The carcass as it appeared after being dug out of the sand.

The St. Augustine Monster is the name given to a large unidentified carcass, originally postulated to be the remains of a gigantic octopus, that washed ashore on the United States coast near St. Augustine, Florida, in 1896. It is sometimes referred to as the Florida Monster or St. Augustine Giant Octopus, and is one of the earliest recorded examples of a globster. The species that the carcass supposedly represented has been assigned the binomial names "Octopus giganteus" (Latin: giant octopus)^[1] and "Otoctopus giganteus" (Greek prefix: oton = ear; giant eared octopus),^[2] although these are not valid under the rules of the ICZN. Recent analysis suggests that it was the remains of a large whale, likely a sperm whale.^[3] Image File history File links St_augustine_carcass. ... Image File history File links St_augustine_carcass. ... Pen and wash drawing by malacologist, Pierre Denys de Montfort, 1801 from the descriptions of French sailors reportedly attacked by such a creature off the coast of Angola. ... St. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A globster is an unidentified carcass of considerable size washed up on a seashore. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ... Look up prefix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in classifying all animals according to taxonomic judgment. ... Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 m (60 ft) long. ...

Discovery

The earliest surviving photograph of the St. Augustine carcass, taken on December 7, 1896. For a long time considered lost, it was obtained by Gary Mangiacopra in 1994.

Drawing based on the above photograph that appeared in the Hartford Daily Running on February 18, 1897.

Drawing made by A. E. Verrill based on the same image.

Drawing by A. E. Verrill, based on a photograph, showing the apparent arm stumps.

A fanciful depiction of the Florida "sea monster" published in the Pennsylvania Grit.

Crowd gathered to see the carcass, photographed by Van Lockwood.

The "Florida Monster" being examined by Webb and his colleagues.

Dr. DeWitt Webb beside the remains.

Photograph found in 1993, showing what appears to be an arm on the right.

Men digging up the carcass.

Photograph showing what appear to be arms.

Lateral view of the carcass.

The carcass in the process of being hauled further inland.

Comparison of the connective tissues of a squid, an octopus, and the St. Augustine carcass, as viewed under polarised light (Gennaro, 1971).

Transmission electron micrographs of sections of the Bermuda Blob (left) and St. Augustine carcass (Pierce et al., 1995).

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. 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 occured two years earlier near the mouth of the Matanzas River, located several miles to the south of St. Augustine (see map). December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Anastasia Island is an island off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida in the United States. ... Matanzas River is a body of water located in St. ...

The two boys returned to St. Augustine the same day and reported their discovery to a local physician, Dr. DeWitt Webb. 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. December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 in length and 7 feet 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, 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 and published in the American Naturalist 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. December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... American Naturalist is a monthly scientific journal, founded in 1867, and associated with the University of Chicago. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In December 1896 a storm dragged the carcass out to sea, but it washed ashore again in January 1897, 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 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. Allen apparently did not respond, but Webb's letter came to the attention of Prof. Addison Emery Verrill of Yale, at that time the foremost authority on cephalopods in the country. At first, Verrill suggested the carcass might represent the remains of a giant squid. In the January 1897 issue of the American Journal of Science he wrote:^[4] Crescent Beach is an unincorporated census-designated place located in St. ... Joel Asaph Allen (July 19, 1838 - August 29, 1921) was an American zoologist and ornithologist. ... The Museum of Comparative Zoology, part of the Harvard University Museum of Natural History complex, was founded by Louis Agassiz in 1859. ... Harvard redirects here. ... Addison Emery Verrill (1839 - 1926) was an American zoologist. ... Yale redirects here. ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (head-foot) are the mollusk class Cephalopoda characterized by bilateral body... Species Architeuthis dux ?Architeuthis hartingii ?Architeuthis japonica ?Architeuthis kirkii Architeuthis martensi ?Architeuthis physeteris Architeuthis sanctipauli ?Architeuthis stockii Giant squid, once believed to be mythical creatures, are squid of the Architeuthidae family, represented by as many as eight species of the genus Architeuthis. ...

The proportions indicate 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.

However, Verrill soon changed his mind about the identity of the creature. In the January 3, 1897 issue of the New York Herald, 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. In the February issue of the American Journal of Science, Verrill even gave the animal a scientific name, Octopus giganteus (Verrill, 1897). However, he also added:^[1] Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835 and 1924. ...

