Chilean Blob

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The Chilean Blob
The Chilean Blob

The Chilean Blob was a 13-tonne mass of tissue discovered on a beach in Los Muermos, Chile in July 2003. It made headlines around the world because biologists were unable to identify it, and were speculating that it was the remains of some species of giant octopus previously unknown to science.[1][2]

In June 2004, it was reported that fragments of DNA found in the blob had been found to match that of a sperm whale: the blob was merely the partial remains of a dead sperm whale, specifically a large mass of adipose tissue.[3][4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Giant blob baffles marine scientists. BBC News, July 2, 2003.
  2. ^ Chilean blob could be octopus. BBC News, July 3, 2003.
  3. ^ Pierce, S., S. Massey, N. Curtis, G. Smith, C. Olavarría & T. Maugel 2004. Microscopic, Biochemical, and Molecular Characteristics of the Chilean Blob and a Comparison With the Remains of Other Sea Monsters: Nothing but Whales. Biological Bulletin 206: 125–133.
  4. ^ Puig, R. 2004. A Whale of a Tale. Research Online, University of South Florida.
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Blobs and globsters

St. Augustine Monster (1896) • Tasmanian Globster (1960) • New Zealand Globster (1968) • Tasmanian Globster 2 (1970) • Bermuda Blob (1988) • Hebrides Blob (1990) • Bermuda Blob 2 (1995) • Nantucket Blob (1996) • Bermuda Blob 3 (1997) • Four Mile Globster (1997) • Newfoundland Blob (2001) • Chilean Blob (2003)