Monsters of the deep sea. Seven legendary sea monsters Terrible sea monsters

15.06.2019

Human activities are mainly related to land. That is why everything related to water raises many questions and assumptions. Water is a completely different world, sometimes incomprehensible and very often inaccessible. The creatures that live in the depths of the seas and oceans are so different from those who live on land that they can cause not only surprise, but very often fear.

In ancient times, people were convinced that water was fraught with danger. All these fears and conjectures are reflected in legends and myths.

Despite the fact that a person managed to descend into the Mariana Trench, which is considered the most deep place on the planet, however, he knows next to nothing about the scary and terrible monsters that live at the bottom of the ocean. Sailors often in their stories mentioned sea monsters that were dragged under water big ships. On old maps you can see images of giant octopuses, newts, snakes and whales. Myths that talk about sea monsters are found in almost all peoples who have dealt with water. And almost all descriptions indicate that the monsters had lion's mouths, huge tentacles and luminous eyes.

With the beginning of the development of navigation, when people began to travel across the continents, gradually the fear of water disappeared, but stories about sea monsters still arose. Over time, such stories became less and less, but even in modern world, in the age of scientific progress, such stories are sometimes found.

It should be noted that, as a rule, a wide variety of creatures were mentioned in ancient legends. But to answer the question of whether they really existed, scientists cannot. Some researchers are sure that most of these stories are memories of pterodactyls, dinosaurs and plesiosaurs, who managed to survive until the time of the appearance of man.

Probably one of the most famous ancient sea monsters is the Leviathan. This monster can be found in Old Testament. His description is a mixture of fear and delight. This is a beautiful, proud creature, which at the same time is associated with Satan and inspires fear.

This image appeared in the book of Job, and turned out to be so vivid that the name Leviathan became a household name. A similar character breathing fire is found in many books, films and songs, and even in computer games.

Scientists say that it cannot be ruled out that Leviathan actually existed, since such legends could not be born from scratch, something must have provoked the creators of the Bible to create such an image, some kind of prototype. On the other hand, everything that is written in Holy Scripture cannot be taken literally, because its authors preferred allegory. The authors did not have to meet in real life with a similar monster - it is quite possible that the image of this terrible monster was taken only as an illustration of a certain phenomenon. But the image appeared for a reason, so it could be preceded by meetings with large lizards.

Could it be that the prehistoric monsters that lived in the seas and oceans managed to survive until the appearance of man on the planet and were noticed by him? Such a development of events cannot be ruled out at all. Scientists have not yet been able to establish the cause of the disappearance of the ancient giant lizards, therefore, it is impossible that some of them survived and bred offspring. It could also be sea monsters, which, at great depths, could survive those cataclysms that resulted in the death of ancient lizards.

Science does not know what is happening in the depths of the world's oceans, so it cannot be ruled out that ancient lizards can exist even now. They may well occasionally appear on the surface, from time to time meeting with a person. Probably also that in sea depths ah, mutants could appear that are equally similar to ancient lizards and modern animals. This, at least, can explain the origin of the legends about creatures of enormous growth that emerge from the depths of the sea and which are called "sea monks."

In medieval legends, there are stories of creatures resembling mermaids. They had a fish tail instead of legs and hands instead of fins. They are often seen on the northern European coasts. The German theologian Megenberg told the legend of the "sea monks" who went to Coast. These creatures danced, attracting the attention of people. The dance was so beautiful and mesmerizing that people lost their vigilance and came very close to these creatures. "Monks" grabbed the unwary and ate them in front of the rest. And in the last century on the territory of Denmark, even managed to find the corpse of the "sea monk". His height was 15 meters. The remains of the creature were sent to Copenhagen, where a sensational statement was made: this creature is an ordinary cuttlefish with ten tentacles.

However, scientists do not exclude that during the Middle Ages, certain types of sharks or walrus representatives could be mistaken for "monks". True, in this case it is not entirely clear how they could arrange dances on land. Cuttlefish do not have enough strength to drag an adult under water, sharks do not leave the water and react only to the smell of blood, and walruses do not attack people. Therefore, it is quite possible that in the legends we are talking about some animals unknown to modern science.

Another variety of sea monsters became known in 1522, when the Dutch scientist Oddemansa spoke about snakes. giant size that lived deep underwater. These monsters were rarely seen by people - in one place they were seen only once every ten years for three centuries. However, since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the number of reported cases has increased dramatically - in one year, this creature appeared to sailors as many as 28 times. Scientists cannot say what caused such activity, but at the same time they suggest that sea creatures simply did not like the presence of ships in the sea.

