A Creature with No Name
In 1824, Charles Waterton returned from South America carrying a bizarre object: the head and bust of an unclassified being with close-set eyes, a red mane, and an eerily human expression. He called it the “Nondescript,” claiming it defied all known categories of life.
Invented in Skin and Mercury
Waterton, a seasoned explorer and naturalist, was also a skilled taxidermist. He developed a mercury-based method that hardened skins without traditional stuffing. Using parts from red howler monkeys, he shaved, reshaped, and combined them into a single grotesque figure.
A Hoax or a Discovery?
While some contemporaries suspected a hoax, others took it seriously. Europe had recently learned of strange creatures like the platypus. The Nondescript, bizarre as it was, didn’t seem entirely impossible.
Still on Display
Today, the Nondescript remains on view at Wakefield Museum in England. Though now confirmed as a fabrication, it continues to draw fascination as a preserved artifact of one man’s ingenuity—and his flair for the unusual. Waterton never revealed all his reasons, but one story claims he invented the creature just to irritate a Liverpool customs officer.
In 1824, Charles Waterton returned to England with a bizarre creature he called the Nondescript.
It had a red mane, close-set eyes, and a nearly human face.
Waterton, a respected explorer and taxidermist, claimed the being didn’t match any known species…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/Thnuag4m5i
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 20, 2025