Sea Swine

{{Short description|Mythological fish}}

{{Infobox mythical creature

|name = Sea Swine

|AKA = Porcus Marinus

|image = File:Porcus marinus (sea-hog) - Der naturen bloeme - Jacob van Maerlant - KB KA 16 - 119r a2.jpg

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|image_upright =

|caption = Porcus marinus (sea-hog) - miniature by Jacob van Maerlant

|Folklore = Myth

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|Similar_entities = Pigs
Porpoise

}}

The Sea Swine (a.k.a. Porcus Marinus) was the name given to a variety of sea-dwelling or mythological creatures throughout history. The earliest mention of a 'sea swine' can be traced to ancient Greece. In this context, the name has been interpreted to mean 'porpoise', as a porpoise and pig have similar round body shapes.{{Cite journal |last=Andrews |first=Alfred C. |date=1948 |title=Greek and Latin Mouse-Fishes and Pig-Fishes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/283363 |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |volume=79 |pages=243–244 |doi=10.2307/283363 |jstor=283363|url-access=subscription }} However, this is disputed by some classical scholars who believe that the 'porcus' section of the name referred instead to grunts emitted from fish in question, not any physical similarities to the pig.

The creatures appeared in the Carta marina, and were depicted in accompanying wood carvings, as fantastical beasts with four dragon's feet and a single eye at the navel.{{Cite journal |last1=Granlund |first1=John |last2=Crone |first2=G. R. |year=1951 |title=The "Carta Marina" of Olaus Magnus |journal=Imago Mundi |publisher=Imago Mundi, Ltd. |volume=8 |pages=35–43 |doi=10.1080/03085695108591977 |jstor=1150048}}{{Cite news |last=Fort |first=Tom |date=July 29, 2017 |title=REVIEW --- Books: The Thing That Should Not Be |page=C9 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660}} The map placed the creatures as living in the waters south of Iceland.

Additional accounts from the 16th and 17th century delineated the sea swine from more mundane sea creatures. The animals were described as "headed like a Hog, toothed, and tusked like a Boar". The Sea Hogs were reported as travelling in packs with hundreds of individuals.{{Cite book |last=Schweitzer |first=Christoph |title=Mr. Schewitzer's voyage to the East-Indies |publisher=D. Brown |year=1700 |location=London}}{{Cite book |last=Pell |first=Daniel |title=Pelagos. Nec inter vivos, nec inter mortuos, neither amongst the living, nor amongst the dead. Or, An improvement of the sea, upon the nine nautical verses in the 107. Psalm |publisher=Livewell Chapman |year=1659 |location=London}} However, contemporary naturalist John Ray was explicit in stating that the sea swine and porpoise were one and the same.{{Cite journal |last=Ray |first=John |author-link=John Ray |year=1671 |title=An Account of the Dissection of a Porpess, Promised Numb. 74; Made, and Communicated in a Letter of Sept. 12 1671, by the Learned Mr. John Ray, Having therein Observ'd Some Things Omitted by Rondeletius |journal=Philosophical Transactions |publisher=The Royal Society |volume=6 |issue=76 |pages=2274–2279 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1671.0048 |jstor=101101|s2cid=186210473 |doi-access=free }}