Fish

Xuanyu

by

Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Black Fish
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the ancient age of floods, Emperor Yao commanded Gun to bring the raging waters under control. For nine years Gun struggled, yet the rivers would not yield. At last, overcome by failure, he went to Yuyuan and drowned himself.

Death did not end him.

From the depths rose a vast black fish, its body dark as night. This was Xuanyu. It moved freely through river and wave, sometimes lifting its whiskers and shaking its scales so that the surface of the water rippled and stirred. When it glided across the waves, those who saw it said a river spirit had appeared.

At certain seasons, black fish and dragons were seen leaping from the water together, and people watched in fear and wonder. Some say Xuanyu later appeared where river meets sea, so immense that its presence shook the waters, causing them to surge and spray high into the air.

Thus Gun endured not as a man, but as Xuanyu—a dark spirit of the waters, carrying sorrow, power, and the memory of the floods wherever it swam.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 璋魚. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%84%E9%B1%BC

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Ziph

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Tradition / Region: Medieval European Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the cold northern seas described by medieval scholars, there lives a fearsome fish known as the Ziph. Vast in size, it is unlike ordinary fish in form, for where fins should grow at its sides, it bears webbed feet, powerful and broad.

Its head ends in a razor-sharp beak, capable of cutting through flesh with ease. Though the Ziph feeds mainly on smaller fish, its strength and ferocity are said to rival those of the sea serpent itself. When it moves through the water, it does so with sudden violence, striking swiftly and without warning.

Sailors who glimpsed its shape beneath the waves spoke of it with dread, counting it among the great terrors of the northern oceans. Thus the Ziph entered the bestiaries: a creature of cold seas, strange in body, and deadly in nature.

Gallery

Sources

Bestiary.us contributors. (n.d.). Zif. In Bestiary.us, from https://www.bestiary.us/Zif/

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Akugyo

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Tradition / Region: Japanese mythology
Alternate Names: Daigyo; Raichōgyo
Category: Fish, Yokai

The Myth

In the seas near Kibi Province, sailors spoke in fear of the Akugyo, the Evil Fish. Vast beyond measure, it rose from the depths to overturn ships as easily as toys, devouring the sailors who fell screaming into the water.

Some Akugyo breathed fire from their mouths, scorching ships before dragging them under. Others resembled enormous ningyo, their bodies covered in gold and silver scales that gleamed beneath the waves. There were also Akugyo shaped like colossal mermaids, bearing two white horns like those of an oni sprouting from their heads. Fishermen dreaded these monsters, for a boat could become trapped between the creature’s massive fins, leaving the crew helpless as the Akugyo fed.

In the sixth month of 1805, an Akugyo appeared off the coast of Echigo Province. Its body stretched more than eleven meters in length, and its horns were longer than a man’s arm. The terror it caused was so great that the Lord of Kaga dispatched a vast force—fifteen hundred men and four hundred fifty cannons—to hunt it down. After a great battle at sea, the monster was finally slain.

Another tale tells of Izutsuya Kanroku, a famed taiko drummer from Kaga. While crossing the Sea of Japan, his boat suddenly came to a halt. Beneath it lay the back of an Akugyo, and the vessel had become lodged upon the monster’s body. Believing death inevitable, Kanroku took up his drum and played with all the strength he had left. His drumming thundered across the sea and sky, echoing like a storm.

Moved—or perhaps startled—by the sound, the Akugyo shifted. The boat slipped free, and Kanroku escaped unharmed.

Thus the Akugyo remains a creature of terror and wonder: a destroyer of ships, yet sometimes driven away by courage, sound, and human resolve.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Akugyō. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akugyo

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Auñ Pana

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Tradition / Region: Yanomami Mythology, Brazilian Mythology, Venezualian Mythology
Alternate Names: Pehiwetinome
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the deep waters of the Yanomami world dwell the Auñ Pana, enormous fish feared by all who travel rivers and crossings. Though they are fish, they bear arms like humans, and their bodies are covered in coarse hair. They are said to possess dark, uncanny powers, and their hunger is for human flesh.

The Auñ Pana do not swim alone. They move in schools with creatures known as the Pehiwetinome, beings just as vast and just as murderous as themselves. Together they haunt the deepest waters, waiting for the careless or the unlucky.

Once, a group of Yanomami people attempted to cross a bridge spanning the river. As they passed over it, Auñ Pana and Pehiwetinome rose from below and began to bite through the wooden supports. Their teeth tore the bridge apart until it collapsed into the water, breaking into a drifting raft.

Some of the Yanomami survived the fall, but they did not remain human. In the aftermath of the destruction, they were transformed into monkeys and pigs, condemned to live forever changed.

