Research source

It may be noted that both the Malays and the Chinese attribute the origin of ambergris to either a sea-dragon…

Date of account: Published 1886
Source: Mythical Monsters
Reference: Mythical Monsters · selected passage 173
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

It may be noted that both the Malays and the Chinese attribute the origin of ambergris to either a sea-dragon or a sea-serpent

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

It may be noted that both the Malays and the Chinese attribute the origin of ambergris to either a sea-dragon or a sea-serpent. Thus, in the description of Ambergris Island or Dragon Spittle Island, contained in the _History of the Ming Dynasty_, Book 325, from which an extract is given (in translation) by Mr. W. P. Groeneveldt, in his _Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca_, compiled from Chinese sources,[266] we find it stated that "this island has the appearance of a single mountain, and is situated in the Sea of Lambri, at a distance of one day and one night from Sumatra. It rises abruptly out of the sea, which breaks on it with high waves."

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This is a historical compilation of unusual-animal reports and argument. Witness testimony, repetition between publications and the author's zoological assumptions all affect independence and reliability.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

Lattice compares morphology, behaviour and setting while keeping misidentification, folklore, exaggeration, error and known animals available as alternatives.

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