Already in the last century, these monsters have become less active, although even now there are more than enough stories about giant snakes. The most interesting thing is that none of the eyewitnesses managed to take a picture mysterious creature. Therefore, you can leave an idea of \u200b\u200bhow giant snakes actually looked like only from the stories of sailors.

At the same time, scientists say that in the ocean waters in the Triassic period, Tanistofeus lizards were found, which had a short body and a very long neck. According to paleontologists, these creatures lived on land, but soon moved to the depths of the sea. This lizard can be mistaken for a snake of gigantic size, assuming that these creatures could survive to our time.

In history, legends have been preserved about diving into the depths of the sea of Alexander the Great in a glass barrel. Allegedly, he saw a huge monster at the bottom, which swam around the barrel for three days and three nights. Of course, one can argue about the veracity and originality of this story. Moreover, there are quite a lot of similar legends in ancient texts. Thus, in particular, the ancient texts contain a legend that the Assyrian king Sargan II saw giant snake. Roman legionaries attacked scary monster, they used a catapult and killed the monster. It was later skinned and taken to Rome to be shown to the general public. The length of the trophy reached 20 steps.

There are mentions of mysterious sea monsters in Chinese sources. So, in one of the manuscripts dating back to the twelfth century, you can find a story about the existence of a certain dragon. According to the author of the text, he saw the skeleton of this creature in the court pantry. The fins, limbs, torso and tail were completely intact, only the horns were cut off. Outwardly, the skeleton was very reminiscent of dragons, the images of which existed at that time.

The Central African tribe of pygmies still have legends about the terrible monster "mokele-mbembe". According to eyewitnesses, this is a cross between a dragon and an elephant. On the territory of Zambia, according to legend, there lives a creature resembling a dinosaur, which the local population calls the "devourer of hippos." This creature has a neck and head like giant lizard. BUT famous hunter Jordan even had to meet him. As the hunter notes, this creature has the body of a hippopotamus covered with bone scales, the head of a crocodile. Interestingly, Jordan's guides fully confirmed his story.

But the head of one of the scientific expeditions, Marcellin Anyana, even managed to film a mysterious animal. It happened on Lake Tele. Three hundred meters from the shore in the water, the scientist saw a snake head on a massive neck. This creature "posed" for about 10 minutes, after which it disappeared into the water. According to Anyanya, this animal is very similar in appearance to the brontosaurus, a gigantic herbivore that became extinct about 70 million years ago.

Relatively recently created in Germany, the deep-sea submersible "Hyfish" almost died after meeting with one of the sea monsters. The device sank in the area of the Mariana Trench to a depth of about 7 kilometers, but later it could not rise to the surface. Then the hydronauts turned on the thermal imager to see what was preventing the device and were shocked by what they saw: a monster resembling a lizard clung to the body of the device. Fortunately, such an opportunity was foreseen in advance: with the help of an electric gun with a large current charge, we managed to get rid of the monster.

There are many such stories. To explain what kind of creatures they are, and where they came from, modern science cannot yet. From this it follows that in the ocean there are still many mysteries and mysteries that scientists have yet to unravel. Modern science strives for the stars, while the depths of the sea hold no less mysteries than space. Deep sea diving will be full of surprises for a very long time to come. But perhaps someday these mysteries will still be unraveled.

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The modern ocean is home to many incredible creatures, many of which we have no idea. You never know what lies there - in the dark cold depths. However, none of them can be compared with the ancient monsters that dominated the world's oceans millions of years ago.

In this article, we will tell you about pangolins, carnivorous fish and predatory whales that terrorized marine life in prehistoric times.

1. Giant stingray

What is it: 5 meters in diameter, a 25-meter-long poisonous spike on the tail and strength enough to pull a boat full of people? In this case, it's creepy-looking flat sea creature, from prehistoric times to this day living in salt waters from the Mekong River to Australia itself.

Stingrays have lived quietly in the waters of Australia since the extinction of dinosaurs and the huge predatory sharks from which they originated. They originated in prehistoric times, but they managed to survive all the ice ages, and even the terrible eruption of the Toba volcano. They are very dangerous and should not be approached. Even if you think that they are not around, you may be wrong - they are excellent at camouflage.

They are dangerous because they can attack you with a poisonous neurotoxin spike or simply damage their vital organs. The upside is that these prehistoric monsters aren't as aggressive and won't try to eat you.

2. Leviathan Melville (Livyatan melvillei)

Earlier in this article we already talked about predatory whales. Melville's Leviathan is the most intimidating of them all. Imagine a huge orca-sperm whale hybrid. This monster was not just carnivorous - it killed and ate other whales. It had the largest teeth of any animal known to us.

