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The
following photographic-rich article is about the
human-faced fish from the viewpoint
of the visual anthropology
and cryptozoology by Takeshi Yamada. Yamada is one of
the most active artists in New York City and has had
over 400 fine art exhibitions internationally with his
paintings and sculptures. This comprehensive article
features subject matters such as real human-faced
animals, Renaissance time zoology, cult of Global
Warming, real human-faced fish, real walking fish with
arms and legs, real 12-legged fish, Jenny Haniver, rogue
taxidermy artworks of human-faced fish, fish-human,
American modern sideshow, gaffs, and other fascinating
topics.
This manuscript was produced by Dr. Eriko N. Bond, an
active art critic and author in New York City, as told
by Takeshi Yamada.
TAKESHI YAMADA
ON
HUMAN-FACED FISH
AND
WALKING FISH
Chapter 9
Modern Fish-human
The third category of the fish-human has not been
featured in the Renaissance zoological encyclopedia at
all. They are also not commonly sold at novelty stores
like Jenny Hanivers. Nevertheless, they have been
exhibited at major fine art museums in the United
States, Japan, Germany, and other major nations in the
world.
This fish-human has the head of fish and the bipedal
legs for walking. Here are oil paintings of this monster
rendered by the hand of the internationally famed
Belgian Surrealism artist, Rene Magritte
(1898-1967).
Collective Invention, 1934,
oil on canvas. 73.5 x 97.5 cm.
Rene Magritte
Collection:
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Les merveilles de la Nature (The Wonders of Nature)
1953. oil on canvas. Rene Magritte.
Collection: Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago,
Illinois, USA
Shown below are mummified remains, color drawings, and
detailed descriptions of the fish-humans on display at
the Museum of World Wonders in the Coney Island area of
Brooklyn, New York. They were exhibited at the American
Museum of Natural History, Salt Marsh Nature Center,
Brooklyn Public Library - Coney Island Branch, and other
dozens of educational/cultural institutions and media
outlets in New York City.
A public lecture by Takeshi Yamada about the Cabinet of
Curiosities, mermaids and monstrous animals
at the American Museum of Natural History in New York,
New York on July 10, 2007.
The formal lectures and public speech of this
extraordinary animal (and other curiosity taxidermy
specimens) were also given to the public at major
educational institutions as stated above on the
occasions of those exhibitions by Takeshi Yamada, just
like the ones given at academic institutions in European
countries and the United States in the previous
centuries by professional zoologists.
Surf Merman, 9 inch, mixed media, rogue taxidermy,
Takeshi Yamada, 2006
Surf Merman, color pencils, pen and ink on paper, 8.5x11
inch, Takeshi Yamada, 2006
Surf Merman
Other Common Names:
Merman, Beach Merman, Han-gyo-jin (half-fish human
in Japanese), Gyo-jin (fish-human in Japanese)
Latin Name:
Mermaidicus pretiosus
Origin: Red Sea Island
Date: circa 1720 AD
Size: 9-1/4 x 2-3/4 x 1
inch (23 x 7 x 2.5 cm)
Description of the
specimen: This odd-looking sea creature has a
fish-like upper body and human-like lower body.
Needless to say, its body structure is reverse to
that of “mermaid”s. The analysis of its hip bones
reveals it is closely related to primitive primates.
The analysis of its head also revealed it is closely
related to the chameleon. This is one of the smaller
species of mermans commonly found around the sea of
Red Sea Island. The larger species, Mermaidicus
gigunteus, grows up to four feet in length. Its
related species also live in the sea by the Sado
Island, Japan.
Surf merman deposit adhesive, semitransparent eggs
on beaches which have a specific mixture of coarse
sand and pea gravel. Inside Puget Sound, surf merman
spawning is thought to be associated with freshwater
seepage, where the water keeps the spawning gravel
moist. Eggs are deposited near the water's edge in
water a few inches deep, around the time of the high
water slack.
Observations of surf merman spawning activity
describe a highly adapted and ritualized behavior.
Several males will align themselves with a ripe
female, keeping their position by the use of
spawning tubercles which cover their scales and fin
rays. The female and males vibrate in unison,
causing the release of eggs and sperm. Neither the
female nor the males release all of their gametes
during any single spawning event, and multiple
spawning within and between tide cycles are common.
