Mer (Primeval)
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| Primeval creature | |
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| Mer | |
| Home era | Future |
| First appearance | Episode 10 |
| Number of fatalities caused | 1 |
| Returned to era | 10: 2 killed in the present, two in the future. 12/13: Killed in battle with other creatures. |
Mers are a fictional creature from the ITV science fiction series Primeval. They are roughly the size of an elephant seal and eat both fish and other types of meat. They appear in Episodes 10 and 13 of the series.
[edit] Characteristics
Mers seem to be an intelligent cross between a seal and a baboon or Mandrill. It is also possible that they are a form of monkey that returned to the sea after the land became increasingly hostile.
While a close-up picture shows the creature has tusks, the smaller specimens also have fangs on the upper jaws as well as tusks. The Mer "kidnap" people in the episode and keep them alive, possibly for storage of fresh food for when times become leaner.
Mer have a specific leader, called a Merqueen. This female animal is much larger than the others and has a huge sac of fat on the underbelly, similar to beachmasters in elephant seals, or queen ants. The Merqueen also has a more Gorilla-like face, a longer tongue,larger, more prevalent tusks, and is more violent towards other of her species (she is seen knocking youngsters out of her way). The Merqueen is shown as being a clumsy animal, and may well crush several smaller Mer if she is rushing to attack, which again bares a reference to bull elephant seals which may crush calves that get in their way (although elephant seals do this by accident while the Merqueen appeared to do it deliberately)[1].
The size and build of these animals suggests a lifestyle very similar to the modern day elephant seal. They also shed sheets of skin like a seal or walrus, and sing underwater in a similar manner to humpback whales as a form of communication. [1] The Mer are also shown to be capable of surviving on fish[2]. These factors all point towards a mammalian ancestry. However, Cutter speculates they could potentially have evolved from humans[1].
The Mer appear to have very weak skulls, as several times characters appear to have successfully killed them by dropping rocks on their heads. Abby Maitland also manages to cause a possibly fatal level of damage to one by kicking it in the chin[1].
It is clear that the Mer were added to the show as an explanation for what sailors believed to be mermaids.
[edit] History within the show
The first episode they appear in, they "kidnapped" a teenager named Lucien, the team originally presuming it was a future shark they found and killed, but later finding out otherwise. One of them later dragged Abby Maitland to an underground sewer and then through a time anomaly to the Mer's home era. The Mer are also at this stage shown vulnerable to attacks to their skulls when two are assaulted using rocks and appear to be mortally wounded. Stephen Hart and Nick Cutter also kill several of the creatures, including the Merqueen, with machine guns[1].
Mer returned in the the second season finale as one of the many creatures captured by Leek, but did not play an important role in the episode[2][3].
[edit] References
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