Portal:St. Augustine Monster
The Florida Monster, also known as the St. Augustine Monster or Octopus giganteus, was a large carcass that washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida in 1896. It was originally suspected to be some kind of gigantic octopus, but was later determined to be a mass of whale blubber from a sperm wale.
- "The sea monster that came ashore on the Florida coast" by George Grant, in the Pennsylvania Grit (December 13, 1896)
- "A gigantic Cephalopod on the Florida coast" by A. E. Verrill, in the American Journal of Science (January 1897)
- [untitled article?] in The Tatler of Society in Florida (January 16, 1897)
- Letter to William Healy Dall from DeWitt Webb (January 17, 1897)
- [untitled article?] in The Tatler of Society in Florida (late January, 1897)
- Letter to William Healy Dall from DeWitt Webb (February 5, 1897)
- "The Florida Monster" by A. E. Verrill, in Science (March 5, 1897) IA
- [untitled article?] in The Tatler of Society in Florida (March 13, 1897)
- Letter to William Healy Dall from DeWitt Webb (March 17, 1897)
- "The Florida Sea-Monster" by A. E. Verrill, in The American Naturalist (April 1897) IA
- "The supposed great Octopus of Florida" by A. E. Verrill, in Annals And Magazine of Natural History (1897) IA
Verrill, A.E. 1897. A gigantic Cephalopod on the Florida coast. American Journal of Science 4th series [January 1897] 3: 79.
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.
Tatler January 16, 1897.
The wide-spread interest in the very remarkable specimen of the giant squid, now lying on the beach a few miles below the city, is mainly due to its enormous size. It is believed to be the largest specimen ever found. Its great size and immense weight have thus far prevented its being moved for a more careful examination. A dozen men with blocks and tackle not being able even to turn it over. Another effort will be made with more extensive apparatus by which it is hoped to drag it from the pit in which it now lies and placing it higher up on the beach so that a careful and thorough examination in the interest of science can be made and the exact species determined. Professor Verrill of Yale and Profs. True and Dale of the Smithsonian are in constant correspondence with Dr. DeWitt Webb, President of the St. Augustine Scientific, Literary and Historical Society, in regard to it. Several photographs have been taken of it, but owing to its position, these have not been satisfactory. Mrs. John L. Wilson believes it to belong to an extinct species. Its hide is three and a half inches thick and its head is covered by a hood that prevents examination. Apparently it is a mass of cartilage and may have been dead in the water many days before it washed ashore on Anastasia Island.
Tatler late January, 1897.
Doctor DeWitt Webb, President of the Scientific Society, has succeeded in drawing the huge intertebrate out of the sand and securing it father up the beach, that it can be examined by scientists. So far as can be determined at present, it belongs to no family not extinct, and is principally interesting on account of its great size, being about twenty-one feet long, without a head. Professor W. H. Dall of the Smithsonian Institute, and Professor A. E. Verrill of Yale, are naturally much interested, and may be prevailed upon to visit.
Verrill, A.E. 1897. The Florida Monster. Science New Series [March 5] 5: 392.
These masses of integument are 3 to 10 inches thick, very tough and elastic, and very hard to cut. They are composed mainly of tough cords and fibers of white and elastic connective tissue, much interlaced. This structure resembles that of the blubber of some cetaceans. The creature could not possibly have been an Octopus. It was probably related to the whales, but how such a huge bag-like structure could be attached to any known whale is a puzzle that I am unable to solve at present. The supposition that it was the body of an Octopus was partly based upon its bag-like form and partly upon the statements made to me that stumps of large arms were attached to it at first. This last statement was certainly untrue.
Tatler March 13, 1897.
Professor Verrill of Yale University, who recently decided that the curious something, supposed to be an octopus, was one, basing his decision on the descriptions sent, has now concluded, after examining a piece of it, that it could not possibly be an octopus, and he cannot decide what it is. One theory advanced is that it may be a portion of some inhabitant of the sea, long since extinct, that has been fast in an iceberg for centuries, and recently washed ashore here. Another theory is that it is a portion if a deep-sea monster that on coming too near the surface was attacked by a shark, who found it too tough for a breakfast. One thing is now determined, and that is, if we do not know what it is, we know what it is not.