Semi=weekly graphic., 1896-12-23
PLENTY OF SEA sgRpenrs
Among the Varieties the Ancient Monsres
 May PozsshIv rxiaE

May Possibly Exise
 '.ls there such thing as a sea ser pent? Yes, indeed. there are many species of sea serpents we'll known to naturalists
 This was the answer given by Dr. Theodore Gill, the eminent naturalist of the Smithsonian. to the question above repeated. Dr. Gill is known in scientific circles as the highest Ameri- can authority on fishes and other creatures of the sea. He is quoted in all the worlds standard works on ich- thyo1ogy, besides having written nu- merous volumes himself devoted to that particular branch of his life study. He has given much attention to sea serpents, and has revealed many interesting facts concerning them in his writings and lectures.
 ''So you place credence in the many statements lately come to hand con corning the appearance of the monster sea serpent in Long Island sound?'
 ''I do not by any means. As soon as l read the accounts of the large snake found at BlackwelFs island I told sev- eral fellow-members of the Cosmos club that it was large python, orroels snake. There are no monster sea ser- pents There is no animal of gigantic size now living in the sea which could be properly classed as serpent or even a reptile. There is, however, an abundance of sea 'serpents ir the east ern seas and along the Pacific coasts of tropical America.
 ''There are enough of them in these parts to annoy and threaten the lives of sailors who frequent the wategs, but they are very small creatures, as com. pared with the sea serpents which we read about in poprlar literature. Most of these are known to scientists as hydride, which means sea snakes, or, If you like, sea serperts. They in- elude numerous families inhabiting the salt water estuaries and tidal streams of the Indian and Pacific oceans, from Madagascar to the isth- mus of Panama.
 Some of them are as much as twelve feet long. They are very poisonous, and I have heard that a sailor, once bitten by one, died within an hour and quarter. They have conspieuously small heads and bodies, somewhat like She land snakes. but particularly thick in their hind half, and very compressed and fiat, or oar-like, at the tail! Trey live entirely ill the sea, and when thrown upon shore are helpless and almost blind. These sea serpents are frequently seen in great numbers swimming close to the surface of the water"
 But is it not possible that there are giant animals of this kind rowing the seas which have not yet been found by scientists?n
 ''Yes, there is possibility, but no probability that such an animal still exists. It is possible that giant selachian may be found related to the frilled shark of Japan. This would have an eel-like body, fin back of the head, and if very long would agree to some extent with descriptions of the great sea serpent As matter of fact, there was discovered not many years ago small snake-lil1e shark, re- sembling the gray sharks found in the Pacific. This would have an eel-like tail and fn extending from the back, behind the head.
 ''Then there are also the ancient zeuglodonts, with their long tails and horizontal caudal fins, like those of the whales. It may be that one of these with long neck still exists, having outlived his ancestors of millions of years ago. During the geological o,oriod 1rY,nxxr,, ao 4ba aooa,,a 4ar+;o,.,, which was many millions of years back, there were living in the seas zeuglodonts somewhat resembling ser pents. Some of these were perhaps nearly forty or fifty feetlong, but none of them could swim in the water with vertical un6ulations, or be adorned with the mane, both of which are as- sociated with the mythical monster. But, as 1 said, all of this is mere pos sibility, according to the laws of na- ture. There is no probability that any one will ever enjoy the sight of any of these possibilities
 ''Now, suppose summer tourist or superstitious mariner should catch sight of giant basking shark, such as inhabits the north seas? They often measure more than thirty feet in length. It is frequently the case that they travel in pairs, one following the other. Tine front portion of the one and the hind portion of the other of these appearing above the water at the same time would be sufficient to scare any unsuspecting observer I remember hearing Prof. simon New comb, our eminent astronomer telling how he once thought he saw the veri- table sea serpent off Cape Am. But the supposed monster resolved itself into & school of porpoises, one follow ing the other. ."-Washingtou Star.