The oceans cover over 70% of the planet, yet more than 80% of this realm remains unexplored. Lurking in the deep, dark depths are creatures both wondrous and terrifying. While some may dismiss stories of enormous serpents and beasts as myth and legend, sightings persist even today. So what mysterious creatures might still prowl the seas, evading detection in shadowy abysses?
The Kraken
The Kraken is likely the most infamous sea monster in history. This massive cephalopod was said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Iceland, where it would attack ships and drag them to the bottom of the sea. Descriptions portrayed it as a gigantic squid or octopus, with arms that could entwine entire vessels. While accounts of the Kraken go back centuries, could an enormous, undiscovered cephalopod account for modern sightings?
The giant squid, reaching up to 43 feet in length, demonstrates that squid of monstrous proportions do inhabit the deep ocean. The colossal squid, reaching up to 46 feet long with eyes over a foot wide, further pushes the limits of known cephalopod size. In 2012, researchers found extensive scars on a 10-foot-long sperm whale that had stranded near California. Analysis of suction cup marks indicated prolonged combat with a massive squid, estimated at up to 66 feet long. If squid of such proportions exist, there may indeed be a creature that inspired and still sustains the enduring Kraken myth.
Sea Serpents
For centuries, mariners have reported seeing elongate, serpentine beasts in the water. From Norway’s coils of the hafgufa to the Greek ophis and Egypt’s “Great Gray” of the Red Sea, recurrent sightings have spawned an abundance of names for such creatures. Possible identities include an unknown species of snake or eel, or even some mammal adapted for swimming. Cryptozoologists remain fascinated by the most famous serpentine sea monster of all – the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. Though “Nessie” is confined to a lake, compelling eyewitness reports since the 1930s inspire hopes that this mysterious creature might one day be properly documented.
Within the ocean, sea serpent sightings occur worldwide, from San Francisco’s “Chessie” to tropical embellishments like the Dungeoness Sea Serpent of Kenya. Just this past November, ferry passengers near Cape Cod reportedly saw an enormous snake-like beast undulating in the water. Cephalopods like oarfish can account for some sightings, but uniform descriptions of coils and loops hundreds of feet long seem to point to the existence of a yet-unknown vertebrate. Could an elongate relative of snakes, eels, or whales account for legends like Scotland’s Stoorworm and other winding monstrosities?
Megalodon
Megalodon ruled the seas 23 to 2.6 million years ago. At up to 60 feet long with jaws spanning 7 feet wide, this shark was a true monster – the largest known to ever live. Its extinction before the last ice age is well established, but legends persist of modern encounters with huge sharks in excess of 30 feet. Could a giant predator related to this long-gone behemoth still lurk in our oceans?
The 1964 book Jaws by Peter Benchley was inspired in part by fishermen’s accounts of great white sharks up to 35 feet long. To this day, rare sightings of outsized great whites up to 20 feet long suggest specimens at the upper end of this shark’s natural range remain elusive. Enormous six gill sharks also prowl into the deep, mysterious depths. While modern megalodon look-alikes seem unlikely, our assessments of these predators’ maximal sizes may yet need revision in light of the ocean’s remaining secrets.
Surviving Plesiosaurs
Plesiosaurs were aquatic reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era. Growing up to 40 feet long, these creatures had broad bodies, small heads, short tails, and four long flippers. Though plesiosaurs and their kind vanished along with non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago, modern sightings suggest the possibility that some related form has endured to the present.
The most famous reports describe the long-necked reptilian beast of Loch Ness. However, plesiosaur-like animals have been spotted elsewhere as well, such as the Irish Dobhar-chú and the famous “Nahuelito” of Argentina. Skeptics argue that mistaken identity explains modern sightings, but if descendants of plesiosaurs exist, surely the ocean would be their most likely refuge. With so much yet undiscovered, it seems premature to rule out that this group of marine reptiles lives on in some new iteration.
The Bloop
While the sea monsters described so far were based on claimed sightings, some believe unknown leviathans lurk in the deeps solely based on sound. In 1997, an extremely loud, powerful burst of noise erupted from the South Pacific. Dubbed the “Bloop,” this sound was almost at the lowest frequency limit of human hearing. Its unique signature points to an animal source unlike any known creature.
