Manatee of Helena
Appearance
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The Manatee of Helena is a creature believed to have once inhabited the coast of Saint Helena, an island supposed to be largely populated by manatees during the days of colonization. Unlike known manatee species, Helena manatees were semi-aquatic, often coming onto land like seals. There is no evidence to prove its existence, and only two eyewitness accounts have been reported.[1] Southern elephant seals historically bred on the island,[2] and this cryptid could be a misidentification of elephant seals.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ G., RETCHING (1936). "The Manatee of St. Helena". Nature. 138 (3479): 33–34. Bibcode:1936Natur.138...33R. doi:10.1038/138033b0.
- ^ Alava, Juan José; Carvaja, Raúl (July–December 2005). "First records of elephant seals on the Guayaquil Gulf, Ecuador: on the occurrence of either a Mirounga leonina or M. angustirostris". Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals (PDF). 4 (2). Rio de Janeiro: Sociedade Latino-Americana de Especialistas em Mamíferos Aquáticos: 195–198. doi:10.5597/lajam00086. ISSN 1676-7497.
- ^ Karl P.N. Shuker, 2014, The Beasts That Hide from Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals, p.138, Paraview Press