What is Globster? Definition explained after a mermaid-like creature found in Papua New Guinea

A mysterious creature dubbed "Mermaid Globster" went viral when it washed up on a beach in Papua New Guinea last month, leaving nautical experts baffled and searching for answers.

Though scientists still don't know what it is, they have their own theories, acknowledging that it remains 'anybody's guess'. However, the general idea is that it is some kind of marine animal. The speculations have ranged from types of whales and dolphins to a 'sea cow' or even a shark.

By definition, the mysterious white mass is considered to be a globster. The term globster "refers to blob-like creatures without obvious eyes and bones or a visibly distinct head," as per Newsweek.

---

A globster is found in Papua New Guinea, intriguing netizens and scientists alike

The remains of a globster were discovered by locals on Simberi Island. It is a small volcanic island with a population of around 1,000 people in the Bismarck Sea in Papua New Guinea's New Ireland Province. The creature had washed up on Simberi Island and was described as almost mermaid-like. It was missing most of its head and huge chunks of its flesh, as per Unilad.

The New York Post reported that a Globster is a reference "for masses of marine flesh that are sometimes found on beaches in varying states of decay." The myth-loving locals of the remote island might have gotten spooked so they have already buried the carcass of the Globster, rendering any chance of identification of species through DNA irretrievable.

Scientists were only left with a series of pictures of the creature's body to assess its origin that went viral after it was circulated by user New Irelanders Only on Facebook. On September 20, 2023, the group shared a post stating:

"Strange dead sea creature shaped like [a] mermaid washed onto the shoreline in Simberi Island this morning."

Environmental scientist Helene Marsh told Live Science that she was convinced the lifeless blob was a dead animal rather than a human or a mermaid-like creature. She added,

"After that, it is anyone’s guess."

Sascha Hooker, another marine mammal specialist, told the science outlet, "It looks like a very decomposed cetacean."

A cetacean refers to "aquatic mostly marine mammals that include the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms. They have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion," as per Merriam Webster.

The cetaceans are known to turn white as a ghost when deceased, much like the Globster found in Papua New Guinea.

Erich Hoyt, a researcher at Whale and Dolphin Conservation in the United Kingdom is certain that whatever creature was recovered at the island had "been dead for weeks," as per The New York Post. Hoyt also said that he would not rule out the possibility of the creature being a dugong, or sea cow.

A marine biologist named Gregory Skomal spotted what “looks like a trachea” on the maritime mystery. However, an anatomical discovery ruled out his first guess, as per Live Science. Gregory explained that,

"At first, I was leaning toward a large shark, but now that I’ve spent a bunch of time looking at this, I am more confident it is a cetacean due shape of the tail and the location of the flippers."

Jens Currie, the chief scientist of Hawaii’s Pacific Whale Foundation in Hawaii, gave their opinions on the globster saying that, "the amount of blubber also indicates a marine mammal and not a shark."

---

The sea creature has remained unidentified, as scientists are still trying to find its species.