SEA MONSTER

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4534, 9 February 1942, Page 6

SEA MONSTER

BODY FOUND IN ORKNEYS LOCH NESS REPORTS RECALLED The reports of the appearance of an unusual “monster” in the waters of Loch Ness, Scotland, in 1932 and 1933 are recalled by the news, given from London in a recent newsreel broad'cast, that a similar monster has been 'found dead on the shores of the Orkney Islands. It was discovered by playing children, who thought it a small submarine which had become stranded, but the policeman of a nearby village who went to investigate brought it to the attention of British scientists, and the carcase has now been crated and is being taken to the Natural History Museum in London. It is to be preserved for exhibition. The animal is described as being undoubtedly closely allied to the Plesiosaurs, a sub-branch of the extinct pre-historic group Sauropterya. The most recent living member of the sub-branch, Elasmosaurus, has been found in fossilized form in widelyseparated parts of the world, including Britain. The Orkney animal is reported to have a head like a cow, carried on a triangular-shaped neck, 10 feet long. The body is humped, with spines two and one-half inches long on its back. It has four flappers, or fins, two feet six inches long, and the body is covered with matted hair like cocoanut fibre. The sockets of the eyes measure three inches across. Reconstructions from fossilised remains show that the Elasmosaurus had a head about 18 inches long, with a neck Tip to 19 feet long. Its total length was about 30 feet, and its flappers were about three feet. LOCH NESS MONSTER The reports from Loch Ness gained world notice in the autumn of 1933, and were treated both seriously and humourously in the Press. In his book “The Loch Ness Monster,” Lieut.-Commander R. T. Gould has gathered together sifted evidence of eye witnesses, but prefers to leave questions of authenticity to scientists. He links the animal with the fabled sea serpent. The earliest authenticated report of the appearance of such an animal in Loch Ness was in 1871 or 1872, when Mr D. Mackenzie saw 'what he likened to an upturned boat which suddenly came to life and made off at great speed, wriggling and churning up the water. There were other similar reports in later years, including 1924, 1929, and 1930. It was not till 1933, however, that photographs were obtained and published in the Press. On January 15, 1934, the “beastie” was seen on land at night. The observer said it appeared to be 15 to 20 feet long, and moved away in bounds on flippers like a sea lion. A sketch prepared from his description would fit excellently the animal now washed ashore on the Orkneys. NEW ZEALAND PLESIOSAURS When the news was referred to Dr. W. R. B. Oliver, of the Dominion Museum, Wellington, he recalled that Maori lore tells of the Kumi, a lizardlike animal which inhabited the bush. He said that fossilised remains of a number of Plesiosaurs had been found in New Zealand. Dr. Oliver said he had already heard of the Orkneys discovery. He agreed that the description conformed to the characteristics assigned by scientists to the Plesiosaurs, except that the possession of hair would suggest a mammal rather than a reptile, to which class Plesiosaurs had been regarded as belonging. Since none of these animals had been found on the surface of the earth, which scientists, except for a part of northern Greenland, had completely explored, he said

it was probable that it was a deepsea denizen. Pending the receipt of fuller reports from the British Museum he made this comment: “The possession of hair would normally class it as a mammal, the only possessors of true hair. If it is a Plesiosaur it should be a reptile. But living on the sea bottom it should be a fish.” Dr. Oliver recalled that a few years ago a fish was caught in South African waters which scientists had believed to have lived and become extinct about GO million years ago. Since this prehistoric fish had been proved still to exist it was certainly not impossible that there should be living Plesiosaurs.