The CoelacanthMore Living than Fossil P.3

Hook Island Sea Monster P.5

Loch Ness Monster

Hunt for Scotland’s Slipperiest Beast P.7

Giant Squid:

Still a deep Mystery P.9

1234567890 Lake & Sea Monsters

Racetrack Playa, California P.3

Easter Island’s mystical statues, Chile P.5

Stone Spheres of Costa Rica P.7

The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, Uttarakhand, India P.9

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Giant Squid: Still a deep Mystery

Hook Island Sea Monster

Loch Ness MonsterHunt for Scotland’s Slipperiest Beast

Lake & Sea Monsters

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Lake and Sea MonstersCoelacanth · Hooklake Sea Monster

Loch Ness Monster · Giant Squid

Lake and sea MonstersCoelacanth p3Hooklake Sea Monster p5Loch Ness Monster p7Giant Squid p9

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Thanks for your interest in Atlantis Rising.Unfortunately, we receive more material than we can possibly publish and, at this time, we are not soliciting contributions. Nevertheless, if you have something which you think would interest us we would be happy to take a look at it. We ARE interested in well written and objective reporting (based on documentable facts), inter-views with well known personalities in our field, obscure but reliable historical information, and solid challenges to the prevailing knowledge paradigm. Please keep it to 2500 words or less. MAIL TO: Atlantis Rising • P.O. Box 441 • Livingston, MT 59047

The CoelacanthMore Living than Fossil

Coelacanths (seel-a-canths) were once known only from fossils and were thought to have gone extinct approximately 65 million years ago (mya), during

the great extinction in which the dinosaurs disappeared. The most recent fossil record dates from about 80 mya but the earliest records date back as far as approximately 360 mya. At one time coelacanths were a large group comprising about 90 valid species that were distributed worldwide in both marine and freshwaters. Today, there are two known living species

AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERYThe first living coelacanth was discovered in 1938 and bears the scientific name Latime-ria chalumnae. The species was described by Professor J.L.B. Smith in 1939 and was named after its discoverer, Miss Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. Although Latimeria is a genus distinct from the fossil forms, all coelacanths share numerous features and are easily recognized by their distinctive shape and lobed fins. For many years, living coelacanths were known only from the western Indian Ocean, primarily from the Comoros Islands, but in September 1997 and again in July 1998, coelacanths were cap-tured in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia, nearly 6,000 miles to the east of the Comoros. The Indonesian discovery was made by Mark V. Erdmann, then a doctoral student from UC Berkeley studying coral reef ecology in In-donesia. Although the Indonesian specimens superficially resemble those in the western Indian Ocean, analyses of DNA from tissue samples from one of the Indonesian speci-mens revealed significant genetic differentia-tion from the Indian Ocean population. The authors of two studies have suggested that the two populations have been separated

for at least several millions of years. The Indonesian form was described as a new species, Latimeria menadoensis, in April 1999, by L. Pouyard and several Indonesia colleagues.

WHAT MAKES COELACANTHS UNIQUE? Numerous characteristics are unique to the coelacanth among living fishes. Among them is the presence of a “rostral organ” in the snout that is part of the electrosensory system, and an intracranial joint or “hinge” in the skull that allows the anterior portion of the cranium to swing upwards, greatly enlarging the gape of the mouth. Neither character exists in any other living verte-brate. Other unique anatomical features include a hollow fluid-filled “notochord” (a primitive feature in vertebrates) underlying the spinal cord and extending the length of the body, vertebrae that are incompletely formed or totally lacking bony centra, an oil-filled gas bladder, fleshy “lobed” or limb-like fins that are internally supported by bone, and paired fins that move in a synchronized tetrapod-like pattern.

WHERE DO COELACANTHS LIVE?Coelacanths are known primarily from the Comoros Islands, which are situated in the Western Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, but also live elsewhere along the east African coast and in Indonesian waters. In the Indian Ocean, only one capture (the original one in 1938) is from South Africa and this specimen was long thought to be a stray from the Comoran population. However, resident South African coelacanths have been sighted in deep canyons, initially by divers using mixed gas “rebreathers,” and subsequently by scientists using a submersible. Elsewhere in the Western Indian Ocean specimens have been captured off the west coast of Madagascar and off Mozambique and Kenya,

the latter representing the northernmost locality record along the African coast. Two confirmed captures (only one specimen preserved) occurred in Indonesia, off the island of Manado Tua at the northeastern tip of Sulawesi. These captures were followed by sightings of two more specimens from a submersible approximately 225 miles

Preserved adult coelacanth or Latimeria chalumnae, SAIAB 34464, currently on display at the NMNH Ocean Hall Exhibit. Photograph by Don Hurlburt.