Their length sometimes reached 37 centimeters! They lived in the same oceans, at the same time and ate the same food as megalodons, thus competing with the largest predatory shark that time.

Their huge head was equipped with the same sonar devices as modern whales, which made their hunting more successful in muddy water. If it was not clear to someone from the very beginning, this animal was named after Leviathan - a giant sea monster from the Bible and Herman Melville, who wrote the famous Moby Dick. If Moby Dick were one of the Leviathans, he would certainly eat the Pequod with his entire team.

3. Helicoprion (Helicoprion)

This shark, 4.5 meters long, had a serrated lower jaw lined with teeth. She looked like a hybrid shark with a buzz saw, and everyone knows that when dangerous power tools become part of a predator that is at the top of the food chain, the whole world trembles.

The teeth of the helicoprion were serrated, which clearly indicates the carnivorous nature of this sea monster, but scientists still do not know for sure whether the jaw was pushed forward as in the photo, or slightly pushed deep into the mouth.

These creatures survived the Triassic mass extinction, which could indicate their high intelligence, however, their residence could also be the reason.

4. Kronosaurus (Kronosaurus)

Kronosaurus is another short-necked lizard that looks like a Liopleurosaurus. Remarkably, its true length is also known only approximately. It is believed that it reached up to 10 meters, and its teeth reached up to 30 cm in length. That is why it was named after Kronos, the king of the ancient Greek titans.

Now guess where this monster lived. If your assumption was related to Australia, then you are absolutely right. The head of the Kronosaurus was about 3 meters long and it was able to swallow an entire adult human. In addition, after that, there was room inside the animal for another half.

Also, due to the fact that the flippers of kronosaurs were similar in structure to the flippers of a turtle, scientists concluded that they were very distantly related and assumed that kronosaurs also got out on land to lay their eggs. In any case, we can be sure that no one dared to ruin the nests of these sea monsters.

5. Dunkleosteus

Dunkleosteus was a ten-meter predatory monster. Huge sharks lived much longer than dunkleostei, but this did not mean that they were the best predators. Instead of teeth, Dunkleosteus had bony growths, like some species of modern turtles. Scientists have calculated that their bite force was 1500 kilograms per square centimeter, which put them on a par with crocodiles and tyrannosaurs and made them one of the creatures with the strongest bite.

Based on the facts about their jaw muscles, scientists concluded that the Dunkleosteus could open its mouth in one fiftieth of a second, absorbing everything in its path. As the fish matured, the single bony tooth plate was replaced by a segmented one, which made it easier to get food and bite through the thick shells of other fish. In the arms race called the prehistoric ocean, the Dunkleosteus was a real well-armoured, heavy tank.

6. Mauisaurus (Mauisaurus haasti)

Mauisaurus was named after ancient god Maori Maui, who, according to legend, pulled the skeleton of New Zealand from the bottom of the ocean with a hook, so that only by the name you can understand that this animal was huge. The neck of the Mauisaurus was about 15 meters long, which is quite a lot compared to its total length of 20 meters.

His incredible neck had many vertebrae, which gave it a special flexibility. Imagine a turtle without a shell with amazing long neck- this is what this terrible creature looked like.

He lived during Cretaceous, which meant that the unfortunate creatures that jumped into the water to escape the velociraptors and tyrannosaurs were forced to face these sea monsters. The habitats of the Mauisaurs were limited to the waters of New Zealand, which indicated that all the inhabitants were in danger.

7. Shellfish (Jaekelopterus rhenaniae)

Not surprisingly, the words "sea scorpion" only evoke negative emotions, however, this representative of the list was the most creepy of them. Jaekelopterus rhenaniae is a special species of crustacean that was the largest and most intimidating arthropod of the time: 2.5 meters of pure clawed terror under the shell.

Many of us are terrified of small ants or large spiders, but imagine the full range of fear experienced by a person who would not be lucky enough to meet this sea monster.

On the other hand, these creepy creatures became extinct even before the event that killed all dinosaurs and 90% of life on Earth. Only some types of crabs survived, which are not so scary. There is no evidence that ancient sea scorpions were poisonous, but based on the structure of their tail, we can conclude that perhaps this was indeed the case.

8. Basilosaurus (Basilosaurus)

Despite the name and appearance, they are not reptiles, as it might seem at first glance. In fact, these are real whales (and not the most intimidating in this squeak!). Basilosaurus were the predatory ancestors of modern whales and ranged from 15 to 25 meters in length. It is described as a whale, somewhat resembling a snake due to its length and ability to squirm.

