In 1845 Albert C. Koch exhibited a large fossil skeleton in New York City that he claimed belonged to an extinct sea serpent. It was 35 meters long, most of which was taken up by a neck and spine of more than 50 vertebrae. Prof. Jeffries Wyman, an anatomist, viewed the skeleton and declared that it was fake. The skull of the creature was from a mammal, judging by the teeth, while the vertebrae came from several different skeletons. Most of the bones were from a species of fossil whale.

The Missouri Leviathan, or Missourium