The St. Augustine Monster is the name given to a large carcass, originally postulated to be the remains of a

gigantic octopus The kraken (, from , "the crookie") is a legendary sea monster of enormous size, per its etymology something akin to a cephalopod, said to appear in the Norwegian Sea off the coast of Norway. It is believed that the legend of the Kraken may h ...

, that washed ashore on the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

coast near

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 1896. It is sometimes referred to as the Florida Monster or the St. Augustine Giant Octopus and is one of the earliest recorded examples of a

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, ...

. The species that the carcass supposedly represented has been assigned the

binomial names In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Octopus giganteus'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "giant octopus") and ''Otoctopus giganteus'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed. Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...

: ''oton'' = "ear"; "giant-eared octopus"), although these are not valid under the rules of the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...

. A 1995 analysis concluded that the St. Augustine Monster was a large mass of the

collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals. It is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up 25% to 35% of protein content. Amino acids are bound together to form a trip ...

ous matrix of

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 ...

blubber Blubber is a thick layer of Blood vessel, vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. It was present in many marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosauria, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Description ...

, likely from a

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

Discovery

Initial stranding

The carcass was first spotted on the evening of November 30, 1896, by two young boys, Herbert Coles and Dunham Coretter, while bicycling along

Anastasia Island Anastasia Island is a barrier island located off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. It sits east of St. Augustine, running north–south in a slightly southeastern direction to Matanzas Inlet. The island is about lon ...

. The enormous mass was half buried in the sand, having sunk under its immense weight. The two boys thought the carcass was the remains of a beached whale, as a similar stranding had occurred two years earlier near the mouth of the

Matanzas River The Matanzas River is a body of water in St. Johns and Flagler counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a narrow saltwater bar-bounded estuary sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island. The river is part of the Atlantic Intraco ...

, located several miles to the south of St. Augustine (see map). The two boys returned to St. Augustine the same day and reported their discovery to a local physician, Dr.

DeWitt Webb DeWitt Webb (December 19, 1840 Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, Oneida County, New York – April 12, 1917 St. Augustine, Florida, St. Augustine, Florida) was a physician, politician, and natural history, naturalist. He was the founder, ...

. Webb, who was the founder of the St. Augustine Historical Society and Institute of Science, came to the beach the following day, December 1, to examine the remains. He would be the only known person of an academic background to see the specimen ''

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

''. His first impression was that it was the remains of an animal, very mutilated, and in an advanced state of decomposition. The carcass was very pale pink, almost white, in colour, with a silver reflection in the sunlight. It was composed of a rubbery substance of a very hard consistency, such that it could only be cut with great difficulty. The part of the carcass that was visible measured 18 feet (approx. 6 meters) in length and 7 feet (approx. meters) in width. Webb estimated its weight at nearly 5 tons, if not more. He believed it was the remains of a giant octopus, as it appeared to have the stumps of four arms, with another arm buried nearby. A few days later, on December 7, Webb engaged two

hobbyists A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

, Edgar Van Horn and Ernest Howatt, to photograph the carcass for posterity. At least two photographs were taken, one of the lateral view and one of the anterior view, showing the apparent arm stumps. The latter also included a man, likely DeWitt Webb himself, for scale. As the images were over-exposed, they were never published. These photographs were for a long time considered lost, and only drawings based on them, made by

Alpheus Hyatt Verrill Alpheus Hyatt Verrill, known as Hyatt Verrill, (23 July 1871 – 14 November 1954) was an American Zoology, zoologist, explorer, inventor, illustrator and author. He was the son of Addison Emery Verrill, the first professor of zoology at Yale Uni ...

and published in the ''

American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance th ...

'' of April 1897, were known. However, one of the original images, showing the lateral view, was obtained by Gary Mangiacopra in 1994. It is clear that one of Verrill's drawings was based on this photograph. A simplified drawing of this image also appeared in the ''Hartford Daily Running'' of February 18, 1897. Around the same time, a certain Mr. Wilson wrote a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

to Webb, communicating the results of his observations made after having dug around the corpse. It read:

One arm lying west of the body, 23 feet long; one stump of arm about 4 feet long; three arms lying south of body and from appearance attached to same (although I did not dig quite to body, as it laid well down in the sand and I was very tired), longest one measured over 23 feet, the other arms were three to five feet shorter.

