There are many mermaid books out there, but few are as serious as this one. This book is truly dedicated to the folkore and science of mermaids, and it's perfect for any mermaid fan out there!
I bought this book from Amazon for less that $15, but you can buy this from any website. Some - okay, most - of the information on this page will come out of this book! I will search for evidence from other websites, but you know, finding serious info is certainly picky.
I bought this book from Amazon for less that $15, but you can buy this from any website. Some - okay, most - of the information on this page will come out of this book! I will search for evidence from other websites, but you know, finding serious info is certainly picky.
I WOULD LIKE TO START OFF WITH THE ANATOMY OF A MERMAID/MAN. I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE YOU TO A PERSON WHO SEEMS TO EXCEL IN HIS KNOWLEDGE FOR MERFOLK.
This picture is tied to an essay written by Water Mage Ge Wonderwed of Carmalad. He is a mysterious mermaid researcher who claims to know the anatomy and lifestyle of these acuatic creatures. I'm currently searching for his essay, but reality sets when Google doesn't know everything, and since this is special, might as well keep it that way. However, "Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, and Lore" harbors some details from his/her essay.
Here are a few suggestions: Dolphins, for example, are mammals like us. When they mate, they have slits under their lower belly. In human terms, our reproductive parts are located on the front of our bodies below our waist. You can guess the rest! Another idea comes from the fact that we develop in a fluid egg-like sac. As you know, this is a quality every living animal shares, and if we apply this to our half-human counterparts, we can suggest a couple of things: maybe live birth is altered in their system, or perhaps the embryo matures in the sac itself. If there are reasonable answers for the reproductive system, then the excretory... well, that's figured out.
- Their bodily fluids are turquoise, but I doubt this because blue blood indicates decreased oxygen in the body, and same goes for some other fluids.
- A strong, bony girdle connecting the back with the tail. This reminds me of our hip bone.
- They have a single lung (question this but still, mermaids are not total humans) and small hearts, but lack other human organs.
Here are a few suggestions: Dolphins, for example, are mammals like us. When they mate, they have slits under their lower belly. In human terms, our reproductive parts are located on the front of our bodies below our waist. You can guess the rest! Another idea comes from the fact that we develop in a fluid egg-like sac. As you know, this is a quality every living animal shares, and if we apply this to our half-human counterparts, we can suggest a couple of things: maybe live birth is altered in their system, or perhaps the embryo matures in the sac itself. If there are reasonable answers for the reproductive system, then the excretory... well, that's figured out.
This picture is taken from a webpage that has a really interesting essay titled "The Sarvonian Merfolk". Remember how I said Water Mage's essay couldn't exactly be found as a whole? Well, part of it is in this website:
http://www.santharia.com/races/mermaids.htm#Top
I think everything you need to now for a base is literally in this essay/article. It's just plain amazing! You have to read this! Not only does it provide intellectual information, but it'll keep you sparking, knowing there's a chance that mermaids may exist!
I'm not much of a organizer when it comes to creating categories freely when I talk (much the same for typing), but let's talk about the Famous Mermaid Sightings in History! Before we get to it, I'm going to present some famous sightings and "evidence":
Along with these, there are hundreds of sightings from around the world throughout history, yet not all of them sound credible. There are questions to be answered: What if you heard the splash of an animal and turned around at the last second? What if you were tired or had to look at that creature against the glare of the sun? What if you were just plain drunk?
Back to the sightings I just mentioned, I don't think Columbus, for example, drank or was tired. He is the captain, he's got responsibility (then again, I wasn't born at the time). So when he described the mermaids as " ... not as comely as they are painted, but to some extent they have a human appearance about the face...." see, he's being real here, but other skeptics are arguing that he saw manatees? Seriously, if Columbus saw a manatee instead of the not-that-attractive mermaid off the ship, he would've known THAT'S not a mermaid. And if he really did confuse a manatee with a mermaid, he has issues living as a man. Look, and yes, the woman may not be the best representation for a scientifically-established mermaid, but it's an example.
http://www.santharia.com/races/mermaids.htm#Top
I think everything you need to now for a base is literally in this essay/article. It's just plain amazing! You have to read this! Not only does it provide intellectual information, but it'll keep you sparking, knowing there's a chance that mermaids may exist!
I'm not much of a organizer when it comes to creating categories freely when I talk (much the same for typing), but let's talk about the Famous Mermaid Sightings in History! Before we get to it, I'm going to present some famous sightings and "evidence":
- Assyrians wrote about mermaids in records dating to around 1000 BCE. Most people say they were just fantasizing, and others say the Assyrians' minds clicked on something.
- Christopher Columbus saw a group of mermaids in 1493.
- In 1608, Henry Hudson spotted a mermaid while searching for a NW passage.
- During WWII, Japanese soldiers claimed to see mermaids off the Kei Islands, but those "mermaids" were actually women scuba-diving for pearls.
