New Zealand fishermen caught ‘dinosaur’ but couldn’t stand the smell and returned it – Metro World News

In April 1977, the Japanese fishing vessel Zuiyo Maru encountered a marine mystery while sailing east of Christchurch, New Zealand. As the crew hauled in their nets, the carcass of a mysterious sea creature emerged. Its size and appearance surprised everyone.

With a long neck, four large bright red fins and an approximately two meter tail, the creature was about 9 meters and weighed 1,800 kg. The first impressions led fishermen to believe they had discovered a modern-day dinosaur.

A mysterious sea monster

The crew’s curiosity led them to take photos and samples of the decaying body, which is when the nickname “Nessie” was coined for the sea creature. However, the strong stench emanating from the corpse soon became an intractable problem.

Despite the potential biological and scientific significance of the discovery, Captain Akira Tanaka decided to return the body to the sea to prevent the unpleasant smell from killing the caught fish. News of this discovery spread like wildfire, causing a real shock in Japan and the international scientific community.

Experts from Yokohama and Tokyo universities were intrigued by the possibility of finding an unknown marine species, perhaps a prehistoric plesiosaur, a creature that coexisted with dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Controversy and speculation surrounded the discovery. While some scientists accepted the idea of ​​a reincarnated plesiosaur, others were skeptical.

What really strange discovery?

Hans-Christian Bjerring, a Swedish paleontologist, suggested that the specimens taken could reveal the creature’s true identity, although he cautioned against changes in the plesiosaur’s marine environment and fauna.

Ultimately, despite efforts to accurately identify the creature, the most plausible conclusion is that it is a rotting shark or a closely related species. Decomposing sharks tend to lose their fins and parts of their heads first, which can lead to confusion with the appearance of a plesiosaur.