‘Mermaid mummy’ discovered with upper body of human and lower body of fish

Researchers in Japan have begun tests on a 300 year-old “mermaid mummy” to try and trace it’s origin.

The bizarre-looking object, which may have been produced as an item for export to Europe, is believed to date from the early 1700s.

The mummified object, which appears to have nails and teeth, hair on its head and scales on its lower body, has been sent for a CT scan at the veterinary hospital of Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts.

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