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The Merlion is possibly a creature in western heraldry that depicts a creature with a lion's head and a body of a fish. In Singapore, it has become a marketing icon used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore. Merlions do not feature in any local folklore or myths of Singapore, and was only used in Singapore initially as the logo for the tourism board. () The merlion occurs in a number of different artistic traditions. Lions with fishtails can be found on Indian murals at Ajanta and Mathura, and on Etruscan coins of the Hellenistic period. Merlions, or ‘heraldic sea-lions’, are an established element of Western heraldry, and have been used on the coat of arms of the cities of Portsmouth and Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom; the City of Manila; and the East India Company. ==Singapore Merlion== The Merlion is the national personification of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called ''Temasek'', which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name—''Singapura''—meaning "lion city" or "kota singa". The symbol was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997〔"A new home for the Merlion". URA (''Skyline'' (July/August 2000) ). p. 6–8〕 and has been its trademarked symbol since 20 July 1966. Although the STB changed their logo in 1997, the STB Act continues to protect the Merlion symbol.〔Singapore Tourism Board: "Use of the Merlion Symbol" 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Merlion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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