BISHOP FISH

According to medieval European legend, this great fish had claws rather than pectoral fins. It had flipper-like feet and legs, and its head was like a bishop’s mitre. It was first described by the 16th-century Swiss naturalist Konrad von Gesner, who may have been describing a squid. However, the many legends of fish-men and the fact that the bishop’s mitre actually copies the ritual headgear of Mesopotamian fish-priests, may also inform this creature’s legend. (See Oannes.)