The latest edition of a monthly webTV show from the CFZ and CFZtv, bringing you the latest cryptozoological and monster-hunting news from around the world.
This episode brings you:
CFZ in autumn
Farewell to Biggles
Unconvention 2010
Blue Dog footage
Fixing the Roof
Rebecca Lang interview
Australian Big Cats
Corinna looks at out of place birds
New and Rediscovered: New monkey
New and Rediscovered: New Madagascan mammal
New and Rediscovered: New salamander
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
MARKUS HEMMLER: The Masbate Monster
On December 24 1996 a carcass washed up on beach villa Rico near the town of Claveria, located in the Philippine province of Masbate. According to press reports the animal's body resembled an 26-foot-long eel-like creature with the head of a turtle. A photo of the skull, vertebrae and limbs appeared in the newspaper Philippine Star, but this photo is not available. The photograph was presented together with dried meat to unnamed "experts" and no one could identify it. Zoologist Dr Perry Ong of the Philippines University confirmed that it was "a eel-like fish...It must be an ancestral or primitive fish. It had fins. But if it is a fish, where are the ribs? It is not a mammal." The skull had obviously a blowhole-like opening, resembling that of a dolphin, but it lacked the corresponding long, narrow snout. Cryptozoologist Karl Shuker speculated it could probably be an already heavily decayed killer whale (Orcinus orca).
The description of a blowhole-like opening in the skull, however, reminded me at once to the epiphysal foramen, a round hole in the top of basking shark skulls (Cetorhinus maximus) through which a brain projection, the epiphysis or pineal body, extends. Because of this speculation, it was first necessary to determine whether the range of the basking shark includes the Philippines. And precisely during this search was quickly and completely unexpectedly the Masbate monster met again! Fishbase reports about the basking shark: "First record from Philippines: skeletal remains washed up on shore in Iceland Burias, Masbate." Unfortunately there was no date of this report, but the source was specified: Compagno, LJV, Last, PR, Stevens, JD & Alava, MNR (2005) Checklist of Philippine Chondrichthyes. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report. This report is, fortunately, available online, and there you can read: "First record from the Philippines.. Burias Iceland, Masbate, December 1996, skeletal remains including vertebrae and Clasper washed up on beach. Identification The Philippines Star, March 9th: 1997 Victor G. Springer, pers comm."
Another sea monster carcass whose identification unfortunately remained open
until now can thus be put to file.
Sources:
Shuker, KP N (2003). Shuker, KP N (2003). The Beasts That Hide from Man:
Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals. New York: Paraview Press.
- (2010) Alien Zoo: From the pages of Fortean Times. - (2010) CFZ
Publications.
Compagno, LJV, Last, PR, Stevens, JD & Alava, MNR (2005) Checklist of
Philippine Chondrichthyes. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report.
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=de%7Cen&u=http://www.kryptozoologie-online.de/Nachrichten/Dracontologie-News/masbate-monster-kadaver-ein-riesenhai.html
The description of a blowhole-like opening in the skull, however, reminded me at once to the epiphysal foramen, a round hole in the top of basking shark skulls (Cetorhinus maximus) through which a brain projection, the epiphysis or pineal body, extends. Because of this speculation, it was first necessary to determine whether the range of the basking shark includes the Philippines. And precisely during this search was quickly and completely unexpectedly the Masbate monster met again! Fishbase reports about the basking shark: "First record from Philippines: skeletal remains washed up on shore in Iceland Burias, Masbate." Unfortunately there was no date of this report, but the source was specified: Compagno, LJV, Last, PR, Stevens, JD & Alava, MNR (2005) Checklist of Philippine Chondrichthyes. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report. This report is, fortunately, available online, and there you can read: "First record from the Philippines.. Burias Iceland, Masbate, December 1996, skeletal remains including vertebrae and Clasper washed up on beach. Identification The Philippines Star, March 9th: 1997 Victor G. Springer, pers comm."
Another sea monster carcass whose identification unfortunately remained open
until now can thus be put to file.
Sources:
Shuker, KP N (2003). Shuker, KP N (2003). The Beasts That Hide from Man:
Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals. New York: Paraview Press.
- (2010) Alien Zoo: From the pages of Fortean Times. - (2010) CFZ
Publications.
Compagno, LJV, Last, PR, Stevens, JD & Alava, MNR (2005) Checklist of
Philippine Chondrichthyes. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report.
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=de%7Cen&u=http://www.kryptozoologie-online.de/Nachrichten/Dracontologie-News/masbate-monster-kadaver-ein-riesenhai.html
Hibernating swallows
Humans create ideas to explain natural phenomenon. Most of these explanations are worth little more than the cinders that Beachcombing nightly sweeps up from the fire. These explanations are then superseded by other explanations – that typically bear as little relation to truth – and so knowledge marches heroically on… Inevitably, though some branches of humanity can’t keep up – memos from central office cease to get through - and these relicts cling quaintly to the ideas of yesterday.
