The Bishop-fish.—"I have seen a portrait of another sea-monster at Rome, whither it had been sent with letters that affirmed for certain that in 1531 one had seen this monster in a bishop's garb, as here portrayed, in Poland. Carried to the king of that country, it made certain signs that it had a great desire to return to the sea. Being taken thither it threw itself instantly into the water."
Fig. 235.—"Le monstre marin en habit d'Évêque." (After Rondelet.)
The Sea-serpent.—A myth of especial persistency is that of the sea-serpent. Most of the stories of this creature are seaman's yarns, sometimes based on a fragment of wreck, a long strip of kelp, the power of suggestion or the incitement of alcohol. But certain of these tales relate to real fishes. The sea-serpent with an uprearing red mane like that of a horse is the oarfish (Regalecus), a long, slender, fragile fish compressed like a ribbon and reaching a length of 25 feet. We here present a photograph of an oarfish (Regalecus russelli) stranded on the California coast at Newport in Orange County, California. A figure of a European species (Regalecus glesne) is also given showing the fish in its uninjured condition. Another reputed sea-serpent is the frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus angineus), which has been occasionally noticed by seamen. The struggles of the great killer (Orca orca) with the whales it attacks and destroys has also given rise to stories of the whale struggling in the embrace of some huge sea-monster. This description is correct, but the mammal is a monster itself, a relative of the whale and not a reptile.
Fig. 236.—Oarfish, Regalecus russelli, on the beach at Newport, Orange Co., Cal. (Photograph by C. P. Remsberg.)
Fig. 237.—Glesnæs Oarfish, Regalecus glesne Ascanius. Newcastle, England. (After Day.)