Scientists believe that the Scandinavian manuscripts describing the terrible monster actually talked about the way whales were fed.
Not much is known about the majestic inhabitants of the ocean – scientists now and then discover more and more details of the life of whales. So, for example, in 2011, they recorded a previously unknown feeding strategy for whales around the world, writes PHYS.org.
Now researchers at the College of Humanities, Humanities and Social Sciences at Flinders University believe that the newly discovered behavior of whales was actually described in ancient Scandinavian manuscripts as early as 2,000 years ago. Scholars also believe that the misinterpretation of these manuscripts actually contributed to the myths about medieval sea monsters.
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Whales have been known to lunge at their prey while feeding, but researchers recently discovered strange behavior when whales remained on the surface of the water with their jaws open at right angles. In fact, they simply opened their mouths and waited for the fish to swim into it. The researchers note that this strategy seems to work for the whales – the fish think they have found a place where they can hide from predators, not realizing that they are actually swimming into a trap.
Digital reconstruction of humpback whale feeding from a trap
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Фото: John McCarthy/Flinders University
Scientists note that this feeding strategy was actually discovered by scientists only recently, although they suggest that this method of feeding is not new to the inhabitants of the ocean. The researchers speculate that the strategy may be the result of a change in the environment, or that the whales are actually under more scrutiny than ever.
According to marine archaeologist Dr. John McCarthy, he first noticed the intriguing parallels between marine biology and historical literature while reading about Scandinavian monsters. He was struck by the description of the “hafguf”, whose behavior was extremely reminiscent of the strange behavior of whales during feeding, which the researchers captured only recently.
Note that the manuscripts that describe this ancient monster date back to the 13th century and call it “hafgufa”. In addition, this creature also remained a part of the Icelandic myths of the 18th century, often appearing in descriptions along with the kraken and mermaids.
Digital reconstruction of humpback whale feeding from a trap
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Фото: John McCarthy/Flinders University
Researchers now believe that the Scandinavian manuscripts could have been based on bestiaries that were popular at the time, which included a large number of real and fantastic animals and an ancient creature similar to “hafguf”, which was also called “aspidochelon”
It is often mentioned in ancient manuscripts that the creature allegedly emits a certain scent that attracts fish to their immobile mouths. At the same time, the researchers note that although some whales actually produce ambergris, which is used to make perfume, this does not apply to striped and humpback whales, for example. At the same time, researchers believe that such a mention may be due to the release of filtered prey by whales in order to attract more prey.
Scientists note that these manuscripts are interesting because, in fact, they can help answer the question of how long whales use this feeding technique and what features of this technique exist.
Previously, Focus wrote that scientists told where, how and how long whales sleep in the ocean.
