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Sea Monk
Monk
An artist's depiction
Background
Type Cryptid
Continent Europe
Country Scandinavia
One-Time? Yes
Theories  · Cryptid
 · Misidentified seal
 · Hoax

The Sea Monk, also known as the Sea Bishop or the Bishop-fish, was the name given to a sea animal found off the eastern coast of the Danish island of Zealand in 1546.

It was mentioned and pictured in the fourth volume of Conrad Gesner's famous Historia Animalium. Gesner also referenced a similar monster found in the Firth of Forth, according to Boethius, and a sighting off the coast of Poland in 1531.

Appearance[]

It was described as a human-sized "fish" that looked superficially like a monk.

Possible Explanations[]

There are several explanations as to what the creature could be. Theories include:

  • An undiscovered species (a Cryptid)
  • Misidentified seal (monk seal or hooded seal)
  • A hoax

Trivia[]

  • The sea monk was subsequently popularized in Guillaume du Bartas's epic poem La Sepmaine; ou, Creation du monde, where the poet speaks of correspondences between land and sea:
    • "Seas have (as well as skies) Sun, Moon, and Stars; (As well as ayre) Swallows, and Rooks, and Stares; (As well as earth) Vines, Roses, Nettles, Millions, Pinks, Gilliflowers, Mushrooms, and many millions of other Plants lants (more rare and strange than these) As very fishes living in the Seas. And also Rams, Calfs, Horses, Hares, and Hogs, Wolves, Lions, Urchins, Elephants and Dogs, Yea, Men and Mayds; and (which I more admire) The mytred Bishopand the cowled Fryer; Whereof, examples, (but a few years since) Were shew'n the Norways, and Polonian Prince."
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Cryptids
North American Cryptids
Airborne Frogman · Batsquatch · Beast of Bray Road · Belled Buzzards · Bigfoot · Black Demon · Black Star Penguins · Blue Birdman · Boston Lemur · Buena Vista Giant Spider · Campfire Creature · Carmel Creature · Champ · Charles Mill Lake Monster · Chupacabra · Coonigator · Copenhagen Devil · Crawfordsville Monster · Crocodingo · Deer Man · Demon Leaper · Deridder Roadkill · Dos Palmas Winged Snake · Dublin Lake Monsters · East River Monster · El Verde Creature · Enfield Horror · Flannel Shirt Sasquatch · Flying Horse of Mexico · Flying Horse of Virginia · Flying Rays · Giant Penguin · Giant Shrimp in the Laundry Room · Gow-Row · Green Clawed Beast · Green Eyes · Grunch Road Monster · Herring Cove Sea Serpent · Highway Beast · Jackson Dragon · Killer Cactus · Kinderhook Blob · Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp · Lusca · Manor Road Pig-Dog · Mantis Man · Melrose Creep · Metepec Creature · Michigan Dogman · Montauk Monster · Moss Man · Mothman · Mountain Boomers · Mud Mermaids · Mutant Canine · Nightcrawler · Octoman · Oil Pit Squid · Oklahoma Octopus · Panama Creature · Pennsylvanian Albino Bigfoot · Red Devil-Bat of Chester · Ripley Ostrich-Horse · River Lizards · Riverside Monster · Rochester Rat-Dog · Sewer Blob · Sheepsquatch · Skunk Ape · Snallygaster · Sugar Bundle · Sun Birds · Swift Peter · Texas Big Bird · Texas Stiltwalkers · The Awful · Tick Canyon Giant Rabbit · Tumor Seal · Whatzit · Wood Devils
South American Cryptids
Arica Monster · Atlantic Ocean Winged Abomination · Beast of Macachín Airport · Brazilian Werewolf · Calama Creature · El Cuero · Gargantuan Globulous · Huallepen · Kap-Dwa · Manta Man · Mapinguari · Minhocão · Parana Creature · Sawtooth Dolphin · Telepathic Football
Asian Cryptids
Ahool · Buru · Con Rit · Ebu Gogo · Gilled Antelope · Inflatable Hedgehog · Iranian Toothed Bird · Jodhpur Baby · Kting Voar · Maltese Tiger · Man Dragon · Masbate Monster · Rock Apes · Sakhalin Island Sea Wolf · Sukotyro · Wuhnan Toads
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Bodmin Moor · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Flying Worm of Prague · Freiburg Shrieker · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
African Cryptids
Ambize · Dingonek · Emela-ntouka · Ennedi Tiger · J'ba Fofi · Kongamato · Manatee of Helena · Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu · Mokele-Mbembe · Mutant Muppet · Ngoubou · Spiny-backed Chimpanzee · Trunko
Australian Cryptids
Burrunjor · Elephantman · Hairy Lizard · Hook Island Sea Monster · Kabagon · Landsborough Gangle · Moha Moha · Pukehina Predator · Queensland Tiger · Tusked Yowie
Miscellaneous Cryptids
Antarctic Godzilla · Bermuda Beast · Ningen · Qupqugiaq · Rhinoceros Dolphin · Sky Jellyfish · Sky Serpents
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Europe
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Gévaudan · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Flying Worm of Prague · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Werewolf of Camberwell · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
European Alien Sightings
Alien Octopoids · Badajoz UFO Creature · Bat Beast of Kent · Bird Beasts of Var · Conil Aliens · Crimean Slug · Cumberland Spaceman · Cussac Aliens · Domsten Blobs · Felixstowe Fire Demon · Ilkley Moor Alien · Kinnula Humanoid · Pendeli Egg · The Sandown Clown · Scottish Mines · The Silver Man · Villa Santina Aliens · Voronezh Aliens · Zanfretta's Aliens
European UFO Sightings
Crucifix UFO · Plague-Bearing UFO · Rendlesham Forest Incident
European Hauntings
Berkeley Square Horror · Black Shuck · Borley Rectory · Deogen · Derbyshire Ghost Plane · Elemental of Leap Castle · Gef the Talking Mongoose · Glamis Castle · Hairy Hands · Houska Castle · Pupa the Doll · Rosslynlee Hospital · Specter of Newby Church
European Phenomena
Bélmez Faces · Black Volga · Devil's Footprints · Eyes in the Wall · Hessdalen Lights · Hungry Grass · Invisible Crowd · Rosenheim Poltergeist · The Green Hand · Trevor Silverwood Postcards · Wall-Jumping Dog · Zanetti Ghost Train
European Beings
Cloud Giant · Green Children of Woolpit · Headless Angel of Portugal · Highgate Vampire · Invisible Smoker · Jophar Vorin · London Trolls · Le Loyon · The Manchester Pusher · Pérák · Ratman · Whipping Tom
European Events
Dancing Plague of 1518 · Disappearance of James Worson · Hollinwell Incident
European Locations
Flannan Isles Lighthouse

Gallery[]

Photo Gallery[]

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