It is hard to imagine that, while swimming in the ocean, one could stumble upon a huge creature that looked like a snake, a whale and a crocodile at the same time 20 meters long. The fear of the ocean would stick with you for a long time.

Physical evidence suggests that basilosaurs did not have the same cognitive abilities as modern whales. In addition, they did not have the ability to echolocate and could only move in two dimensions (which means that they could not actively dive and dive to great depths). Thus this terrible predator was as stupid as a bag of prehistoric tools and couldn't follow you if you dived or made landfall.

9. Liopleurodon (Liopleurodon)

If in the movie "Park Jurassic” there was a water scene that would have included several sea monsters of the time, Liopleurodon would definitely appear in it. Despite the fact that scientists argue about the real length of this animal (some claim that it reached 15 meters), most of them agree that it was about 6 meters, with the pointed head of Liopleurodon occupying a fifth of the length.

Many people think that 6 meters is not so much, but the smallest representative of these monsters is able to swallow an adult. Scientists have recreated a model of Liopleurodon's fins and tested them.

In the course of their research, they found that these prehistoric animals were not so fast, but they were agile. They were also capable of making short, quick and sharp attacks, similar topics, which make modern crocodiles, which makes them even more awesome.

10. Megalodon (Megalodon)

The Megalodon may be the most famous creature on this list, but it's hard to imagine that a school bus-sized shark actually existed. Nowadays, there are many different scientific films and programs about these amazing monsters.

Contrary to popular belief, megalodons did not live at the same time as dinosaurs. They dominated the seas from 25 to 1.5 million years ago, which means that they missed the last dinosaur by 40 million years. In addition, this means that the first people found these sea monsters alive.

The home of the megalodon was the warm ocean, which existed until the last ice age in the early Pleistocene, and it is believed that it was he who deprived these huge sharks of food and the opportunity to breed. Perhaps in this way nature protected modern humanity from terrible predators.

11. Dacosaurus (Dakosaurus)

Traces of the existence of dacosaurs were first found in Germany. These predatory creatures, resembling a hybrid of reptiles and fish, dominated the ocean during the Jurassic period. Their remains were found on a vast territory from Russia to England and Argentina.

Although this sea monster is compared to modern crocodiles, its length averaged about 5 meters. Its huge and unique teeth have led scientists to conclude that dacosaurs were at the top of the food chain in their time.

12. Nothosaurus

Despite the fact that the body length of nothosaurs was only 4 meters, they were aggressive hunters. Their mouths were full of sharp teeth and they ate mostly fish and squid. It was believed that nothosaurs were the real experts in ambush and their bodies were ideal for sneaking up on the victim and taking her by surprise. It is generally accepted that notosaurs are inextricably linked with pliosaurs, another genus marine predators. Remains found indicate that they lived in Triassic period over 200 million years ago.

Material translated from site: toptenz.net

Incredible Facts

In this article, we will tell you about pangolins, carnivorous fish and predatory whales that terrorized marine life in prehistoric times.

prehistoric world

Megalodon

The home of the megalodon was the warm ocean that existed until the last ice age in the early Pleistocene, and it is believed that it was he who deprived these huge sharks of food and the opportunity to breed. Perhaps in this way nature has protected modern humanity from terrible predators.

Liopleurodon

If there was a water scene in the Jurassic Park movie that included several sea monsters of the time, the Liopleurodon would definitely appear in it. Despite the fact that scientists argue about the real length of this animal (some claim that it reached 15 meters), most of them agree that it was about 6 meters, with the pointed head of Liopleurodon occupying a fifth of the length.

In the course of their research, they found that these prehistoric animals were not so fast, but they were agile. They were also capable of making short, quick and sharp attacks similar to those of modern crocodiles, which makes them even more intimidating.

sea monsters

Basilosaurus

Physical evidence suggests that basilosaurs did not have the same cognitive abilities as modern whales. In addition, they did not have the ability to echolocate and could only move in two dimensions (which means that they could not actively dive and dive to great depths). Thus, this terrible predator was as stupid as a bag of prehistoric tools and would not be able to follow you if you dived or made landfall.

Racoscorpions

Not surprisingly, the words "sea scorpion" evoke only negative emotions, but this representative of the list was the most creepy of them. Jaekelopterus rhenaniae is a special species of crustacean that was the largest and most intimidating arthropod of the time: 2.5 meters of pure clawed terror under the shell.

Many of us are terrified of small ants or large spiders, but imagine the full range of fear experienced by a person who would not be lucky enough to meet this sea monster.