It is possible that it may be related to Cirroteuthis, 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 cetacean nature." He suggested that "the whole mass represents the upper part of the head of [a sperm whale], detached from the skull and jaw." Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 m (60 ft) long. ...

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 nearer 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 to 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.

The St. Augustine carcass was largely forgotten until 1957, when Dr. Forrest Glenn Wood, a curator at the Marineland of Florida and a founding member of the International Society of Cryptozoology, became interested in the story after finding a yellowed newspaper clipping mentioning the creature. He learned that a sample of the integument was preserved in the Smithsonian Institution, and persuaded the curators to send a sample to his colleague, Dr. Joseph F. Gennaro Jr., a cell biologist at the University of Florida. Gennaro compared the connective tissue of the St. Augustine carcass to control specimens from known octopus and squid species. He published his findings in the March 1971 issue of Natural History:^[5] The Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle on the National Mall serves as the Institutions headquarters. ... The University of Florida (also known as Florida or UF) is a public university and land-grant institution located in Gainesville, Florida. ... Families 14 in two suborders, see text. ... Suborders Myopsina Oegopsina Squids are a large, diverse group of marine cephalopods. ... Natural History is a magazine on science and nature aimed at the general public which is published by the American Museum of Natural History. ...

Now differences between the contemporary squid and octopus samples became very clear. In the octopus, broad bands of fibers passed along the plane of 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 planes of the section, separated by thin partitions of perpendicular fibers. . . . It seemed I had found the 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 sample, 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.

Roy Mackal, a biochemist at the University of Chicago 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 acids and compared the results with the known amino acid composition of the tissues of a spotted dolphin, a beluga, a giant squid, and two species of octopus. He published his findings in Cryptozoology:^[6] Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. ... An amino acid residue is what is left of an amino acid once a molecule of water has been lost (an H+ from the nitrogenous side and an OH- from the carboxylic side) in the formation of a peptide bond. ... Binomial name Stenella attenuata (Gray, 1846) Pantropical Spotted Dolphin range The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata) is a species of dolphin found in all the worlds temperate and tropical oceans. ... Binomial name Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776) Beluga range The Beluga Whale or White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-arctic species of cetacean. ... Species Architeuthis dux ?Architeuthis hartingii ?Architeuthis japonica ?Architeuthis kirkii Architeuthis martensi ?Architeuthis physeteris Architeuthis sanctipauli ?Architeuthis stockii Giant squid, once believed to be mythical creatures, are squid of the Architeuthidae family, represented by as many as eight species of the genus Architeuthis. ...

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 of 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.

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, who recognised them in an old album. Van Lockwood, one of the two original photographers of the St. Augustine carcass, kept an album of photos he had taken between 1885 to 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. Image File history File links Cquote1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Atomic mass 63. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Samples of the St. Augustine carcass were again examined in 1995. They were subjected to electron microscopy and biochemical analysis in what was the most thorough examination of the preserved material to date. The results of the analyses, published in the Biological Bulletin, disputed the earlier findings of Gennaro and Mackal. These are shown in the following table: The electron microscope is a microscope that can magnify very small details with high resolving power due to the use of electrons rather than light to scatter off material, magnifying at levels up to 500,000 times. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of life, a bridge between biology and chemistry that studies how complex chemical reactions and chemical structures give rise to life. ...

Comparative amino acid compositions of skin collagens of several species and the Bermuda and St. Augustine carcasses (values are amino acid residues/1000 residues)^[3]

Amino acid	Bermuda carcass	St. Augustine carcass	Octopus mantle1	Squid mantle2	Carp3	Whale skin4	Shark skin5
Asp	52	50	53	58	48	46	43
Thr	27	28	28	26	25	24	23
Ser	47	45	52	47	43	41	61
OH-Pro	79	54	95	89	82	89	60
Pro	88	169	101	96	117	128	106
Glu	83	82	64	86	69	70	68
Gly	339	330	324	308	326	326	338
Ala	113	106	100	89	119	111	106
Val	25	18	19	21	18	21	25
Cys	0	0	8	4	0	0	0
Met	0	0	6	8	14	5	18
Ileu	14	11	22	21	11	11	15
Leu	32	28	30	32	22	25	25
Tyr	0	0	5	5	3	4	3
Phe	16	14	8	12	14	13	13
OH-Lys	13.1	15.3	15.7	16.1	7.1	6	5.5
Lys	10	0.4	11	15	25	26	27
His	6	4	3	7	5	6	13
Arg	55	48	58	59	52	50	51

