Message #237036

[In the Mouth of Madness]

-- Some witnesses denied the presence of a dorsal fin (Obata and Tomoda 1978). However, even if a dorsal fin were absent, it could have been rotted away. Second, as mentioned, one photo does show an apparent dorsal fin (see Figures 1c and 5) which was evidently overlooked by Yano and others. Omura, Mochizuki, and Kamiya (1978, p 56) state, "...by a close examination of the photograph we can clearly distinguish the base of a dorsal fin, though it had slipped from the mid-dorsal line." They note that this somewhat dislocated dorsal fin evidently had partially overlapped the right pectoral fin, which may account for Yano's description of the latter as having two sets of **** fibers.

-- Obata and Tomoda (1978, p 49) suggest that the "long, cylindrical ribs" in the carcass are not found in selachians." However, as explained earlier, it is not certain that Yano accurately identified or measured the ribs. Even if he did, the rib length (40 cm) is more compatible with a large shark than a plesiosaur. If the creature were a plesiosaur, it would have had to be a short necked plesiosaur, whose ribs would be at least triple the reported length (John Martin 1997).

-- The head was said to be quite hard, whereas sharks contain no bones, only cartilaginous skeletons. However, cartilage in shark skulls can be quite hard and dense, and basking sharks have especially well-calcified skeletons (Steel 1985). Also, as a shark ages, its skull becomes harder and denser. The size of the carcass clearly indicates an older specimen.