, and he made the suggestion that the animal may have been synonymous with those similarly reported off British Columbia as "cadborosaurus".1 In their 1995 book Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep, Dr. Paul LeBlond and Dr. Edward L. Bousfield also detailed reports from the Oregon Coast. The most interesting of the bunch is arguably that from off Yachats, Oregon: an encounter with what can only be described as a long-necked 'sea serpent'. Just after New Year's Day in 1937, Bill and Ila Hunt were sitting on a landing about two miles south of Yachats when they allegedly spotted a large animal swimming slowly towards the shore.2 This unidentifiable animal reportedly possessed a long neck around fifteen feet in length, a horse or giraffe-like head, a mane which was the color of seaweed, an overall length of fifty feet, a large body six feet in width, a "ridge" running along its back, and a tail which was about the same length as its body.2The Hunts disagreed on a puzzling feature of what appeared to be protrusions on the animal's head: Bill described them as small ears which "fluttered incessantly" while his wife described them as small horns which were eight to ten inches in height and "the size of a small water-pipe."2 The stormy weather created rough waves, although these apparently did not affect its swimming in the slightest bit.2 A truck driving on the nearby highway caused the animal to look over twice before suddenly swimming southwards along the coast at a speed of about 25 knots.2 The Hunts apparently followed the 'sea serpent' in their car until it veered off, heading further out to sea.2 The couple and another individual who had stopped his car then watched the animal from a lookout until it submerged.2
Eyewitness sketch of the Yachats 'sea serpent'. (Scanned image from Scott Mardis; likely originates from a publication either by LeBlond and Bousfield or LeBlond and Sibert)
Alleged 'sea serpent' sightings were so common at the mouth of the Columbia River and neighboring Oregonian coastlines that the animals were given the encompassing nickname of "Colossal Claude". The aforementioned report from Heuvelmans (1968) is representative of this pocket of supposed sightings, as are the following three anecdotes which come from a 1967 newspaper article written by Peter Cairns. In 1934, L.A. Larson and other members of the crew aboard a Columbia River lightship described observing a forty foot long animal with an eight foot neck, a large round body, a "mean looking tail", and an "evil, snaky look to its head."3 Although details of this account are clearly sensationalized, the report was apparently confirmed by the captain and crew of the ship tender Rose.3 Skipper Charles E. Graham of the trawler Viv reported observing "Claude" in 1937.3 The animal allegedly possessed a tan coloration, a forty foot body with hair, a head like that "of an overgrown horse", and a "four foot waist measure."3 Captain Chris Anderson of the schooner Arpo described having a close encounter with a marine animal which had a head like that of a camel with coarse gray fur, glassy eyes, and a bent snout which it used to push a large halibut into its mouth after snagging it from the fishermen's lines.3 The last detail in Anderson's account is immediately reminiscent of the manipulative proboscises possessed by male Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), and thus it seems likely that this was a case of misidentification.
An illustration by Tim Morris based off of the reports of "Colossal Claude" from the Columbia River and surrounding coastlines.

While the Yachats 'sea serpent' and "Colossal Claude" are probably the most significant unidentified marine animal cases from off the coast of Oregon, a few others were also contained in Peter Cairns' article. Brief mention was made of an animal seen off Bandon, Oregon which had a twelve foot body like that of a cow covered in brownish hair and a bulbous nose.3 While Dale Drinnon suggested it to be a sea lion, the description of a bulbous nose is rather reminiscent of an elephant seal with the hair visible due to molting. Near the Nelscott Reef, an animal with "a slender neck, a snake-like head, and a fan-shaped tail" was reportedly observed by more than thirty people over several occasions.3Off Empire, Ben Tanner supposedly watched a large animal approach his fishing trawler as it "smacked its mouth, rolled its long lashed eyes at the crew, then pointed its tail in the air and dived straight down."3 This report may also be identified with Mirounga angustirostris, as elephant seals possess eyelashes, often hold their head and tail above the surface forming a U-shape, and will submerge in a manner similar to that described when 'standing' vertically in the water. While some of these reports are rather interesting, a note of caution should be taken when reading accounts from Cairn's article in that they are only known second-handedly and the manner in which Cairn gathered and documented the data is not known. Original descriptions of the reports can hopefully be obtained someday in order to verify that which was reproduced, although this will likely be viewed as too strenuous of an effort for its worth by many.
The bizarre sea animal reported off Bandon, Oregon; illustration by Tim Morris
Looking at the multiple other 'sea serpent' reports from the Oregon Coast, Deah Lael's alleged sighting certainly is not without precedent. However, erroneous details in this report due to verbal description inaccuracies or eyewitness bias (which is a strong possibility considering the several years since her reported observation) must be considered as well. This leads to the question of whether Ms. Lael may have mistaken a known species of animal. Probably the only animal which compares to her report is the Northern elephant seal Mirounga angustirostris: an identity which researcher Dale Drinnon suggested after I sent him details of the eyewitness account.  Elephant seals definitely can take on a head profile similar to that of a horse at certain angles, and even experienced fishermen have mistaken them for unknown animals in the past. Males grow to large lengths of fourteen to sixteen feet4, and the neck length described for Lael's 'sea serpent' could possibly have been such an animal's forequarters held out of the water5. While it is conceivable that the puzzling humps could be accounted for by a seal's bunched up fat, other features of this report do not bolster the explanation in my mind. Contrary to Dale's suggestion, Scott Mardis pointed out that the prominent neck, horse-like head, lack of distinguishable eyes, three humps, and greenish color make this report similar to reports of long-necked mystery animals from other marine and freshwater locations around the globe. I noted this myself, and also felt it significant that mottled skin is also a recurring description for West Coast 'sea serpents'. Thus, while there may be inherent inaccuracies, this report may very well be reflective of an encounter with an unknown marine animal species.

Elephant seals floundering in the water in a relative row, almost giving an appearance like that of a many-humped "sea serpent", with an elephant seal exhibiting a rather horse-like head profile as an inset. (Image is from an article at Frontiers of Zoology)
I am very glad to have had the opportunity to contribute documentation of a previously unrecorded 'sea serpent' report to the extensive database, and thus my greatest gratitude goes out to Ray Crowe and Deah Lael. Such anecdotes may seem to be of very little worth to some, but reports of unidentified large marine animals have an expansive history and, considering very recent reports, do not seem to be dying down. Future efforts will be made to locate the alleged photograph taken by the second witness referenced at the beginning of this article, with hopes that it may yield some compelling data. With further advances in submersible technology and the usage of eDNA techniques to identify the diversity of marine fauna, the discovery of a true 'sea serpent' may not be a mere dream lost in the depths of modern scientific thinking.


