The separation between fantasy and reality is marked by a thin line when it comes to creatures from the depths of the ocean. There have been many strange creatures that have been found over the years that humans have tried to map the species that live in the ocean, but there have also been others of which traces have only been found in legends. Mermaids are perhaps the most emblematic example, where fantasy seems to superimpose reality, but where exactly did the legend of their existence come from? The answer lies in the manatees.
Throughout history there have been descriptions of beautiful creatures called mermaids that live in the sea and enchant sailors. However, to date no evidence has been found that creatures with such characteristics exist; however, what has been found have been similarities and coincidences with the descriptions given by different navigators such as Christopher Columbus himself.
Descriptions of mermaids
We know Columbus for having crossed the Atlantic and setting foot on dry land in what the Spanish called the New Continent. And although there are still disputes about whether he really discovered America, since the Viking Leif Erikson set foot on that continent at least 500 years before Columbus, the truth is that the Spanish navigator left a diary with his great exploits.
Precisely within the writings of Christopher Columbus is where you can find a very brief, important description of mermaids.
“The day before, when the Admiral went to the Río del Oro, he said that he saw very clearly three mermaids, rising well out of the sea; but they are not as beautiful as they were said to be, because their faces had some masculine features.”
Coincidentally, these are regions of the ocean where manatees and dugongs live, both of which are known to have characteristics that could be mistaken for a human from afar. Both marine species, along with cetaceans, are the only ones belonging to the class of mammals that adapted to marine life. In addition to being the right size to match that of mermaids, both dugongs and manatees occasionally stand with their tails in shallow water, protruding part of their head and torso toward the surface.
In addition to this, they have forelimbs that happen to contain five sets of finger-shaped sets that could be mistaken for human limbs. And they also have vertebrae in their necks that allow them to turn their heads. In the midst of sea storms, they could well be confused with humans in the distance with neck mobility similar to ours and standing on their tails.
Skeletons of mermaids and not mermaids
But the explorers after Columbus’ feat were also surprised by the wonders of the New World. On more than one occasion they announced the discovery of dead mermaids found in the New Continent, however, their descriptions often coincide with corpses of sirenians (dugongs and manatees).
“A short time ago, the skeleton of a mermaid, as she was called, which had been shot in the vicinity of Mombass Island, was brought to Portsmouth. It was allowed to be presented to the members of the Philosophical Society, when it turned out to be the dugong… It was, if I remember correctly, about six feet long: the lower dorsal vertebrae, with the wide tail end, suggested the idea of a powerful termination resembling a fish, while the front legs, from the scapula to the ends of the phalanges, presented to the untrained eye an exact resemblance to the bones of a small female arm. —Description of a mermaid in the Journal of Natural History of England.
This is how manatees and dugongs, extraordinary animals, inspired the legend of the existence of mermaids. And although it turned out that these are not mythical creatures, they are even better because they are real and live in the oceans. Unfortunately it is in a vulnerable state and if something is not done about it, in a few decades they will end up living now only in legends.