Scientists scanned the mummy of the Japanese “little mermaid” (4 photos)

Researchers have begun analyzing the remains of a creepy "mermaid mummy" that was brought to the United States from Japan in 1906. The first results show that it is a creepy hybrid, composed of parts of a fish, a monkey and a lizard.







A mysterious, evil-looking mummy of a mermaid brought to the United States from Japan more than 100 years ago is a man-made Frankenstein's monster.

The 29cm-long ghostly mummy is known as the "Fijian Mermaid" due to its resemblance to an object of the same name allegedly brought from Fiji by notorious showman P.T. Barnum in the 1840s. The mummy was purchased in Japan by an American naval officer who donated it to the Clark County Historical Society in Springfield, Ohio in 1906. Documents given to the society along with the mummy suggest it dates back to the mid-1800s.

Now, for the first time, researchers have studied the “little mermaid” using x-rays and computed tomography.

"This allowed us to see the mummy in almost every dimension in hopes of understanding what was inside it," said project leader Joseph Kress, a radiologist at Northern Kentucky University.



Initial research showed that the mummy was made from the head and torso of a monkey sewn onto the headless body of a fish, and that the mermaid's hands were the clawed feet of a lizard, most likely a Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), Kress said.

The scan also revealed a pair of wooden pegs inside the remains - one from the head to the tail and another across the shoulder blades - that were presumably added to keep the creature intact, Kress said.



Currently, researchers are trying to recreate a more detailed model of the “mermaid” and its individual parts based on the images obtained. Once the models are ready, scientists plan to send them to zoos and aquariums to help identify components at the species level.

This is not the only mummified “mermaid” that has undergone intensive research using modern technology in recent times.

In March 2022, scientists analyzed a similar specimen that was discovered in a hidden drawer in a Japanese temple. Researchers initially theorized that this 12-inch-long mermaid, dating back to the mid-1700s, was also a monkey-fish hybrid. But subsequent scans carried out in February this year revealed that the mummy was made primarily of cloth, paper and cotton, painted with sand and charcoal and held together with metal pins. Various animal parts were glued to the outside of the doll, including mammal hair and fish skin.



Both mermaids are most similar to "ningyo" - mythical fish-like creatures with human heads. According to legend, in Japanese mythology, a woman lived 800 years after eating one of these fictional creatures, and so they became a symbol of longevity. Therefore, it is likely that fishermen made such “mermaids” to sell them to rich people who wanted to extend their lives.