Manatee of Helena
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] John Charles Melliss in his 1875 work St. Helena suggested that the manatees were likely a local population of the African manatee, while saying it would also be possible that the population originated from the West Indian manatee.[2] Misidentified seals have been suggested as a potential origin for the Manatee of Helena. Southern elephant seals historically bred on the island,[3] and has been suggested as the origin.[4] While Ole Theodor Jensen Mortensen in his research on the matter suggested that they were most likely misidentified Cape fur seals, in part due to the unsuitability of the habitat for manatees.[5]
References
- ↑ Retching, G. C. (1936). "The Manatee of St. Helena". Nature. 138 (3479): 33–34. Bibcode:1936Natur.138...33R. doi:10.1038/138033b0.
- ↑ Melliss, John Charles (1875). St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, and Topographical Description of the Island, including its Geology, Fauna, Flora and Meteorology. L. Reeve & Co. pp. 86–87.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Shuker, Karl P. N. (2014). The Beasts That Hide from Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals. Paraview Press. p. 138.
- ↑ Mortensen, T. (17 March 1934). "The 'Manatee' of St, Helena". Nature. 133: 417. doi:10.1038/133417a0.