200 | THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS, (1819. | 
writers. Whenever they mention neither the scales nor tail of their 
Sea-Serpents, or when they assert they had no scales, or had gills 
or fins, you must in all those instances be certain that they are 
real fishes rather than serpents. There might, however, be found 
some Sea-Snakes without scales, since there are such land snakes; 
and there are fishes with scales and yet without fins: but there 
are no fishes without gills, and no snakes or serpents with gills! — 
in that important character the classical distinction consists.” 
“Nearly all the writers whom I can remember, have been 
unacquainted with that obvious distinction; and they have, in 
imitation of the ancient Greek and Roman writers, given the name 
of Sea-Snakes to the large eels or fishes they happened to observe. 
This | apprehend is the case with Pontoppidan, in his Natural 
History of Norway; with Mongitore in his Remarkable Objects of 
Sicily; with Leguat, in his Travels to Rodriguez Island, &c. Their 
observations, and the facts they record, are notwithstanding equally 
valuable, since they relate to monstrous unknown fishes, which 
seldom fall under the observation of men. The individuals of huge 
species are not numerous in nature, either on land or in water, 
and it is probable they often become extinct for want of food or 
reproduction. ” 
“Among the four different animals which have lately been ob- 
served by Americans, and named Sea-Serpents, only one (the 
Massachusetts Serpent) appears to be such; another is evidently a 
fish, and two are doubtful. I shall refer a few remarks on each.” 
“l]. The Massachusetts Sea Serpent. From the various and con- 
tradictory accounts given of this monster by witnesses, the following 
description may be collected. — It is about 100 feet long; the 
body is round and nearly two feet in diameter, of a dark brown, 
and covered with large scales in transverse rows; its head is scaly, 
brown mixed with white, of the size of a horse’s and nearly the 
shape of a dog’s; the mouth is large with teeth like a shark; its 
tail is compressed, obtuse, and shaped like an oar. This animal 
came in August last into the bay of Massachusetts in pursuit of 
shoals of fishes, herrings, squids, &c. on which it feeds. Its mo- 
tions are very quick: it was seen by a great many; but all attempts 
to catch it have failed, although 5000 dollars have been offered 
for its spoils. It is evidently a real Sea Snake, belonging probably 
to the genus Pelamis, and I propose to call it Pelamis megophias, 
which means Great Sea Snake Pelamis. It might however be a 
peculiar genus, which the long equal scales seem to indicate and 
