Bermuda Blob
Bermuda Blob is the name given to two globsters that washed ashore on Bermuda in 1988 and 1997. Originally thought to be the remains of a cryptid, analysis suggests that the blobs were the remains of known sea creatures.
There has been some confusion in the past as to whether there were three Bermuda blobs or only two. Cryptozoologist Michael Newton has revealed, however, that there were only two — one washed ashore in 1988 (and later dubbed Bermuda Blob 1) and one washed ashore in 1997 (Bermuda Blob 2). Internet claims that a Bermuda blob was also washed ashore in 1995 were thoroughly investigated by Newton, who discovered that there was no record whatsoever of any such occurrence present in any of the local newspapers held at the Bermuda National Library or in the archives of the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, and that such claims were due entirely to a misprint in a 2004 paper by blob researchers Pierce et al.. Quoting Newton: "While citing their earlier study repeatedly, the authors [Pierce et al., 2004] claimed that 'Bermuda Blob 1 . . . washed onto Bermuda in 1995,' rather than 1988 — an error that apparently deceived both Wikipedia’s anonymous contributor and all who followed after."[1]
1988
The first Bermuda Blob was found by Teddy Tucker, a fisherman and treasure hunter, in Mangrove Bay in May 1988. Tucker described the blob as "2½ to 3 feet thick . . . very white and fibrous . . . with five 'arms or legs,' rather like a disfigured star."[2] Samples of the specimen were analysed in 1995 and it was suggested that these were from a poikilothermic sea creature, either a large teleost (bony fish) or an elasmobranch (shark or ray).[3] Subsequent reanalysis of this specimen by the same team, however, using advanced genetic techniques not previously available, confirmed that it was actually the remains of a whale.[4]
1997
Bermuda Blob 2 was found in January 1997. Analysis of samples in 2004 suggests that Bermuda Blob 2 was a large mass of adipose tissue from a whale.[4]
References
- ↑ Newton, M. 2011. A "Blob" That Never Was. Still On The Track, March 20, 2011.
- ↑ Ellis, R. 1994. Monsters of the Sea. Robert Hale, London.
- ↑ Pierce, S., G. Smith, T. Maugel & E. Clark 1995. On the Giant Octopus (Octopus giganteus) and the Bermuda Blob: homage to A. E. Verrill. Biological Bulletin 188: 219–230.
- 1 2 Pierce, S., S. Massey, N. Curtis, G. Smith, C. Olavarría & T. Maugel 2004. Microscopic, biochemical, and molecular characteristics of the Chilean Blob and a comparison with the remains of other sea monsters: nothing but whales. Biological Bulletin 206: 125–133.
- Puig, R. 2004. A Whale of a Tale. Research Online, University of South Florida.