The Fiji Mermaid is an alleged fish-monkey mermaid from Japan. Pic credit: Local 12/YouTube
The Fiji Mermaid is the alleged mummified remains of a part fish, part monkey creature brought to America from Japan in1906.
The creepy mermaid-like creature has remained an object of fascination since it was first displayed in the mid-1800s.
A sea captain reportedly brought the bizarre object to the U.S. in the early 1900s after purchasing it from Japanese fishermen. It ended up at the Clark County Historical Society in Springfield, Ohio, in 1906, according to the Daily Mail.
Recently, a team of experts at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) conducted an imaging examination of the Fiji Mermaid (see the YouTube video below).
They concluded it consisted of the head and trunk of a monkey, the arms of a reptilian creature (such as an alligator), and the tail of a fish.
Fiji Mermaid created in the 1800s
An American sailor (believed to be Samuel Barrett Edes) brought it from Japan. He reportedly purchased it from Japanese sailors in 1822.
The first public display of the mermaid took place in the 1820s at the Turf Coffee-house on St. James’s Street.
Moses Kimball of the Boston Museum purchased it in 1842. The American showman P.T. Barnum leased it from Kimball and popularized it in the mid-1800s through public exhibitions.
The Fiji Mermaid has been a main attraction since it arrived at the Clark County Museum in 1906. The nature of the creature has fascinated visitors for decades.
It has a small and round humanoid head, a flat face, and a gaping mouth filled with sharp and spiky teeth and claws. It also has a narrow trunk and fish-like lower body (see YouTube video).
Several replicas, all claiming to be the original mermaid, have appeared since Barnum’s public displays in the 1840s. Some of them turned out to be papier-mache versions of the original.
Scans reveal the secrets of the Fiji Mermaid
Joseph Cress led the team of experts at Northern Kentucky University that carried out imaging examinations of the alleged Fiji Mermaid.
They concluded that the mermaid was an artificial construct reminiscent of the Frankenstein Monster from Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein (1818).
The creator constructed it by combining the body parts of a crocodile (or alligator), a monkey, and a fish.
A spokesperson for the Clark County Historical Society agreed it was a hoax created in Japan in the 1800s.
The latest report comes after Paranormal Papers reported that the skeletal remains of a mysterious creature washed ashore in Australia. It became the subject of social media speculation after people observed it looked like a mermaid.
The creature reportedly had a humanoid skull and a mermaid-like body.