Here's the printed, painted tablet, ready to be stitched:
...and here are the details:
The huge multi-armed creature attacking this ship was likely inspired by a giant squid.
I've read that mermaids and other human-like creatures were based on manatees. No, these creatures do NOT bear any resemblance to the Daryl Hannah character in Splash.....but: you can see how they would be described as having a face, and arms....and they do nurse their young.
...and if a manatee can lead to a mermaid, then I suppose a narwhal can - after a few retellings- morph into a goat-fish. But that green beast with the saw sticking out of his head? He's very close to real!
Sawsharks - and sawfish - both have big, spiked weapons on their heads. And on the bottom: look at that face!
More Fun with Photoshop: I can fade the surrounding sections, highlighting the part under discussion! In this case, the oarfish (see the last post) and an exaggerated version attacking a ship.
The hydra (here doing battle with Hercules) are - perhaps - inspired by the multi-armed creatures like the octopus.
On Ancient Maps Tablet
In the last post, I referenced the movie Jaws. While there are many sharks, very few attack humans, and almost all of them are much smaller than the Great White pictured in the movie. Yet (even though we know the facts) we enjoy the story of a monster attacking a ship.