Thus the Auñ Pana are remembered as beings of the depths who devour flesh, destroy human works, and blur the boundary between human and animal through terror and transformation.

Gallery

Sources

A Book of Creatures contributors. (n.d.). Aun-pana. In A Book of Creatures, from https://abookofcreatures.com/2015/09/11/aun-pana/

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Ai-cheri

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Tradition / Region: Komi mythology, Russia Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish, Spirit

The Myth

In the waters watched over by the Komi people dwells Ai-cheri, a powerful spirit who rules all fish. Rivers, lakes, and hidden currents fall under his quiet authority, and every creature with fins is said to move by his allowance.

Ai-cheri lives in harmony with the vasa, the spirits who govern the waters themselves. Together they keep the balance of streams and depths, deciding when waters are generous and when they are withholding.

When a fisherman casts a net and later finds it missing, the loss is not blamed on chance or current. It is said that Ai-cheri himself has taken it, either as a warning, a reminder of respect owed to the waters, or simply as an act of his unseen will.

Thus, every net drawn from the river is offered with caution, and every net lost is accepted as the hand of the lord of fish moving beneath the surface.

Gallery

Sources

Bestiary.us contributors. (n.d.). Ai-cheri. In Bestiary.us, from https://www.bestiary.us/ai-cheri/

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Saba-i-gusa

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish, Yokai, Mackerel

The Myth

Among the sayings of the townspeople there was one about mackerel: that it rots while still alive. From this saying arose the strange creature known as Saba-i-gusa.

Saba-i-gusa has the head of a fish, the body of a man, and three legs. Thanks to these three legs, it is said to be a fast runner. One illustration shows it sprinting down the road, sweat pouring from its body, muttering to itself as it runs toward Osaka.

It complains bitterly of its fate. People praised it for being quick, urging it to hurry without rest, so it has been running day and night on all three legs. In its haste, its insides have turned inside out and begun to rot, even though it is still alive. Exhausted and foul-smelling, it worries that no one will hire it if they see its condition, yet it forces itself onward, trying to look lively and useful.

Despite its speed, Saba-i-gusa never reaches its destination in good condition. Its body decays as it runs, proving the truth of the saying that mackerel spoil even before their journey is done.

Thus Saba-i-gusa became a living joke: a creature born from words, embodying haste, overwork, and the misfortune of being praised for speed when speed itself leads to ruin.

Gallery

Sources

TYZ-Yokai Blog contributors. (n.d.). サバイグサ (Saba-i-gusa). In TYZ-Yokai Blog, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1071801435.html

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Tomoe

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish, Carp, Yokai

The Myth

In Kawachi Province there lies a deep pool known as Uchisuke-ga-fuchi, whose waters were said never to dry. On its bank lived a fisherman named Uchisuke, a solitary man who made his living by catching carp.

One day, Uchisuke caught a female carp of uncommon dignity, marked by patterns unlike any he had seen before. Instead of selling it, he kept the fish. As years passed, a tomoe crest appeared upon its scales, and the carp grew strangely attached to him. It began to respond when called by name, lingered near him like a companion, and in time even left the water to sleep in his house and share his meals.

For eighteen years Uchisuke kept the carp in a tank. By then it had grown to the size of a young girl of fourteen or fifteen.

At last, Uchisuke married. One night, while he was away fishing, a beautiful woman wearing a pale blue kimono patterned with rising waves burst into the house. She spoke to the new wife with fury, saying that she had known Uchisuke for many years and was even carrying his child. Burning with resentment at being cast aside, she ordered the wife to return to her parents’ home at once, warning that if she did not, a great wave would rise within three days and drag the house into the pond.

Terrified, the wife fled and told Uchisuke what she had seen. He laughed it off, saying that such a woman could never have desired him, and that it must have been an illusion. As dusk fell, he returned to the pond in his boat.

Suddenly the water surged. Seaweed parted, and a massive carp leapt into the boat. From its mouth it spat out a small being shaped like a human child, with hair upon its head, yet with scales upon its body. Then the carp plunged back into the depths and vanished.

Uchisuke fled in terror. When he returned home and looked into the fish tank, Tomoe was gone.

After this, the villagers spoke among themselves and said, “In all things, it is not good for humans to keep living creatures too close to them.”

Gallery

Sources

TYZ-Yokai Blog contributors. (n.d.). 巴御前 (Tomoe). In TYZ-Yokai Blog, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010655112.html

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Marool

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Tradition / Region: Shetland Mythology, Scottish Mythology
Alternate Names: Mareel
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the storm-dark seas around Shetland there dwells a malevolent being known as the Marool, a devil of the deep that wears the shape of a fish. Its head is covered in eyes, watching in every direction, and upon its crown burns a crest of living flame.

