Comments on: A Strange Adventure in the Solomons

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:08:25 +0000

I’m not so sure all the talk of gyrating, revolving fins and tusks really sounds like the description of a worm, a creature notable for its distinct absence of fins or tusks. Worm is actually one of the last things I think about when I read this story.

Anyway, I sure do love the way these old accounts are written. The colorful language and the way things are described are just very eloquent and appealing to me.

By: Dj Plasmic Nebula

Dj Plasmic Nebula — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:37:39 +0000

you know what. i don’t think it’s a Devil Ray.

yes it looks different from what i read. but maybe it’s a unknown devil ray that we never saw?

maybe a gigantic Devil ray that’s oddly different.

who knows. but i agree on a worm beast

maybe a serphant.

yes..

what would be great if someone seas a shark or something pin it with a tracker.. someone has to be ready to take it aboard and then when it leaves.. let see where it goes and what animal will show up on camera.

these is a great Idea. sure it’s expensive to do, but worth it, if you have one.

lots of cryptids..etc. have the time to do that. but don’t.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:53:20 +0000

Manta rays does sound like a good possibility. All of the reasons given by dpalmer74 are very rational and insightful. The numerous fins and “wing like flappers” described seem to fit a school of mantas perfectly and a manta’s mouth could look like tusks. The way the fins are described as breaking the surface in clusters or pairs and moving with a rotary motion seems to fit with a group of mantas as well, and mantas have flexible “wings” that could roll and give the impression of this kind of movement (although I’m a little confused over just what “the hooked lifts that raise and drop the stampers of a quartz-battery” looks like).

One thing that bothers me about the manta explanation is the description of the mouth being large enough to swallow a boat. Also, would the crew of a ship describe seeing one large creature without considering it could be a group of smaller ones? I also wonder if experienced seamen would not recognize the creature as manta rays if they are common in the area.

Still, a group of mantas is an interesting idea and fits in some respects.

By: Dj Plasmic Nebula

Dj Plasmic Nebula — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:47:37 +0000

know what, i think that this is a unknown worm.

Circular mouth, Fins.

other than that.. a new breed of Basking Shark… maybe with a Shark, Whale, Green Land Shark.. who knows.

By: planettom

planettom — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:06:50 +0000

dpalmer74 that’s a great idea about manta rays. Very possible explanation, I didn’t think of that one at all.

By: sschaper

sschaper — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:00:52 +0000

It sounds like a whale shark, but yet the many, many ‘flippers’ sound like some kind of giant deep sea worm, or something out of the Burgess Shale.

By: Samson77

Samson77 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:18:57 +0000

Absolutely agree with dpalmer, really sounds like manta rays

By: dpalmer74

dpalmer74 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:19:21 +0000

I lived in the Solomons for three years as a kid and think the most likely explanation is a school of manta rays. The long skinny tail and white “tusks” from the mouth certainly match, as does the size from fin-to-fin and the habit of the fins braking the surface similar to sharks.

I’ve seen them while on boats and they are quite intimidating, especially when you know they can launch themselves out of the water a couple of metres straight up. I know the islanders were wary of them because they had landed on canoes and small boats, and since they weigh about a tonne you can imagine the result.

Not sure, but I think they are also called Devil Rays in the islands, so that would also explain the islanders crying “debbil”.

By: gkingdano

gkingdano — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:06:23 +0000

Whale shark and a little too many grog rations. The first siteing describes the “monster” swimming back and forth into the in-coming tide. Sounds like it was filter-feeding on the plankton brought in with the tide. Remember sailors saw manatees and dugongs and saw beautiful women with naked breasts.

By: planettom

planettom — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:03:27 +0000

I kept thinking humpback because he would describe how large the fins were and they would rise above the water. However with no blow hole or rise to the top to breathe, maybe it’s a whale shark. Either one has a prodigous mouth, but a “circular” mouth more closely fits that of a whale shark. Another great one from the 19th century.