Fertilized surf merman eggs have morphological
features which cause the eggs to adhere to sand
grains in which they are laid, giving stability to
the deposited spawn. The outer membrane of the egg
ruptures and turns inside out, forming a pedestal
which is the point of the attachment. Wave action
and tidal exchange buries the weighted eggs to a
depth of several millimeters. While the eggs
incubate in the sand they are "extra-aquatic",
meaning they are submerged in saltwater during a
portion of the tidal cycle. Extra-aquatic
development is thought to be adaptive because the
eggs are subjected to warmer temperatures and
therefore develop quicker. The eggs are also less
available to predation from birds and other fishes.
Development rates of surf merman vary greatly with
seasonal ambient temperature. Surf merman eggs
brooded in winter months may require between 27 and
56 days to hatch, while those brooded in summer
months may require between 11 and 16 days.
Regardless of the brooding time, hatching surf
merman eggs release larva measuring about 3 mm which
are at the mercy of the local tides and currents.
After about 3 months they have grown to 25-30 cm and
taken on their adult form and coloration. Juvenile
surf merman rear in the near shore waters throughout
Red Sea Island.
The majority of surf merman will mature to spawn in
their second year, although a small proportion will
spawn in their first year. Surf merman does not die
after spawning and may spawn in successive seasons.
Like herring, surf merman are thought to display
some degree of homing, based on studies of their
geographically and temporally distinct spawning
behavior, parasitology and serology. The frequency
of individual spawning and the degree to which
individual surf merman stray between spawning
grounds are unknown.
Like all other marine organism, surf merman
experience high predation levels as eggs, juveniles
and adults. As a result the maximum life span of a
surf merman is thought to be 5 years. Adult surf
merman feed primarily on planktonic organisms, and
in turn are food for many marine animals such as
seabirds, marine mammals, and other fishes. The
movements of juveniles and adults between spawning
seasons is virtually unknown.
Description the above shown Surf Merman, Takeshi Yamada,
2006
Blue Merman, 15 inch, mixed media rogue taxidermy,
Takeshi Yamada, 2007
This specimen also shows the sign of arm-like organs
growing by the gills.
Although this group of monstrous fish - the fish with
protruding limb-like body parts – like the ones shown
above, have been found in reality, there are no stable
populations of the species anywhere in the world. There
is a good scientific explanation for this phenomenon
today. The short explanation would be they are like the
nature-made Jackalope or horned rabbit, which was
created by the tumor-producing virus (Shope
papillomavirus or cottontail rabbit papillomavirus).
Some species of creatures are more easily infected by
tumor producing viruses than others in nature just like
the cottontail rabbit species of rabbit among many other
species of rabbits. When fish
were infected by a unique tumor-producing virus,
irregular body tissue and appendages could grow and
sometimes they somehow resemble human arms and legs.
Needless to say, those body parts are not functional and
will not grow into functional arms or legs. They were
quite different from the functioning legs of the
“Mexican walking fish”.
The fourth category of the fish-human has been featured
in numerous folktales and mythologies as well as in many
Japanese ancient zoological encyclopedias. This
well-known
creature of legend has been
featured in numerous main stream Manga (Japanese
cartoons/graphic novels), TV shows, TV commercials
,(including the major Japanese rice wine company), toys,
children’s books, novels, stage theaters, movies, etc.
in Japan for many centuries. Unlike the above stated
gyojin, this monster has been very popular among people
in Japan - everyone in Japan knows this humanoid animal.
It is Kappa (河童).
Kappa is featured as one of the mythic creatures at the
exhibition entitled “Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns
& Mermaids” at American Museum of Natural History in
Manhattan, New York. This exhibition also shows the
documentary film featuring Takeshi Yamada’s monologue
about mythic creatures and Sea Rabbit. (June 26, 2007 -
January 6, 2008).
Translation of the Drawing of Kappa which was caught in
net on Mito east beach in 1801.
“Height 3 shaku (about 1 meter), weight 12 kamme (45kg)
The chest protudes and the neck is bent. This is what is
recorded.”
