Giant penguin hoax: Difference between revisions
Adding short description: "The giant penguin is a creature allegedly seen in Florida during the 1940s and is at least partly documented to have been a hoax." (Shortdesc helper) |
General clean up and formatting |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|The giant penguin is a creature allegedly seen in Florida during the 1940s and is at least partly documented to have been a hoax.}} |
{{short description|The giant penguin is a creature allegedly seen in Florida during the 1940s and is at least partly documented to have been a hoax.}} |
||
The '''giant penguin''' is a creature allegedly seen in Florida during the 1940s and is at least partly documented to have been a hoax.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014"/> This legend has no scientific merit and despite there having been giant penguins they are thought to have died off millions of years ago.<ref name="McKinnon 2017"/> |
The '''giant penguin''' is a creature allegedly seen in Florida during the 1940s and is at least partly documented to have been a hoax.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014"/> This legend has no scientific merit and despite there having been giant penguins they are thought to have died off millions of years ago.<ref name="McKinnon 2017"/> |
||
==History== |
== History == |
||
In 1948, several people reported finding large, three-toed animal tracks at [[Clearwater Beach, Florida|Clearwater Beach]] in [[Florida]]. Later, more tracks were found along the shore of [[Suwannee River]],<ref name="Klinkenberg2006"/> 40 miles (60 kilometers) from the ocean. |
In 1948, several people reported finding large, three-toed animal tracks at [[Clearwater Beach, Florida|Clearwater Beach]] in [[Florida]]. Later, more tracks were found along the shore of [[Suwannee River]],<ref name="Klinkenberg2006"/> 40 miles (60 kilometers) from the ocean. |
||
Later that year a giant penguin was allegedly sighted at distance. The huge bird was described as 15 feet (4.5 meters) tall, and having [[alligator]]-like feet. During this same period, people in a boat off the Florida [[Gulf of Mexico|gulf coast]] reported seeing an extremely large penguin-like bird floating on the water.<ref name="Carlson"/> These incidents were reported in several newspapers.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Later that year, another huge, penguin-like bird was allegedly seen from an airplane on the banks of the [[Suwannee River]] in northern Florida.<ref name="Carlson"/> Cryptozoologist [[Ivan T. Sanderson]] declared that the creature was a giant penguin<ref name="Radford2002"/><ref name="Klinkenberg2006"/> that had somehow been driven away from its natural habitat.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014"/> |
Later that year a giant penguin was allegedly sighted at distance. The huge bird was described as 15 feet (4.5 meters) tall, and having [[alligator]]-like feet. During this same period, people in a boat off the Florida [[Gulf of Mexico|gulf coast]] reported seeing an extremely large penguin-like bird floating on the water.<ref name="Carlson"/> These incidents were reported in several newspapers.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} Later that year, another huge, penguin-like bird was allegedly seen from an airplane on the banks of the [[Suwannee River]] in northern Florida.<ref name="Carlson"/> Cryptozoologist [[Ivan T. Sanderson]] declared that the creature was a giant penguin<ref name="Radford2002"/><ref name="Klinkenberg2006"/> that had somehow been driven away from its natural habitat.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014"/> |
||
On April 11, 1988, ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' reporter Jan Kirby revealed<ref name="Kirby1988"/> that the penguin hoax had been perpetrated by Tony Signorini and Al Williams, a locally known prankster who died in 1969.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014" |
On April 11, 1988, ''[[St. Petersburg Times]]'' reporter Jan Kirby revealed<ref name="Kirby1988"/> that the penguin hoax had been perpetrated by Tony Signorini and Al Williams, a locally known prankster who died in 1969.<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014"/> Signorini stated they had been inspired by a photograph of [[fossil]]ized dinosaur tracks, and showed the reporter the huge penguin feet made of [[iron]] used in creating the tracks.<ref name="Kirby1988"/> |
||
== Real giant penguins == |
|||
| ⚫ | There were numerous prehistoric [[species]] of gigantic penguins (such as ''[[Pachydyptes ponderosus]]'' and ''[[Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi]]''; see also [[Palaeeudyptinae]]). However, actual prehistoric [[megafauna]]l birds only occurred in [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]] and [[Cape Horn]] ocean waters. This is known from fossil remains. All such lineages certainly became extinct some 37 to 60 million years ago at latest: so they were never encountered alive by humans and were barely contemporaries of the earliest hominids.<ref name="McKinnon 2017" |
||
| ⚫ | There were numerous prehistoric [[species]] of gigantic penguins (such as ''[[Pachydyptes ponderosus]]'' and ''[[Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi]]''; see also [[Palaeeudyptinae]]). However, actual prehistoric [[megafauna]]l birds only occurred in [[Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]] and [[Cape Horn]] ocean waters. This is known from fossil remains. All such lineages certainly became extinct some 37 to 60 million years ago at latest: so they were never encountered alive by humans and were barely contemporaries of the earliest hominids.<ref name="McKinnon 2017"/> |
