A group of researchers began their project to analyze the "mermaid" mummy. It is said that this strange creature was caught by fishing nets off the coast in what is now Kochi Prefecture, Japan, between 1736 and 1741.
Since her discovery this "mermaid" has been kept at the Enjuin shrine in Asakuchi, where she is seen as an object of worship. The team will also test DNA samples taken from the mummy, to determine what animal it really is.
Many believe these are monkeys and fish which for whatever reason, were taped or sewn to look like mermaids. Previous research has observed similar creatures, including one "mermaid" which turned out to be a fish attached to wires and logs, with human hair.
Quoted from IFL Science, the most famous mermaid-related hoax is probably the "Fiji Mermaid" exhibited by P.T. Barnum. Barnum advertises an exhibition he organizes with mythical images of mermaids.
In fact, what visitors who came to the exhibition saw were a jejadian mermaid whose upper part of the monkey's body was sewn into a fish, and both parts of the body were also dead.
The research team will publish their findings about the "mermaid" later this year. According to Hiroshi Kinoshita of the Okayama Folklore Society who first initiated the research project, another "mermaid" specimen turned out to be a monkey sewn onto a salmon.
