Dr. Geoff Swinney (below), Curator of Lower Vertebrates, Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museums of Scotland, examines the vertebrae of the Beast of Stronsay, from the carcass of the beast found on an Orkney island beach in 1808. Swinney, who is the resident cryptozoologist, in 1987, confirmed the vertebrae was from a basking shark, and not a Sea Serpent. Not everyone exactly agrees with him that it was merely a normal shark.

The Stronsay was described this way:

~ 55 feet long, as measured by three witnesses (one was a carpenter and the other two were farmers);
~ 4 feet wide and had a circumference of approximately 10 feet;
~ three pairs of ‘paws’ or ‘wings’;
~ skin that was smooth when stroked head to tail and rough when stroked tail to head;
~ fins were edged with bristles and it had a ‘mane’ of bristles all down its back;
~ bristles glowed in the dark when wet, and
~ stomach contents were red.

Dr. Yvonne Simpson

The BBC News is reporting the following:

Fresh clues have been found to help a scientist in her efforts to identify a mystery creature found on Orkney.

Geneticist Dr Yvonne Simpson has researched the Stronsay Beast and will reveal her latest discoveries at the Orkney International Science Festival.

The creature’s carcass, which some said was that of a basking shark, was found off Stronsay in 1808.

Dr Simpson has said the descriptions of its long neck were along the lines of those of the Loch Ness Monster.

Festival director Howie Firth said few tissue samples had survived, but through her studies the geneticist had found several other items recovered from the remains.

The festival opens on Thursday [September 4, 2008] and Dr Simpson will give her talk on Friday [September 5] – the 200th anniversary of the day the creature was found.

Last year, she gave a joint talk with Loch Ness expert Adrian Shine during the Highlands Science Festival.

The Stronsay Beast was first sighted in September 1808 on rocks at Rothiesholm Head, on the south east of the island, by a local fisherman.

Sworn testimonies

Various others saw the carcass and fragments of it are preserved at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Some people suggested it was a basking shark or a large unidentified shark.

Orcadian Dr Simpson, who has a degree in evolutionary, environmental and biomedical genetics from the University of St Andrews and a PhD in the field of DNA damage repair from Edinburgh’s pathology department, is fascinated by the stories.

Of her research comparing the two “monsters”, she told the BBC Scotland news website last year: “Based on an analysis of eye-witness descriptions, Nessie and the Stronsay Beast are both massive aquatic creatures.

“The drawings of the Stronsay Beast carcass are strikingly similar in shape and size to the popular image of Nessie.”

During her studies of the Orkney creature, Dr Simpson was impressed by the wealth of eye witness accounts and sworn testimonies given to justices of the peace.

The Stronsay Beast, above, a Long-Necked Sea Monster, was first sighted in September 1808, lying on rocks at Rothiesholm Head, in the southeast of Orkney island. See The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep, for context.