View source for Globster

{{short description|Unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shore of a body of water}}
{{refimprove|date=February 2017}}
[[File:St augustine carcass.jpg|thumb|250px|The "[[St. Augustine Monster]]", a carcass that washed ashore near St. Augustine, Florida, in 1896]]
A '''globster''' or '''blob''' is an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the [[shoreline]] of an ocean or other body of water. A globster is distinguished from a normal beached carcass by being hard to identify, at least by initial untrained observers, and by creating controversy as to its identity.
==History==
The term "globster" was coined by [[Ivan T. Sanderson]] in 1962<ref name=Newton>{{cite book|last=Newton|first=Michael|title=Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO/Greenwood|isbn=978-0-313-35906-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcC6NW_NCK4C&q=Trunko+carcass&pg=PA80|pages=79–81}}</ref> to describe the [[Tasmanian Globster|Tasmanian carcass of 1960]], which was said to have "no visible eyes, no defined head, and no apparent bone structure." Other sources simply use the term "blob".
Many globsters have initially been described as resembling [[gigantic octopus]]es, though they later turned out to be decayed carcasses of [[whale]]s or large [[shark]]s. As with the "[[Chilean Blob]]" of 2003, many are masses of whale [[blubber]] released from decaying whale corpses. Others initially thought to be dead [[plesiosaur]]s later turned out to be the decayed carcasses of [[basking shark]]s. Others remain unexplained. [[Giant squid|Giant]] and [[colossal squid]] may also explain some globsters, particularly those tentatively identified as monster [[octopus]]es.{{cn|date=February 2017}}
Some globsters were examined only after they had decomposed too much and seemed to represent evidence of a new species, or were destroyed—as happened with the "''[[Cadborosaurus willsi]]''" carcass, found in 1937.<ref>Bousfield, Edward L. & Leblond Paul H. (2000). ''Cadborosaurus: Survivor from the Deep''. Heritage House Publishing.</ref> However, Canadian scientists did analyse the DNA of the Newfoundland Blob—which revealed that the tissue was from a [[sperm whale]]. In their resulting paper, the authors point out a number of superficial similarities between the Newfoundland Blob and other globsters, concluding a similar origin for those globsters is likely.<ref>Carr, S.M., H.D. Marshall, K.A. Johnstone, L.M. Pynn & G.B. Stenson 2002. [http://www.biolbull.org/content/202/1/1.full How to tell a sea monster: molecular discrimination of large marine animals of the North Atlantic]. ''Biological Bulletin'' '''202''': 1–5.</ref> Analyses of other globsters have yielded similar results.<ref name=octo>Pierce, S., G. Smith, T. Maugel & E. Clark 1995. [http://www.biolbull.org/content/188/2/219.full.pdf On the Giant Octopus (''Octopus giganteus'') and the Bermuda Blob: homage to A. E. Verrill.] ''Biological Bulletin'' '''188''': 219–230.</ref><ref name=blob>Pierce, S., S. Massey, N. Curtis, G. Smith, C. Olavarría & T. Maugel 2004. [http://www.biolbull.org/content/206/3/125.full Microscopic, biochemical, and molecular characteristics of the Chilean Blob and a comparison with the remains of other sea monsters: nothing but whales.] ''Biological Bulletin'' '''206''': 125–133.</ref>
==Notable globsters==
[[File:Stronsay beast1.jpg|thumb|A sketch of the [[Stronsay Beast]]]]
[[File:O giganteus16.jpg|thumb|The partially dug out carcass of the [[St. Augustine Monster]]]]
The following is a chronological list of carcasses that have been described as globsters or blobs in the literature.<ref name=Newton /><ref name=Ellis>Ellis, R. 1994. ''Monsters of the Sea''. Robert Hale, London.</ref><ref>Puig, R. 2004. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080527140638/http://www.research.usf.edu/absolutenm/templates/newro.asp?articleid=571&zoneid=26 A Whale of a Tale.]'' Research Online, University of South Florida.</ref>
* [[Stronsay Beast]] (1808)—believed to be a basking shark carcass.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-17 |title=The story of the mysterious sea serpent of Stronsay |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/the-story-of-the-mysterious-sea-serpent-of-stronsay-1433313 |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=[[The Scotsman]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jenkins |first=Bill |date=2022-01-26 |title=The 'Stronsay Beast': testimony, evidence and authority in early early nineteenth-century natural history |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2021.0050 |journal=Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science |doi=10.1098/rsnr.2021.0050 |issn=0035-9149|hdl=10023/25106 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
* [[St. Augustine Monster]] (1896)—identified as a whale carcass.<ref name=octo/>
* [[Trunko]] (1924)—not identified.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-31 |title=12 unidentified creatures that washed up on beaches around the world |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/12-unidentified-creatures-that-washed-up-on-beaches-around-the-world/news-story/ceb11698de2ef2cde6a31bba92414a8c |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=[[news.com.au]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Brian |date=2011-11-16 |title=Globsters: Mysterious Organic Blobs |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mggkkp/globster |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=[[Vice Media|Vice]] |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Tasmanian Globster]] (1960)—identified as a whale carcass.
* [[New Zealand Globster]] (1965)—identified as a whale carcass.<ref>{{cite news |title='Whale' of a mystery is solved |page=1 |newspaper=Auckland Star |date=24 March 1965}}</ref>
* [[Zuiyo-maru carcass]] (1977)—most likely the carcass of a basking shark.
* [[Bermuda Blob]] (1988)—identified as a whale carcass.<ref name=blob />
* [[Nantucket Blob]] (1996)—identified as a whale carcass.<ref name=blob />
* [[Bermuda Blob 2]] (1997)—identified as a whale carcass.<ref name=blob />
* [[Chilean Blob]] (2003)—identified as a whale carcass.<ref name=blob />
== See also ==
* [[Drift whale]], a carcass that washes up on shore
* [[Exploding whale]]
* [[Montauk Monster]]
* [[Panama Creature]]
* [[Zuiyo-maru carcass]]
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
[[Category:Globsters| ]]
[[Category:Cryptozoology]]