The Mermaid Project
Truth v.s. Fiction
The Truth
Let me just say that seeing as we do not know anything about the reality of Mermaids, nothing is really fact and nothing is really ficticious either. However, some things are a lot more real, likely and possible than others, and so we're going to lay out what The Mermaid Project believes and what we assign to the fairy tales.
- It is estimated in "The Aquatic Ape Theory" that the diversification of ape men began 6.5 million years ago, creating two paths of evolution as the sea on the east coast of Africa swelled inland. Whilst some retreated, others could have possibly moved outwards to the ocean.
- Observation of adaptations in humans backs up this theory that we were all once coast-dwelling creatures. When monkeys walk in water, they stand upright. This could've been similarly done with our ancestors, who would have walked upright in the shallows to find food. Humans also have little hair compared to other apes which would reduce friction in the water when swimming, as well as being able to hold our breath and control our breathing better than any other land animal. There are people in the Phillipines whose eyes can be contracted at will to focus their vision in the water. If we are not meant to be in water, why these adaptations?
- Mermaids themselves would have a number of adaptations that would structure the way they look, and this was confirmed by the finding of a partial corpse inside the stomach of a Great White shark off the coast of South Africa. (Pictured Top Right)
- These include large eyes for seeing in the darker, low light of the ocean, and according to some sightings mermaids are perfectly content to hunt in the depths in almost total darkness. Another adaptation, one which lead to their discovery, is that they have a high crest on their head which is designed not as a blowhole as seen in whales and dolphins, but as a sonar system they use to speak to each other. At the front of the concave skull would be a 'melon', as seen in other marine mammals. Mermaids would of course have webbed hands and their feet most likely is fused versions of our legs forming a tail similar to a manatee's, but with foot bones inside.
- Mermaids' hands remain with their basic ape hand structure because before they evolved, our ancestors had already begun to use tools all those years ago, by the sea. People have seen fish throughout the centuries wash up, or be caught in the open ocean, with spearheads of a strange design thrust into them, from small catches to sharks. Mermaids use tools.
The Fiction
- We can all probably agree that Mermaids are ape-evolved animals and are certainly not half-fish, half-humans.
- Mermaids are not mythical or magical beings.
- Mermaids will not speak to us, although it is likely that their complex calls and 'songs' to each other as you will see in the video on our "The Evidence" page, probably inspired the tales of Sirens.
- Mermaids probably won't be able to speak with their mouths to us, at least not in the complex way we are able to use out mouths. Theirs will be more for eating, crying and sending signlas as dolphins do.
The head of a monkey, sewn on to a fish's rear. Clearly a fake, even before samples!
Impossible due to the defined split of 'class' of species in the Animal Kingdom.
The head of a monkey, sewn on to a fish's rear. Clearly a fake, even before samples!