Known distribution of Latimeria chalumnae and Latimeria menadoensis.

WHAT IS TYPICAL COELACANTH HABITAT?Coelacanths live in temperate waters in the “twilight zone,” generally between 500-800 feet (152-243 m), off steep rocky slopes of volcanic islands. In the daytime the Comoran specimens are known to cluster together in “caves” in submarine lava deposits, from which they venture at night to feed. The two specimens observed from a submersible in Indonesia were in a deep carbonate cave at about 500 feet. The sightings off South Africa were at shallower depths, between 300-350 feet (91-106 m), beneath ledges and in shallow caves.

Page 4Atlantic Rising #110 March Issue

Page 6

Hook Island Sea Monster

By Darren Naish

The Hook Island Sea Monster, also known as the tadpole creature, is the name given to a 70-foot sea monster sighted off the coast of Hook Island. It resembles a giant tadpole, has a gaping mouth with small teeth and eyes placed on top of it’s head.

The SightingThe monster was sighted by Robert Le Serrec and his family in 1964 when it moved towards his ship with its mouth open as if to attack. He spotted its tail was injured, probably by a ship’s propeller or by a larger creature. He described that “ It was only when we got to within 20 feet of the serpent that we could see its head clearly. The head was large, about 4 feet from top to bottom, with jaws about 4 feet wide. The lower jaw was flat like that of a sandfish. The skin was smooth but rather dull, brownish-black in color, the eyes seemed pale green, almost white. The skin looked more like that of a shark than an eel. There were no apparent scales. Nor did we

Real or Fake?The evidence that it is fake and that it is real are equally balanced out. Some say it was photoshopped, but that wasn’t invented back then. Others say it was a large sheet of plastic weighed down by sand but even still, who would put so much effort into a hoax? The evidence that it is real is that it looked very lifelike, some shots up-close showed that the eyes looked to detailed to be modeled out of plastic. In their book, Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep, Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe stated the case was hoax. Either way, many people are reluctant to swim in the waters of Hook Island. The

Robert Le Serrec’s Hook Island sea monster, supposedly photographed December 12th 1964.

“ It was only when we got to within 20 feet of

the serpent that we could see its head clearly

”

skin looked more like that of a shark than an eel. There were no apparent scales. Nor did we see any parasites around. We supposed the flexible tail would have shaken any off. There were no fins or spines, nor were there any apparent breathing openings, although there must have been some. Perhaps we didn’t see them because our attention was focused mainly on the creature’s menacing mouth, the inside of which was whitish. The teeth ap-peared to be small. A fragment of some dark substance hung from the upper row of teeth, possibly a fish. As the monster was lying on the sandy bottom, we could not see the colour of its belly.

see any parasites around. We supposed the flexible tail would have shaken any off. There were no fins or spines, nor were there any apparent breathing openings, although there must have been some. Perhaps we didn’t see them because our attention was focused mainly on the creature’s menacing mouth, the inside of which was whitish. The teeth ap-peared to be small. A fragment of some dark substance hung from the upper row of teeth, possibly a fish. As the monster was lying on the sandy bottom, we could not see the colour of its belly.

Atlantic Rising #110 March Issue

Although accounts of an aquatic beast living in Scotland’s Loch Ness date back 1,500 years, the modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. The newspaper Inverness Courier related an account of a local couple who claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” The story of the “monster” (a moniker chosen by the Courier editor) became a media phenomenon, with London newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and a circus offering a 20,000 pound sterling reward for capture of the beast.

In 1933, a new road was completed along Loch Ness’ shore, affording drivers a clear view of the loch. After an April 1933 sighting was reported in the local paper on May 2, interest steadily grew, especially after another couple claimed to have seen the beast on land, crossing the shore road. Several British newspapers sent reporters to Scotland, including London’s Daily Mail, which hired big-game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell to capture the beast. After a few days searching the loch, Wetherell reported finding footprints of a large four-legged animal. In response, the Daily Mail carried the dramatic headline: “MONSTER OF LOCH NESS IS NOT LEGEND BUT A FACT.” Scores of tourists descended on Loch Ness and sat in boats or decks chairs waiting for an appearance by the beast. Plaster casts of the footprints were sent to the British Natural History Museum, which reported that the tracks were that of a hippo-potamus, specifically one hippopotamus foot, probably stuffed. The hoax temporarily deflated Loch Ness Monster mania, but stories of sightings continued.