The Marool is most often seen amid mareel—ghostly, glowing sea-foam that shines with cold light at night. When storms rise and the waves grow wild, sailors fear its presence, for the Marool delights in disaster. As ships are overturned and dragged under by the sea, it is said that the creature sings, its voice carried on the wind, wild with joy at the destruction.

In later times, the name Marool came to be used for strange deep-sea fishes such as the anglerfish or monkfish. Yet in the old tales of Shetland, the Marool is remembered not as a mere animal, but as a watching, singing spirit of shipwreck and storm.

Gallery

Sources

A Book of Creatures contributors. (n.d.). Marool. In A Book of Creatures, from https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/03/04/marool/

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Caspilly

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Tradition / Region: Arabic Mythology, Persian Mythology
Alternate Names: Caspilli; Neemora (Persian)
Category: Fish

The Myth

Sailors of the warm seas spoke of a fish both terrible and marvelous, known among the Arabs as the Caspilly and among the Persians as the Neemora. It was said to dwell in the Arabian Gulf and the wider Indian Ocean, feared by all who sailed those waters.

The Caspilly was described as almost as wide as it was long, yet no more than two feet in length. Its body bore no scales; instead, its skin was rough, spiked, and barbed like that of a shark. From its forehead grew a long, lancet-shaped horn, sometimes said to be longer than a man’s arm. When not in use, this horn lay folded back along its neck.

When hunger seized it, the Caspilly attacked the first creature it encountered. With a sudden thrust, it drove its horn into the belly of its prey, leaving it to bleed to death in the water. Its teeth were venomous, and even a single bite meant certain death. Yet paradoxically, the body of a dead Caspilly, laid upon such a wound, was said to draw out the poison and save the victim. Its horn was prized above all, believed to hold powerful medicinal virtues.

Another tale spoke of a similar fish in the seas near Peru, bearing a sword-like horn three feet long. This creature was said to hunt whales. It would slip beneath the great beast, stab it in the navel, and retreat while the wounded whale thrashed in agony, sometimes capsizing nearby ships. Only once the whale was dead would the fish return to feed at its leisure.

In later tellings, these stories were woven together. The Caspilly grew even more fearsome, its horn stretching to four feet in length, and its appetite expanding to make it the terror of the Arabian seas. Sailors claimed that local hunters pursued it with giant hooks baited with camel meat. When the Caspilly struck, it would exhaust itself fighting the line, allowing the hunters to shoot it with arrows, haul it aboard, and beat it to death.

Its flesh was said to be edible, and its horn—called caspilly alicorn—was believed to rival the unicorn’s horn in its power to counter venom.

Thus the Caspilly lived on in sailors’ lore: a spined, horned killer of fish and whales alike, born from the dangers of the sea and the fearful imagination of those who crossed it.

Gallery

Sources

A Book of Creatures contributors. (n.d.). Caspilly. In A Book of Creatures, from https://abookofcreatures.com/2015/03/15/caspilly/

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Hrökkáll

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Tradition / Region: Icelandic Mythology
Alternate Names: Coil-eel
Category: Fish, Eel, Zombie

The Myth

Long ago, a malicious wizard in Iceland defied the natural order. From polluted water he drew up a dead eel, half-rotted and foul, and by dark arts forced it back into motion. Thus was born the first Hrökkáll, the coil-eel—an unnatural thing animated by corruption and spite.

Though the wizard himself vanished with time, the creature did not. The Hrökkáll bred, and its descendants spread into stagnant ponds, still waters, and sluggish rivers, thriving wherever decay and filth gathered.

A Hrökkáll is about two feet long and shaped like an eel, but its body is armored with flexible scales as hard as iron. Along its sides run sharp, saw-toothed fins. Like many fearsome fishes of Iceland, it exudes a corrosive venom, and its flesh is deadly to eat. When captured, Hrökkálls have been known to melt through soil and stone alike, dissolving their escape and slipping back into the water.

They wait unseen beneath the surface until a person steps into their domain. Then the Hrökkáll strikes, coiling tightly around a leg. With crushing force and slicing edges, it cuts through flesh and bone, severing the limb entirely. Whether it is the acid of its venom, the blades of its fins, or both together that accomplish this horror is unknown.

Men and horses alike fall victim to the Hrökkáll, but sheep are spared, for their legs are too slender for the creature to grasp.

In later times, the name Hrökkáll passed into common speech, and came to be used for electric eels as well—but in old tales, it is remembered as a thing born of sorcery, rot, and water gone bad.

Gallery

Sources

A Book of Creatures contributors. (n.d.). Hrokkall. In A Book of Creatures, from https://abookofcreatures.com/2015/08/12/hrokkall/

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