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globster

{{short description|Unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shore of a body of water}}

{{refimprove|date=February 2017}}

File:St augustine carcass.jpg", a carcass that washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida, in 1896]]

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, and by creating controversy as to its identity.

History

The term "globster" was coined by Ivan T. Sanderson in 1962{{cite book|last=Newton|first=Michael|title=Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO/Greenwood|isbn=978-0-313-35906-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcC6NW_NCK4C&q=Trunko+carcass&pg=PA80|pages=79–81}} to describe the Tasmanian carcass of 1960, which was said to have "no visible eyes, no defined head, and no apparent bone structure." Other sources simply use the term "blob".

Many globsters have initially been described as resembling gigantic octopuses, though they later turned out to be decayed carcasses of whales or large sharks. As with the "Chilean Blob" of 2003, many are masses of whale blubber released from decaying whale corpses. Others initially thought to be dead plesiosaurs later turned out to be the decayed carcasses of basking sharks. Others remain unexplained. Giant and colossal squid may also explain some globsters, particularly those tentatively identified as monster octopuses.{{cn|date=February 2017}}

Some globsters were examined only after they had decomposed too much and seemed to represent evidence of a new species, or were destroyed—as happened with the "Cadborosaurus willsi" carcass, found in 1937.Bousfield, Edward L. & Leblond Paul H. (2000). Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep. Heritage House Publishing. However, Canadian scientists did analyse the DNA of the Newfoundland Blob—which revealed that the tissue was from a sperm whale. In their resulting paper, the authors point out a number of superficial similarities between the Newfoundland Blob and other globsters, concluding a similar origin for those globsters is likely.Carr, S.M., H.D. Marshall, K.A. Johnstone, L.M. Pynn & G.B. Stenson 2002. [http://www.biolbull.org/content/202/1/1.full How to tell a sea monster: molecular discrimination of large marine animals of the North Atlantic]. Biological Bulletin 202: 1–5. Analyses of other globsters have yielded similar results.Pierce, S., G. Smith, T. Maugel & E. Clark 1995. [http://www.biolbull.org/content/188/2/219.full.pdf On the Giant Octopus (Octopus giganteus) and the Bermuda Blob: homage to A. E. Verrill.] Biological Bulletin 188: 219–230.Pierce, S., S. Massey, N. Curtis, G. Smith, C. Olavarría & T. Maugel 2004. [http://www.biolbull.org/content/206/3/125.full 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.

Notable globsters

File:Stronsay beast1.jpg]]

File:O giganteus16.jpg]]

The following is a chronological list of carcasses that have been described as globsters or blobs in the literature.Ellis, R. 1994. Monsters of the Sea. Robert Hale, London.Puig, R. 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080527140638/http://www.research.usf.edu/absolutenm/templates/newro.asp?articleid=571&zoneid=26 A Whale of a Tale.] Research Online, University of South Florida.

  • Stronsay Beast (1808)—believed to be a basking shark carcass.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-17 |title=The story of the mysterious sea serpent of Stronsay |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/the-story-of-the-mysterious-sea-serpent-of-stronsay-1433313 |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=The Scotsman}}{{Cite journal |last=Jenkins |first=Bill |date=2022-01-26 |title=The 'Stronsay Beast': testimony, evidence and authority in early early nineteenth-century natural history |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2021.0050 |journal=Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science |doi=10.1098/rsnr.2021.0050 |issn=0035-9149|hdl=10023/25106 |hdl-access=free }}
  • St. Augustine Monster (1896)—identified as a whale carcass.
  • Trunko (1924)—not identified.{{Cite web |date=2016-01-31 |title=12 unidentified creatures that washed up on beaches around the world |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/12-unidentified-creatures-that-washed-up-on-beaches-around-the-world/news-story/ceb11698de2ef2cde6a31bba92414a8c |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=news.com.au}}{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Brian |date=2011-11-16 |title=Globsters: Mysterious Organic Blobs |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/globster/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=Vice |language=en}}
  • Tasmanian Globster (1960)—identified as a whale carcass.
  • New Zealand Globster (1965)—identified as a whale carcass.{{cite news |title='Whale' of a mystery is solved |page=1 |newspaper=Auckland Star |date=24 March 1965}}
  • Zuiyo-maru carcass (1977)—most likely the carcass of a basking shark.
  • Bermuda Blob (1988)—identified as a whale carcass.
  • Nantucket Blob (1996)—identified as a whale carcass.
  • Bermuda Blob 2 (1997)—identified as a whale carcass.
  • Chilean Blob (2003)—identified as a whale carcass.

See also

References

{{reflist|30em}}

Category:Cryptozoology