ABSTRACT

Many creatures whose existence is firmly established were nothing more than legends and, as the years have passed, various bizarre and improbable creatures have been slowly, often almost grudgingly accepted by the scientific establishment. Many such creatures are marine, one of the most spectacular being the giant squid, which was largely regarded as a mythical beast until the middle of the nineteenth century. Often the creatures were seen by many people simultaneously, such as ships’ crews and the passengers of liners, all of whose accounts agree on the main features. The time for which the animals were under observation varies from a few minutes up to half an hour, and sometimes longer. Even those who have accepted the existence of sea serpents have often confused the issue by maintaining, quite against the evidence, that there is only one type of sea serpent, usually insisting that it is a surviving species of giant reptile from past epoch.