References:
  1. Heuvelmans, Bernard, Richard Garnett, and Alika Watteau. In the Wake of the Sea-serpents. New York: Hill and Wang, 1968. Print.
  2. LeBlond, Paul H., and E. L. Bousfield. Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep. Victoria, B.C., Canada: Horsdal & Schubart, 1995. Print.
  3. Drinnon, Dale A. "Gambian Sea Elephant and Other Sea Elephants, Art by Pristichampsus."Frontiers of Zoology. Blogger, 10 July 2011. Web. 17 July 2014. http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2011/07/gambian-sea-elephant-and-other-sea.html.
  4. "Introduction to Elephant Seals."Friends of the Elephant Seal. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. http://www.elephantseal.org/E-Seals/intro.html.
  5. Naish, Darren. "The Cadborosaurus Wars."Tetrapod Zoology, Scientific American Blog Network. Scientific American Global RSS, 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 06 Aug. 2014. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/04/16/the-cadborosaurus-wars/.
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    Was Dennis Hall's "Baby Champ" A Mudpuppy Salamander?

    September 12, 2014, 6:41 pm
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    Illustration of a juvenile Lake Champlain mystery animal, by Thomas Finley
    The great caveat of cryptozoological research has long been, in many cases, the absence of type specimens for the mystery animals being sought after. This shortcoming has led to much criticism of this study of 'hidden' animals, and has even spurred heated debate among researchers of the field as to the ethics of deliberately killing an unknown animal to verify its existence. The discoveries or photographs of supposed 'cryptid' remains are few and far between, yet there are several eyewitness accounts detailing alleged finds. Although it has received little attention from cryptozoological researchers as a whole, one such case is that of the alleged juvenile Lake Champlain mystery animal caught by the father of Dennis Hall. Dennis Hall's research at this American lake first caught my attention when I watched a documentary featuring him several years ago. He illustrated his views regarding the appearance of alleged Lake Champlain mystery animals using a model of Tanystropheus which I also possessed at that time. This hypothesis is certainly one which is now unsatisfactory in my mind, but I will leave discussion of this matter for future articles. While I retain respect for Hall due to his work in collecting eyewitness reports and the like, his unsubstantiated spectacular claims and several "Champ" videos (which appear to be nothing more than mundane objects distorted by heat waves) have since made me grow slightly dubious. Regardless, the discovery of a living, juvenile specimen belonging to an unknown species of animal living in an American lake would surely prove to be one of the greatest zoological finds of all time. Unfortunately, there are several issues with this allegation. In the article reproduced here, diligent researcher Scott Mardis takes a critical look at the "baby Champ" claims and develops the hypothesis that the animal in question was a misidentified mudpuppy salamander. As bizarre as the idea of someone mistaking a mudpuppy for a relict reptile from 245 million year ago sounds, I encourage you to read on. This is a case of excellent and rigorous investigative work on Scott's behalf, and it should be taken as an example for other researchers to follow.
    This is a guest post by Scott Mardis. Scott has been an active field investigator of the Lake Champlain “Monster” since 1992. He is a former sustaining member of the defunct International Society of Cryptozoology and a former volunteer worker in the Vertebrate Paleontology Dept. of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (1990-1992). He co-authored a scientific abstract about the Lake Champlain hydrophone sounds for the Acoustical Society of America in 2010. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida. 
     


    Below is an image of a mudpuppy salamander (Necturus maculosis), a known species of the Lake Champlain amphibian community.     Average length is believed to be 13 inches. Of Vermont’s ten native salamander species, it is the only one that is fully aquatic and is the largest, with the second largest, the Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum), coming in at a maximum length of 9 inches (see here). It feeds on small invertebrates, fish and amphibians (see here).
         Mudpuppies are not unique to Lake Champlain and have the following geographic distribution.
         Some authorities believe them to be living relics of the Miocene period (23 to 5 million years ago), thought to be closely related to the extinct salamander Mioproteus caucasicus (see here). The figure of Mioproteus vertebrae below appears in the following scientific paper: Rocek, Z. 2005. "Late Miocene Amphibia from Rudabanya". Palaeontographia Italica 90:11–29.
          But others are still questioning the exact relationships between the living Proteidae (Necturus and the European genus Proteus) and their fossil relatives (see here).
          The mudpuppies are part of a complex of freshwater animals (including the lake sturgeons, gars, bowfins, catfish and snapping turtles) that invaded the northeast from a Pleistocene glacial refugium in the vicinity of the Mississippi River Delta. They would have entered Lake Champlain post-glacially (after the Champlain Sea period) through the Great Lakes and the Mohawk River in New York. (See the following book: Langdon, R. W. et al. 2006. "Fishes of Vermont". Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Waterbury, Vt.). It’s entirely possible that mudpuppies or their close relatives were in the Champlain Valley before the glacial period, as Miocene plant fossils from Brandon, Vermont indicate that Miocene period temperatures in Vermont were like the modern-day Gulf coast of the U.S. (see here).
         The first mudpuppy was discovered in 1799 at Winooski Falls on the Winooski River, a large tributary of Lake Champlain (see maps below).
          Here is a photo of the place.
         In his 1853 book, "The Natural History of Vermont", then-Vermont State Naturalist Zadock Thompson related the story of the mudpuppy’s discovery.
      
         Thompson mentions that the fishermen at Winooski Falls who initially encountered the mudpuppies thought they were poisonous. Does this imply they were afraid of them? The "Schneider" referred to in Thompson’s writings was German herpetologist Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider (1750-1822). In other words, the Winooski specimen was sent to Schneider in Germany and studied and described there. Schneider initially put the mudpuppy in the genus used for other salamanders at that time, Salamandra, without a specific name. In 1807, Lacepede put it into a separate genus, Proteus, naming it Proteus tetradactyle. (Remember this generic name Proteus, because it figures prominently in events to be related later here and is still the generic name for the mudpuppy’s European cousin the Olm, Proteus anguinus.) By Thompson’s time, the name Menobranchus lateralis (Harlan 1824) was in use. Currently, Necturus maculosis (Rafinesque 1818) is given precedent. (For a review of this history, see the following paper: F. C. Waite, "Specific Name of Necturus maculosus", The American Naturalist, Vol. 41, No. 481 (Jan., 1907), pp. 23-30.)
         The mudpuppy is also known by a confusion of slang names, as well. In a scientific paper from 1906 (Albert C. Eycleshymer, "The Habits of Necturus maculosus", The American Naturalist, Vol. 40, No. 470, Feb., 1906, pp. 123-136), the author states the following: "Necturus although widely distributed throughout eastern and middle North America, is found most abundantly in the rivers tributary to the Great Lakes and in the inland streams and small lakes of the adjoining States. Upon the study of the lake species (Necturus maculosus Rafinesque) the following notes are based.""The many names under which Necturus has been described lead to such confusion that some of those most frequently met are here given: Necturus maculatus, Necturus maculosus, Vecturus lateralis, Menobranchus lateralis, Menobranchus tetradactylus, Menobranchus sayi, Menobranchus lacepedii, Menobranchus hyemalis, Phanerobranchus tetradactylus, Phanerobranchus lacepedii, Triton lateralis, Proteus maculatus, Siredon hyemalis, Siren lacertina. It is known by fishermen and others unacquainted with scientific nomenclature by various names such as: Proteus of the Lakes, Proteus of the Alleghany River, Siren of Barton, mud-puppy, water-dog, water-lizard, fish-lizard, etc.".
         Here is where the mudpuppy transects with Lake Champlain "monster" lore: there are three documented cases where fishermen have caught probable mudpuppies in Lake Champlain and thought they had captured baby "lake monsters".
         In his 2012 book THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHAMP: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF AMERICA’S LOCH NESS MONSTER, sociologist Robert Bartholomew relates the following information on pg. 51: "As the Adirondack Murray saga was dying down, another debate was brewing with claims of a baby sea monster being captured. On Saturday May 21, 1887, newspapers along the lake were abuzz with news of a strange find near Plattsburgh, where local soldiers claimed to have captured a baby sea serpent while fishing. It was described in the Plattsburgh Sentinel thusly: ‘The fish or reptile, which is the first ever seen here, is about 14 inches long, and has a broad, flat head, a trifle arrow-shaped, something after the style of the famous Lake Champlain sea serpent."


