Sea Monk Caught In Scandinavia In 1546. From Guillaume Rondelet,

whale that lingered in the harbor for three days in the 1670s. The settlers knew they had to try to capture it, but to accomplish this, a blacksmith had to fashion the island’s first harpoon. Possible explanations: (1) At one time, it was thought to be a juvenile Northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). (2) Now universally considered to have been a North Atlantic population of the Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), hunted to extinction by the eighteenth century. A subfossil jaw discovered in 1977 at Southampton, New York, was identified in 1984 as a gray whale radiocarbon-dated to approximately 1710. This species is currently found only in the Pacific. Sources: Paul Dudley, “An Essay upon the Natural History of Whales,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 33 (1725): 256–269; Obed Macy, The History of Nantucket (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, 1835); A. B. van Deinse and G. C. A. Junge, “Recent and Older Finds of the California Gray Whale in the Atlantic,” Temminckia 2 (1937): 161–187; James G. Mead and Edward D. Mitchell, “Atlantic Gray Whales,” in Mary Lou Jones, Steven L. Swartz, and Stephen Leatherwood, eds., The Gray Whale: Eschrichtius robustus (Orlando, Fla.: Academic Press, 1984), pp. 33–53.

Sea Monk Odd-looking CEPHALOPOD or FISH. Variant names: JENNY HANIVER, Monachus marinus, Monkfish, Sea bishop. Physical description: Sea animal with human features resembling a monk. Length, 8 feet. Head is like a man’s, with a monk’s tonsure. Body is a scarlet color with speckles. Upper body is covered by a cape. Two long fins instead of arms. Broad, bilobate tail. Behavior: Makes a sighing noise. Distribution: Øresund, Denmark. Significant sighting: In 1546, a monklike fish was caught in the Øresund Strait off Malmö, Sweden. It lived in captivity for three days. Possible explanations: (1) A squid of some kind, possibly a small Architeuthis, suggested by Japetus Steenstrup in 1854. (2) A curio manufactured from various sea creatures. Similar to a JENNY HANIVER. Sources: Pierre Belon, L’histoire naturelle des étranges poissons marins (Paris: Regnaud

Sea Dog SEA MONSTER of the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Etymology: From a Haida-Tlingit (Na-Dené) word. Variant name: Tsemaus. Physical description: Tusks. Dorsal fin. Wings. Four legs. Flat tail. Behavior: Amphibious. Distribution: Masset Inlet and Moresby Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Source: Mary Moon, Ogopogo (Vancouver, Canada: J. J. Douglas, 1977), pp. 162–164.

SEA MONK caught in Scandinavia in 1546. From Guillaume Rondelet, Libri de piscibus marinus (Lyon, France: Matthiam Bonhomme, 1554). (From the original in the Special Collections of Northwestern University Library) SEA MONK

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