Along with these, there are hundreds of sightings from around the world throughout history, yet not all of them sound credible. There are questions to be answered: What if you heard the splash of an animal and turned around at the last second? What if you were tired or had to look at that creature against the glare of the sun? What if you were just plain drunk?
Back to the sightings I just mentioned, I don't think Columbus, for example, drank or was tired. He is the captain, he's got responsibility (then again, I wasn't born at the time). So when he described the mermaids as " ... not as comely as they are painted, but to some extent they have a human appearance about the face...." see, he's being real here, but other skeptics are arguing that he saw manatees? Seriously, if Columbus saw a manatee instead of the not-that-attractive mermaid off the ship, he would've known THAT'S not a mermaid. And if he really did confuse a manatee with a mermaid, he has issues living as a man. Look, and yes, the woman may not be the best representation for a scientifically-established mermaid, but it's an example.
He also didn't say the mermaid was an obese woman who gorged herself on the latest sea cucumber snacks, did he? I don't think so... but then again, SOME sailors identified mermaids with any aquatic animal with a tail and fluke and that was human-sized if the sighting was obstructed (mostly) or not. Still, what kind of human detail do you see in a manatee's face, is what I'm wondering...
So we briefly covered the possible anatomy and sightings of these majestic creatures! I want to temporarily cover an issue that a lot of us want to know: If people out there believe in merfolk, then why don't the fish people come out and show them to us humans?
Let's answer that mediocre question: if there was a species that found out about another race on the surface to be more advanced, smarter, and dangerous, then why the heck would you show yourself? If these merfolk do come up on the surface, shape-shift, and learn about us, wouldn't they be freaked out a little? We're strangers to them! Also, I have a fact to back this up with. Hundreds of different species - plant, animals, etc. - are being discovered every year! We found 4 new species of whale in one year, and the ocean is TOO huge for a handful of people to search, so there's hope that we can find more exotic beauties in the ocean... possibly, merfolk, but maybe not the way we imagined them.
Also, many people have speculated that according to body functions and enviornment, they think they know how living organisms will appear and work. Wrong! When people found out about the existence of an egg-laying mammal (Platypus), minds were boggled! What I'm saying here is that life on Earth has NO limit, and we can't assume what can or cannot exist, well, to an extent.
MY OPINION ON MERMAID APPEARANCE: Honestly, I don't fantasize mermaids as heavenly beings of beauty anymore since years ago, with their flawless skin and flowing hair. If you haven't watched the Animal Planet mockumentaries of "The Body Found", they did a well done of portraying what a mermaid could look like. I liked the design because the model did focus on survival characteristics such as a strong fluke, no hair, webbed hands, and large eyes with the frontal bone extending forward. Yet my mind likes to tinker with this image because mermaids could have hair. I've heard from a mermaid enthusiast (not a professional like De Mage) that hair is like a cat's whisker only underwater.
SHIFTING
I've honestly never reached the final stage of this shifting process, but I'm anticipating! For those of you who haven't known, shifting is a grueling (as in time-lengthy!) and physical process which transforms your genetics - well, I wouldn't say "genetics", but just physical components like the skin and organs - into that of a fish. It's more plausible to shift after a dolphin because its a mammal like us, and most shifters model their expanded lungs and reproductive systems after these bottlenosed cuties!
I must've gotten carried away ^^. Anyway, shifting is basically a biological transformation. I know many people ask:
- "Well, where are your mermaid parents?"
- "How come you're not living in the sea now?"
- "If you think you're a fish, prove it by posting a picture."
1st Q: There are no mermaid parents... unless you count our aquatic ancestors who originated from walking out of the ocean. BTW, if you have other beliefs on the origin of man, that's fine with me, I'm not here to harass anyone's beliefs. Anyway, we all share common characteristics with them: lungs that give us the chance to inhale more O2, strong muscles, gills which we've all disposed of in our mother's womb as we developed (There was a mini-doc. that used to play on PBS, and in the Fish episode, there was a woman who had a gill in her ear and showed it. No, she didn't breathe through it!). What about that urge to go swimming where there's water or loving the sensation of the cool liquid rushing against your skin? It could be that water helps you keep calm and maybe it's something deeper than just a love for water.
If you really wanted to know the "mermaid" parents, well, they're not mermaids at all! I know you've heard of a fish-like amphibian (unless my info's rusty) which crawled out of the water millions of years ago after evolving strong limbs, and from that point on, evolution took course!
Also, if you look at the embryos of a fish, human, chicken, and turtle, they all look very much alike - alike to the fish embryo, that is. Not all animals look and function alike, but there's always a similar percentage of DNA between each species, big or minuscule.
2nd Q: We don't know if any mermaids are out there, but here's my theory: Mermaids seemed to be more active during the times when humans didn't seem dangerous to them, and when they've reached that point, well they hid. And as of now, the mermaids on land (serious shifters, I guess) are not ready to live in the ocean yet. Any other answer? Good, keep it.