         "It has four legs and the remainder of the body is like that of an eel in shape and color. The head is about two inches broad. Three feathery tufts like prolongations from the mucous membrane projects from the upper part of the throat, passing out thro’ openings in the side of the neck. It is a very queer looking reptile……’ The creature was later identified as a menobranchos or Great Water Lizard." Menobranchos is one of the former generic names used for the mudpuppy and "water lizard" is one of the slang names used for it, so I believe it is safe to say that the 1887 "baby monster" was generally regarded as a mudpuppy salamander. 
         Champ researcher Dennis Hall mentions the same incident in his 1999 book CHAMPQUEST: THE ULTIMATE SEARCH in a section entitled "Historical Champ Sightings: Part Two 1883-1887", on pg. 60: "On the 16th of May, 1887, the (Elmira, New York) Morning Telegram rejoined the issue with the story of a party of soldiers who were fishing off the garrison and caught a creature, half fish and half animal, about 14 inches long with a flat arrow-shaped head, four legs, tufted, and shaped like an eel. It was identified as the offspring of a great water lizard, and the paper hinted that a brood of these viper were hatched in Lake Champlain."
         The Burlington Daily News newspaper of Tuesday, May 1, 1934 contained the following story.


         Since the photocopy itself is hard to read in places, here is a transcript: "STRANGE LAKE CREATURE CAUGHT YESTERDAY- HAS REPTILE LEGS AND HEAD AND FISH BODY. ST. ALBANS (Vermont), MAY 1. (Special)- Veteran fishermen, sea-serpent authorities and amateur scientists were offering various solutions today to the identity of a nameless creature that was fished out of the waters of Lake Champlain yesterday."
         "Joseph Briere of this city, while fishing in Lapan Bay, pulled out a hideous thing which appears to be a cross between a lizard and a tiny serpent. He brought it home, alive, and it is now thrashing about in a large bowl while friends and neighbors examine it in an attempt to find out just what the thing is."
         "The reptile hit at Briere’s hook and apparently didn’t mind being pulled in by that method. It was very much alive today and presented an unusually mystifying sight to all who saw it."
         "Local fishermen offered the opinion that the ban on seining in Lake Champlain had promoted the infestation of the lake with cull fish of hideous appearance and ruinous effect on game fish, but the likes of this creature has never been seen here before."
         "The water reptile’s most astonishing features are legs and a growth on the top of the head and the fact that the body is like that of a fish."
         "It is about 11 inches long and colored brown with black spots. Its round body, which is smooth instead of scaly, tapers back from an ugly flat head shaped not unlike that of an alligator with a large mouth and small eyes set far forward in the snout. It has four legs about an inch long with claws. The forward pair are directly behind the head, while the rear pair are far back- projecting from the sides of the trunk where it narrows down into a fish-like tail."

         "Strangest of all in the creature’s appearance is the ‘millinery’ on the back of its head, six little sprouts that can best be described as celery plants with red fuzz for foliage. It has no gills, but even so is a very ‘fishy’ creature."
         In an article about the lake monster called "The Champlain Monster" by folklorist Marjorie Porter for Vermont Life magazine in the summer of 1970, this appeared: "In 1945 a news story from Burlington reported: ‘Baby Sea Serpent Taken in Vermont Waters-May Be Offspring of Lake Monster."
         "A 14-inch reptile, taken in Shelburne Harbor, Vt., by an employee of the Champlain Transportation Company, resembled in miniature descriptions of the lake sea serpent, giving rise to the pleasant supposition that it might be an offspring of the Monster of the Deep,’ the account continued. The baby monster, according to the newspaper, was taken in about four feet of water by Erwin Bell of Burlington. It resembled a small alligator except for his small jaws. He was guessed to be some kind of small salamander." This account also appears in Joseph A. Citro’s 1994 book, GREEN MOUNTAIN GHOSTS, GHOULS AND UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.
        Longtime Champ researcher Dennis Jay Hall of Panton, Vermont had his first alleged encounter with one of the Lake Champlain animals in 1979. He worked briefly in 1984-1985 with Joe Zarzynski’s organization, the Lake Champlain Phenomena Investigation, before going off on his own. In 1992, he formed his own research organization, Champ Quest, with his partner Richard Deuel, which was active until 2008. Beginning in 1985, Hall has produced many videos and still photos of what he claims are the Champ animals and claims to have encountered them on numerous occasions. He has recently resurfaced, working in conjunction with another Champ investigator, Katy Elizabeth. For two contrasting views of Hall’s investigations and evidence, see his own book, CHAMP QUEST: THE ULTIMATE SEARCH (Essence of Vermont, 1999) and Robert Bartholomew’s 2012 book, THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHAMP: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF AMERICA’S LOCH NESS MONSTER, pages 130-139.
         After an initial expedition to Lake Champlain in November 1992, I arrived as a permanent resident near Burlington, Vermont in April 1994 to begin further investigations. I stayed for almost 18 years (Dec. 2011) and returned for active field expeditions in the summers of 2013 and 2014. I reached out to Hall in the hopes that we could work together not long after I arrived in 1994, but there seemed to be some hesitation because of the fact that I would not whole-heartedly embrace his theories. Hall believes the Champ animals to be a survival of the Triassic period semi-aquatic reptile Tanystropheus sp., shown below, which existed from 245 to 228 million years ago.