On the other hand, these creepy creatures became extinct even before the event that killed all dinosaurs and 90% of life on Earth. Only some types of crabs survived, which are not so scary. There is no evidence that the ancient sea scorpions were venomous, but based on the structure of their tail, it can be concluded that this may indeed have been the case.

See also: A huge sea monster washed up on the coast of Indonesia

prehistoric animals

Mauisaurus

Mauisaurus was named after the ancient Maori god Maui, who, according to legend, pulled the skeleton of New Zealand from the bottom of the ocean with a hook, so that only by the name you can understand that this animal was huge. The neck of the Mauisaurus was about 15 meters long, which is quite a lot compared to its total length of 20 meters.

His incredible neck had many vertebrae, which gave it a special flexibility. Imagine a turtle without a shell with a surprisingly long neck - this is what this terrible creature looked like.

He lived during the Cretaceous period, which meant that the unfortunate creatures that jumped into the water to escape the velociraptors and tyrannosaurs were forced to come face to face with these sea monsters. The habitats of the Mauisaurs were limited to the waters of New Zealand, which indicated that all the inhabitants were in danger.

Dunkleosteus

Sea monsters and monsters of the deep

Kronosaurus

Helicoprion

These creatures survived the Triassic mass extinction, which could indicate their high intelligence, but the reason could also be their living in the deep sea.

prehistoric sea monsters

Leviathan Melvilla

Their length sometimes reached 37 centimeters! They lived in the same oceans at the same time and ate the same food as megalodons, thus competing with the largest predatory shark of the time.

Their huge head was equipped with the same sonar devices as modern whales, making them more successful in murky waters. If it was not clear to someone from the very beginning, this animal was named after Leviathan - a giant sea monster from the Bible and Herman Melville, who wrote the famous "Moby Dick". If Moby Dick were one of the Leviathans, he would certainly eat the Pequod with his entire crew.

Throughout the history of mankind, people have been accompanied by myths and legends. The study of them is very interesting for the reason that such stories usually arise on the basis of real events. For example, sea monsters, which are told by ancient legends, may well turn out to be real plesiosaurs or other sea lizards, albeit somewhat embellished.

Myths and truth

The seas have always attracted people - since ancient times, attempts have been made to conquer this element. However, this has not been fully achieved so far. Modern man knows more about life or its absence on other planets than about what is happening at the bottom of the oceans of his native Earth. Modern technologies they don’t allow you to go down to great depths, so people can only guess what kind of life exists there, at the bottom.

The sea sacredly keeps its secrets. Only sometimes do they break through to the surface, and then the surf brings strange finds ashore, or the sailors meet such strange creatures in the ocean that they then talk about the meeting for a long time. Over time, such stories acquire colorful details, and it is not easy for researchers to separate truth from lies, especially when you consider that no one knows the truth. Legends about sea monsters have existed since ancient times, when people were just beginning to explore the seas.

Most often they talk about giant sea snakes, which may well be descendants of plesiosaurs. A sea monster with a huge mouth may also be giant shark or an ancient lizard. And the existence of giant squids and octopuses does not cause scientists to doubt - there is too much evidence that these creatures exist, modern science. However, there are no photos of such monsters yet, and a stuffed animal huge inhabitant the depths of the sea is still only a dream for world museums.

Amazing finds

The fishermen of a small Japanese settlement throughout the spring of 1977 were fishing off the coast of New Zealand. One fine day, their net brought back the remains of a half-decomposed animal. The length of the carcass was 13 meters, and the weight was about two tons. The corpse had four limbs, a small head on a narrow neck and an elongated tail. Before throwing the fetid remains of the monster overboard, eyewitnesses severed a limb from it and took a couple of photographs. The surviving limb was taken to the zoological laboratory. Scientists have concluded that this is nothing more than a representative of one of the types of prehistoric lizards that lived in the depths of the sea.

Interestingly, the fishermen claimed that the animal was missing bones. It is possible that this was the result of a long stay in sea water, where decomposition processes proceed somewhat differently than on land. And L. Ginzburg (a paleontologist from Paris) believes that the sailors caught the corpse of a giant seal with a net. All that is known about this species is that giant seals frolicked in ocean waters 20 million years ago. The paleontologist made his conclusion only on the basis of photographs and the only limb of the animal, so it is possible that it is not true.

In Chile, the people were able to see an animal whose appearance defied any explanation. The monster was thrown onto the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and only therefore were casual eyewitnesses able to describe it. According to their stories, the monster's fins looked like human hands. The front ones had five fingers with claws, the back ones had no fingers at all. The skull was distinguished by an oblong elongated shape, in the mouth there were three huge fangs.

