What Lurks Beneath the Sea?
From the first moment early humans laid their eyes on the sea no doubt their minds began to manufacture all sorts of amazing and terrifying creatures that might dwell beyond the rolling surf. Even today the ocean remains a mystery, dark and largely unexplored. But tales of sea monsters and leviathans of the deep are apt to draw a snicker in today’s world. Thanks to modern science and marine biology we think we know what ’s down there and what isn ’t, so any mentions of squids large enough to sink a boat or sea serpents fifty feet long aren ’t taken very seriously.
It wasn ’t always so, even as recently as a century or two ago. Sailors who crossed the massive oceans of the world braved dangerous seas, huge storms, enemy navies and maybe even a few pirates. But just as they feared the dangers above the waves, they were also wary of what may await them beneath. In fact, they so worried about the beasties of the deep that some maps of the day marked the locations where these animals were said to haunt.
Sounds funny today, and we can chalk it up to superstition and nerves, but on the other hand these sailors had to be seeing something. Did they imagine it all? Dip a little too deep into the rum cask, maybe? Or, perhaps they were actually seeing real sea monsters. Many mythical creatures weren’t yet know to science back in those days, and if they were they might not have been common knowledge to the average sailor.
Even today men at sea are seeing things they cant explain away. Alleged sightings of the Megalodon shark have recently caught the public’s interest and people are wondering if such a huge and terrifying creature could still be down there, somewhere in the ocean’s depths.
The jury is still out on Megalodon, but here ’s a look at a few of the creepiest sea monsters that freaked out our ocean-going ancestors and turned out to be real after all.
Here There Be Monsters
The Kraken: The kraken is a monstrous, multi-tentacle sea creature capable of emerging from the depths and dragging a ship to the bottom. It sounds insane, but could there be some truth to these stories? We now know of giant squid capable of reaching 50 feet in length, a true sea monster. Squid usually dwell in deeper water by day, and come closer to the surface at night. There are even a few tales of giant squid attacking boats. Could sightings of this massive creature have led to stories of the kraken?
Sea Serpents: With a snake-like body, a head like a dragon and spikes along its back, no wonder stories of the sea serpent struck fear into sailors. This description might sound fantastic, but it fits a very real animal which may have accounted for these sightings. The giant oarfish is a deep-ocean species that can reach over 50 feet in length. Biologists say it would be rare for the oarfish to surface, but if one did come up within sight of a ship it would surely be mistaken for a massive serpent. Despite its fearsome appearance, the oarfish is harmless to humans.
Mermaids: Top like a woman, bottom like a fish. It might sound like a good thing, but mermaids were bad luck for sailors who believed they would enchant them into losing their loot, or even their lives. One explanation for these sightings could be the manatee. Manatees are large, aquatic mammals with flippers they can use like arms, and paddle-like tails. They look vaguely human, and it ’s possible that lonely sailors long at sea may have seen something familiar in the mammalian way the manatee moves in the water. Though one would have to imagine these sailors to be awfully lonely indeed, some experts say the isolation and stress brought on by long sea voyages could very well cause such a misidentification.
Giant Octopus: As feared as the kraken is the massive octopus, lurking beneath the sea and ready to reach up and snatch sailors off deck. In fact, in Jules Verne ’s classic novel 20,000 League Under the Sea the submarine Nautilus is grabbed by a giant octopus (sometimes translated as giant squid). But these fears of giant octopus may in reality be driven by sightings of, well, giant octopus. The giant pacific octopus can reach a length of over 20 feet across, certainly large enough to threaten a diver or even a small boat. If that ’s not big enough, there is a hypothetical species of colossal octopus that may get even bigger.
New Ocean Species Still to be Discovered
If all of that ’s not enough to shiver your timbers, rest assured that for every sea monster known to science there are more out there yet to be discovered. There are some who believe a giant shark known as megalodon still prowls the oceans of the world. Believed to have gone extinct thousands of years ago, the megalodon grew up to 60 feet long and made the largest great white shark look like a guppy. Some researchers think meglalodon may still live in the deepest parts of the ocean, hunting whales and other large prey.
There are those who believe the plesiosaur may still exist as well. A reptile that lived in the time of the dinosaurs, some plesiosaur species looked similar to reports of sea and lake monsters such as the Loch Ness Monster and those spotted in the oceans around the world. A living plesiosaur would be the greatest discovery in the history of marine biology.
How realistic is it that the plesiosaur and megalodon, along with any other long-thought-extinct species, could still exist somewhere in the oceans of the world? Maybe it ’s not realistic, but it ’s certainly possible. It ’s also possible that many other manifestations of wild creatures could be lurking down there, waiting for discovery. The ocean is deep and vast, and no doubt still holds many secrets. With each year scientists and biologists expand their reach into the blue and discover new species and wonders. While some are skeptical that large creatures remain to be discovered, the wisest among them keep an open mind. Like the first humans to look out over the waters, still we believe anything could be down there.
More Monsters Under the Sea
Loch Ness Monster Sightings: Is the a Living Plesiosaur in Loch Ness?
The Largest Sharks in the World
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