         It’s not a theory that I am particularly enamored with but, in the absence of definitive evidence, it may prove correct (if unlikely). Sagan’s dictum of "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" places the burden of proof on all of us who believe that there may be an unusual animal behind the Champ stories. Probably as a result of my hesitancy to embrace the Tanystropheus theory, Dennis did most of his work down in the Vergennes/ Panton area, while I did my investigations around the Burlington/ Shelburne region. Meanwhile, we did have sporadic contact over the years and even worked together in 2009 with Dr. Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler.
         Regardless of what your opinions of Hall’s own theories may be, he did all of us a great service of cataloguing the sightings of others over the years. To his credit, he has never been evasive to any of the questions I have asked him, either. S
         ometime in the late 1990’s, Hall began circulating the story that he believed his father had caught a probable baby "Champ" while fishing in a marsh (Orville’s Marsh?) near Otter Creek (a tributary of Lake Champlain near Panton, Vt.) in 1976. Below is a map showing the general area of Lake Champlain near Otter Creek where this incident presumably took place.
         At his Champ Quest website in 1998 (see here), Hall had this to say: "In recent times, hundreds of people- boaters, picnickers, swimmers- claim they have seen one of these animals. Some took pictures of what they saw and others wrote books without seeing . But no one has ever caught a live Champ. Or have they? In 1954 a 14" long reptile was captured in Shelburne Bay. There is an early account of one being captured and tied up to a public dock in Burlington, Vt. It was described as being ‘a baby.’ In 1976 a lizard like animal was caught by a Vergennes man. It was twelve inches long, held itself up on four sturdy legs, omitted a hissing sound and had a forked tongue. I was lucky that the man who caught the baby was my father, William H. Hall, and that I was there. I have much more to say about this catch, and you will be able to read about it in ‘The Ultimate Search’."(I believe the reference to a 1954 account of a 14 inch reptile is in fact a distorted retelling of the 1945 incident mentioned by Marjorie Porter).
         The segment from Hall’s 1999 book dealing with the incident (partly verbatim from above) says this (pg XIII): "But no one has ever caught a live Champ. Or have they? In 1954 a 14" long reptile was captured in Shelburne Bay. There is an early account of one being captured and tied up to a public dock in Burlington, Vt. It was described as being ‘a baby.’ In 1976 a lizard like animal was caught by a Vergennes man. It was twelve inches long, held itself up on four sturdy legs, omitted a hissing sound and had a forked tongue. I was lucky that the man who caught the baby was my father, William H. Hall, and that I was there."
         "The animal at first defied description. It looked like a snapping turtle would without a shell. It held its body well off the ground as it walked out of the water. The gait was that of a turtle. The tongue of the animal was forked and darted in and out as it tested the air. The animal omitted a loud hissing noise. The head was a cross between a snake and a turtle and was attached to a short neck. The body was slender with a medium length tail. The feet had five webbed clawed toes."
         Here is what Robert Bartholomew had to say about the incident in his 2012 book on pages 131-132 (bear in mind, Bartholomew’s opinions are not necessarily my views on the matter): "The Scientific Discovery of the Century- or Not!- Although Mr. Hall’s enthusiasm for Champ was undeniable and at times boundless, his claims were often so extreme and ludicrous that they would destroy any semblance of credibility that he may have had. Although a charitable interpretation could place him in the category of the ‘overly excitable type’, there were other claims that should have started alarm bells ringing for anyone with an inkling of common sense. For instance, he makes the preposterous claim that in 1976 he was standing next to his father when the elder Hall captured a baby Champ!"
         "The strange-looking specimen was supposedly discovered in a marsh bordering the lake. He told members of the Champ Trackers blog: ‘It was twelve inches long, held itself up on four sturdy legs, omitted a hissing noise and had a forked tongue. I was lucky that the man who caught the baby was my father, William H. Hall, and that I was there. I have much more to say about this catch, and you will be able to read about it in The Ultimate Search.’ Presumably if one did not want to buy the book, they would miss out on the details of this extraordinary episode in world zoological history. However, it contains little additional information except for a description."
         "Hall writes that it resembled ‘a snapping turtle without a shell. It held its body well off the ground as it walked out of the water. The gait was that of a turtle. The tongue of the animal was forked and darted in and out as it tested the air.’ He described the head as ‘a cross between a snake and a turtle and was attached to a short neck. The body was slender with a medium length tail. The feet had five webbed clawed toes.’"
         "After reading the book, Ben Radford contacted Hall to find out what happened to the baby Champ. Hall said that scientists at the University of Vermont examined the critter, proclaiming that it resembled no known living reptile. Failing to identify it, the scientists sent it to Vergennes Union High School where it was kept in the science lab, where, years later, it was accidentally tossed out when the room was upgraded!"
         "Later, while leafing through a book on dinosaurs, Hall said he saw a creature that looked nearly identical to the one he found: Tanystropheus, a long-necked aquatic reptile that fed on fish and is believed to have been extinct for millions of years. Think about it. You catch a what appears to be a living baby dinosaur and take it to a university where scientists proclaim it is like no other reptile they have ever seen. Is it not worthy of a press conference? When in 1938, fishermen off the coast of South Africa caught a coelacanth, a fish thought to have been extinct for 60 million years, it was dubbed the find of the century. Would this discovery be any less significant? Who are the scientists involved? Why are they not named? Surely such a find would be the crowning pinnacle of any scientific career and perhaps merit an honorary doctorate in zoology. Imagine-you catch what you believe to be a baby aquatic dinosaur-the zoological find of a lifetime, and there is not one single photo of it by you or the examining scientists! And what happens to this extraordinary find? It is mistakenly thrown out after languishing on the shelf of a high school science lab.""
         There are more red flags in Hall’s story than you would expect to find at a communist convention! You may recall that in 1873, P.T. Barnum offered to pay $50,000 dollars to anyone who could produce the carcass of the Champlain sea serpent: an enormous sum for the time. Surely, finding the carcass of a Champ today-to say nothing about a live baby sea serpent-would be the equivalent of hitting the lottery and would catapult the finder to global fame. Papers would pay huge sums for an exclusive photo of the creature. One could picture the headlines: ‘Living Fossil Found by Vermont Man and His Son!’ or ‘Baby Dinosaur Found in Lake’ along with a captioned photo of the young Hall cradling the little serpentine critter. But alas, despite the enormity of the occasion-a landmark event in modern history-no one thought to snap a photo!"
         For a frame of reference, reproduced below is a reconstruction of a presumed juvenile Tanystropheus from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou, China (reference links can be found here and here).