In the first days of December 1896, Dr. George Grant, owner of a hotel at South Beach on Anastasia Island, wrote a short article describing the carcass, which was published in the ''Pennsylvania Grit'' of Williamsport on December 13. The article was accompanied by a picture of the "sea monster" depicting a tentacled creature with a tail. This was drawn by the

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types o ...

of the newspaper based on Grant's description, and not an eyewitness. Grant's description was as follows:

The head is as large as an ordinary flour barrel, and has the shape of a sea lion head. The neck, if the creature may be said to have a neck, is of the same diameter as the body. The mouth is on the underside of the head and is protected by two tentacle tubes about eight inches in diameter and about 30 feet long. These tubes resemble an elephant's trunk and obviously were used to clutch in a sucker like fashion any object within their reach.

Another tube or tentacle of the same dimensions stands out on the top of the head. Two others, one on each side, protrude from beyond the monster's neck, and extend fully 15 feet along the body and beyond the tail. The tail, which is separated and jagged with cutting points for several feet, is flanked with two more tentacles of the same dimensions as the others and 30 feet long. The eyes are under the back of the mouth instead of over it.

This specimen is so badly cut up by sharks and sawfish that only the stumps of the tentacles remain, but pieces of them were found strewn for some distance on the beach, showing that the animal had a fierce battle with its foes before it was disabled and beached by the surf.

Grant describes the animal as having seven "tentacles" and a "tail". If the "tail" is interpreted as another tentacle, giving a total of eight, this would suggest an octopus as opposed to a

decapod The Decapoda or decapods, from Ancient Greek δεκάς (''dekás''), meaning "ten", and πούς (''poús''), meaning "foot", is a large order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and p ...

, such as the squid or

cuttlefish Cuttlefish, or cuttles, are Marine (ocean), marine Mollusca, molluscs of the order (biology), suborder Sepiina. They belong to the class (biology), class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique ...

. Furthermore, nothing in the description indicates the presence of the long feeding tentacles found in squid, as the "tentacles" are said to be of the same dimensions.

Second stranding

Between January 9 and January 15, a storm tide dragged the carcass out to sea, but it washed ashore again on the next tide, on Crescent Beach, two miles to the south of its original location. Webb sent photographs of the mass, along with a description, to

Joel Asaph Allen Joel Asaph Allen (July 19, 1838 – August 29, 1921) was an American zoology, zoologist, mammalogy, mammalogist, and ornithology, ornithologist. He became the first president of the American Ornithologists' Union, the first curator of birds and ma ...

of the

Museum of Comparative Zoology The Museum of Comparative Zoology (formally the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology and often abbreviated to MCZ) is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three natural-history r ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. Allen apparently did not respond, but Webb's letter came to the attention of Prof.

Addison Emery Verrill Addison Emery Verrill (February 9, 1839 – December 10, 1926) was an American invertebrate zoologist, museum curator and university professor. Life Verrill was born on February 9, 1839, in Greenwood, Maine, the son of George Washington Verril ...

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, at that time the foremost authority on

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s in the country. At first, Verrill suggested the carcass might represent the remains of a

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, ...

. In the January 1897 issue of the ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'' he wrote:

The proportions iven by Webbindicate that this might have been a squid-like form, and not an ''Octopus''. The "breadth" is evidently that of the softened and collapsed body, and would represent an actual maximum diameter in life of at least 7 feet and a probable weight of 4 or 5 tons for the body and head. These dimensions are decidedly larger than those of any of the well-authenticated Newfoundland specimens. It is perhaps a species of ''Architeuthis''.

Verrill soon changed his mind about the identity of the creature. In the January 3 issue of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'', he wrote that the carcass was indeed that of a giant octopus. However, the paper did not state that Verrill was the author of the article.A clipping from the ''New York Herald'' that included this article was found by F. G. Wood in 1957 in the files of the St. Augustine Historical Society, on which someone had written January 3, 1897, presumably the date of publication. The short article was illustrated with an image of an octopus. Although the paper failed to state who the author was, it is thought that it was written by Verrill himself; in a letter to the editor of the ''New York Herald'', published in the March 14, 1897 edition, Verrill "alluded to an earlier article about the giant octopus that he had written for that newspaper." The article read:

Its head was nearly destroyed, and only the stumps of two arms were visible ... The body, as it lies somewhat imbedded in the sand, is 18 feet long and about 7 feet wide, while it rises feet above the sand ... The weight of the body and head would have been at least four or five tons. If the eight arms held the proportions usually seen in smaller species of the octopus, they would have been at least 75 to 100 feet in length and about 18 inches in diameter at the base.

