It was thought at first the creature was a whale, but later it was classified as a fish, for it breathed through gills of which there were five in number. Upon careful examination it seemed probable that it was a baby of its species, as the backbone was of a cartilaginous nature, a condition found only in a young creature; in a full-grown one this develops into true bone. That it was a deep-sea fish was indicated by the small eye, which was about the size of a silver dollar. The pressure of the water is so great at the bottom of the ocean that were the eyes large they would be ruptured. That the pupil did not dilate and contract seems additional proof that the fish must have lived at a depth of probably fifteen hundred or two thousand feet, where there is little light.
Photograph by Capt. Chas. H. Thompson
Deep Sea Monster Captured off Florida
So far as the scientific world is concerned, this is the only fish of its kind ever captured. Length, 45 feet; weight, 30,000 pounds; circumference, 23 feet 9 inches; diameter 8 feet 3 inches; mouth (open), 31 inches; mouth, 38 inches wide; mouth, 43 inches deep; tongue, 40 inches long; several thousand teeth; hide, three inches thick, no scales; had swallowed an animal weighing 1,500 pounds; tail measures 10 feet from tip to tip; pectoral fin, 5 feet long, 3 feet wide; dorsal fin, 3 feet long, 2 feet 9 inches wide; gills, 4 feet; the liver weighed 1,700 pounds.
It is generally believed that some volcanic eruption drove the fish to the surface where, owing to the difference in water pressure, the swim-bladders burst, making it impossible for him to return to his level.