At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Wednesday 21 January 2015

THE SWAMFISCKE


Do you see that curled up fish that a passing fish is trying to eat?
That is an early cryptid called the Swamfiscke, which the naturalist Olaus Magnus (1490-1557) wrote about.  Everything he ate became absorbed by his body, as he had no proper stomach.  He had no neck, but the food he consumed went straight into his body.  If attacked, he would roll into a ball, a position he could maintain for some time, for to eat he would devour his own flesh internally, feeling it better to be eaten in part by himself than whole by some other creature.

I have not the slightest clue what lay behind the legend of this fish.  Does anyone out there have any ideas?

No comments:

Post a Comment