HYMANTHOPOLUS

If one thing really surprised us on our last descent into the Marianas, it was the discovery of the asymmetrical eggs of the Hymanthopolus: the legendary aquatic bird, which became a recurring topic of conversation among nineteenth-century marianographers. Legends of all kinds developed surrounding them: among them, one promised that to discover the identity of its offspring, it was enough to tear the eggshell with your little finger. If it returned three blows, it was a Hymathopolus vulgaris, the common variety; if it growled, it was the Pugnax, feared throughout the ocean; and if a sharp and mocking cackle erupted from within, it was the Hilaria Hilarensis… Are you ready to tear open the egg?