         The case for Dennis’s "baby monster" being another misidentified mudpuppy is entirely circumstantial but suggestive when looked at in the context of the information presented previously concerning the other cases of mistaken identity. I will present that evidence now.
         I got wind of the "baby monster" story in 1997 from Dennis’s website and got in touch with Dennis asking for more information. According to him, a photograph of this animal had been taken and had appeared in a local newspaper, the Vergennes Enterprise and Vermonter. He gave me the name and telephone number of a local Vergennes man, Richard K. Adams, a friend of Dennis and his father who had been there when the thing was caught. Perhaps Mr. Adams could help me track down the photo. Below is a photo of Mr. Adams (now deceased).
         Mr. Adam’s description of the animal was very different from Dennis’s. Reproduced below is a transcript of the notes I hand wrote during a telephone interview with Mr. Adams. It is a re-transcription of the original notes because the original paper from 1997 was getting rather ragged but Vermont author Joseph A. Citro has seen the original notes, as they were part of my archives that I lent him during the making of his 2009 book with Stephen Bissette, THE VERMONT MONSTER GUIDE.
         According to Mr. Adams, the animal was 13 or 14 inches long with a 2 inch long neck, brown with spots and had external gills.
         One of the major distinctions between "reptiles" and "amphibians", despite the fact that they are both tetrapods and share a close ancestry, is that "reptiles" do not go through a metamorphic stage (like tadpoles) and do not possess gills of any sort. Mr. Adam’s assertion that the "baby champ" had external gills is strong evidence that this animal was not a reptile but an amphibian. It also sounds very much like a mudpuppy.
         Mr. Adams also insisted that there was a photograph of this animal in the local newspaper at the time, most likely the Vergennes Enterprise and Vermonter. Bioacoustician Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler (who was born and raised in nearby Charlotte, Vermont) told me in 2009 that she recalled seeing a photograph of this animal somewhere when she was a little girl. On balance, I am inclined to believe that there probably really is a photograph of this animal buried in local Vergennes archives somewhere, though I have yet to find it. I also have no doubts that William H. Hall really did catch something unusual. It’s not unreasonable to assume that some of the descriptions of its appearance may have become distorted in the retelling over time, however.
         Based on the information given to me by Dennis Hall and Richard Adams, I made two trips to the Bixby Memorial Library (Vergennes, Vt.) in 1997 to dig through the local newspaper archives, primarily the Vergennes Enterprise and Vermonter (which had been in publication from 1901 to 1982). Searching both actual papers and microfilms, I searched through all the papers between 1971 and 1981, five years either side of the alleged time period (1976). I found nothing at the time, but I was primarily looking for a photo and failed to notice something else of possible significance until I performed the same search 12 years later. Why I was looking for this photo rather than Dennis himself is a question only he can answer.
         Now, we jump ahead 12 years in the future. Summer 2009, there is a Champ expedition at Button Bay, Lake Champlain. Dr. Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler has returned to attempt to record new hydrophone recordings of what she has interpreted to be possible high frequency "echolocation", possibly from the alleged Champ animals. Assisting her are myself, Dennis Hall, Ruby Anderson, Gary Anderson and Precious Anderson. New sounds are recorded but the data has yet to be made public. Summer passes into Fall and the subject of Dennis’s "baby monster" once again is raised and it is decided I will do a new archival newspaper search. Dennis tells Dr. Von Muggenthaler that the date WAS NOT 1976 but 1974, around the time of his High School graduation. Based on this new information, I make arrangements for the Enterprise and Vermonter microfilms to be shipped from the Bixby Library to the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vt. on interlibrary loan.
         First, I find a notice and some photos of Dennis’s High School graduation, reproduced below with the date, June 13, 1974. He was the Class President.

          Then, I discover a photograph of Dennis together with Richard Adams, dated May 16, 1974 (poorly reproduced here due to photocopy machine issues).


         Did I find a photograph in the Vergennes newspaper of a recently deceased relict Tanystropheus? No, I did not. I found no photograph of a recently deceased mudpuppy, either. But I did find this exceedingly curious article, dated June 6, 1974.

         So what information can we get from this article that is relevant to the question of Dennis’s "baby monster"? Reference is made to a "reptile" floating in a commercial pickle jar (presumably larger than a retail one, supposedly provided by a local restaurant owner). It is referred to as "embalmed", implying it is dead and probably floating in some liquid preservative. It is called by the name "Protens", which to the knowledgeable could be interpreted as a bastardization of "Proteus", a known generic synonym for Necturus, the generic name for the mudpuppy salamander. This "Protens" is described as having been scientifically described by "Schneider" in 1799, which again lines up perfectly with what we know of the mudpuppy’s history of discovery. Looks like a large dill pickle with legs? Check!
         The place where the "Protens" was allegedly seen is now the Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh, Vt., a historical land mark that was once a part of the "Underground Railroad" during the Abolitionist movement.
    The Rokeby Museum is located not far from the general area of Lake Champlain where Dennis’s "baby monster" was allegedly caught.

