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Sea monk

Also called Monk-fish, Monachus marinus, Piscis monachus

A 'fish' shaped like a hooded monk, caught in the Øresund off Denmark in 1546.

The story

In 1546, according to most sources, a strange 'fish' was caught in the Øresund, the strait between Zealand in Denmark and Sweden, either in a herring net or found stranded. It looked like a monk in his habit, with a human-like face. A Danish chronicle of 1575 gives its length as 4 ells, about 15 ft, and King Christian III sent a drawing of it to Emperor Charles V.

The sea monk then appeared in the great natural histories of the age, by Pierre Belon (1553), Guillaume Rondelet (1554) and Conrad Gesner (1558). Rondelet suspected the artist had embellished it 'to make the thing seem more marvelous'.

In the 1850s the Danish zoologist Japetus Steenstrup argued it was a giant squid. Others have suggested a walrus, a grey, hooded or monk seal, an angel shark, still called munk in Danish, or a doctored ray of the kind known as a Jenny Haniver.

What was shown or claimed

  • A human-like face on a fish
  • A head shaped like a monk's hood
  • Fins or skin draped like a hooded robe

Timeline

  1. 1546Sea monk caught in the Øresund
    Øresund, Denmark

    In about 1546 a creature said to look like a monk in his habit was caught or stranded in the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. King Christian III sent a picture of it to Emperor Charles V, and it appeared in natural histories of the time. In the 1850s zoologist Japetus Steenstrup suggested it was a giant squid; others have proposed a walrus.

    Source: Sea monk - Wikipedia

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Similar creatures

Other lake and sea monsters from around the world.

Bishop-fishaka Sea bishop, Bishop fishA 16th-century sea creature shaped like a bishop in his mitre, said to have begged Polish clergy to free it.Jenny Haniveraka Jenny Hanivers, Dried ray dragonDried skates and rays shaped into 'dragons', 'demons' and 'angels', sold as sea monsters since the 1500s.Krakenaka Krake, HafgufaNorway's legendary ship-sinking monster, now linked to the giant squid, a real animal first filmed alive in 2012.Mermaidaka Merfolk, MermanHalf-human, half-fish beings reported by sailors and coast dwellers for centuries, and still seen today.Storsjöodjuretaka Storsie, Storsjö monsterSweden's lake monster, with a dog- or cat-like head and a protected status.Blue men of the Minchaka Storm kelpies, Na fir ghormaBlue-skinned sea men of the Hebrides who challenge sailors to finish a rhyme or have their ship sunk.

Also from Denmark, Sweden

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