Such as that in the Starbucks logo.
Thanks in advance.
According to this webpage, it’s a Siren.
A split tailed mermaid is split that way…for sex?! I’ll never look at the Starbucks logo in the same way again!
Another wonderful combination of username and post.
Melusine.
The Professor of Abyssal Anthropology and Cthulological Studies at Miskatonic does of course have it right.
In Heraldry, as I remember, the conjoined or split tail was the distinguishing feature between a heraldic mermaid or Melusine.
The Wiki article is marred by too extensive a tendency to quote long passages from works on folklore, but helps to make it clear.
The descent of the Lusignans from an ancestress bearing the name and description ofMelusine was firmly ensconced in early genealogies, the trradition even being preserved in Burke’s.
… the Board is considering adding a Chair of Non-Euclidean Music next year.
Many thanks to all who answered, especially with melusine.