Crumby's Telescope Tomfoolery Notes - Cetus, Monster of Mystery

Yep. Cetus the aquatic monster of unknown taxomonic status is both large and confusing. Having located Beta Cetus, that some call Deneb Kaitos, a night or two ago, I felt ready to have another look at such a celestial mystery and monster. So out the twain of us ventured, both Lleu Llaw Guffes and Crumby the Ovate, to espy what we might espy of the hideous creature that would have devoured the beautiful yet naked Andromeda, had not Pegasus the Flying Horse and Perseus come galloping along in the nick of time.

Crumby, do you reckon Deneb Kaitos is the eye of the great amphibious or aquatic monster, or perhaps the opening of its venter shoot?

Well Lleu Llaw, since we haven't seen much of the monster yet, I reckon Deneb Kaitos could be one or the other just as easily. But you bring up an interesting point relative to the life style of this hideous creature. It just about has to be amphibious and not merely aquatic. Andromeda, by all accounts, was chained upon a high prominence well above high tide. So the monster must have had some adaptations for crawling or slithering on up the high prominence.

You know Crumby, Cetus could be a giant walking catfish, its kidneys adapted to water retention in a saline environment, but also blessed with a full complement of organs necessary for visiting a comfort station on land. It would probably have to go to the comfort station immediately upon exiting the saline environment to keep from exploding. So Deneb Kaitos could very well be its venter hole, depending of course, upon which end of Cetus, Deneb Kaitos is situated on.

You surprise me Lleu Llaw. Where did you learn so much about the osmotic regulatory practices and general anatomy of our finny friends?

Much I learned from my cousin, Dylan, who could swim as well as any fish.

Oh! That's right. I forgot your family history for the nonce previous to this nonce. Too bad about Dylan.

Yepper, poor Dylan.

I thought Dylan was your brother.

He may have been my brother, and my son.

How could he be your cousin and your bro, er? Oh, I see. It's a hill folk thing.

Yepper, hill folk. Plus, the ladies would never tell us what the heck was happening in those days.

All righty then Lleu Llaw, I understand. Listen buddy, it's going to be awhile before Cetus rears his ugly head or caudal region, whichever comes up first. So we better look around in Aquarius awhile. According to the out of print Golden Skyguide, the Age of Aquarius will begin in about 600 years so we need to be ready. Look up there. See that little bunch of stars that looks like a kite sort of. We'll go look there first. And then we'll go off to the right aways and espy Messier 2 for awhile. You know Lleu Llaw, since you were kinfolk of Dylan, and the Age of Aquarius may be dawning in just a few hundred years, you could maybe help me to pre-adapt for that eventuality. I could use some gill pouches and maybe a little toe webbing. Say Lleu Llaw, did you know Rayetta already has webbed toes?

She does?

Yepper, Rayetta was raised up when she was little by star-nosed moles. So was my bosom companion Ray, but somehow Ray missed out on the toe webbing.

I bet their real momma didn't tell their real daddy anything either.

Er, let's not go there, Lleu Llaw. Look, there's Zeta. It's a neat one. Hold the great red tube steady now and you can have a looksee.
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Later
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Lo and behold Crumby, I have espied the eye, or anus of the great monster.

All righty then Lleu Llaw, let us together ascertain which end is which of this horrible beast, Cetus.

Perhaps Crumby, if we are in agreement that Deneb Kaitos indicates the anterior or the posterior, we could then use that information to proceed to the other end of this mysterious and ferocious creature.

Yep. Which way do you reckon the other end lies, Lleu Llaw?

Hmmm. Let us display some wits about ourselves Crumby. The last we heard tell of this creatures antics, it was put off its feed by the timely arrival of both Pegasus the Flying Horse and Perseus the Sun God Trainee.

Uh huh. Let's see. If I was a monstrous amphibian or perhaps a walking catfish and the delicious morsel I had espied was untimely snatched from my slathering jaws, what might I then do? What might I then do? Er.

Here's what I, Lleu Llaw Guffes, Lion of the Steady, would do under those same trying circumstances. First, I would crawl off some where and get a nice drink of fresh water to get myself properly tonic-ed. After that, I would lumber disappointely off towards the sea from which I had come out of in the first place.

That makes a lot of sense Lleu Llaw. So all we need to do is check the lay of the land around Cetus to determine which way he is headed?

Correct Crumby.

All righty then, Aries the Ram is up and to the left. He's a land animal. Aquarius is off to the right and down. So Cetus must be headed left towards the sea. Ha! Deneb Kaitos must be some anterior organ or other.

Yepper, Crumby, Deneb Katos, could be the premaxillary-ethmovomerine block of Cetus, or one of Cetus's hideous occiputs.

Yep. OK. Move the great red tube left, Lleu Llaw until I holler stop. Stop!

Ha! There it is Lleu Llaw, a heterocercal caudal fin characteristic of the holostean fishes. Have a look see.

Yep. Perfect! Now all we need to do is backtrack and espy for legs or fin-like appendages that might serve as legs.

Yep.