The find was immediately nicknamed the "humanoid monster" for its five-fingered fins. Scientists, however, considered that the corpse belongs to sea lizard the times of the Triassic. How this lizard was able to survive to this day, there is no explanation yet.

Giant squids have terrified sailors since the Middle Ages, as evidenced by numerous stories, illustrations and engravings.
It is believed that squid large sizes Animals that live in deep sea waters. Found in 2002 year dead squid weighing 250 kilograms on the coast of Tasmania, refuted the knowledge of scientists. The length of its tentacles reached 15 meters. After the laboratory research experts came to the conclusion that this specimen lived at a depth of only 200 meters. It turned out that it was a female that swam out in shallow water and accidentally ran aground. Disputes began over myths that spoke of the danger of huge octopuses and cuttlefish sinking ships.

Fragments of huge octopuses and squids have been found more than once in the stomachs of whales or on the shores of the seas. In the nineties of the last century, Japanese experts were able to capture a live huge octopus with a special camera that emits infrared light. And in 2006, such a specimen was caught by Japanese researchers.

real unicorns

It is generally accepted that encountering sea monsters is dangerous for sailors. But sometimes such meetings are fatal for monsters. This happened to the sea cows and sea unicorns. Legends about unicorns came mainly from the northern latitudes, from travelers who talked about the existence of an unknown creature with a long horn.

A three-meter process was attributed magical and healing qualities. Therefore, the hunt was open for "unicorns". Animals were killed, and the tusks were sold in the markets. The hunters, blinded by the bait, could not even describe the animals - they paid attention only to the huge horns that could be sold at a profit.

Surely there are such greedy hunters today. But still modern people better understand the value of rare finds, and this inspires hope that if someone manages to find a living or dead inhabitant of the deep sea, unknown to science, such a find will become known to scientists. And then, perhaps, people will learn more about the depths of the sea and their inhabitants.

Since time immemorial, the sea has seemed full to man dark secrets, inhabited by various sea monsters that are ready at any moment to drag the ship into the abyss. It is not for nothing that almost all coastal peoples have myths about the mysterious inhabitants of the deep sea. From time to time, some of the ancient legends suddenly receive new confirmation. Even today, sailors sometimes see huge sea monsters, snakes and dragons in the open ocean. Sensational reports of such encounters go around all the newspapers in the world, sometimes they even manage to take a picture of the monster.

Encounters with the sea serpent

1848, August 6 - The frigate of the British Royal Navy "Dedalus" was heading back to Plymouth after a campaign in the East Indies. The ship kept its way to the northeast, in the direction between the cape Good Hope and Saint Helena.

At five o'clock in the evening, the ship's midshipman, noticing an object overboard, reported this to the watch officer. The officer of the watch was on the bridge along with the navigator and the captain. The boatswain's mate and the helmsman were at the helm. The rest of the crew had dinner.

Coming closer, they saw that it was a sea serpent; his head rose above the water surface to a height of 4 feet (1.2 m). The sailors estimated that the length of the monster was approximately at least 60 feet (18.3 m). There were no visible organs for translational movements. The animal was motionless: in appearance, it did not make any movements, despite the fact that it was moving at a decent speed - up to 12-15 miles per hour (19-24 km / h). approached the frigate so close that the officers standing on the deck could even see some details.

The neck region, starting just behind the head, was approximately 15 inches (38 cm) long and resembled a snake's neck - dark brown in color, with a yellow-white tint in the throat region. On the back was a noticeable seaweed-colored mane.

On a 50-foot (15.2 m) yacht around the world, English explorer and yachtsman John Ridgway was at sea for about five months. Once, while in pacific ocean, he approached Cape Horn. After a long period of still water and dense fogs, black clouds appeared ahead of the yacht and high waves. Everyone understood: a storm is coming. And at this time some creature swam up from the stern. Team members saw albatrosses and whales and squid glowing at night, but this was something else.

“The ship was traveling at a speed of 9 or 10 knots (16.5–18.4 km / h), and for an animal this is quite high speed, if we also take into account that it did not lag behind the yacht for a long time.

Its color was yellowish-brown, and it floated with a noticeable "sinusoidality". The body was very strong, muscular and, being far in the open sea, moved for a long time to high speed through huge waves, appearing here and there. It swam with its head still raised, and I believe that if you mentally continue the neck and torso, you get an ordinary sea serpent.

1942 - Mr. Welsh was on board a military transport ship. He was on lookout watch.

