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what is this??

bobwonderbuns

bobwonderbuns

Vampyroteuthis
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Oct 15, 2005
Messages
319
Hi All!! I would like your thoughts to see if anyone has a view on what this animal is this article is describing. This article was posted from “The Pathfinder” in Washington, D.C., in 1913, entitled “Strange Creature Captured in the Sea.” “From Florida comes the prize fish story of the Season. Capt. C.H. Thompson, a mariner of Miami, in company with two other men, was cruising off the coast when they encountered a sea monster whose like men had never before seen. They gave chase and the fight that ensued was one to gratify the most adventurous. Before the creature was subdued five harpoons and 151 bullets were lodged in its body and after that its life lingered for five days. In the struggle it smashed a boat into 1000 pieces and knocked the rudder off a 31 ton yacht. With a harpoon line connecting it to their boat it towed the men for 39 hours at the rate of 45 miles per hour. Most of the inhabitants of Miami were on hand when the victors brought their prize to the shore. Usually fishermen have to explain that their big fish got away, but these men delivered the goods. Officials of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington were unable to classify it. Its weight was found to be 30,000 lbs;, and it measured 45 feet in length by nearly 24 feet in circumference; its mouth was 38 inches wide and 45 inches deep and its tongue was 40 inches long. Teeth to the number of several thousands and were set into its huge jaws. When cut open an animal weighing 1,500 lbs. was found in is stomach. Its hide which was three inches thick, without scales, resembled that of an elephant.”

Oh, and while we're on the subject, does anyone have a thought on what specific kind of fish lives in the Mediterranian Sea that would be large enough to swallow a man whole? (I'm thinking specifically of the Jonah story in the bible.) What are your thoughts on these sea creatures?
 
If you reay want to see something strange and almost unbelieveable, search for the fish coelacanth. There's some pretty interesting stuff to be found.
 
What a fascinating account, I've not seen that one before. I'm afraid I have absolutely no answers for you.

Obviously the beast sounds like a whale, but surely that would have recognised by Captain Thompson as such. Also, the Smithsonian was involved, so presumably the story is not entirely fiction (vastly exaggerated?). I think it might be worth transcribing your post onto the Fortean Times website and seeing if any of the cryptozoology experts have any opinions. In addition, you might want to track down some of the books of the late Bernard Heuvelmanns as he used to document these sort of reports.

And I thought the giant Jurassic fish Leedsichthys was extinct!

Very interesting, and thanks for sharing it.
 
Castor said:
How about this as a possibility. Sounds feasable to me.
Click to expand...

Good bet. I like the 39-hour battle growing into 5 days. :roll: Only thing that doesn't match is the 1500lb 'creature' in its stomach - that's some pretty big plankton. :wink2:
 
The only source I have is that I am a bible student who was looking at the Jonah account and I looked under the notes of a brother John Meggison where he had this account listed. I don't know where he got that news article. This is also why I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts as to what kind of fish lives in the Mediterranian which would be large enough to swallow a man whole (scripture doesn't say it was a whale, it says "big fish.")
 
Not to be offensive or anything, but I seriously do not think that a human can survive in a fish stomach (whale or whale shark) for anything more than 1 hour, true, a sperm whale has the throat as thick as a manhole cover, but either God made poeple resistance to somtach acids, I don't think it's possible.

Man catching whale shark, yes. Man living in large fish (or whale) = Almost Impossible.
 
I know, many do not believe and that's fine. I do, so just say, for the sake of argument, that it is possible -- what do you think the most likely kind of fish would be to accomplish this, maybe a large sturgeon? I know that in the great lakes there have been reports of giant sturgeons bothering swimmers from time to time (in Lake Huron.)
 
But what about Mr Gepetto!? He lived in a whale's stomach, boat and everything! but that's another story. As for this one... I don't know, again, without a reference to the source... Could it have been an Oarfish, off the top of my head? They pretty big, and I think were tha basis for sea-serpent tales. Failing that I dunno, unless there really IS a "trunko" :lol:

Graeme
 

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