The Stronsay Beast
A huge carcass washed up on an Orkney island was named as a new sea serpent, with six legs.
What was reported
In September 1808, after a storm, a large carcass washed ashore on the island of Stronsay. Witnesses said it was about 16 metres long, with a long neck, a small head, a mane down its back and three pairs of limbs.
Learned societies in Edinburgh took it seriously, and the Wernerian Natural History Society gave it a scientific name, Halsydrus pontoppidani, as a new kind of sea serpent.
Explanations offered
The anatomist Everard Home examined surviving pieces and concluded it was a basking shark, which is how it's understood today. As a basking shark rots, its jaw and gills fall away, leaving what looks like a small head on a long neck, and the fins can look like legs. Many 'sea monster' carcasses since have turned out the same way.
- When
- September 1808
- Where
- Stronsay, Orkney, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Islanders who found the carcass
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.