Sea monsters play an important role in the myths and legends of most seafaring cultures on Earth, and marine life is diverse,
Kraken
Originating from folklore, the Kraken is often described as an aggressive cephalopod capable of destroying entire ships and dragging all sailors into the sea.
Octopus
A giant octopus attacks the ship,
Many cultures around the world have a myth or legend about tentacle beasts bothering seafarers or not doing things in general.
1870 Siren illustration,
'Squid and octopus are really unusual animals. Their physical plans are not similar to anything else we know in the sea. They move quickly, and the way their bodies, arms, and tentacles move seems to inspire our fear of the unknown.
"I think they're such strange creatures that some very large species are rare, which makes them quite possible the starting point for sirens and other sea beasts legends."
"What we think happened was that the remains of giant squid and large octopus that were partially digested or decayed were washed up on the beach and people started speculating about what they might be.
"Abroad in Norway, there is a growing number of siren myths, and these washed-out specimens are interpreted as messages from God or the devil, sometimes referred to as sea angels, sea devils or sea monks."
Illustrations of the manuscript identify sea monks and bishops as cephalopods.
These things happen separately, and people around the world have come up with similar answers and myths — an example of the evolution of convergent mythological forms. ”
Giant squid
Giant squid were first classified by Western science in 1857, and scientists are still busy solving their mysteries.
Naming and classifying new animals is just the beginning," we know it's real, not the mythical beasts that people imagine, but we're still just starting to understand them. ”
Giant squid live in temperate waters around the world, living between 200-1,400 meters below the surface. Females are thought to grow up to 13 meters, while slightly smaller males reach 10 meters.
Giant squid are not picky eaters – they prey on fish and crustaceans and also eat. Scientists have found some evidence of cannibalism, but there are no signs of boats on the menu.
Their biggest adaptation is their big eyes. The eye of the giant squid is the second largest of all living things on Earth and is used to help detect and avoid sperm whales, the only predators large enough to eat giant squids when they reach adulthood.
While some other smaller squid species are aggressive herd hunters, giant squid are thought to live a lonely life in deep-water temperate zones far from human contact.
The giant squid is 8.62 meters long, female, and has an eye diameter of 28 centimeters, making it the largest and most complete specimen of species in the world.
According to insiders, "They may not be big enough to shoot down a ship, but it depends on the size of your boat." ”
'Giant squid can't get the oxygen they need on the surface.
"We still don't know how they mate, how long they live, how they grow." They're still highly mysterious beasts, and it's exciting that scientists are still answering these questions.
merman
A feature of nautical folklore around the world is that krakens and mermaids with their humanoid torsos and serpentine tails have plagued all corners of maps and the human imagination for thousands of years.
Mermaid, a mermaid trapped in a sea of mud
mermaid
"In the 18th century, anyone who flew over the horizon in a wooden boat had a more serious connection to other humans than an astronaut who had at least radio contact today," the expert said. ”
"These sailors sometimes travel for years without contact with people at home. High hopes for the wonderful things they might see on the other side of the world.
Their stories were so popular that enterprising Craftsmen in Japan established a thriving trade in hidden animal specimens.
The image of a "mermaid" composed of a monkey torso and a fish's tail,
While today we may recognize creative taxidermy or the prank of subtly drying out marine animals, mermaids were once a cherished feature of curiosity and the private cupboards of carnival juggling.
What is a humanoid mermaid?
Made from small guitar fish, dried and arranged to resemble a humanoid guitar fish.
Dating back to the 1500s - is a marvelous marine creature made from the skates or dried rays of the rhinoceros family (often called guitar fish). These fish live on the ocean floor, and while the front end of their bodies makes them look like rays or skates, the rest of their bodies are more like a shark.
Guitar fish
Despite their musical name (referring to their unique body shape), guitar fish do not serenad sailors. This calm benthic animal feeds on invertebrates and can be found in shallow seas around the world.
According to experts, the most similarity to siren behavior is their relative, the ray. "Some small rays are loved by humans for their habit of sticking their noses out of the water, which sometimes shows up in the water with a strange face-like ghost," he said. They are often characteristic of aquariums, and some species even have humans touch them.
"If you look at the bottom of the body, which is usually resting on the seabed, you see the jaws they use to crush and eat crustaceans and the breathing holes that drain water." When they are dried and folded, they reveal a grotesque face.
Scientific illustration of a guitar fish.
These animals also have a pointed nose or pulpit that resembles a church hat, which is why they are sometimes referred to as sea bishops.
sea snake
Sea serpents and sea dragons appear around the world in stories dating back to antiquity and are often depicted as wreaking havoc on sailors.
sea snake
"The myth of the sea serpent dates back to ancient times when we can't even discern,
"The kingfish is at the top of the list."
What is King's Banded Fish?
"The kingfish is really a strange-looking animal—eight meters long, with a horse-like face, a fiery red crown on its head, and fins that extend all the way to its bright metallic silver body. What else do you want from the sea monsters?
Giant kingfish
The world's longest bony fish, the Giant Emperor Striped Fish, is recorded to grow up to eight meters long.
It is found in temperate and tropical waters around the world and is known to live at depths of 200 to 1,000 meters. Like many of the largest creatures in the ocean, kingfish feed on plankton.
Their interactions with surface humans are usually during times of stress.
"Unfortunately, when they surface, it means they're in trouble and stuck,
Specimen of royal striped fish.
Kingfish usually swim in a vertical or horizontal position, using the left and right undulations of the body and dorsal fin to balance and move forward. Only on the surface of the water do they swim sideways when they have trouble breathing.
"When swimming sideways on the water, these left-to-right undulations turn into vertical undulations, creating an interesting sight that can even have their bodies coiled up from the water."
Royal striped fish
A harbinger of doom?
Although deep-sea, plankton-fed kingfish have no interest in shipwrecks or sears, some consider them to be reliable predictors of deep-sea earthquakes and tsunamis, leaving large numbers of strands before seismic events.
Descriptions of sea snakes in natural history.
Although the theory remains unproven, it is thought that there are some interesting hypothetical connections. "It's a long, flattened band,
"The oceans, especially the deep seas, are the least explored habitats on Earth. The images that have been passed back from there show us how little we really know, and the unknown creatures of the deep sea have been waiting for us to explore.