On January 16, the ''Tatler'', a local news sheet that reported on the visitors to St. Augustine hotels, ran a story about the stranded creature. It restated Verrill's original identification of the carcass as a giant squid. It read:

The wide-spread interest in the very remarkable specimen of the giant squid, now lying on the beach a few miles below the city, is mainly due to its enormous size. It is believed to be the largest specimen ever found. Its great size and immense weight have thus far prevented its being moved for a more careful examination. A dozen men with blocks and tackle not being able even to turn it over. Another effort will be made with more extensive apparatus by which it is hoped to drag it from the pit in which it now lies and placing it higher up on the beach so that a careful and thorough examination in the interest of science can be made and the exact species determined. Professor Verrill of Yale and Profs. True and Dale
all All or ALL may refer to: عرص Biology and medicine * Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer * Anterolateral ligament, a ligament in the knee * ''All.'', taxonomic author abbreviation for Carlo Allioni (1728–1804), Italian physician and pro ...
of the Smithsonian are in constant correspondence with Dr. DeWitt Webb, President of the St. Augustine Scientific, Literary and Historical Society, in regard to it. Several photographs have been taken of it, but owing to its position, these have not been satisfactory. Mrs. John L. Wilson believes it to belong to an extinct species. Its hide is three and a half inches thick and its head is covered by a hood that prevents examination. Apparently it is a mass of cartilage and may have been dead in the water many days before it washed ashore on Anastasia Island.

In the February issue of the ''American Journal of Science'', Verrill even gave the animal a scientific name, ''Octopus giganteus'' (Verrill, 1897). He also added:

It is possible that it may be related to ''
Cirroteuthis ''Cirroteuthis muelleri'', also known as the big-finned jellyhead, was the first cirrate octopus species (and genus) to be scientifically described (in 1836). It is closely related to the genus ''Cirrothauma'' within the family Cirroteuthidae. T ...
'', and in that case the two posterior stumps, looking like arms, may be the remains of the lateral fins, for they seem too far back for the arms, unless pulled out of position. On the other hand, they seem to be too far forward for fins. So that they are probably arms twisted out of their true position.

However, having examined samples of the mass sent to him by Webb, Verrill concluded that "the creature cannot be an Octopus, but is of

cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...

n nature." He suggested that "the whole mass represents the upper part of the head of [a

], detached from the skull and jaw." Webb decided the carcass should be moved further inland so that it would not be lost to the sea forever. With the help of "six horses and strong tackle", it was moved several miles closer to St. Augustine, "to the terminus of a railroad," where it was protected from the tide and drifting sand. Its final resting place was South Beach, Anastasia Island, near the hotel of Dr. George Grant. The St. Augustine carcass became somewhat of a tourist attraction and was visited by large numbers of people. It is unknown what happened to the carcass afterwards. Photographs of the St. Augustine carcass were for a long time thought to be lost, and drawings remained the only pictorial evidence of the event. They were finally rediscovered in 1993 by Marjorie Blakoner of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, who recognised them in an old album. Van Lockwood, one of the original photographers of the St. Augustine carcass, kept an album of photos he had taken between 1885 and 1899. Upon his death, this was bequeathed to the St. Augustine Historical Society and Institute of Science and later fell into the possession of Marjorie Blakoner.

Analyses

1971 analysis

The St. Augustine carcass was largely forgotten until 1957, when Forrest Glenn Wood, a curator at the Marineland of Florida and a founding member of the

International Society of Cryptozoology The International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC) was an organization dedicated to the field of cryptozoology founded in 1982 in Washington, D.C. It ceased to exist in 1998. It was founded to serve as a center for documenting and evaluating topic ...

, became interested in the story after finding a yellowed newspaper clipping mentioning the creature. Entitled "The Facts About Florida," it read:

In 1897, portions of an octopus, said to have been more gigantic than any ever before seen, were washed up on the beach at St. Augustine. Prof. Verrill, of Yale University, who examined the remains, which alone reputedly weighed over six tons, calculated that the living creature had a girth of 25 feet and tentacles 72 feet in length!

