Comments on: That Mystery Fish Postcard

By: joppa

joppa — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 03:40:56 +0000

I think it looks like one of those giant potato, giant jackrabbit hoax postcards from the fifties. Paste on a snake head photo and tada you have you mystery fish.

There’s a mystery sea creature photo floating around the net taken during the Civil War, of a bunch of Union sailors standing next to some kind of giant squid. This reminds me of that.

By: fredfacker

fredfacker — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:22:02 +0000

Who cares about the fish? I want to know where I can get some of those pants!

As I’ve posted in earlier threads I waffle back and forth regarding the possibility of a fake due to the out-of-focus foreground and the possibility that the shadow of the man standing far right out of frame may or may not be missing from across the tail of this animal.

By: flame821

flame821 — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:02:17 +0000

After looking at the world record holders for conger eels and seeing that their eyes are most definately round. I would have to rule out a conger eel. What about a reef shark? I can see them skining that and taking its fins (for soup and such).

By: harleyb

harleyb — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:56:34 +0000

It’s definitely real. Why would people back in the day take time to make a stupid fake? It’s probably one of them prehistoric fish.

By: flame821

flame821 — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:34:21 +0000

Correct me if I am mistaken:

If that stretcher is 6 ft long, that would make the specimen approx 12-15 feet in length.

By the way the back end is laying, I am ASSUMING that the tail (if there is one) would be vertical meaning it is a species of fish.

The eyes are located front and top which says ‘predator’ to me.

At we can say with some measure of comfort that the specimen is found in tropical climates (due to the palms)
would that narrow this specimen down at all?

By: flame821

flame821 — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:27:31 +0000

If this is a real animal, I would have to throw my lot in with the eel or shark group. More the shark due to the location of the eyes and the odd shape of the nose.

I do agree with many of the other comments that this specimen was cut up or otherwise mutiliated prior to the snapshot being taken. Which makes identifying it all the more difficult.

By: Giant_Catfish

Giant_Catfish — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:56:48 +0000

I think its a decomposing giant catfish.