Editing Sea serpent (section)

=== Portuguese waters, 1848 ===
[[File:HMS Plumper sea serpent 1848.jpg|thumb|"Supposed Appearance of the Great Sea-Serpent, From H.M.S. Plumper, Sketched by an Officer on Board", ''[[Illustrated London News]]'', 14 April 1849]]
On 6 August 1848 Captain McQuhae of {{HMS|Daedalus|1826|6}} and several of his officers and crew (en route to [[St Helena]]) saw a sea serpent which was subsequently reported (and debated) in ''[[The Times]]''. The vessel sighted what they named as an enormous serpent between the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and St Helena. The serpent was witnessed to have been swimming with {{convert|4|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} of its head above the water and they believed that there was another {{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} of the creature in the sea. Captain McQuahoe also said that "[The creature] passed rapidly, but so close under our lee quarter, that had it been a man of my acquaintance I should have easily have recognized his features with the naked eye." According to seven members of the crew, it remained in view for around twenty minutes. Another officer wrote that the creature was more of a lizard than a serpent. Evolutionary biologist Gary J. Galbreath contends that what the crew of ''Daedalus'' saw was a [[sei whale]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://centerforinquiry.org/news/mystery_of_the_daedalus_sea_serpent_solved_in_skeptical_inquirer/|title=The Daedalus Sea Serpent Solved|magazine=Skeptical Inquirer|date=September–October 2015|access-date=June 21, 2020}}</ref>

A report was published in the ''[[Illustrated London News]]'' on 14 April 1849 of a sighting of a sea serpent off the Portuguese coast by {{HMS|Plumper|1848|6}}.

{{blockquote|On the morning of the 31st December, 1848, in lat. 41° 13'N., and long. 12° 31'W., being nearly due west of Oporto, I saw a long black creature with a sharp head, moving slowly, I should think about {{convert|2|kn|km/h mph|spell=in|disp=sqbr}} ... its back was about {{convert|20|ft|m|0|spell=in|disp=sqbr}} if not more above water; and its head, as near as I could judge, from {{convert|6|to|8|ft|m|spell=in|disp=x|&nbsp;[|abbr=values}}&nbsp;m] ...There was something on its back that appeared like a mane, and, as it moved through the water, kept washing about; but before I could examine it more closely, it was too far astern |"A Naval Officer"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1849-04-14?NewspaperTitle=Illustrated%2BLondon%2BNews&IssueId=BL%2F0001578%2F18490414%2F&County=London%2C%20England|title=Supposed Appearance of the Great Sea Serpent From HMS Plumper Sketched by an Officer On Board|newspaper=[[Illustrated London News]]|date=April 14, 1849|url-access=registration}}</ref>}}

:''"A giant snake appeared at once from the water - and the largest cetacean a boa constrictor way wrapped twice. (I note such a physeter It can grow to 20-30 meters long!) It lasted for about 15 minutes the deadly struggle, the sea was just foaming and crashing waves around us, finally the back of the whale stood out Out of the water, he sank head first into the deep where the snake must have killed him. A cold shiver ran through us a cet at the sight of his final struggle; so writhing poor in the monster's double ring, like a little bird between the claws of a falcon. View of the two rings, the snake. It could have been 160-170 feet long and 7-8 feet thick."''<ref name=rathvegh/>