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Sometime during the 19th century, the English trading steamer known as the Emu, while on her way to Sydney, Australia made a brief stop at the south Pacific atoll known as Suwarrow Island. Once ashore the crew of the Emu were bombarded by the natives' accounts of a huge "devilfish," which had recently been washed ashore on their island.

Arnoux's beaked whale1342722207109

Intrigued by these claims, members of the Emu's crew, led by her captain, decided to investigate. One Mr. A. H. Bell, who was a member of this expedition, chronicled the crew's search and eventual "discovery" of the so-called devilfish carcass, noting its horrific stench. Upon their triumphant return to the Emu, Bell is quoted as stating: "We secured as much of it as we could, and we have now on board the first sea-serpent ever brought to Australia or anywhere else."

The carcass, which they found on that isolated atoll, was described as being approximately 60-feet long, brownish in color and covered with hair. The captain estimated that the creature probably weighed approximately 70-tons, and he described the animal's head as like that of a horse.

The creature's skull alone was measured to be over 3-feet in length and was reported as having two tusks at the extremity of its lower jaw. This is a trait that is shared with the famous Egyptian "Ataka Carcass", as well as the lesser known "Mentigi Monster".

The natives further elaborated that when the beast had first washed ashore it still had its seal-like flippers. The captain ordered that the skull be removed and returned to the ship's hold.

After triumphantly returning to Australia with their unique cargo intact, the captain of the Emu presented the find to the Australian Museum. Much debate ensued over the identity of these remains, but it was finally decided—no doubt in the interest of protecting vested reputations—that the skull in question, more likely than not, belonged to a species of beaked whale.

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