Merfolk

Merfolk, (PROSE: Evolution ^[+]Loading...["Evolution (novel)"], The Suns of Caresh ^[+]Loading...["The Suns of Caresh (novel)"]) were a race of aquatic beings that lived in the seas of Earth. Female merfolk were known as mermaids, while males could be referred to as either mermen or merrows. (PROSE: The Sorcerer's Apprentice ^[+]Loading...["The Sorcerer's Apprentice (novel)"])

	Merfolk, Mermaid, Merrow
	Half-human, half-fish
	Earth
	Neptune, Magda, Amphitrite
	Guests of King Neptune
	PROSE: The Sorcerer's Apprentice PROSE: The Blue Angel AUDIO: Cryptobiosis PROSE: The Dreadful Flap AUDIO: Legend of the Cybermen PROSE: Enter Wildthyme

You may be looking for the ship named Mermaid.

Biology

Mermen had a fish's tails from the waist down. Their top half appeared human. They had a second set of inner eyelids. Mermen were unable to breath for long periods on land, (AUDIO: Cryptobiosis ^[+]Loading...["Cryptobiosis (audio story)"]) however Magda, a mermaid rescued by Iris Wildthyme, lived on the surface for over thirty years without issue, albeit in a wheelchair for mobility. (PROSE: Enter Wildthyme ^[+]Loading...["Enter Wildthyme (novel)"])

History

King Neptune had mermaid servants. (COMIC: Guests of King Neptune ^[+]Loading...["Guests of King Neptune (comic story)"])

Graham Stevens claimed that a mermaid rescued his grandfather from the Marie Celeste. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark ^[+]Loading...["Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark (novel)"])

The Mermen attempted to stay unnoticed by the humans on the surface. Two Mermaids were captured in fishing nets and taken by Jacques De Requin to be sold.

Amphitrite, one of the two, died. Her daughter Galatea, the other captive, was looked after by Peri Brown. Nereus led his people aboard the Lankester where they killed De Requin. Galatea was returned to them. Nereus promised help for the crew who had jumped overboard. (AUDIO: Cryptobiosis ^[+]Loading...["Cryptobiosis (audio story)"])

In the 20th century Bea Nelson-Stanley and Edgar Nelson-Stanley saw mermaids leaping with dolphins. (PROSE: Eye of the Gorgon ^[+]Loading...["Eye of the Gorgon (novelisation)"])

In the 1980s, Iris Wildthyme and MIAOW stopped Magda the Mermaid from destroying a nuclear power plant and then recruited Magda into MIAOW. (PROSE: Enter Wildthyme ^[+]Loading...["Enter Wildthyme (novel)"]) In the Obverse, Magda was the Eighth Doctor's mother. (PROSE: The Blue Angel ^[+]Loading...["The Blue Angel (novel)"])

In the 30th century, the First Doctor and Ian Chesterton encountered several mermaids and mermen in the Circle Sea on Avalon. These mermaids were brought into existence on the planet through the nanobot system on the planet, which created the fantasies of 22nd century human colonists into real beings. (PROSE: The Sorcerer's Apprentice ^[+]Loading...["The Sorcerer's Apprentice (novel)"])

Alternate timelines

In an alternate timeline created by the Chronomasticon, Earth was taken over by mermaids. (PROSE: Playing for Time ^[+]Loading...["Playing for Time (short story)"])

References

The Ghostmaker claimed that Pearl was the "closest thing you will see to a living mermaid". (TV: From Out of the Rain ^[+]Loading...["From Out of the Rain (TV story)"])

Myth

Mermen were also creatures of myth in Earth culture. Mermaids existed in the Land of Fiction, some whom were converted into Cybermen. (AUDIO: Legend of the Cybermen ^[+]Loading...["Legend of the Cybermen (audio story)"]) Albert C. Richardson sarcastically asked if Barbara Wright was a mermaid that was lost at sea. (TV: "Flight Through Eternity" ^[+]Part of The Chase, Loading...{"namedep":"Flight Through Eternity (3)","1":"The Chase (TV story)"}) The Eleventh Doctor called an alien doctor who stalked the Fancy a mermaid as she had the appearance of a siren. (TV: The Curse of the Black Spot ^[+]Loading...["The Curse of the Black Spot (TV story)"]) The Meron, a race native to Gorgol XIII, were also merfolk. (TV: Liberation ^[+]Loading...["Liberation (TV story)"])

Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, glueing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. The Ninth Doctor compared the Slitheen's genetically modified pig with this trick while explaining the pig's true nature to Toshiko Sato. (TV: Aliens of London ^[+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes

The Dax featured in the Decide Your Destiny book, The Corinthian Project, were compared to mermen, but given that their story had multiple endings, it's difficult to assert with certainty much about them.