Sketch of Nagasaki Marine Reptile by Kosuke Ebisu.
In 1958, Kosuke Ebisu, a 17-year-old fisherman in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, pulled up the carcass of a strange creature during a fishing job. It was three to four meters long, with a badly decomposed body covered with large scales and a row of spines on its back. It had no fins, but had four limbs and distinct digits. The head was short and tall, and long teeth protruded from the front of the mouth. This is the creature that would later be called the Nagasaki Marine Reptile .
Kosuke was so offended by the putrid smell of the carcass that he did not take it home and dumped it in the ocean.
Comparison of the size of Nagasaki Marine Reptile and Placodus.
The sketch of this creature generally matches the characteristics of Placodus, although its proportions are problematic. Could this be an example of how Placodus survivors have existed to the present day?