Bermuda Blob is the name given to two

globster A globster or blob is an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water. A globster is distinguished from a normal beached carcass by being hard to identify, at least by initial untrained observers, ...

s that washed ashore on

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

in 1988 and 1997. Originally thought to be the remains of a

cryptid Cryptids are animals or other beings whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology, the study of cryptids, is a pseudoscience claiming that such beings may exist somewhere in the wild; it has been widely cri ...

, analysis proved the blobs to be the remains of whales.

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." Samples of the specimen were analysed in 1995 and it was suggested that these were from a

poikilotherm A poikilotherm () is an animal (Greek ''poikilos'' – 'various', 'spotted', and ''therme'' – 'heat') whose internal temperature varies considerably. Poikilotherms have to survive and adapt to environmental stress. One of the most important s ...

ic sea creature, either a large

teleost Teleostei (; Ancient Greek, Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all neontology, extant species of f ...

(bony fish) or an

elasmobranch Elasmobranchii () is a subclass of Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fish, including modern sharks ( division Selachii), and batomorphs (division Batomorphi, including rays, skates, and sawfish). Members of this subclass are characterised by h ...

(shark or ray).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. 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 Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

.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.

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 Adipose tissue (also known as body fat or simply fat) is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. It also contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, Blood vessel, vascular endothel ...

from a whale.

References

* Puig, R. 2004.
A Whale of a Tale.
' Research Online, University of South Florida. {{Globsters Globsters 1988 in Bermuda 1997 in Bermuda Individual cetaceans