He learned that a sample of the integument was preserved in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, and persuaded the curators to send a portion of the sample to his colleague, Dr. Joseph F. Gennaro Jr., a cell biologist at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. Gennaro compared the connective tissue of the St. Augustine carcass to control specimens from known

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

and

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

species. He published his findings in the March 1971 issue of ''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

'':

Now differences between the contemporary squid and octopus samples became very clear. In the octopus, broad bands of fibers passed across the plane of the tissue and were separated by equally broad bands arranged in a perpendicular direction. In the squid there were narrower but also relatively broad bundles arranged in the plane of the section, separated by thin partitions of perpendicular fibers.

It seemed I had found a means to identify the mystery sample after all. I could distinguish between octopus and squid, and between them and mammals, which display a lacy network of connective tissue fibers.

After 75 years, the moment of truth was at hand. Viewing section after section of the St. Augustine samples, we decided at once, and beyond any doubt, that the sample was not whale blubber. Further, the connective tissue pattern was that of broad bands in the plane of the section with equally broad bands arranged perpendicularly, a structure similar to, if not identical with, that in my octopus sample.

The evidence appears unmistakable that the St. Augustine sea monster was in fact an octopus, but the implications are fantastic. Even though the sea presents us from time to time with strange and astonishing phenomena, the idea of a gigantic octopus, with arms 75 to 100 feet in length and about 18 inches in diameter at the base—a total spread of some 200 feet—is difficult to comprehend.

1986 analysis

Roy Mackal Roy P. Mackal (August 1, 1925 – September 13, 2013) was a University of Chicago biologist best known to the general public for his interest in cryptozoology. Academic background Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1925, Mackal served in the Unite ...

, a biochemist at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and a founding member of the International Society of Cryptozoology (as was F. G. Wood), decided to test the samples himself. In an issue of ''Cryptozoology'' in 1986, he wrote, "Gennaro carried out comparative histological examination of the tissue, and concluded that it most resembled contemporary octopus tissue. While these results were highly suggestive, further biochemical work was required for an unambiguous identification of the tissue." Mackal tested samples of the St. Augustine carcass for different

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

s and compared the results with the known amino acid composition of the tissues of a

spotted dolphin Spotted dolphin refers to either one of two closely related dolphin species, being: * Atlantic spotted dolphin, ''Stenella frontalis'' * Pantropical spotted dolphin, ''Stenella attenuata'' While the pantropical spotted dolphin can be found around ...

, a

beluga Beluga may refer to: Animals *Beluga (sturgeon) * Beluga whale Vehicles * Airbus Beluga, a large transport airplane * Airbus BelugaXL, a larger transport airplane * Beluga-class submarine, a class of Russian SSA diesel-electric submarine * U ...

, a

, and two species of octopus. :

+: less than 0.1% Identification of the samples:
1M: '' Stenella plagiodon'' (dolphin)
2M: ''Octopus giganteus'' (monster of Florida)
3M, 4M, 5M: arm, mantle and fin of '' Architeuthis dux'' (giant squid)
6M: '' Delphinapterus leucas'' (beluga or white whale)

Identification of the samples:
1M: '' Stenella plagiodon'' (dolphin)
2M: ''Octopus giganteus'' (monster of Florida)
4M: mantle of '' Architeuthis dux'' (giant squid)
6M: '' Delphinapterus leucas'' (beluga or white whale)

He published his findings in ''Cryptozoology'':

On the basis of Gennaro's histological studies and the present amino acid and Cu and Fe analyses, I conclude that, to the extent the preserved ''O. giganteus'' tissue is representative of the carcass washed ashore at St. Augustine, Florida, in November 1896, it was essentially a huge mass of collagenous protein. Certainly, the tissue was not blubber. I interpret these results as consistent with, and supportive of, Webb and Verrill's identification of the carcass as that of a gigantic cephalopod, probably an octopus, not referable to any known species.

1995 analysis

Samples of the St. Augustine carcass were again examined in 1995. They were subjected to

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

and

biochemical analysis Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

in what was the most thorough examination of the preserved material to date. The results of the analyses, published in the ''

Biological Bulletin ''The Biological Bulletin'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the field of biology. The journal was established in 1897 as the ''Zoological Bulletin'' by Charles Otis Whitman and William Morton Wheeler. In 1899 the title was changed ...