||
== In popular cuture == |
|||
Giant penguins based on the fossil finds also appear in [[Jules Verne]]'s novel ''[[Journey to the Center of the Earth]]'', and in ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'' by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. In the latter case, they are found in a fictitious [[Antarctic]] underground setting and their presence is given a comparatively plausible evolutionary explanation. |
Giant penguins based on the fossil finds also appear in [[Jules Verne]]'s novel ''[[Journey to the Center of the Earth]]'', and in ''[[At the Mountains of Madness]]'' by [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. In the latter case, they are found in a fictitious [[Antarctic]] underground setting and their presence is given a comparatively plausible evolutionary explanation. |
||
==References== |
== References == |
||
<references> |
<references> |
||
<ref name="McKinnon 2017">{{cite web | last=McKinnon | first=Mika | title=This Giant Penguin Was the Size of a Human | website=Smithsonian Magazine | date=2017-12-13 | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/giant-penguin-was-size-human-180967536/ | access-date=2020-05-08}}</ref> |
|||
<ref name="Tampa Bay Times 2014">{{cite web | title=Two feet from Clearwater's past, father's funny legacy leaves a deep impression | website=Tampa Bay Times | date=2014-01-05 | url=https://tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/two-feet-from-clearwaters-past-fathers-funny-legacy-leaves-a-deep/2159682/ | access-date=2020-05-08}}</ref> |
|||
<ref name="Carlson">{{cite web |author=[[Charlie Carlson]] |accessdate=2007-07-13 |url=http://members.tripod.com/~UNX3/crypto.html | title=Charlie Carlson's Strange Florida: A Case of a Giant Penguin Clearwater Beach-1948}}</ref> |
<ref name="Carlson">{{cite web |author=[[Charlie Carlson]] |accessdate=2007-07-13 |url=http://members.tripod.com/~UNX3/crypto.html | title=Charlie Carlson's Strange Florida: A Case of a Giant Penguin Clearwater Beach-1948}}</ref> |
||
Revision as of 13:34, 8 May 2020
The giant penguin is a creature allegedly seen in Florida during the 1940s and is at least partly documented to have been a hoax.[1] This legend has no scientific merit and despite there having been giant penguins they are thought to have died off millions of years ago.[2]
History
In 1948, several people reported finding large, three-toed animal tracks at Clearwater Beach in Florida. Later, more tracks were found along the shore of Suwannee River,[3] 40 miles (60 kilometers) from the ocean.
Later that year a giant penguin was allegedly sighted at distance. The huge bird was described as 15 feet (4.5 meters) tall, and having alligator-like feet. During this same period, people in a boat off the Florida gulf coast reported seeing an extremely large penguin-like bird floating on the water.[4] These incidents were reported in several newspapers.[citation needed] Later that year, another huge, penguin-like bird was allegedly seen from an airplane on the banks of the Suwannee River in northern Florida.[4] Cryptozoologist Ivan T. Sanderson declared that the creature was a giant penguin[5][3] that had somehow been driven away from its natural habitat.[1]
On April 11, 1988, St. Petersburg Times reporter Jan Kirby revealed[6] that the penguin hoax had been perpetrated by Tony Signorini and Al Williams, a locally known prankster who died in 1969.[1] Signorini stated they had been inspired by a photograph of fossilized dinosaur tracks, and showed the reporter the huge penguin feet made of iron used in creating the tracks.[6]
Real giant penguins
There were numerous prehistoric species of gigantic penguins (such as Pachydyptes ponderosus and Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi; see also Palaeeudyptinae). However, actual prehistoric megafaunal birds only occurred in South Pacific and Cape Horn ocean waters. This is known from fossil remains. All such lineages certainly became extinct some 37 to 60 million years ago at latest: so they were never encountered alive by humans and were barely contemporaries of the earliest hominids.[2]
In popular cuture
Giant penguins based on the fossil finds also appear in Jules Verne's novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, and in At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft. In the latter case, they are found in a fictitious Antarctic underground setting and their presence is given a comparatively plausible evolutionary explanation.
References
- ^ a b c "Two feet from Clearwater's past, father's funny legacy leaves a deep impression". Tampa Bay Times. 2014-01-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b McKinnon, Mika (2017-12-13). "This Giant Penguin Was the Size of a Human". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ a b Jeff Klinkenberg (2006-06-24). "Man, not Beast". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06.
- ^ a b Charlie Carlson. "Charlie Carlson's Strange Florida: A Case of a Giant Penguin Clearwater Beach-1948". Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- ^ Benjamin Radford (2002). "Bigfoot at 50: Evaluating a Half-Century of Bigfoot Evidence". Skeptical Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
- ^ a b Jan Kirby (1988-06-11). "Clearwater can relax; monster is unmasked". St. Petersburg Times. p. 1D.