In tales passed down through generations, aquatic beings like mermaids are often depicted as half-human and half-fish, possessing an alluring beauty that bewitches sailors and tempts them into the depths of the sea. While mermaids have remained confined to the realm of legends, their allure continues to inspire curiosity and speculation among scientists. In this article, we explore the intriguing concept of real-life mermaids and how scientists have hypothesized their appearance based on biological and anatomical considerations. Fair disclaimer, according to scientists, real-life mermaids would look nothing like Ariel!
Mermaids Might Have Blowholes Instead Of A Nose
Since human noses aren’t a very efficient tool to breathe underwater, scientists argue that a real-life mermaid might have an “evolved” nose on either the top like that of a crocodile.
Well, they need a way to get oxygen underwater to survive, so either they’d have “over-the-top” noses or something that resembles a blowhole. Fish-Like gills are another possibility.
Real Life Mermaids Might Be Extremely Hairy
This ruins the entire concept of a mermaid for us. We never imagined a mermaid would look more like an underwater Yeti with fins.
However, scientists argue that in order to survive the freezing underwater temperature of the sea, mermaids would either need a very thick seal-like skin or extremely hairy skin to insulate themselves from the cold outside.
Their Skin Tone Might Be White As A Ghost
Humans exhibit a variety of skin tones because of the sunlight that reaches different regions (or countries in general) differently. However, when it comes to creatures who live deep underwater where there is hardly any sunlight, they look different.
Since no sunlight reaches the seabed, scientists believe that if a human-like creature were living in such a place, its skin-tone is going to be sheet white!
Can Mermaids Sing?
A lot of movies have made us think that mermaids can “sing” like humans. However, scientists don’t seem to be in favor of that argument at all.
Evolving complex organs that can enable a mermaid to talk like humans is almost impossible, given the environment they dwell in. So they can’t even talk like humans, much less sing like one!
They Obviously Wouldn’t Be All “Maids”
Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Yet so many people have this weird concept of a female mermaid as the only possible ‘mermaid’ that would dwell in the oceans if they were real.
Since they’re half-human, it is a likely possibility that they’d reproduce sexually, which would require a male gamete as well. Thankfully the movie “Aquaman” gave us an early insight into the possibility of a merman.