Identifying Characteristics: Females have ample breasts, and long hair. Hair color has been reported (from 1700-1900 Scotland Coast) as being black,brown, or green. Arms disproportionate to the body (discrepancies- some say they are disproportionately short, while others report dispreportionately long) flat nose, thick lips or large mouth. No remarkable fins except for the lower half which resembles a fish. Possible leg/feet appendages at the very base of the tail fin. Eyes reportedly small, hollow. Covered in scales or something that resembles miniscule shells. (face, torso, back), Unsure about fingers- possibly webbed. Round faces, often with a noticeable pink hue, or flushed cheek look. Very pale white skin.

Known Behaviour: Has been reported to sit on rocks (possibly until low tide) , combing through hair, or washing breasts. Observes passing ships, possible corelation to storms.

Origins: The earliest known merfolk in the human record is the Babylonian god Oannes, who was believed to come on shore to impart wisdom and culture. Merfolk have been worshipped and revered in many places including Syria, Greece, Rome, India , & China. The word "mere" meant the sea. Pliny the Elder even spoke of them in his work "Historia Naturalis", remarking that they were very real, having scales all over their body and very much resembling humans.

Nereides were prevalent in mythology as well,being revered as goddesses of the sea. They were thought to come to the aid of men at sea, and often guardians of the sea. Because of this they resembled many facets of the sea. They were depicted in ancient art as beautiful young maidens, often with dolphins and other sea creatures.

However,not all sea faring men found mermaids to be so benign. Many sailors believed that to see one was a sure dire omen of impending death, usually at the hands of a storm that would come within two days of the sighting. There have been many corelations with sightings and storms. It is unknown whether this is an illusory corelation or

if there is actual merit to this assumption. 

from 1700 and befor to the early 1900s most mermaid sightings were off the coast of Scotland.  In 1809 in Caithness two women saw a very young looking mermaid.They observed breasts,a pink hue to the round face, long green hair  ( some have reported the "hair" as resembling seaweed.) In the same year on Sept. 8 an article in the London Times reports a sighting where a mermaid was sitting on a rock combing its hair until low tide when it then vanished back into the sea. This mermaid was reported to have a light brown hair color, but the round face was also noted.  On October 13,1811 John McIsaac of Scotland reported his own sighting, stating that the top half was purely white, with the bottom half (fishy half) was more of a brindle or reddish grey. It was covered with scales and had long light brown hair. He estimated the breadth of the tail fin to be apprx. 12-14 inches, and the entire length of the creature to be 4-5 feet long. The arms were very short in proportion to the body, however as it kept its fingers close together he could not distinguish whether the fingers were in fact webbed. (a common theme among sightings)He reported the eyes as being hollow, and the neck as being rather short. He could see no other discernable fins, but remarked that he watched it as it stroked or bathed it's breasts. On the very same day, a woman from Kintyre by the name of Katherine Loynachan sighted a mermaid with dark hair, pale white skin, and a brown tail. This creature was also washing it's breasts. Again the fingers were close together so no resolution to the webbed finger theory could be answered.

Many times people thought to see women or young boys drowning. At least, this was their initial impression of their sightings. in 1814 a young girl in Scotland saw what she thought at first to be a drowning boy. The creature had very white skin, with a pink hue to the cheeks. She remarked the child sized hands. I could only find one account of a merman. August 15, 1814 a merman was reported with small eyes, flat nose, large mouth and long arms.

in 1762 a French Newspaper reported a story about two young girls on the Island on Noirmontier who stabbed a mermaid. A physician was called out and documented that the creature was the size of a large man, with large ample breasts. A covering of fine shells was found on the chin, resembling a beard. The covering of shells was also prevalent on other parts of the body. He reported a flat nose, large mouth, and the tail of a fish. He spoke about a kind of feet located at the extremetiy of the tailfin.

In 1830 a mermaid was reported to be seen as if at play. It was noted to be tiny. Some men attempted to capture it, however it evaded them. A boy hit it with a stone on the head and it disappeared, however the body did wash ashore some days later. According to the book "Unexplained" by Jermoe Clark, the body was interred in the presence of a large body of people at the burial ground in Nunton, where the grave is pointed out still to this day. In 1961 a man by the name of R. Macdonald Robertson stated that he had seen the body for himself. In the early 1800s, many reports of dead mermaids washed ashore were widely known.