Talk:Zuiyō Maru

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I remember reading about this in the newspaper back in 1977, which is why I looked it up again (finding it by following a link from plesiosaur). I wanted to know what the final verdict was, and this article implies that the proverbial jury remains out. But if they have samples of the fin tissue, can't they now run a DNA test to see if the DNA matches or closely resembles a basking shark? Given the notariety of this case, I'd be surprised if nobody did such a test when the techniques became available. Can anyone comment on this and perhaps update the article accordingly? [unsigned]

I would likewise be curious. I've never seen a shark, basking or otherwise, with fins that enormous. --Chr.K. 11:37, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

'Enormous' in relation to what? Their absolute size (actual measurements) don't seem to be all that differnet from a large white shark , let alone a whale shark. But if you mean relative size to the rest of the body, then, yes, they do look unusual. However, realize that all you are seeing to measure them against is basically the cranium, rib cage and neck vertebrae. Flesh it out with whale shark proportions, and it's not so extreme. CFLeon 01:57, 21 July 2007 (UTC)

How come we completely dismiss the idea that the animal is a plesiosaur? I edited the introduction so it said "Many believe it is the carcass of a basking shark" but it was changed back to "It is most likely the carcass of a basking shark." And in the Young Earth Creationism article, a caption said it was "later shown to be the carcass of a basking shark". I changed it to "believed to be the carcass of a basking shark", meaning it COULD be a plesiosaur. But my edit was omitted. Why can't anybody accept that plesiosaurs could still be living? Wouldn't it be great if someone discovered a real, living plesiosaur? I don't understand. Elasmosaurus (talk) 22:39, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

It's not a matter of how great it would be if there was a living plesiosaur(!) it's a matter of what is the verifiable state of the science on the issue. The overwhelming scientific consensus is the plesiosaurs have been extinct for over sixty million years, I can find you dozens of sources for that. Couple that with the fact that there is absolutely no reason at all to think this carcass is a plesiosaur, and many reasons to think it's a shark. Unchecked speculation has no place in an encyclopedia. — John.Conway (talk) 18:44, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Being a reptile, wouldn't a plesiosaur need to come ashore to lay it's eggs? The "fins" as well as the "neck" of the Zuiyō Maru creature appear to be part of a shark's natural decaying process. Roz666 (talk) 00:58, 6 April 2008 (UTC)