This painting is a reconstruction of a mysterious carcass found washed ashore off Southern California 34 years ago. The witness Julie Turtle Hagan described the the creature as being 10 feet long, a bulky body like that of a Walrus with the unusual appearance of a Platypus.
The aquatic mystery mammal also had a blow hole like that of whales & dolphins. Authorities from a local Sea Life Center removed the carcass never to be seen of again or identified.
It is a true oddity. Julie only mentioned the skin was dark brown and leathery "Like" a walrus not a Walrus. Over all appearance was Dolphin like with a blow hole. You are welcome to use it Dale.
Thomas Finley"
UPDATE: After making some remarks about the anatomy which had a bearing on the identity, Thomas, Jay Cooney and myself were provided with more information. The description had come by way of Julie Hagan. Ms. Hagan described the unidentifiable carcass as being that of an aquatic mammal which had a body that was comparable in its bulkiness to that of an elephant seal. According to Ms. Hagan, the color of the skin was leathery and dark brown like that of a walrus, but was much darker and had little wiry hair. The animal reportedly had a blowhole and a flat tail like a dolphin. However, the carcass also had several unique features such as a large bite mark on its side, two sets of (the hind flippers were firm and not vestigial), and a head which was described as having a flat, leathery "bill" like that of a platypus. Other than the large wound on its side, the carcass was fully intact and Ms. Hagan feels that it had recently washed ashore. Julie was able to measure the carcass and estimated that its body was ten feet long, approximately four feet high, and possibly 3.5 feet wide.
This is almost certainly a primitive cetacean of some sort. What struck Jay Cooney and myself was the possibility this could be another "Gambo" (certain features in the description contradict the description in Gambo's case, but there might have been mistakes made in observation or in transmission) and Thomas Finley graciously provided us with a revised reconstruction.
SECOND UPDATE: SUNDAY MORNING: "My good friend Jay Michael Cooney will be presenting a in depth article on Julie Turtle Hagan's eyewitness account of this aquatic mystery creature. It is a great achievement for me as it is rare I get to paint a reconstruction with the assistance of not only the witnesses fine details but also the help from others Jay andDale Drinnon included to help identify the species and morphology of the animal on the drawing board. Thank you everyone this is a great example of teamwork and its many challenges along the way to find answers we seek.
Thomas Finley"
