The Natural History Society of Edinburgh, the Wernerian Society, examined the remains and could not place them. Patrick Neill, the naturalist, assigned the scientific name Halsydrus pontoppidani, meaning Pontoppidan's sea snake. The anatomist Sir Everard Home later disputed the size, saying it was about 30 feet, and concluded it was a decayed basking shark. Professor John Goodsir confirmed that view in 1849.
The cryptozoologist Karl Shuker has defended the original measurement and suggested a larger undescribed relation of the basking shark. A sketch of the carcass by Sir Alexander Gibson survives.
The mainstream view is that this was a decomposing shark, a pattern also seen in other sea serpent carcasses. The record is included because the event is well documented and because the identity was disputed. The pin is on Stronsay generally.
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