“At a considerable distance from the ship, I saw a large black object. My heart went to my heels: I took it for an enemy submarine, and immediately sounded the alarm - the ringing of the bell was desperately ringing throughout the ship. We had a great time. It was close to panic. The watch officer, after looking through the binoculars, said: “Uh, guys, this is not a submarine at all! I can't figure out what it is at all. Maybe something is just floating on the surface.”

When the ship came closer, we saw what it was - I think the word "monster" to this subject fit better everything: he looked like a snake, a very fat creature - probably as thick as a tree trunk, and up to 20–30 feet (6.1–9.1 m) long, with an arched, in several places, curved back. I didn’t get a good look at the head: it was always obscured by the waves. We continued on our way, and the snake, apparently not paying any attention to us, swam its way and after some time disappeared from sight.

giant squid

2002, July - a giant dead squid weighing 250 kg was found on the beach of Tasmania. After studying his tissues, scientists concluded that he lived in a bay 200 meters deep. Previously, it was believed that the giant squid was a deep-sea animal, because the incident caused a discussion about the reality of legends about huge mollusks sinking ships.

The first evidence of existence giant squid was found in 1856, when the Danish scientist Japetus Steenstrup studied the beak of an individual of this species washed ashore. Since that time, the remains of huge marine animals have been constantly found on the coast or in the stomachs of sperm whales, whose body kept the imprints of huge suckers.

The length of the tentacles found on the coast of the city of Hobart (Australia) squid was more than 15 meters. Zoologists found out that this is a female that swam out in shallow water to lay eggs, and was stranded. It differed from previously discovered giant squids by having long, thin sacs of muscle attached to the base of each of its eight tentacles. This find was the third in Tasmania.

Scientists from Japan managed to shoot a live giant squid on camera just over a decade ago. For this, a special highly sensitive camera and infrared light, invisible to the human eye, were used. 2006 - researchers for the first time managed to catch a living representative of huge mollusks.

Goonch fish

This sea monster lives in the Kali River (between Nepal and India), loves the taste of human meat. Its weight reaches 140 kg. People can be attacked not only in a secluded place, but also with a mass gathering of people. The goonch began to experience this craving for human meat because of ... the customs of the people themselves. Since ancient times, the locals have been using the Kali River for "burials" of the dead. Partially burned bodies are thrown into the river after Hindu rituals.

Legendary Kraken

It is believed that it was the giant squid that served as the prototype legendary kraken- a monster that lives in the ocean, which is able to drag an entire ship to the bottom. As the legends say, he lives off the coast of Norway and Iceland. There are different opinions about what his appearance is. Some describe it as a giant squid, others as an octopus. The first handwritten mention of the kraken can be found with the Danish bishop Eric Pontoppidan, who in 1752 wrote down various oral legends about him. At first, the word “kgake” was used to refer to any deformed animal that was very different from its own kind. Later, it passed into many languages and began to mean exactly "the legendary sea monster."

It was truly colossal in size, it was compared to a small island. At the same time, its danger lay precisely in its size and the speed with which the monster sank to the bottom. From this, a strong whirlpool arose, which could destroy the ship. Most of the time, the kraken was in hibernation on seabed, and then a lot of fish swam around him. Some of the fishermen allegedly even took risks and threw their nets right over the sleeping kraken. It is believed that the kraken is responsible for many disasters at sea.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries, some of the zoologists suggested that the kraken could be a giant octopus.

Angler

In the seas and oceans, one of the rarest deep-sea monsters lives, with an ugly appearance - monkfish. The second name is his angler. For the first time, the "monster" was discovered in 1891. The fish does not have scales, ugly growths and bumps grow in its place. The mouth of this monster is surrounded by waving rags of skin resembling algae. Dark coloring adds to the angler inconspicuousness. A huge head and a giant mouth opening make this deep-sea monster the ugliest on our planet.

A fleshy and long process sticking out of the anglerfish's head acts as a bait (fishing rod). This is a very serious danger to fish. Monkfish attract their victims with the light of a "fishing rod", which is equipped with a special gland. He lures her to his mouth, forcing her to swim inside on his own initiative. Anglers are unusually gluttonous. They can attack prey that is many times their size. During an unsuccessful hunt, both die: the victim - from mortal wounds, the aggressor - from suffocation.

