‘Mermaid globster’ washes up on beach, baffling experts

A strange, decaying mass was found on a beach in Papua New Guinea (Image credit: newirelandersonly/Facebook)

A mysterious, mermaid-like creature has caused a stir among nautical experts since it washed ashore last month. The remains of the massive creature were found on Simberi Island in Papua New Guinea. However, locals quickly buried the mass, leaving researchers to rely on photographs taken at the scene in trying to identify the creature.

The photos were released in a Facebook post last month. They show a large, white creature lying in the shallow waters of the beach. Many compared the creature’s form and size to that of a mythical mermaid.

By definition, the creature is a globster, which is the word given to unidentified organic remains that are found on a beach. Unlike dead sea animals whose remains often wash ashore, globsters are harder to identify by laymen.

Globsters can be the remains of marine animals, such as whales or large fish, that have decomposed in the water, making them unrecognizable. Often, these remains get covered in mucus, algae and other substances, which makes them even harder to identify.

Experts are not sure what the ‘mermaid globster’ that washed up in Papua New Guinea actually is. Environmental scientist Helene Marsh told Live Science that it is a dead animal. “After that it is anyone’s guess,” Marsh said.

Sascha Hooker, a marine mammal expert, said that it “looks like a very decomposed cetacean,” while Erich Hoyt, a researcher at Whale and Dolphin Conservation in the UK, did not rule out the possibility of it being a dugong, or sea cow.

“The amount of blubber also indicates a marine mammal and not a shark,” said Jens Currie, chief scientist of Hawaii’s Pacific Whale Foundation.