Water-dwelling monsters by Hokusai Katsushika. “Ningo”
is top right. “Kappa” (water spirit) is lower right.
published woodblock print from a bound book “Hokusai’s
Manga”, 1815 (Japan)
The picture above is the detail of a Kappa, (right
bottom), and human-fish or mermaid, (right top) ,and
other mythic sea monsters ,(such as Sea Rat in the left
top), from the Manga, Vol. 3 by Hokusai Katsushika
(1760–1849),1815, Leaf from a bound book, woodblock
print, ink on paper, Pacific Asia Museum Collection
Another unique aspect of kappa is the presence of its
numerous mummified specimens at religious institutions
across the country of Japan unlike the Sea Monk or Sea
Bishop.
Mummified Kappa preserved in a glass container.
The kappa is considered as one of the water spirits and
demi-gods (suijin or Water Deity/God) in Buddhism and
Shintoism (Japan-born religion) in Japan. For an
example, an old mummified kappa can be seen (by personal
appointment) at the Tanryoji Buddhist Temple (瑞龍寺)
in Osaka. Incidentally, this specimen is originally from
China.
http://www.geocities.jp/nachtmahr_3rd/youkaiten/kappa.html
Sea Angel
In this article, this author featured numerous varieties
of human-faced fish and related creatures. In addition
to those, this author also wants to write about one of
the most remarkable creatures living in the sea. This
sea organism does not look like a human or possesses any
human physical attributes such as the human-face,
human-like arms or legs. Nevertheless, it resembles a
translucent light-radiating mythological ancient flying
humanoid of high spirituality with a pair of bird’s
wings, which lived in the Heavens – commonly known as an
“angel.” This sea creature is called a Sea Angel (Clione
limacina).
Here are photographs of this marvel of nature.
Sea Angel
The Sea
angel is neither a humanoid nor vertebrate. Sea angels
are small pteropod mollusks of the suborder
Gymnosomata. Their feet have developed into
wing-like appendages (parapodia) and their shells
have been lost, both adaptations made to suit their
free-swimming oceanic lives.
The largest
species of the sea angel (Clione limacina) could
reach up to 2 inches. The strange fact of the matter is
that this angel-like entity is closely related to the
devil-like creature called octopus, because they are
both mollusks.
Note: It is
extremely rare to see any television programs featuring
this animal. Nevertheless, the word and the shape of
“Clione” were featured in the popular Japanese
television anime “XXXHolic”, episode 19 in the recent
year.
Note: Besides these monsters, numerous sea monsters with
some degree of human attributes have been created for
many decades by the Hollywood movie industry in the
United States to entertain people at movie theaters.
They were deliberately omitted in this article by
Takeshi Yamada because they were never real nor intended
to deceive people’s eyes or mind.
An example of the poorly designed Hollywood style
fish-human in an old B-movie.
Note: In
2006 a book entitled The Political Zoo by the
popular conservative nation-wide evening radio talk show
host Dr. Michael Savage was released. This book features
his cleverly original monsters - satires and parodies of
49 major politicians and political activists,
celebrities, media personals - with their pseudo-Latin
names, pseudo-genus, pseudo-species, detailed
descriptions, (rather than their real names), and
illustrations. The book peaked at number four on the
New York Times best sellers list in its first week. One
of the Dr. Savage’s popularized phrases from his view
point of the independent conservative includes
“liberalism is a mental disorder”.
The Political Zoo
by Michael Savage
Continue
to Chapter 10
Copyright by Takeshi Yamada, Museum of
World Wonders in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York,
October 2007. Revised in October 2008. All Rights
Reserved.
E-mail: yamada108@verizon.net
Special thanks to Dr. Eriko N. Bond,
Lauren D. Travis, Maremi Kakushina, Dr. Abraham Morris,
and Seara (Sea Rabbit).
Also special thanks to Steve Stickney
(Senior Proofreader)
http://www.sideshowworld.com/SSA-15.html
http://www.roguetaxidermy.com/members_detail.php?id=528
http://www.horseshoecrab.org/poem/feature/takeshi.html
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/events/exhibitions/other/worldwonders.jsp
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/own-this-city/3388/animal-crossing
http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-11-07/nyc-life/the-stuffing-dreams-are-made-of/
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