3rd Q: First of all, this is the Internet. Whether the person is a dedicated and loyal person or a deceiver, you simply can't trust anyone unless you get to know them better. Sometimes, when a girl/guy wants to post a picture of their tail (if it isn't fake), they have to either send those photos to friends/understanding online friends or post a "seemingly-fake" photo of it. If it's done these ways, then half the criticism will be not apparent and won't bother the owner. Again, this is the Internet. People who don't want to post pictures publicly aren't dumb to know that.
**Thanks for reading, there's more information being added to this unless you want to contribute here!
12/15/14 <-- UPDATED
Contact me at The Siren's Cove! I'm Mermaid Wishbone~
~ thesirenscove.webs.com
So we briefly covered the possible anatomy and sightings of these majestic creatures! I want to temporarily cover an issue that a lot of us want to know: If people out there believe in merfolk, then why don't the fish people come out and show them to us humans?
Let's answer that mediocre question: if there was a species that found out about another race on the surface to be more advanced, smarter, and dangerous, then why the heck would you show yourself? If these merfolk do come up on the surface, shape-shift, and learn about us, wouldn't they be freaked out a little? We're strangers to them! Also, I have a fact to back this up with. Hundreds of different species - plant, animals, etc. - are being discovered every year! We found 4 new species of whale in one year, and the ocean is TOO huge for a handful of people to search, so there's hope that we can find more exotic beauties in the ocean... possibly, merfolk, but maybe not the way we imagined them.
Also, many people have speculated that according to body functions and enviornment, they think they know how living organisms will appear and work. Wrong! When people found out about the existence of an egg-laying mammal (Platypus), minds were boggled! What I'm saying here is that life on Earth has NO limit, and we can't assume what can or cannot exist, well, to an extent.
MY OPINION ON MERMAID APPEARANCE: Honestly, I don't fantasize mermaids as heavenly beings of beauty anymore since years ago, with their flawless skin and flowing hair. If you haven't watched the Animal Planet mockumentaries of "The Body Found", they did a well done of portraying what a mermaid could look like. I liked the design because the model did focus on survival characteristics such as a strong fluke, no hair, webbed hands, and large eyes with the frontal bone extending forward. Yet my mind likes to tinker with this image because mermaids could have hair. I've heard from a mermaid enthusiast (not a professional like De Mage) that hair is like a cat's whisker only underwater.
SHIFTING
I've honestly never reached the final stage of this shifting process, but I'm anticipating! For those of you who haven't known, shifting is a grueling (as in time-lengthy!) and physical process which transforms your genetics - well, I wouldn't say "genetics", but just physical components like the skin and organs - into that of a fish. It's more plausible to shift after a dolphin because its a mammal like us, and most shifters model their expanded lungs and reproductive systems after these bottlenosed cuties!
I must've gotten carried away ^^. Anyway, shifting is basically a biological transformation. I know many people ask:
- "Well, where are your mermaid parents?"
- "How come you're not living in the sea now?"
- "If you think you're a fish, prove it by posting a picture."
1st Q: There are no mermaid parents... unless you count our aquatic ancestors who originated from walking out of the ocean. BTW, if you have other beliefs on the origin of man, that's fine with me, I'm not here to harass anyone's beliefs. Anyway, we all share common characteristics with them: lungs that give us the chance to inhale more O2, strong muscles, gills which we've all disposed of in our mother's womb as we developed (There was a mini-doc. that used to play on PBS, and in the Fish episode, there was a woman who had a gill in her ear and showed it. No, she didn't breathe through it!). What about that urge to go swimming where there's water or loving the sensation of the cool liquid rushing against your skin? It could be that water helps you keep calm and maybe it's something deeper than just a love for water.
If you really wanted to know the "mermaid" parents, well, they're not mermaids at all! I know you've heard of a fish-like amphibian (unless my info's rusty) which crawled out of the water millions of years ago after evolving strong limbs, and from that point on, evolution took course!
Also, if you look at the embryos of a fish, human, chicken, and turtle, they all look very much alike - alike to the fish embryo, that is. Not all animals look and function alike, but there's always a similar percentage of DNA between each species, big or minuscule.
2nd Q: We don't know if any mermaids are out there, but here's my theory: Mermaids seemed to be more active during the times when humans didn't seem dangerous to them, and when they've reached that point, well they hid. And as of now, the mermaids on land (serious shifters, I guess) are not ready to live in the ocean yet. Any other answer? Good, keep it.
3rd Q: First of all, this is the Internet. Whether the person is a dedicated and loyal person or a deceiver, you simply can't trust anyone unless you get to know them better. Sometimes, when a girl/guy wants to post a picture of their tail (if it isn't fake), they have to either send those photos to friends/understanding online friends or post a "seemingly-fake" photo of it. If it's done these ways, then half the criticism will be not apparent and won't bother the owner. Again, this is the Internet. People who don't want to post pictures publicly aren't dumb to know that.
**Thanks for reading, there's more information being added to this unless you want to contribute here!
12/15/14 <-- UPDATED
Contact me at The Siren's Cove! I'm Mermaid Wishbone~
~ thesirenscove.webs.com