'Mermaids are just a myth, they never existed'

The timing of the claim by the US National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coincides with the Animal Planet show "Mermaids: The Body Found," that was aired in May and explored whether there is "a kernel of truth that lives beneath the legend of the mythic mermaid".

Not so, said the National Ocean Service. "No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found," the agency said on its website.

However, a NOAA spokesperson would not confirm that the post was in direct response to the show, which was presented in documentary format.

"The timing was around that time. I think the TV show came out around Memorial Day and we got a few of the questions [about mermaids]," Keeley Belva, spokesperson for National Ocean Service, told LiveScience. "Arguably, yes, the timing is tied to the documentary."

"As we had gotten a couple questions about mermaids, we thought this would be a fun way to talk about it and to have information up about mermaids in different cultures and to draw people into our website and learn more about what NOAA and the National Ocean Service does," She added.

The reference to "aquatic humanoids" alludes to a controversial theory called the aquatic ape theory, which suggests humans had an aquatic stage in our evolutionary past.

Called "pseudoscience" by anthropologist John Hawks on his blog, this theory is not supported by most scientists.

The Animal Planet summary says its show is "a story about evolutionary possibility grounded in a radical scientific theory -- the Aquatic Ape Theory, which claims that humans had an aquatic stage in our evolutionary past."

In popular myth, mermaids are half-human, half-fish sirens of the sea. The ancient Greek epic poem The Odyssey made mention of them. In the ancient Far East, mermaids were the wives of powerful sea-dragons. And the aboriginal people of Australia call mermaids as "yawkyawks", which refers to their mesmerizing songs. (More)