Anomaly Ledger

Cryptids of Oceans

28 of the 213 entries in our encyclopedia. See all regions.

A

  • Abyssal rainbow gar · International waters (off Bermuda) (Oceans · open)
    A deep-sea fish that naturalist William Beebe said he saw from his bathysphere off Bermuda and never managed to collect.
  • Akugyo · Japan (coastal waters) (Oceans · folklore)
    A Japanese sea monster or aquatic yōkai, the 'evil fish' or giant fish of old tales.
  • Aspidochelone · International waters (Oceans · folklore)
    A fabled sea creature of medieval bestiaries, a whale or turtle so huge that sailors mistook it for an island.

B

  • Bathysphaera · International waters (off Bermuda) (Oceans · open)
    A large dragonfish William Beebe described from his bathysphere off Bermuda, never collected.
  • Bishop-fish · Europe (Baltic) (Oceans · folklore)
    A sea creature of 16th-century lore said to resemble a bishop and to have been shown to the King of Poland.

C

  • Cadborosaurus (Caddy) · Canada (Oceans · disputed)
    A sea serpent said to live off British Columbia's coast, named after Cadboro Bay.
  • Cirein-cròin · United Kingdom (Scottish waters) (Oceans · folklore)
    A sea monster of Scottish Gaelic folklore said to eat seven whales.
  • Cryptid whales · International waters (Oceans · open)
    Whales that sailors reported but taxonomists don't accept, such as Giglioli's whale and the high-finned sperm whale.

D

  • Devil Whale · International waters (Oceans · folklore)
    A legendary whale so large it could be mistaken for an island and swallow ships.

F

  • Flying crustacean · Philippines (Palawan) (Oceans · open)
    A flying arthropod zoologist Dean C. Worcester reported from coastal waters of Palawan.

G

  • Gambo · The Gambia (Oceans · open)
    A beaked carcass found on Bungalow Beach, Kotu, The Gambia, in June 1983.
  • Giant squid (the kraken) · International waters (Oceans · explained)
    The real giant squid, Architeuthis, long the likely source of kraken and sea-monster stories.
  • Globsters · Worldwide coasts (Oceans · explained)
    Unidentified organic masses that wash ashore and spark arguments over what they are.
  • Gloucester Sea Serpent · United States (Oceans · open)
    A sea serpent reported by many people off Gloucester and Cape Ann, Massachusetts.
  • Ground shark · Timor Sea (Oceans · open)
    A big shark Willy Ley described in 1941 as lurking on the Timor Sea floor without a prominent fin.

H

  • Hafgufa · Greenland Sea (Oceans · explained)
    A sea monster of Norse texts, now thought to reflect whales' trap-feeding.
  • Hairen · China / Europe (Oceans · folklore)
    A 'sea-human' of Chinese lore with webbed hands and feet.

I

  • Isonade · Japan (Oceans · folklore)
    A huge shark-like sea monster said to live off Matsuura and western Japan.

K

  • Koromodako · Japan (Oceans · folklore)
    A 'clothing octopus' yōkai said to swell and envelop boats.

L

  • Living Megalodon · International waters (Oceans · hoax)
    The claim that the extinct giant shark Otodus megalodon still lives.
  • Lyngbakr · Greenland Sea (Oceans · folklore)
    A whale-like monster of Örvar-Odds saga that posed as a heather-covered island.

M

  • Morgawr · United Kingdom (Oceans · hoax)
    A sea serpent said to live off Falmouth, Cornwall.

R

  • Rannamaari · Maldives (Oceans · folklore)
    A sea monster of Maldivian folklore tied to the islands' conversion story.
  • Rhinoceros dolphin · Pacific Ocean (Oceans · open)
    A dolphin with a second dorsal fin reported by French naval surgeons in 1819.

S

  • Steller's sea ape · United States (Alaska) (Oceans · explained)
    A marine mammal Georg Steller reported near the Shumagin Islands in 1741.
  • Stronsay Beast · United Kingdom (Orkney) (Oceans · disputed)
    A 55 ft carcass washed ashore on Stronsay, Orkney, in 1808.

U

  • U-28 creature · North Atlantic (Oceans · open)
    A marine reptile allegedly seen by U-28's crew in 1915.
  • UB-85 monster · North Sea (Oceans · hoax)
    An alleged sea monster attack on UB-85 in 1918.