Anyone care to guess what it is? (insert scary music here) Chilean experts baffled by monster washed up on the shore 03.07.2003 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3510627&thesection=news&thesubsection=world SANTIAGO - Scientists baffled by a huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on the southern Pacific coast of Chile are seeking international help to identify it. The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when reported about a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 12m mass of lumpy grey flesh apparently was an invertebrate. "We'd never before seen such a strange specimen, We don't know if it might be a giant squid that is missing some of its parts or maybe it's a new species," said Elsa Cabrera, a marine biologist and director of the Centre for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago. Photographs showed a round, leathery substance like a mammoth jelly fish, about as long as a school bus. Giant squid live at a depth of 3000m and only rise to the surface when they die. Specimens have been known to be as long as 18m. There was speculation that the mass might be a whale skin, but Cabrera said it was too big and did not have the right texture or smell. She is contacting international organisations in the hope that they can help shed some light on the find. The Chilean Navy first spotted the mystery specimen with another large mass, but that turned out to be a dead humpback whale. - REUTERS
*UPDATE* July 03, 2003 SANTIAGO (AFP) - Scientists are examining the remains of a giant squid found washed up on a Chilean beach, a rare appearance of the deep-sea creature. The remains, 12.4 meters (41 feet) in length and weighing 13 tonnes, was first thought to be the skin of a whale when it was discovered June 24 near Maullin on the Pacific Ocean coast, the Center for Cetacean Conservation said Wednesday. The last time a giant squid washed ashore was in 1896 in the US state of Florida. Scientists examined and photographed the remains and took samples to send to laboratories in France, Italy and the United States for study, said Elsa Cabrera, a center official. Italian zoologist Lorenzo Rossi, a specialist in marine fauna, said after receiving photographs that the squid is similar to the the one found in the United States, Cabrera said. Veterinarian Veronica Altoyo said there are clear similarities of skin, color and body shape between the two specimens. Chilean scientists also have requested information on the specimen found in Florida from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. http://rednova.com/news/stories/5/2003/07/03/story001.html
I read this at work yesterday. It totally freaked me out, but in a good way. It's hard to believe that we know less about our oceans than outer space! Think of what else we may discover one day!
Now I don't think that we know less about the ocean's than outer space because the universe is supposed to be infinite. Now the ocean and the ocean floor are the least discovered parts of the planet Earth and there are tons of stuff out there they we just don't know about...yet.
If you ask me I think that was misidentified when it was referred to as "just Shawn Kemp." It looks more like the sperm he implanted in each of the 823 women who each gave birth to his illegitimate children.
that's not Shawn Kemp's sperm... it's Wilt Chamberlain's!!! The Man Who Conquered 10,000 Women!! actually, that blob is Kelvin Cato's contract.... big, gooey and not worth anything...