         I have no idea who "The Forest and Field Club" are or whether Dennis was a member in 1974. In fact, his name is not mentioned anywhere at all in this article. There is not a direct connection between what is described in this article and the story of Dennis’s "baby monster", other than the fact that it is describing something very similar and it is in the newspaper in the general time frame that Dennis had instructed us (myself and Von Muggenthaler) to look. One feature of the "Protens" story that may be important relevant to Dennis’s "baby monster" is the detail about the jar being a commercial pickle jar provided by a local restaurant owner. This will be explained in due course.
         A possible postscript to this "Protens" story appeared in the same Enterprise and Vermonter Newspaper, dated September 26, 1974. "A" Richard Adams (not necessarily "the" Richard Adams associated with Dennis and his father but I suspect it was the same) wrote
     a rather obscure, allegorical essay or column entitled "Bye the Otter". Mention is made in one passage of a "great Proteus".
         Glens Falls, New York is about 71 miles south of Vergennes, Vt., down below the southern end of both Lake Champlain and Lake George.
         So what is being described by "a" Richard Adams in this reference to "the great Proteus"? A specimen of a Proteus, preserved somehow, traveling from Vergennes to Glens Falls, New York to be displayed somewhere? I would think that a likely explanation. Does this reference by "a" Richard Adams to a "great Proteus" constitute a link between Dennis’s "baby monster" and the "Protens" creature? Possibly.
         Like I said at the outset, the case for Dennis’s "baby champ" being a misidentified mudpuppy is pretty flimsy and entirely circumstantial. Richard Adams, like Dennis initially, gave the date of the "baby monster" incident as July-August 1976, not 1974, but they both could have misremembered the year correctly. Perhaps I’m deluding myself and seeing a connection that is not really there. But all the pieces taken together are very suggestive of something interesting having taken place that is not currently a part of the narrative of Dennis’s story.
         After discovering all this material from 1974, I made an attempt to re-contact Richard Adams to do a follow-up interview in regards to the new information and compare notes. I tried the old phone number but it was disconnected. I tried to find a new phone number but failed. I searched for him but could not locate him, for whatever reason. When I did find him, it was too late. A September 5, 2013 obituary in the Stowe, Vermont "Reporter" newspaper, revealing that he had died in a Middlebury, Vt., care facility (see here). (I realize how this development may reek of "Christian Spurling deathbed confession"connotations. However, it is the truth.)
         Perhaps of significance is the following passage from Mr. Adam’s obituary: "At the behest of Dr. and Mrs. Bottamini, through their mutual love of antiques, Dick moved to Vergennes. He fell in love with the city as well as with Joyce Charbonneau, and they married in 1970. Joyce had two daughters, Jodi and Laura. Together, they owned and operated the Commodore Restaurant, and Dick operated numerous antique ventures in Vergennes and online."Okay, buried among the clues from the 1974 article about the so-called "Protens" beast is the claim that the commercial pickle jar it was preserved in was provided by "a local restaurant owner". The Commodore Grill, as it is now known, is apparently still extant and is at 165 Main, Vergennes, Vermont (see here).
         This claim, combined with the fact that Richard Adams (eyewitness to the "baby monster" which he said had external gills, vouched for by Dennis Hall) owned a restaurant in Vergennes and "a" Richard Adams is writing in the local Vergennes newspapers about a "great Proteus", not too terribly long after the "Protens" incident (in and around places Dennis Hall told me to go look) is all very suspicious. How anyone could ignore the coincidences is ludicrous to contemplate.
         Let’s step out on a speculative limb and say that the "Protens" thing (probably a mudpuppy) and Dennis’s "Tanystropheus baby" were one and the same animal? If such     were true, then it would be no mystery as to why no great fanfare was made regarding its discovery, why preserving it for posterity was no great priority and make Dennis Hall’s and Richard Adam’s accounts of the fate of the "baby monster" make some sense. It’s a very plausible scenario, thus far only supported by circumstantial evidence, but what is Dennis’s "baby monster" story supported by?
         The possibility is there that a true but unremarkable event has been misremembered and distorted over time into a hyperbolic "urban legend", with a kernel of truth hiding somewhere under the misty veils of forty years. I personally believe that William H. Hall really did catch something odd while fishing in Lake Champlain sometime during the mid-1970’s and that Dennis and Richard Adams were telling the truth. Something appears to have become distorted in the remembering for some, though, as Dennis’s description of the animal does not include the external gills as mentioned by Richard Adams, a very important detail of contention between the two accounts.
         Could the "baby monster" have been a swimming lizard? Possible but unlikely for several reasons. Vermont has only one indigenous lizard species, the Five Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus). It only gets 8 inches long, much smaller than the alleged "baby monster", and has distinctive markings of five light-colored stripes going down the back, which surely would have been remarked upon if seen on the "baby monster". Not normally aquatic, they will occasionally enter the water to escape predators and can swim. They do have a flicking tongue and a somewhat upright stance (see here).
         What if the putative unknown animal behind the "Champ" stories were a giant amphibian rather than a reptile, fish or mammal? If so, this animal’s young would go through a metamorphic stage with external gills and might be hard to distinguish from a mudpuppy at that stage. While the most parsimonious interpretation for the gilled "baby monsters" from Lake Champlain are that they are simply misidentified mudpuppies, a much-less likely but possible alternative exists. This alternative would be much more likely in the event of the discovery of a giant adult amphibian species in Lake Champlain, which obviously has not happened yet.
         Joseph A. Citro has implied in his books that the disparity of the various eyewitness descriptions for the Lake Champlain/ Lake Memphremagog "monsters" in Vermont might be due to witnesses observing different metamorphic stages of an amphibian animal of one species, an idea nicely illustrated by Steven Bissette for his 2009 book with Citro, THE VERMONT MONSTER GUIDE (reproduced below).

         The idea for an amphibian "sea serpent" was first presented by biologist Malcolm Burr in 1934 and the theory was adopted by Rupert Gould as a potential answer to the identity of the Loch Ness "monsters" that same year (see Bernard Heuvelman’s book , IN THE WAKE OF THE SEA SERPENTS, Hill and Wang 1968, pg. 446-451). A variation on the idea was revived by biochemist/Loch Ness researcher Roy Mackal in 1976, when he proposed the Loch Ness "monsters" might be derived from Embolomeres (an order of aquatic reptile-like amphibians, thought extinct since the early Triassic period, approximately 250 million years ago). Pictured below is an example of an embolomere, Eogyrinus attheyi.
       This idea was presented in Roy Mackal’s 1976 book, THE MONSTERS OF LOCH NESS (Swallow Press), with artwork depicting the concept by C. S. Wellek. Mackal’s concept is essentially an amphibian shaped like a plesiosaur.
         The amphibian concept to identify the supposed animals of Loch Ness has since been resurrected in 2012 by researcher Steve Plambeck at his website/blog, The Loch Ness Giant Salamander (see here). He believes the so-called long necks reported are probably sightings of long tails and has not extended his amphibian Nessie model to other lakes with "monster" reports, though this could certainly be done.
         The amphibian theory for the identity of some "lake monsters" has much to recommend for it: a reptilian morphology combined with the possibility of fish-like respiration in water. The biggest down side is that amphibians of the size range proposed for most "lake monsters" are not known as fossils past the early Cretaceous period, some 120 million years ago (see here).
         However, the living Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus) can reach lengths of 5.9 feet and its prehistoric relatives (some known as fossils of Mid-Cenozoic age in Canada) may have gotten somewhat larger (see here and here).
         If Dennis’s "baby monster" had external gills as described by Richard Adams, there is little support for a plesiosaurian or tanystropheid "lake monster" to be associated with it. However, that does not mean that legitimate juvenile "lake monsters", that are clearly not mudpuppies, may not be found elsewhere in Lake Champlain. In 1993, Dennis himself collected a report where two women claimed to have seen something described as a "baby monster", 3 feet long, swim between them in the shallow waters of Button Bay, Lake Champlain (see here). Here is their eyewitness sketch.
         Dennis has never revealed the names of the women, most likely to protect their anonymity, and he told me in 2013 that one of them had since died of cancer. Whatever the thing was, it bore little resemblance to a juvenile Tanystropheus. The body was too thick and the neck was too short. The front and rear limbs of the "baby monster" appear to be of uniform length, while the rear limbs of the Tanystropheus are much longer than the front appendages.
         The three-foot long thing, whatever it was, actually resembled a juvenile plesiosaur much closer. The illustrations on the bottom of the montage below were based on an actual five-foot long juvenile plesiosaur fossil discovered in Antarctica in 2006 (see here).

         There may be a more prosaic explanation for the "baby Champ" observed by the two women in 1993. In his essay "The Legend of the Lake Champlain Monster" (Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 27, No. 4, August 2003), skeptical investigator Joe Nickell relates the following: "A few miles away, Button Bay State Park Naturalist Laura Hollowell showed me a drawing made by a young girl who had seen a ‘baby Champ’. Hollowell believes this and other such infant-monster sightings may well be otters. She told me she believes ‘People have seen otters and mink swimming in the lake and think they've seen Champ.’ She said she is ‘surprised at what unreliable reporters people can be in terms of wildlife sightings,’ adding, ‘I don't believe that there are any large, unidentified animals in Lake Champlain’."
         Below is a comparison of the 1993 "baby Champ" with otters (bottom left), which can reach three and 1/2 feet, and a beaver (bottom right), which can reach almost five feet. While there is some resemblance, neither one is a very good match. (The mink looks very much like an otter and only reaches a length of 1 and 1/2 feet.)