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 vertebrate." 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 whale, likely the entire skin [blubber layer] . . . nothing more or less."^[3] A warm-blooded (homeothermic) animal is one that can keep its core body temperature at a nearly constant level regardless of the temperature of the surrounding environment (that is, to maintain thermal homeostasis) . This can involve not only the ability to generate heat, but also the ability to cool down... Classes and Clades See below Vertebrata is a subphylum of chordates, specifically, those with backbones or spinal columns. ... The term whale is ambiguous: it can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea. ... Remains of seventeenth century blubber cauldrons at the abandoned Dutch settlement of Smeerenburg in Svalbard, Norway This article is about the body tissue. ...

See also

• Giant octopus
• Lusca

Giant Octopus may refer to the following: Octopuses of the genus Enteroctopus Colossal Octopus or lusca, a cryptid This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Disambiguation: Lusca is also part of Dublin The Lusca or colossal octopus (Octopus giganteus) is a kind of hypothesised giant octopus of immense size. ...

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Octopus giganteus

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Octopus giganteus

1. ^ ^a b Verrill, A.E. 1897b. Additional information concerning the giant Cephalopod of Florida. American Journal of Science 4th series 3: 162-163.
2. ^ Raynal, M. 1987. Le poulpe colossal des Caraïbes. Le Clin d'Œil, Nice, 16: 21-25.
3. ^ ^a b c Pierce, S., G. Smith, T. Maugel & E. Clark 1995. On the Giant Octopus (Octopus giganteus) and the Bermuda Blob: Homage to A. E. Verrill. Biological Bulletin 188: 219-230.
4. ^ Verrill, A.E. 1897a. A gigantic Cephalopod on the Florida coast. American Journal of Science 4th series 3: 79.
5. ^ Gennaro, J.F. Jr. 1971. The Creature Revealed. Natural History, March 1971.
6. ^ Mackal, R.P. 1986. Biochemical Analyses of Preserved Octopus giganteus Tissue. Cryptozoology 5: 55-62.
7. ^ ^a b Kimura, S., Y. Nagoka & M. Kubota. 1969. Studies on marine invertebrate collagens-I. Some collagens from crustaceans and molluscs. Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish. 35: 743-748.
8. ^ Piez, K. A. & J. Gross. 1960. The amino acid composition of some fish collagens: the relationship between composition and structure. J. Biol. Chem. 235: 995-998.
9. ^ Eastoe, J. E. 1955. The amino acid composition of mammalian collagen and gelatin. Biochem. J. 61: 589-600.
10. ^ Piez, K. A., E. A. Eigner & M. Lewis. 1963. The chromatographic separation and amino acid composition of several collagens. Biochemistry 2: 58-66.

• Ellis, R. 1994. Monsters of the Sea. Robert Hale, London.
• Heuvelmans, B. 2003. The Kraken and the Colossal Octopus. Kegan Paul, London.
• Lucas, F.A. 1897. The Florida Monster. Science, New Series, 5: 476.
• Mangiacopra, G.S. 1975. Octopus giganteus Verrill: A New Species of Cephalopod. Of Sea and Shore (Spring 1975): 3-10, 51-52.
• Mangiacopra, G.S. 1976. Monster on the Florida Beach. Part One: INFO Journal 5(1): 2-6; Part Two: INFO Journal 5(2): 2-6.
• Raynal, M. 1987. Properties of Collagen and the Nature of the Florida Monster. Cryptozoology 6: 129-130.
• Verrill, A.E. 1897c. The supposed great Octopus of Florida; certainly not a Cephalopod. American Journal of Science 4th series 3: 355-356.
• Verrill, A.E. 1897d. The Florida Monster. Science New Series 5: 392.
• Verrill, A.E. 1897e. The Florida Sea-Monster. Science New Series 5: 476.
• Verrill, A.E. 1897f. The Florida Sea-Monster. American Naturalist 31: 304-307.
• Webb, D. 1897. A Large Decapod. Nautilus 10: 108.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ...

External links

• Globsters: The St. Augustine Giant Octopus
• Le "Monstre de Floride" de 1896: Cachalot ou Pieuvre Geante? (French)