Read on
Read on
OCTOBER'S HIT PARADE FROM CFZ PRESS/FORTEAN WORDS
UK
1. Tetrapod Zoology Book One by Dr Darren Naish (-)
2. The Mystery animals of Britain: The Western Isles by Glen Vaudrey (6=)
3. The Mystery animals of Britain: Northumberland and Tyneside by Mike Hallowell (5)
4. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (8)
5. Big Cats loose in Britain by Marcus Matthews (9)
6. Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo by Dr Karl Shuker (-)
7=. The Owlman and Others by Jon Downes (-)
7=. Monster - the A-Z of Zooform Phenomena by Neil Arnold (7)
7=. The Mystery animals of Britain: Kent by Neil Arnold (3)
7=. Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals on Stamps by Dr Karl Shuker (-)
US
1. Tetrapod Zoology Book One by Dr Darren Naish (10)
2 The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (1)
3=. Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo by Dr Karl Shuker (-)
3=. The Monsters of Texas by Ken Gerhard and Nick Redfern (2)
5=. The Owlman and Others by Jon Downes (-)
5=. Big Bird by Ken Gerhard (7)
5=. Ufo Down - The Berwyn Mountains UFO Crash by Andy Roberts (5)
8. Extraordinary Animals Revisited by Dr Karl Shuker (6)
9=. The Mystery Animals of Ireland by Gary Cunningham and Ronan Coghlan (-)
9=. In the wake of Bernard Heuvelmans by Michael Woodley (-)
Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. The charts this month have been dominated by the Darren Naish and the other newish releases. If Alien Zoo had been released earlier in the month I think that it would have done equally well. Here's looking forward to the Christmas sales figures.
1. Tetrapod Zoology Book One by Dr Darren Naish (-)
2. The Mystery animals of Britain: The Western Isles by Glen Vaudrey (6=)
3. The Mystery animals of Britain: Northumberland and Tyneside by Mike Hallowell (5)
4. The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (8)
5. Big Cats loose in Britain by Marcus Matthews (9)
6. Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo by Dr Karl Shuker (-)
7=. The Owlman and Others by Jon Downes (-)
7=. Monster - the A-Z of Zooform Phenomena by Neil Arnold (7)
7=. The Mystery animals of Britain: Kent by Neil Arnold (3)
7=. Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals on Stamps by Dr Karl Shuker (-)
US
1. Tetrapod Zoology Book One by Dr Darren Naish (10)
2 The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia by Richard Freeman (1)
3=. Karl Shuker's Alien Zoo by Dr Karl Shuker (-)
3=. The Monsters of Texas by Ken Gerhard and Nick Redfern (2)
5=. The Owlman and Others by Jon Downes (-)
5=. Big Bird by Ken Gerhard (7)
5=. Ufo Down - The Berwyn Mountains UFO Crash by Andy Roberts (5)
8. Extraordinary Animals Revisited by Dr Karl Shuker (6)
9=. The Mystery Animals of Ireland by Gary Cunningham and Ronan Coghlan (-)
9=. In the wake of Bernard Heuvelmans by Michael Woodley (-)
Last month's positions in this pinky colour, which I think is called cerise. The charts this month have been dominated by the Darren Naish and the other newish releases. If Alien Zoo had been released earlier in the month I think that it would have done equally well. Here's looking forward to the Christmas sales figures.
OLL EXPLAINS IT ALL
While we are waiting for more news from the India expedition, who will have reached the location for their investigations at about tea time (GMT yesterday, we thought it might be a nice idea to have Oll tell us a little about the Garo Hills.
OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today
http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/
On this day in 1957 the USSR launched Sputnik 2. On board was a dog named Laika, the first animal to orbit the planet. Sadly Laika died during the mission from overheating and there had never been any mechanism aboard the satellite to enable her to return safely to Earth.
And now, the news:
Slight change in wind turbine speed significantly ...
Five held in elephant-smuggling probe in India
Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scramblin...
Genetics of the Black Death
The 8-legged Monster Behind Chupacabra Mystery
Did scientists breed mice that 'smell' light?
Miniature livers 'grown in lab'
For Sale: T. Rex, Good Condition, Woolly Mammoth, ...
Poisonous snake discovered in box of grapes
A Russian news report (in English) from the 40th anniversary of her mission:
http://rt.com/prime-time/2007-11-03/Russia_remembers_Laika_the_space_dog_.html
On this day in 1957 the USSR launched Sputnik 2. On board was a dog named Laika, the first animal to orbit the planet. Sadly Laika died during the mission from overheating and there had never been any mechanism aboard the satellite to enable her to return safely to Earth.
And now, the news:
Slight change in wind turbine speed significantly ...
Five held in elephant-smuggling probe in India
Shelters' new rules on strays have towns scramblin...
Genetics of the Black Death
The 8-legged Monster Behind Chupacabra Mystery
Did scientists breed mice that 'smell' light?
Miniature livers 'grown in lab'
For Sale: T. Rex, Good Condition, Woolly Mammoth, ...
Poisonous snake discovered in box of grapes
A Russian news report (in English) from the 40th anniversary of her mission:
http://rt.com/prime-time/2007-11-03/Russia_remembers_Laika_the_space_dog_.html
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