| Steller's Sea Ape | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Others | Danish Sea Ape Steller's Sea Monkey | ||
| Binomen | Simnia marina danica Siren cynocephala Trichechus hydropithecus Manatus simia | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Elongated legless mammal | ||
| Average length | ~ 1.5 meters | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Non-Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Bering Sea | ||
| Habitat | Ocean | ||
| Locomotion | Swimming | ||
| Status | DD | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Real | ||
Steller's Sea Ape (tentatively named Simnia marina danica), a.k.a. Steller's Sea Monkey, is a marine cryptid described by celebrated naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller in August 10, 1741, off the coast of the Shumagin Islands, Alaska.
The name itself is probably non-indicative of its real biological affinities, as the creature is unlikely to be a real primate. Instead, Steller named it after one of Conrad Gessner's illustrations bearing the Latin name Simia marina ("sea ape").
Unlike other species discovered by him, such as Steller's sea eagle and the now extinct sea cow; the Sea Ape's biological identity remains mysterious and its existence hasn't been widely accepted by mainstream biologists.
Biology[]
This species is described as about 1.5 meters in length. In spite of its name, it physically resembles a legless, long-bodied seal with a vaguely canine head, pointed erect ears, large eyes, and whiskers growing on its upper and lower lips, the shape of which has been described as reminiscent of traditional Chinese facial hair. Its body, meanwhile, is entirely covered in fur which is gray on the backside and reddish on the underside.
Most curiously for a mammal; its tail appears to be equipped with a vertical caudal fin, divided in an upper and lower section, with the upper twice as large as the lower. Overall this shape is reminiscent of (and has been compared with) a shark's tail.
Steller and his crew observed this animal for about two hours, during which the creature demonstrated cautious curiosity towards the ship and played around with a patch of seaweed. They reported that it was capable of raising one third of its length out of the water, and could remain in that position for several minutes.
See also[]
- Mer Creature from Primeval.