The Bloop matched what scientists predicted a giant animal like a blue whale would sound like from over 1,000 miles away. No blue whale that big is known to exist, however. At several times the maximum size of this largest species on Earth today, the creature that caused the sound would be a monster indeed. While the Bloop’s source remains officially unidentified, many believe some colossal whale-like beast yet undisclosed to science must dwell in the remote ocean depths.
Super-Sized Shark: Megalodon or Cousin?
| Creature | Maximum Length | Distinguishing Features |
|---|---|---|
| Megalodon | 60 ft | Massive jaws up to 7 ft wide |
| Great White Shark | 20 ft | Pointed snout, large dorsal fin |
| Sixgill Shark | 15 ft | Six gill slits, long tail |
While megalodon is definitely extinct, sporadic reports of enormous sharks over 30 feet long suggest the possibility of a super-sized, yet unknown shark prowling the oceans. Great whites and sixgills are candidates for growth beyond documented specimens. However, a surviving megalodon or slightly smaller relative cannot be ruled out as an explanation for rare sightings of truly massive sharks.
Giant Squid: Kraken of the Deep?
| Creature | Maximum Length | Distinguishing Features |
|---|---|---|
| Giant Squid | 43 ft | Long tentacles with suckers lined in small teeth |
| Colossal Squid | 46 ft | Rotating hooks on tentacle suckers |
| Kraken | Unknown; over 60 ft hypothesized | Gigantic size, possibly many long arms |
Reports of squid-like creatures 66 ft or more in length, with arms potentially even longer, suggest that colossal cephalopods exceeding currently known species may lurk in the remote depths. While the Kraken is a mythical figure, there are likely huge, unclassified squid species yet to be discovered.
Mystery of the Sea Serpents
| Creature | Estimated Length | Proposed Identities |
|---|---|---|
| Sea serpents | Up to 150 ft reported | Giant eels, snake-like whales, unknown vertebrates |
| Oarfish | Up to 56 ft documented | Elongate bony fish |
| Green anaconda | Up to 30 ft documented | Giant snake |
From loops to coils to undulations, reports of elongate sea serpents persist worldwide. While some sightings may be oarfish, truly gigantic specimens likely represent unknown vertebrate species, perhaps eel-like fish or elongate whales. The longest known animals offer precedent for such possibilities.
Surviving Sea Reptiles?
| Creature | Geologic Range | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Plesiosaurs | Mesozoic era | Small heads, long necks, paddle-like limbs |
| Ichthyosaur | Mesozoic era | Pointed snouts, dorsal fins, whale-like tails |
| Mosasaurs | Late Cretaceous period | Long, thin jaws, paddle-like limbs |
Aquatic reptiles like plesiosaurs all perished in the mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic era. However, modern sightings suggest the possibility that related forms have endured to the present as “living fossils.”
Giant Cephalopods and Whales – Fact or Fiction?
Reports of everything from giant squid to sea serpents spark our imaginations with the possibility of mammoth creatures lurking in the ocean abyss. But are such beasts likely to exist in the modern era? Evaluating the evidence provides some perspective.
Documented finds confirm squid and whales can reach much larger sizes than we once realized:
- Giant squid to 43 feet
- Colossal squid to 46 feet
- Sperm whales to 67 feet
- Blue whales to 98 feet
Furthermore, sucker scars indicate squid battles with even larger, unknown creatures. This lends plausibility to historic tales of the even more enormous Kraken. For whales, old stories of sea serpents may represent exaggerated sightings of now-extinct ocean giants. Overall, while outright survival of dinosaurs like plesiosaurs seems unlikely, evidence suggests more huge cephalopods and whales await discovery.
The Search Continues
Tales of sea monsters have endured for millennia, and astonishing creatures still emerge even today. Rather than dismiss such stories as imaginary, it makes sense to critically evaluate modern evidence. Reports, photographs, and sonar contacts may offer genuine clues in our continued exploration of a realm still more than 80% unexplored. As researchers uncover more of the ocean’s mysteries, who knows what real-life leviathans might yet lurk in the abyss?