A famous 1934 photograph seemed to show a dinosaur-like creature with a long neck emerging out of the murky waters, leading some to speculate that “Nessie” was a solitary survivor of the long-extinct plesiosaurs. The aquatic plesiosaurs were thought to have died off with the rest of the dinosaurs 65 mil-lion years ago. Loch Ness was frozen solid during the recent ice ages, however, so this creature would have had to have made its way up the River Ness from the sea in the past 10,000 years.

Loch Ness MonsterHunt for Scotland’s Slipperiest Beast

Atlantic Rising #110 March Issue

Atlantic Rising #110 March Issue

The giant squid remains largely a mystery to scientists despite being the biggest inverte-brate on Earth. The largest of these elusive giants ever found measured 59 feet (18 meters) in length and weighed nearly a ton (900 kilograms).

However, their inhospitable deep-sea habitat has made them uniquely difficult to study, and almost everything scientists know about them is from carcasses that have washed up on beaches or been hauled in by fishermen. Lately, however, the fortunes of scientists studying these elusive creatures have begun to turn. In 2004 researchers in Japan took the first images ever of a live giant squid. And in late 2006, scientists with Japan’s Na-tional Science Museum caught and brought to the surface a live 24-foot (7-meter) female giant squid.

Giant squid, along with their cousin, the colossal squid, have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, measuring some 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter. These massive organs allow them to detect objects in the lightless depths where most other animals would see nothing.

Like other squid species, they have eight arms and two longer feeding tentacles that help them bring food to their beak-like mouths. Their diet likely consists of fish, shrimp, and other squid, and some suggest they might even attack and eat small whales.

They maneuver their massive bodies with fins that seem diminutive for their size. They use their funnel as a propulsion system, drawing water into the mantle, or main part of the body, and forcing it out the back.

Scientists don’t know enough about these beasts to say for sure what their range is, but giant squid carcasses have been found in all of the world’s oceans.

Fast FactsWeight: 440 lbs (200 kg)

Did you know? A giant squid’s eye can be as big as a beach ball.

Size relative to a bus:

Giant Squid: Still a deep Mystery

Page 10

Atlantic Rising #110 March Issue

Cs fans of Star Wars can tell you, the history of the world is a tale of virtually unending warfare between seMYSTERYoiled NESSI of light. The idea did BIG FOOT with George Lucas. For millennia it has been the subteously by the CREATUREophisticated’ among us. For those who have ears to hear, though, the ancient music still plays. Cs MONSTER Wars can tell you, the history of the world is a tale of virtually unending warfare between secret societies — where the priests of CREATURE side attack the priests of the light side, only to be foiled by sabers of light. ThMYSTERYtale of virtually unending warfare between secret societies — where the priests of the dark side attack the priests of the light sideMYSTERYe Lucas. For millennia it has been the subteously by the more ‘sophisticated’ among us. For those who have ears to hear, though, the ancient music still plays. Cs fans of Star Wars can tell you, the history of the world is a tale of virtually unendingMONSTERarfare between secret societies — where the priests of the dark side attack thMYSTERYhas been the subteously by the more ‘sophisticated’ among us. For those whoMYSTERYERYf Star Wars can tell you, the history of the world is a taCREATUREside attack the priests of the light side, only to be foiled by sabers of lightMYSTERYose who have ears to hear, though, the ancient music s. societies — where the priests of the dark side attack the priests of the light side, only to be foiled by MONSTER of light. The idea did not begin with George Lucas. For millennia it has been the subteously by the more ‘sophisticated’ among us. For those who have ears to hear, though, the ancienteen the subteously by the more ‘sophisticated’ among us. For those who haMYSTERYthe moreed by MONSTER of light. The idea did not begin with George Luc ‘sophisticated’ among us. For those who have ears to hear, though, thetthistory of the world is a taCREATUREside attack the t Can you find “MYSTERY” ?Let us find it for you. Just read it! It’s easier!

NEXT ISSUE: Mystery Places in the world

Racetrack Playa, California

Easter Island’s mystical statues, Chile

Stone Spheres of Costa Rica

The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, Uttarakhand, India

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Racetrack Playa, California

Easter Island’s mystical statues, ChileStone Spheres of Costa Rica

The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, Uttarakhand, India

1234567890

Racetrack Playa, CaliforniaEaster Island’s mystical statues, ChileStone Spheres of Costa RicaThe Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, Uttarakhand, India

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