         A closer match shape-wise is a snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), the largest known reptile in Lake Champlain, reaching two feet in length. Perhaps the size of the "baby Champ" was exaggerated, maybe not.

         Are there "baby monsters" (juveniles of an unknown species behind the "Champ" stories) that are not caught due to some behavioral pattern, while the "red herring" mudpuppies are caught on occasion? Time will tell. The question is intriguing enough to warrant a continued watch. Similar "baby monsters" were reported in Loch Ness in 1937. Again, some investigators suspect these may have been otters. This excerpt is from Peter Costello’s 1974 book, IN SEARCH OF LAKE MONSTERS:

         There is this story from Okanagan Lake in 1999, related by Karl Shuker in THE FORTEAN TIMES magazine:
         An alleged "baby monster" carcass from Lake Erie, which looks vaguely plesiosaurian and was being promoted as such during the 1990’s by several prominent Young Earth Creationists, is now generally believed to be a taxidermied gaffe created from a mutilated fish carcass, suspected to be a Burbot (Lota lota). DNA tests to determine exactly what it was were stymied by taxidermy solvent contamination (see here).



         Another alleged "baby monster" carcass, this one from Lake Storsjon in Sweden, is not taxidermied but preserved in a jar in the Storsjoodjuret Center Museum in Jamtlands, Sweden (Photos courtesy of Oskar Lang). An old label on the jar referring to "Acipenser" (a sturgeon) appears to have created confusion about the date of the acquisition of the "baby monster" (1895). A statementhere).
         Regardless, the "April 1" date is a huge red flag that this carcass is probably spurious. Supposition that it is a deformed fetus of a pig or cow would seem to be offset by certain anatomical peculiarities (suggesting a model), but this is not certain. The Storsjon baby is approximately a foot long.
         It is highly desired that both the Lake Erie carcass and the Lake Storsjon carcass be thoroughly examined by competent authorities to settle any lingering questions [JC: Although I, personally, feel that enough available material suggests these alleged carcasses to be of no zoological importance].


         The thing pictured below in the plastic bag was a suspected "baby Ogopogo" found in Okanagan Lake in 2008 (during the filming of an episode of the television show MONSTERQUEST) but DNA tests showed it to be a mutilated salmon (see here). 
         Returning to the question of Dennis Hall’s "baby monster" claim from the 1970’s, location of the alleged photograph of the thing and further investigation into events in 1974 at the Rokeby Museum might prove fruitful. Dennis really should be the one to address all this and do further research if he is going to continue to promote this story. In closing, I will remark that the story seems to have been missing from Dennis’s "Champ" narrative until the late 1990’s, which is peculiar given its possible significance. Below, reproduced in full, is an August 12, 1985 article from the Burlington Free Press newspaper featuring Dennis and his theories and evidence. There is no mention of the "baby monster". This might have been due to space limitations, but you would think that would have been one of the things not left out.






    THE END

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    Scrutiny of Dennis Hall's Alleged 'Champ' Video Evidence

    November 2, 2014, 7:49 pm
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    Although they are a minority in comparison to anecdotal data, various alleged photographs of unknown aquatic animals do exist,
    although much dissention surrounds them. The illustration above is Peter Loh's wonderful interpretation of one of the 1975 Rines
    photographs from Loch Ness, one alleged 'lake monster' image which continues to be viewed as compelling by some.
    With the seasons of cross country and my job at the zoo having subsided, I anticipate more time to contribute to this blog and also revise older publications as my research into the bizarre realms of zoology furthers. While my blog is currently recovering, I have decided to post yet another publication sent to me from my colleague Scott Mardis. This particular article is a sort of follow-up to the previous one on Dennis Hall's juvenile 'Champ' capture claims. While it is set in a rather humorous tone at times, it makes no labor of getting to the point, which is a rather critical one at that. Here, Scott examines some of Dennis Hall's alleged images of Lake Champlain 'monsters' in light of his recent investigations into their origin. Dennis has recently teamed up with Katy Elizabeth in his expeditions to Lake Champlain, and the two have made allegations which fall when met with the scientific scrutiny necessary if we are to hold cryptozoological research up to the standards of other zoological sciences. Renowned astronomer Carl Sagan, who has not shied away from the topic of alleged aquatic mystery animals himself, once stated that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Keeping this doctrine in mind, take note that the aforementioned duo is claiming to have regular interactions with a species of reptile which is supposed to have gone extinct some 220 million years ago yet have no better evidence than ambiguous videos to support their assertions. I feel that Dennis and Katy's claims are lacking in the objective, scientific reasoning warranted in a field so troubled as Cryptozoology and thus such criticism as Scott's is well justified. That being said, I am not making slanderous remarks towards the individuals in question and neither is Scott, although he is entirely responsible for the content reproduced here. Hopefully, more objectivity can be brought to such amateur field work and aquatic cryptozoology will be brought to a better standing in scientific focus.


    This is a guest post by Scott Mardis. Scott has been an active field investigator of the Lake Champlain “Monster” since 1992. He is a former sustaining member of the defunct International Society of Cryptozoology and a former volunteer worker in the Vertebrate Paleontology Dept. of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (1990-1992). He co-authored a scientific abstract about the Lake Champlain hydrophone sounds for the Acoustical Society of America in 2010. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida.



    YOU CAN’T POLISH A TANY TURD
    by Scott Mardis

    Over the years, in addition to the hundreds of eyewitness accounts claimed as evidence for the existence of the so-called Lake Champlain "monsters", there has on occasion surfaced photographic evidence that can possibly be interpreted as reinforcing the consensual portion of the eyewitness accounts. These rare instances really do look like animals, whatever they may actually be, and even the most hardened skeptics will concede this. The most famous example is undoubtedly Sandra Mansi’s 1977 photograph.

    There is Peter Bodette’s 2005 video.
    And Eric Olsen’s 2009 video.




    In contrast to those images, which clearly show some kind of large object which at least superficially resembles an animal, there are the blobby images that Dennis Hall has been foisting upon the public for the last 30 years. This is, of course, in conjunction with his grandiose claims to have "found" the Lake Champlain animals and even allegedly tell you when and where to wait on them! A good summary of how Hall’s claims have done more to discredit what little credibility there is left for the idea of a real unknown in Lake Champlain rather than advance the case is best summed up by Robert Bartholomew in his 2012 book, THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHAMP (see here). Read his book. While I don’t agree with all of his conclusions, he’s right on the money with that one. Hall has pushed his theory that the animals in Lake Champlain are relict Tanystropheids, a theory based on no evidence other than his own verbal claims.

