This account originates from the Journal of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society of 1894 –we had to conclude that the incident occurred in either 1893 or 1894.
James Steward was riding along the sea shore at Dingellchough, Co. Kerry, one day when he saw a very strange animal,partly ashore. Including horns –yes,horns again!—the creature was a full 5.8 metres (19 ft) in length and “…in bulk or bigness somewhat larger than a horse.” The beast appears to have had “a natural power to contract or draw in these horns into its head (as a snail does) and extend them again at pleasure.” Between the two afore-mentioned horns, and amidst the shorter ones, was a great head and a smaller one 90-1.20m (3-4 ft) distant –in the shape of “a hawk looking upward”. This head had a strange mouth within which were two tongues. The colour of the creature was flesh except for a large,fleshy mantle which hung loosely over the body on both sides and this was bright red on the outside and white on the inside.
This description of the live creature was later added to after it had died or been killed and removed from the beach. The liver weighed 15 kilos (30 lbs) and the fat of the creature hardened when boiled. According to the account, the creature was “bigger than an ox, yet without legs, bones, fins or scales; with two heads, and ten horns of 10 or 11 feet (3-3.3 m) long, on 8 of which horns there grew knobs…bigness of a cloak button,in shapes like crowns or coronets, to the number of 100 on each horn, which were all open, and had rows of teeth within them.”
The creature, or at least a part of it, was taken to Dublin and other parts of Ireland to be displayed and though, obviously, there are no photographs (none mentioned), we do have a good drawing.
Richard speculated that, since octopi have turned up in British waters previously perhaps this was a species of that order? Certainly, in some ways, the creature has the attributes of the species but I cannot find any similarly described species –unless this is one unknown to science. But there is the mantle.
We are only familiar with a small number of deep sea creatures –those that usually surface to die.
As a foot note I ought to add that I sent the full account as well as illustration to every oceanic research institute that I could find. All definitely received their packages but not a single one responded. And I have been trying since the 1990s so you might think that one such body might respond.
I have to wonder whether this was an unknown type of octopus and, perhaps, in the future it may be possible to confirm this without question but until then this is a genuine mystery!
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