tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post6293584580892343616..comments2023-07-15T05:32:20.508-07:00Comments on Frontiers of Zoology: Mediterranean MerhorseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-629061224332673795.post-57736779569131183362013-07-08T14:45:19.806-07:002013-07-08T14:45:19.806-07:00The book 'A Wizard's Bestiary' by Ober...The book 'A Wizard's Bestiary' by Oberon Zell_Ravenheart (which is a surprisingly good source) traced the hippocampus myth to the walrus. This is because the original name for the walrus was Rosmarine ('horse of the sea'.) Apparently the horse part was due to the walrus resembling the hippopotamus. As the elephant seal looks a lot like a walrus I say your theory is spot on. <br /><br />The Camphurcii (or Campchurch) is usually dismissed as the narwhal but the original report by Thevet in his 16th century 'Cosmography' described it as inhabiting the coastal waters of Molucca, in Indonesia. About as far from the icy habitat of the narwhal as you can get. The small horn on it's forehead seems to identify it as a male Southern elephant seal as that species has a bump atop it's trunk that can look very like a horn at some angles. I think this explanation fits the report and location very nicely, more so than the southern narwhal.<br /><br />I have always had an interest in these wayward elephant seal reports. Especially the ones from South American rivers and lakes. Love how the Huilla description calls it a snake but goes on to describe it's feet. Obviously one weird 'snake'! <br /><br />In your opinion is the Atlantic elephant seal a undescribed species or the same as one of the known species? Tamara Hensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547216895449679019noreply@blogger.com