Sea Serpents in Academia

Sort of... Ran across a mention of this book, published by the State University of New York Press:

Species, Serpents, Spirits, and Skulls: Science at the Margins in the Victorian Age
Sherrie Lynne Lyons
Published October 2009, $75

Blurb says: "Science permeates nearly every aspect of our lives, and yet, as current debates over intelligent design, the causes of global warming, and alternative health practices indicate, the question of how to distinguish science from pseudoscience remains a difficult one. To address this question, Sherrie Lynne Lyons draws on four examples from the nineteenth century--sea serpent investigations, spiritualism, phrenology, and Darwin's theory of evolution. Each attracted the interest of prominent scientists as well as the general public, yet three remained at the edges of scientific respectability while the fourth, evolutionary theory, although initially regarded as scientific heresy, ultimately became the new scientific orthodoxy. Taking a serious look at the science behind these examples, Lyons argues that distinguishing between science and pseudoscience, particularly in the midst of discovery, is not as easy as the popular image of science tends to suggest. Two examples of present-day controversies surrounding evolutionary psychology and the meaning of fossils confirm this assertion. She concludes that although the boundaries of what constitutes science are not always clear-cut, the very intimate relationship between science and society, rather than being a hindrance, contributes to the richness and diversity of scientific ideas. Taken together, these entertaining and accessible examples illuminate important issues concerning the theory, practice, and content of science."

Normandy Nessie

A Florida witness claims to have seen a strange snakelike creature twice in a deep water canal along Normandy Road at Madeira Beach. (News source.)

Sea Serpent Book Coming?

A Nova Scotia science museum curator is writing a book on sea monsters. (News source.)

Local Politics and Monster Hunting

A Swedish county council is throwing up roadblocks for "sea serpent" camera surveillance on the shore of Storsjön. (News source.)

Sea Serpents

A brief article here on historical sea serpent sightings off the northeastern coastline.

1914 Sea Monster

A Virginia newspaper notes a sighting report from the past, "another 1914 story about Capt. George Brooks of Weymouth who with his crew saw a sea monster as they approached Gloucester. It was 'the worst looking animal' he had ever seen, and the captain resented any suggestion that it may have been a whale or a porpoise." (News source.)

Sea Monsters in Fiction

Now available, Cetus Insolitus: Sea Serpents, Giant Cephalopods, and Other Marine Monsters in Classic Science Fiction and Fantasy. This 391-page anthology has 26 stories of strange creatures from the deep, ranging from humorous to horrific. Some will be familiar to those who have seen my online cryptofiction collection, while other stories are more difficult to find. Many are of interest to cryptofiction fans, though a few are just sci-fi/fantasy or adventure with monstrous protagonists. (Out of the Deep, for example, is an apocalyptic story of attacks by intelligent man-eating fish.)

A few gems: From the Darkness and the Depths, a discussion of photography leads to the story of an encounter with an invisible octopus; The Tail of the Big Sea-Serpent, a very early story in comedic "tribute" to the well-known Daedalus sea serpent sighting; The Finless Death, a fantastic twist on dangerous creatures from the bottom of the ocean.

Available at your favorite online bookstore, contents at Coachwhip Publications (retails $14.95, but is showing up a bit cheaper for B&N members).

Prince Edward Island Carcass

A small decomposing marine animal was found off a Summerside boardwalk. (News source.) Looks like an American anglerfish (Lophius americanus).

Software for Sea Serpents

Some details on the software used to capture the Swedish "sea serpent" images here.

Orkney Carcass

A geneticist is looking into the old Stronsay Beast carcass. Not sure why... (News source.)

Swedes Film "Sea Monster"

A film crew has supposedly filmed "Sweden’s legendary Great Lake Sea Monster (Storsjöodjuret), which is said to lurk in the waters of the Storsjön outside Östersund in northern Sweden." (News source with blurry image.) It sounds as if this is one of MonsterQuest's episodes -- "The effort to find the monster has generated a great deal of interest, with the American television network NBC planning to document the hunt." NBC owns part of the History Channel, which of course shows MQ.

Glacier Island "Sea Monster"

An Alaska newspaper recounts the story of the 1930 Glacier Island carcase. (If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time the whole story was been given.) (News source.)

PDF - How to Tell a Sea Monster

Meant to put this link up earlier, it's a paper from 2002, "How to Tell a Sea Monster: Molecular Discrimination of Large Marine Animals of the North Atlantic," from the Biological Bulletin. It has been out for a few years, but I didn't realize it was available online from the author until Rod Dyke pointed it out. Should be useful to those new to cryptozoology or those who haven't had a chance to pick up a copy before.