Homo mermanus

Homo mermanus
A group of Atlantean Homo mermani berate Namor the Sub-Mariner (cover to Sub-Mariner #33, art by Sal Buscema).
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (April 1939)
Characteristics
Place of origin	Atlantis, Earth
Notable members	Namor Namorita Namora

Homo mermanus is a fictional race of gilled aquatic humanoids that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. This race is best known as the people who live in the Atlantis of Marvel's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. The most notable member of the race is Namor the Sub-Mariner.

An offshoot of the Homo sapiens species with an as yet undisclosed origin, Homo mermanus are a mammalian species, but with some fish-like characteristics. Each one possesses two twin gills located on their necks near the clavicle bone, which allow them to breathe underwater. Their skin pigmentation can be either blue (most Atlanteans) or green (most Lemurians and nomads)

Their physiology is also much stronger and more durable than that of the Homo sapiens, necessitated by their exposure to the vast pressure of the deep sea. As a consequence they are physically much stronger than regular humans and can swim up to 30 miles (48 km) per hour. The typical lifespan for a Homo mermanus is 150 years. However they cannot survive outside of water for longer than five minutes without aid.

The total population of Homo mermanus has been estimated at over 1,000,000 globally.

Atlanteans first appeared in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (April 1939).

The Homo mermanus are often referred to as Atlanteans, as it is in the city of Atlantis that their first complex society emerged. Like humans they learned to domesticate animals, such as dolphins, while humans domesticated horses, dogs and camels.

Atlantis itself had been a small above ground continent with many human settlements, when an event 10,000 years ago called the "Great Cataclysm" caused it to be submerged into the sea. 2,000 years later, a group of Homo mermanus made the ruins of the human settlements in Atlantis their home and went on to develop a society there using as much of the material as they could scavenge from the wreckage. Many of the warring tribes united under a single emperor (although by the 20th century there were still some barbarian tribes).