March 9, 1962 issue of The Mercury covering the Tasmanian Globster.

The Tasmanian Globster was a large unidentified carcass that washed ashore 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) north of Interview River in western Tasmania, in August 1960. It measured 20 ft (6.1 m) by 18 ft (5.5 m) and was estimated to weigh between 5 and 10 tons. The mass lacked eyes and in place of a mouth, had "soft, tusk-like protuberances". It had a spine, six soft, fleshy 'arms' and stiff, white bristles covering its body.

The carcass was identified as a whale by L.E. Wall in the journal Tasmanian Naturalist in 1981,[1] and a later electron microscopy analysis of the collagen fibers confirmed this.[2]

The term globster was coined in 1962 by Ivan T. Sanderson to describe this carcass, and another journalist dubbed the corpse Sea Santa that same year.

External image
Newspaper front page
image icon The Mercury, Friday, March 9, 1962

References

  1. ↑ Harris, J.M. 2005 "Mammal Records from the Tasmanian Naturalist" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-12. The Tasmanian Naturalist 127: 20-41
  2. ↑ Pierce, S., S. Massey, N. Curtis, G. Smith, C. Olavarría & T. Maugel 2004. "Microscopic, Biochemical, and Molecular Characteristics of the Chilean Blob and a Comparison With the Remains of Other Sea Monsters: Nothing but Whales" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Biological Bulletin 206: 125-133

41°34′S 144°52′E / 41.56°S 144.87°E / -41.56; 144.87

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