'', disputed the earlier findings of Gennaro and Mackal. These are shown in the following table: :

¹ Pepsin-extracted collagen from ''

Octopus vulgaris The common octopus (''Octopus vulgaris'') is a Mollusca, mollusk belonging to the class Cephalopoda. ''Octopus vulgaris'' is one of the most studied of all octopus species, and also one of the most intelligent. It ranges from the eastern Atlanti ...

'' body wall.
² Pepsin-extracted collagen from ''

Todarodes pacificus The Japanese flying squid, Japanese common squid or Pacific flying squid, scientific name ''Todarodes pacificus'', is a squid of the family Ommastrephidae. This animal lives in the northern Pacific Ocean, in the area surrounding Japan, along the e ...

'' body wall.
³ Gelatin from skin.
⁴ Whale skin gelatin, species not reported.
⁵ 0.5 M acetic-acid-extracted skin collagen from '' Squalus acanthus''.

The samples were found to be "masses of virtually pure collagen" and not to have the "biochemical characteristics of invertebrate collagen, nor the collagen fiber arrangement of octopus mantle." The results suggest the samples are "the remains of the skin of an enormous

warm-blooded Warm-blooded is a term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating ...

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

." The authors conclude that "there is no evidence to support the existence of ''Octopus giganteus''" and concur with Verrill (1897) and Lucas (1897) that the St. Augustine carcass was "the remains of a

, likely the entire skin [

layer] . . . nothing more or less."

2004 analysis

Tissue samples of the St. Augustine Monster were re-examined in 2004 for comparison with the more recently discovered Chilean Blob. Sections were observed with an electron microscope, underwent biochemical analyses, and DNA extraction was attempted but extraction of useful DNA from the sample failed. The results of the study confirmed the findings in the 1995 analysis (Pierce ''et al.'' 1995) that the blobs were made of collagen, and were definitively the remains of whale carcasses. :

^a Data taken from Pierce ''et al.'', 1995.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:430 height:1600 PlotArea = left:40 right:10 top:10 bottom:10 DateFormat = yyyy TimeAxis = orientation:vertical order:reverse format:yyyy Period = from:1894 till:2006 AlignBars = early ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1895 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1894 Colors = id:gray value:gray(0.9) id:lightsteelblue value:rgb(1, 0.75, 0.80) Define $dx = 20 # shift text to right side of bar PlotData = bar:event width:20 color:gray shift:($dx,-4) from:start till:end color:lightsteelblue mark:(line,white) at:1896 text:"1896: The carcass is discovered and postulated to be a giant cephalopod" at:1897 text:"1897: A. E. Verrill withdraws his initial identification" at:1909 text:"1909: The ''Washington Post'' makes brief mention of the carcass at:1916 text:"1916: A. H. Verrill describes the event in ''The Ocean and its mysteries'' at:1928 text:"1928: F. A. Lucas mentions the carcass in an article about errors in zoology at:1937 text:"1937: P. Bartsch erroneously states the carcass was of a giant squid at:1941 text:"1941: The carcass is referenced in ''Lo!'' collection of C. H. Fort at:1952 text:"1952: A. H. Verrill mentions the carcass in ''The strange story of our Earth'' at:1957 text:"1957: F. G. Wood learns about the carcass from a newspaper clipping" at:1960 text:"1960: ''The challenge of the sea'' by A. C. Clarke mentions the monster at:1970 text:"1970: ''Strange creatures from time and space'' briefly mentions the story at:1971 text:"1971: J. F. Gennaro concludes that the carcass was a giant cephalopod at:1974 text:"1974: B. Heuvelmans mentions the creature in an updated edition of his book at:1986 text:"1986: R. P. Mackal's analyses of the samples concur with Gennaro's findings at:1990 text:"1990: ''The ghost from the Grand Banks'' makes mention of ''O. giganteus'' at:1994 text:"1994: ''Monsters of the Sea'' by R. Ellis describes the incident in detail at:1995 text:"1995: Analysis by Pierce et al. confirms the carcass was a large mass of whale collagen at:2004 text:"2004: Analysis of various globsters confirms they were whale flesh TextData = tabs:(25-left) pos:(100,710) fontsize:6 text:" "