Because of the resemblance of their knees to those of humans, beluga whales have historically been mistaken for mermaids.
Source: Commons Wikimedia
For hundreds of years, sailors have been reporting sightings of mermaids. It was obvious that the majority of them were observing something in the water, but it most likely wasn’t a hot, alluring human-fish hybrid. Given that beluga whales are indigenous to the Arctic, it is possible that some of the sightings could be related to them. This particular whale species has developed to have a number of distinctive physiological and anatomical characteristics that set it apart from other whale species, such as its lack of a dorsal fin and white pigmentation. But the reason it’s been confused for a sea siren is probably because to the peculiar, knee-like formations that mimic human knees.
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