73. Are there really sea monsters? 



Although we discount the fabled sea monsters, such as the kraken 

 which could swallow vessels whole, we have not yet explored the ocean 

 thoroughly enough to say with absolute certainty that there are 

 no monsters in the deep. 



Scientific observations and records note that giant squids with 

 tentacles 40 feet long live at 1,500 feet and that sizable objects have 

 been detected by explosive echo sounding at greater depths. 



Oarfish 40 to 50 feet long also have been observed by scientists. 

 Either the oarfish or the giant squid with its long tentacles may have 

 given rise to the sea serpent stories told by sailors of old. 



In recent years, Danish scientists have studied large eel larvae that 

 would grow to 90 feet if their growth rate is the same as eels of other 

 species. 



Helm, Thomas 



Monsters of the Deep, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1962. 

 Knowlton, William 



Sea Monsters, Alfred A. Knopf, 1959. 

 Miller, Robert C. 



The Sea, Random House, 1966. 



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