JUST A DOLPHIN

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXX, Issue 99, 3 May 1935, Page 7

JUST A DOLPHIN

<g> N.S.W. SEA-SERPENT IS NOT A SEA-SERPENT SYDNEY, April 20. Although local fishermen at Narooma may agree that the strange creature 12ft long washed ashore yesterday is a sea-serpent, Air Earle G. Troughton, mammalogist at the Australian Museum, suggests that the creature is a hottie-nosed dolphin. “This is not a rare animal by any means,” he said, “but it seldom seems to come ashore whole or nearly so.” The creature belongs to the family of smaller toothed whales, in the opinion of the scientist. The dolphin, here, is frequently called a porpoise. He pointed out that it is often seen around ships entering or leaving Sydney Harbour. Actually there were no porpoises in the southern hemisphere, from a scientific viewpoint. The entire whale family, Mr Troughton added, are descendants of land-liv-ing quadrupeds —the absolute point of origin is still a matter of discussion, halt it was many millions of years ago. Has No Doubt I “I have no doubt that the Narooma | discovery is a sea-serpent,” said the Director of the National Museum (Mr D. J. Mahoney) this morning, “yet I am positive that it is not one! “Sea-serpents have,* or ‘The SeaSerpent’ has a delightful habit of popping up in the most unlikely places J at. the most unexpected times, hut as I yet he has not been honoured with a place on our zoological catalogues, nor has he allowed anyone to take down his family history. “He is really a most elusive fellow, and until we know for certain that he , exists it is rather difficult to say whether the Narooma find is he.

Disbelieved “There were once two zoologists, both fellows of the Zoological Society, London, who, while sailing in a yacht near Parahiba (the most eastern poiht of South Africa.) saw a sea-serpent. They later read a long paper to the members of their society about what they had seen. But it was no use, the zoologists refused to believe their own colleagues. “So you can see what a difficult problem this is. A.s for the statement that the Narooma specimen might bo a cross between an alligator and a shark, one might as well say that it is ' a cross betwen ,a racehorse and a beetle. Both are just nt probable. “But seriously’’ added Mr Mahoney, “there are many strange things in the sea, and until we know what a sea-serpent is, we can’t know one when we see one, if you know what I mean.”