    He also claims to have seen these animals at least 18 times, often in large groups doing behaviors novel to known reptiles. Funny how none of this stuff is ever captured unambiguously on video. Hall’s theories and evidence have not gained wide support over the many years. Instead of good video images, we get stuff like this 1985 video. As you can surely infer, this video is of high ambiguity and could easily be some men in a boat. I’ve been hunting the alleged unknown animals at Lake Champlain for 22 years and could have easily taken photos or videos of something like that but I did not bother because I did not think it was an animal. Neither do most people who are familiar with odd waves, floating logs, flocks of birds, boats, schools of fish and a host of other phenomena that can deceive viewers. Granted, large animals swimming just underneath the water surface can sometimes look like waves or floating debris. But, if your photo or video evidence is so ambiguous to the point of not being able to discern which one is the correct answer, it is useless as evidence! A good example of what I am taking about is illustrated below: the top image is a floating stick and the bottom image is a leatherback sea turtle.
    Reproduced below are a series of classic Hall "wakes and blobs".







    Those look for the most part like the dark crests of waves.


    Again, there might be something there. But then again, maybe not. And whatever it is, it bears no obvious resemblance to Tanystropheus longobardicus. In fact, the only GOOD picture Dennis has produced is this one.
    That does look like what you would expect a "Champ" to look like. It also very closely resembles an eyewitness sketch from 1983.

    And it does somewhat resemble the object in the Mansi photo.
    But, before you get too excited, you need to know the whole story behind it. It is a still captured from a video he shot under conditions of extreme heat haze caused by a temperature inversion. Here is the video, shot in September of 2002. Look at the boat in the video and how even it is distorting from the haze conditions. Whatever the other objects are, they are further out and even more distorted. They very well could be boats, too. In 1979, optical scientist Waldemar Lehn of the University of Manitoba wrote a detailed scientific paper demonstrating how atmospheric haze distortion could be responsible for some so-called "lake monster" phenomena. Here is a link to his paper. This video would appear to be a textbook case of what Dr. Lehn is talking about. So, getting back to the video, you see a definite boat and two other "blobs".

    How did this amorphous blob turn into something that looks like a plesiosaur? Through computer optical enhancement. Is there an optical program that can actually clean up images distorted by atmospheric haze, to the point that it looks like the final plesiosaurian image? Looking into this matter, the only process that seems to have any effect is what is called a Gaussian blur (see here and here). I attempted to process the above image using a Gaussian blur program and the result was even more distorted than the original image.

    To wit, the blurry blob was turned into a "plesiosaur" deliberately, by some photoshop program. Here’s even an intermediate version from Dennis’s old website.
    Garbage in, garbage out. But it get’s worse.

    This "arch" over Lake Champlain, dated 1994, looks like it was drawn on with a pencil! Does this look like a real photograph of something, seriously?

    And this?

    Rather than drag this out any further needlessly, I think I have made my point. Critics will likely say that I am doing this out of jealousy but no, I have had this opinion of this evidence for many years and have just kept my mouth shut out of respect for Dennis. After all, he did catalog many sightings made by others that seem to be legit and that may be the one good thing he did. Recently, relations between he and myself have gone sour and he has seen reason to attempt to discredit me so I felt I could no longer remain silent. That is all.

    THE END
    A teaser of what's to come...
    
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    Apple Satellite Image of Alleged Loch Ness "Monster" Is A Boat

    April 18, 2014, 5:18 pm
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    A satellite high in the atmosphere, accessed using Apple's satellite map app, may have provided proof that the legend lives on - with amazing images of a creature swimming below the surface of the world famous loch
    The preceding image taken by Apple Map satellites over Loch Ness has been making the rounds recently as possible evidence for the presence of unknown animals in the Scottish body of water. To my eyes, and to those of many others, it appears to be a boat with a bow wave and trailing wakes coming off of it. Skeptical investigator Sharon Hill pointed out that the apparent transparency of the object is most likely due to processing glitches, as happens quite often. Loch Ness investigator Roland Watson has suggested that the object's apparent large size may be accounted for by one of the Jacobite cruisers which head south from the locks near Inverness. As this is most probably not evidence for the existence of Loch Ness mystery animals (the recently alleged lack of sightings of which may simply be due to the animals heading up the River Ness into the ocean), let's pass this unnecessarily hyped image by and get back to serious research.
    This enhancement by cryptozoological researcher Sebastian Wang appears to bring out some of the recognizable features of a boat.
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    New Findings Suggest Odd-Toed Ungulates Originated On Continental "Noah's Ark"

    November 24, 2014, 6:16 pm
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    Illustration of the compelling Cambaytherium thewissi by Elaine Kasmer.
    As recently reported on the Science Daily website, John Hopkins University researchers excavating fossils at the edge of a coal mine in India have recently made a discovery which brings revelations on the origins of odd-toed ungulates. Although past research has traced the presence of these animals back to the early Eocene epoch fifty-six million years ago, details on their earlier evolution is shrouded in mystery. The odd-toed ungulates, classified in the order Perissodactyla, include modern day horses and rhinos and are distinguished from other orders due to their uneven number of toes and unique digestive system. Following the proposition of perissodactyls having their origins in Western India, the John Hopkins University research team took to Eocene sediments in this region and unearthed several remains of the little-known ungulate Cambaytherium thewissi. According to these researchers, the teeth, number of sacral vertebrae, and hand and feet bones of Cambaytherium suggest that it is the species most like a common ancestor to all members of Perissodactyla yet discovered. Apart from filling an evolutionary gap, this finding also supports the notion that a diverse number of early mammal groups might have evolved in India while it was still an isolated island continent. This isolation would allow the groups, which included lemur-like primates and both perissodactyls and the even-toed artiodactyls, to evolve without competition from other Paleocene animals.
     As detailed in Dr. Donald Prothero and Dr. Robert Shoch's Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals (a book I recently purchased which has rekindled my strong interest in the ungulates), several scientists have previously suggested that India acted as a sort of "Noah's Ark" which allowed the dispersal of these groups to the rest of the globe following its collision with Asia at the start of the Eocene. The sudden presence of some mammal genera such as the chevrotain-like artiodactyl ancestor Diacodexis in European and North American Eocene sediments without evolutionary precedent certainly suggests that such a hypothesis is more than plausible. The recent Cambaytherium discoveries have apparently yielded "the first concrete evidence" to support this hypothesis, and thus hold even more interesting implications as to the evolution of significant early mammal groups. It is my hope that future research from the aforementioned John Hopkins University researchers who are continuing their work at nearby mines will reveal more exciting data on the evolutionary history of ungulates and other significant early mammal groups.
    Tim Morris' illustration of the ancestral artiodactyl Diacodexis, quite satisfyingly referred to as a "bunny deer" by some.


    
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