304 The American Naturalist. [April, 
THE FLORIDA SEA-MONSTER. 
By A. E.. VERRILL. 
On the 5th of December, 1896, a portion of a very large 
marine animal was cast ashore on the beach twelve miles south 
of St. Augustine, Florida. When it first came ashore it was 
much mutilated at one end, and had evidently been dead some 
time, and was, apparently, in an advanced state of decomposi- 
tion. Contrary to expectation, it has resisted further decay, 
and still remains, after more than three months, nearly in the 
same state as at first. It was first brought tomy notice by Dr. 
De Witt Webb, who has devoted a great amount of time and 
labor to its investigation and preservation. Through him I 
have received a dozen different photographic views of it, taken 
at different times, and showing it both in its original state and 
when it had been moved and partly turned over. Quite re- 
cently he has sent me several large masses of the thick and firm 
integument, of which the mass is mainly composed. By his 
efforts it has recently (with much labor) been moved several 
miles nearer to St. Augustine, to the terminus of a railroad, 
and protected from the drifting sand. It is likely to keep 
some months longer without much change, and to be visited 
by large numbers of people. The figures now given are 
copied from photographs made two days after it came ashore. 
At that time the sand had collected around it to the depth of 
about eighteen inches. 
Its length is 21 feet; breadth about 7 feet; height about 43 
feet, when the sand was removed. It weight was estimated at 
about 7 tons. 
As shown by the figures, it has an elongated, pear-shaped 
form, broadly rounded at the larger, closed end, and consider- 
ably flattened toward the smaller and much mutilated end. At 
this end, as shown in both views, there are large, divergent 
ridges covered by the frayed-out fibrous tissues. These ridges 
are folds of the integument, but were at first mistaken for the 
stumps of arms, like those of an Octopus, and were so described 
