Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

thick, and it weighed 5–10 tons. It appeared to
be made up of “tendon-like threads welded together
with a fatty substance.” Over eighteen
months, it showed no signs of decomposition.
An on-site analysis of the material by Bruce
Mollison of the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on
March 7, 1962, was unable to provide an identification.
A second CSIRO analysis on March
17, 1962, indicated protein and collagen as primary
components and suggested the material
was “not inconsistent with blubber.”
Another fibrous Globster was found in
March 1965 on Muriwai Beach, North Island,
New Zealand. It was 30 feet long, 8 feet high,
and covered with hair 4–6 inches long.
Ben Fenton found a third Australasian Globster
south of Sandy Cape, Tasmania, in November
1970. This one was 8 feet long.
An 8- to 10-foot specimen that washed ashore
near Wanganui, New Zealand, in early October
1997 was dismissed as a partly decomposed
sperm whale.
A 4-ton, 20-foot fibrous mass with six tentacles
washed up on Four Mile Beach, northwest
of Zeehan, Tasmania, in late December 1997
and was similarly diagnosed as whale blubber.
Possible explanations:
(1) A Pacific manta ray (Manta hamiltoni),
which can weigh up to 1.5 tons, was
suggested by A. M. Clark.
(2) Whale blubber, especially the 1965 New
Zealand carcass, though no one noticed any
characteristic oil, odor, bones, or internal
organs.
(3) Remains of a Gigantic Pacific
Octopus.
(4) The Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)
attains a length of 40 feet. Decomposition
causes its muscle fibers to appear stringy.
Sources: Victoria (B.C.) Daily Times, March
7, 1950; Ivan T. Sanderson, “Monster on the
Beach,” Fate 15 (August 1962): 24–35; Tim
Dinsdale, Monster Hunt (Washington, D.C.:
Acropolis, 1972), pp. 159–160; John Michell
and Robert J. M. Rickard, Living Wonders:
Mysteries and Curiosities of the Animal World
(London: Thames and Hudson, 1982), pp.
27–31; “Bermuda Blob Remains
Unidentified,” ISC Newsletter 7, no. 3
(Autumn 1988): 1–6; Richard Ellis, Monsters of
the Sea (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994),
pp. 303–322; John Moore, “What Are the
Globsters?” Cryptozoology Review 1, no. 1
(Summer 1996): 20–29; “Mystery Blobby
Found in Tasmania,” Fortean Times, no. 109
(April 1998): 21.
Glowing Mudskipper
Mystery Fish of Southeast Asia.
Physical description: Looks like a Mudskipper
(Family Gobiidae). Glows pulsating red at night.
Distribution: Ceram, Indonesia.
Significant sighting: Agriculturalist Tyson
Hughes observed this fish in a Ceram river in
1986. He attempted to catch a specimen but
failed.
Source: Karl Shuker, “A Supplement to Dr.
Bernard Heuvelmans’ Checklist of
Cryptozoological Animals,” Fortean Studies 5
(1998): 208–229.
Gnéna
Little P eop le of West Africa that share some
attributes with the legendary Islamic Djinn (intermediaries
between humans and angels) and
Small H om inids.
Etymology: Bambara (Mande) word.
Variant names: Gnéna or Guinné is the
generic name for all of these entities, including
some larger ones. The smaller ones include: Artakourma
(Zarma/Songhay), Asamanukpa (in
Ghana), Attakourma, Bâri (Susu/Mande), Bésonroubé
(Manza/Ubangi), Dato (Senoufo/
Gur), Datobou, Déguédégué (Songhay),
Dioudiou (Fulfulde/Fulani), Doudo (Baka/
Ubangi), Gotteré (Fulfulde/Fulani), Kélékongbo
(Banda/Ubangi), Kélékumba (Banda/
Ubangi), Kinpélili (Gbaya/Ubangi), Kitikpili
(Bokoto/Ubangi), Konkimbu (Lobi/Gur),
Konkoma (Malinke/Mande), Kontimbié (Lobi/
Gur), Kontoma (Dagaari/Gur), Korokombo
(Banda/Ubangi), Mokala (Manza/Ubangi),
Nyama (Bambara/Mande), Ouokolo, Pori
(Gourmantché/Gur), Sonkala (Manza/Ubangi),
Tikirga (Mõõre/Gur), Wokolo (Bambara/
Mande), Wouoklo, Yamana (Bambara/Mande).
GNENA 209