[1] "Water-dwelling people with fully human, fish-tailed or other compound physiques feature in the mythologies and folklore of maritime, lacustrine and riverine societies across the planet.
"[2]: 6 "Ancient sea deities" have been regarded as the "earliest version of a human-fish hybrid".
[3] Creatures with a human torso and the tail of a fish appear in the myths of cultures around the world and persist in contemporary popular culture.
[2]: 6 [3][4] Water-dwelling humanoids in legend and fiction have frequently been depicted with characteristics of fish.
[5] Humanoids with characteristics of amphibians Some water-dwelling humanoids in fiction and legend have been assigned characteristics of species other than amphibians or fish,[5] or have been presented as "fully human formed aquatic humanoids".