Creature El Cuero

According to legend, the waters of Chile and Argentina are inhabited by creatures called El Cuero, which means "skin" in Spanish. El Cuero is something that looks like a skin huge bull, along the edges of which there are processes that resemble clawed paws or spikes. To determine where the monster's head is, perhaps by the two tentacles sticking out of it, at the ends of which there are red eyes. In the center of the underside of the skin, El Cuero has a mouth that looks like a huge sucker, with which the monster sucks all the juices out of the victim. Most "skins" prefer rivers, ponds and lakes South America, but some of them also live in salty sea water. So, living off the coast of the Chiloe El Cuero archipelago, they usually attack animals, but it also happens that people and boats become their victims.

According to the descriptions, the prototype of this monster was a giant sea devil - the largest stingray in the order of stingrays. The name of this species - manta - echoes one variant of its names El Cuero, manta del Diablo, the literal translation is "devil's blanket". Fin span sea devil reaches about 7 meters. In fact, the manta ray does not pose a danger to humans, since its interest extends to small fish and plankton. Despite its rather impressive dimensions and weight, which reaches 2 tons, giant stingrays able to jump out of the water to a height of 1.5 meters.

unknown animal

1977, April - a sensational message spread around the world about the discovery of fishermen from Japan. When fishing for mackerel on the trawler "Tsuyo Maru" near New Zealand, the net brought the half-decayed remains of an unknown creature. A stench spread from a 13-meter carcass weighing up to 2 tons. The fishermen were able to distinguish a shapeless torso with four limbs, a long tail and a small head on a thin neck. The find was measured, photographed, and then thrown overboard. Previously, a part of the best-preserved limb was separated from the body and placed in a freezer.

Controversy erupted around the captured creature. Based on several bad photographs and descriptions of fishermen, Professor Yoshinuri Imaitsumi, head of the zoological department at the Japan National Science Museum, recognized the creature caught in the net as a plesiosaur, a member of a long-extinct group of marine reptiles. Plesiosaurs are well known from fossils. mesozoic era. 100-200 million years ago, they, like modern seals, inhabited coastal marine areas and could crawl out onto sandbars, where they rested after hunting. Plesiosaurs, like most other reptiles, had a powerful, well-developed skeleton. Judging by the descriptions of the fishermen from the Tsuyo Maru and the photographs, the mysterious animal had no bones.

Paleontologist from Paris L. Ginzburg believes that Japanese fishermen got the remains of a giant seal from the sea, which died out 20 million years ago.

sea monk

In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Northern Europe often saw humanoid creatures with a fish tail and flippers off the coast. They were called sea monks. The German theologian Konrad von Megenberg noted that the sea monks danced to attract a person to the shore, and he, losing caution, came up to look at the miracle, they grabbed him and devoured him, dragging him to the bottom.

In the middle of the 16th century, one of the sea monks was found on east coast Danish island of Zealand. A strange creature about 1.5 meters long was immediately sent to Copenhagen, where it was sketched by one of the founders of biology, Konrad Gesner. In the 18th century, these drawings were carefully studied by the Danish zoologist Japetus Steenstrup. The zoologist came to the conclusion that the sea monks are nothing more than a ten-tentacled black cuttlefish. In our time, cryptozoologists have suggested that the prototype of the sea monk is a walrus or flat-bodied shark. But the cuttlefish does not have such strength to pull a person under water, the walrus does not eat people, and the flat-bodied shark eats invertebrates and small fish, and is not interested in human meat.

Sea Bishops

There were sea bishops in the Baltic waters. The first mention of this creature dates back to 1433, when the first specimen caught was offered to the Polish king. The clergy persuaded the king that the animal should be returned to his natural environment habitat. The bishop fish had a wide fin on its back, which it used instead of a cloak, as well as a crest resembling a bishop's miter on its head. Most likely, the source of this fantasy was the same sea devil.

Speckled stargazer

The representative of Astroscopus guttatus is a real sea monster. The second name of these creatures is the speckled stargazer. At first glance, this nickname fits some small fish with large eyes, but this creature does not fit this description. Having not the most attractive appearance, the speckled stargazer usually lives on the seabed, buried in silt, and watching from below everything that moves nearby. He has over his eyes special bodies from which electrical discharges originate.

giant centipede

1883 - A resident of Annam discovered the decomposed remains of a sea monster that looked like a giant centipede on the shores of Along Bay.

Iloglot

This creature belongs to the sac-shaped, detachment of ray-finned fish. It lives at great depths. Compared to the huge mouth, the body of the itologlot looks disproportionately small. This fish lacks scales, ribs, swim bladder, pyloric appendages, ventral and caudal fin. Most of skull bones are reduced or disappeared altogether. The preserved skeleton is quite difficult to compare with other fish to establish kinship. The slight similarity between the fry of pouch-shaped eels and leptocephalic eels suggests some " family ties between the mentioned species.