Chilean blob

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title: "Chilean blob" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["globsters", "natural-history-of-chile", "los-lagos-region", "2000s-animal-deaths", "2003-in-chile", "coasts-of-los-lagos-region", "individual-sperm-whales"] description: "Whale carcass globster" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_blob" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Whale carcass globster ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Chilean_Blob.jpg" caption="The Chilean Blob as it was found on Pinuno Beach in July 2003"] ::

The Chilean blob or Chilean monster () was a large globster (mass of organic tissue) found on Pinuno Beach in Los Muermos, Chile, in July 2003. It weighed 13 tonne and measured 12 m across. The Chilean blob made headlines around the world because biologists were initially unable to identify it and were speculating that it was the remains of some species of giant octopus previously unknown to science. The blob was the subject of a number of conspiracy theories.

In June 2004, although no cells remained in the blob, fragments of the DNA found in the blob were found to match that of a sperm whale. The blob was a large mass of adipose tissue, the partial remains of a dead sperm whale. Scientists concluded that the whale had died several months prior and that its carcass had been eaten until only its tough collagen fibres remained.

References

References

1. (November 28, 2022). "Hallan a extraña criatura gigante y peluda en una playa".
2. (2003-07-03). "Chilean blob could be octopus". BBC News.
3. (2003-07-02). "Giant blob baffles marine scientists". BBc News.
4. Bromham, Lindell. (2016). "An Introduction to Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics". [[Oxford University Press]].
5. Copley, Jon. (2004-06-27). "Beach blob mystery solved at last".
6. (June 2004). "Microscopic, Biochemical, and Molecular Characteristics of the Chilean Blob and a Comparison With the Remains of Other Sea Monsters: Nothing but Whales". The Biological Bulletin.
7. Puig, Rebecca. (2004). "A Whale of a Tale". Research Online, University of South Florida.
8. Adam, David. (2003-07-10). "So what did that Chilean blob turn out to be in the end?". The Guardian.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::