Could certain 'fishes with hair' be fur seals? An engraving of a northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus from 1865 (public domain)
During my 30+ years as a cryptozoological researcher and author, I have written hundreds of published articles on this fascinating subject. Many of these, however, have appeared in now-defunct British or continental European periodicals that never achieved international circulation, so they remain unseen by a sizeable proportion of my present-day global, online audience. Consequently, it seems worthwhile redressing this unfortunate, frustrating situation by reproducing here in ShukerNature a selection of those long-out-of-print articles of mine, in their original format. Moreover, those that I have duly chosen for this purpose, and which will be appearing as an intermittent series during the coming weeks and months, are specifically ones that document cryptozoological subjects not previously covered by me here.
So, without further ado, here is the first in this series, dealing with a diverse array of 'fishes with hair'. It originally appeared in the June 1996 issue of a long-discontinued monthly British magazine entitled Wild About Animals. The thoroughly charming illustration included in it was prepared by the very gifted artist Philippa Foster (nee Coxall), whose beautiful artwork has graced so many of my publications down through the years, and whose delightful new book, Lofty Abodes, I shall be reviewing in ShukerNature.
My June 1996 Wild About Animals article re 'fish with hair' - please click image to enlarge for viewing and reading purposes (© Dr Karl Shuker)
NB - Please note that these early articles of mine are being reproduced here for their historical interest; their content may be outdated in places. Updates and additional examples of furry fishes can be found in my 2003 book The Beasts That Hide From Man. Also, please click here for an even more recent, updated ShukerNature account concerning the true nature and taxonomic identity of Mirapinna esau.
Vintage American picture postcard depicting a mounted fur-bearing trout (public domain)
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