View source for Unsolved:Sea serpent

{{Short description|Type of dragon described in mythology}}
{{about|sea serpents in mythology |actual marine snakes|Sea snake|other uses|Sea serpent (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Sea serpent.jpg|thumb|A sea serpent.{{right|{{small|―From {{cite book|last=Magnus|first=Olaus|date=1555|title=History of the Northern Peoples}}}}}}]]
[[File:Reggio calabria museo nazionale mosaico da kaulon.jpg|thumb|[[Mosaic]] of a cetus sea serpent of Greek mythology]]
A '''sea serpent''' is a type of sea monster described in various mythologies,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/sea-serpent|title=Sea serpent {{!}} mythology|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=March 31, 2020}}</ref> most notably in Mesopotamian cosmology ([[Unsolved:Tiamat|Tiamat]]), Ugaritic cosmology (Yam, [[Unsolved:Tannin (monster)|Tannin]]), [[Unsolved:Biblical cosmology|biblical cosmology]] ([[Unsolved:Leviathan|Leviathan]], [[Unsolved:Rahab (term)|Rahab]]), Greek cosmology (Cetus, Echidna, [[Unsolved:Lernaean Hydra|Hydra]], [[Unsolved:Scylla|Scylla]]), and [[Norse cosmology]] ([[Unsolved:Jörmungandr|Jörmungandr]]).

==Mythology==

===Mediterranean and Western Asia===
{{void|{{Chaoskampf sidebar}}}}
The {{lang|de|Drachenkampf}} mytheme, the chief god in the role of the hero slaying a sea serpent, is widespread both in the ancient Near East and in Indo-European mythology, 
e.g. [[Unsolved:Lotan|Lotan]] and [[Religion:Hadad|Hadad]], [[Unsolved:Leviathan|Leviathan]] and [[Religion:Yahweh|Yahweh]], [[Unsolved:Tiamat|Tiamat]] and [[Religion:Marduk|Marduk]] (see also [[Unsolved:Labbu|Labbu]], [[Unsolved:Bašmu|Bašmu]], [[Unsolved:Mušḫuššu|Mušḫuššu]]), [[Unsolved:Illuyanka|Illuyanka]] and Tarhunt, Yammu and [[Religion:Baal|Baal]] in the Baal Cycle etc. The [[Religion:Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]] also has mythological descriptions of large sea creatures as part of creation under Yahweh's command, such as the [[Unsolved:Tannin (monster)|Tanninim]] mentioned in [[Religion:Book of Genesis|Book of Genesis]] 1:21 and the "great serpent" of Amos 9:3. In the Aeneid, a pair of sea serpents killed Laocoön and his sons when Laocoön argued against bringing the [[Engineering:Trojan Horse|Trojan Horse]] into Troy. Claudius Aelianus in his work ''On the Nature of Animals'' mentions a giant sea centipede, which has a tail that is similar to a crayfish and which moves using numerous feet on each side of its body.<ref>{{cite book |title=Epigrams from the Greek Anthology |date=26 November 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-259688-8 |page=207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-MJEAAAQBAJ |access-date=13 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Guillaume Rondelet mentions a similar imaginary creature called centipede cetacean in his work ''L'histoire entière des poissons''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pilleri |first1=Georg |title=Investigations on Cetacea |date=1969 |publisher=Hirnanatomisches Institut der Universität |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rl0MAQAAIAAJ |access-date=13 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

===Germanic Scandinavia===
In Nordic mythology, ''[[Unsolved:Jörmungandr|Jörmungandr]]'' (or ''Midgarðsormr'') was a sea serpent or worm so long that it encircled the entire world, [[Religion:Midgard|Midgard]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simek |first1=Rudolf |title=Dictionary of northern mythology |date=1993 |publisher=D.S. Brewer |location=Cambridge [England] |isbn=0859915131|page=179}}</ref> Sea serpents also appear frequently in later [[Social:Scandinavian folklore|Scandinavian folklore]], particularly in that of Norway, such as an account that in 1028 AD, Saint Olaf killed a sea serpent in Valldal in Norway, throwing its body onto the mountain Syltefjellet. Marks on the mountain are associated with the legend.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://loype.kulturminneaaret2009.no/kulturminneloyper/heilag-olav-i-valldal/ormen-i-syltefjellet/image/image_view_fullscreen|title=Ormen i Syltefjellet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724181621/http://loype.kulturminneaaret2009.no/kulturminneloyper/heilag-olav-i-valldal/ormen-i-syltefjellet/image/image_view_fullscreen|archive-date=July 24, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nb.no/cgi-bin/galnor/gn_sok.sh?id=147257&skjema=2&fm=4 |title=Galleri NOR |publisher=Nb.no |date=July 11, 1934 |access-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref>

== Natural history ==
An apparent eye-witness account is given by [[Biography:Aristotle|Aristotle]] in his work ''Historia Animalium'' on [[Earth:Natural history|natural history]]. Strabo makes reference to an eyewitness account of a dead sea creature sighted by Poseidonius on the coast of the northern Levant. He reports the following: "As for the plains, the first, beginning at the sea, is called Macras, or Macra-Plain. Here, as reported by Poseidonius, was seen the fallen dragon, the corpse of which was about a plethrum [{{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=in|disp=or|order=flip}}] in length, and so bulky that horsemen standing by it on either side could not see one another, and its jaws were large enough to admit a man on horseback, and each flake of its horny scales exceeded an oblong shield in length."<ref>{{cite book|author=Strabo|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0239|title=Geography|at=Book 16, chapter 2, paragraph 17}}</ref> The creature was seen sometime between 130 and 51 BC.

=== Norway, 16th century ===
Swedish ecclesiastic and writer Olaus Magnus included illustrations of sea serpents and other various  marine monsters on his illustrated map, the ''[[History:Carta marina|Carta marina]]''. In his 1555 work ''History of the Northern Peoples'', Olaus gives the following description of a Norwegian sea serpent:

{{cquote|Those who sail up along the coast of Norway to trade or to fish, all tell the remarkable story of how a serpent of fearsome size, from {{convert|200|ft|m|-1|disp=sqbr}} to {{convert|400|ft|m|-1|disp=sqbr}} long, and {{convert|20|ft|m|0|disp=sqbr}} wide, resides in rifts and caves outside Bergen. On bright summer nights this serpent leaves the caves to eat calves, lambs and pigs, or it fares out to the sea and feeds on sea nettles, crabs and similar marine animals. It has [[Ell|ell]]-long hair hanging from its neck, sharp black scales and flaming red eyes. It attacks vessels, grabs and swallows people, as it lifts itself up like a column from the water.<ref>{{cite web|title=Norse Mythology – Jormungandr|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01219/Nrsmyth.html?tql-iframe|publisher=Oracle Thinkquest|access-date=August 21, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130821201141/http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01219/Nrsmyth.html?tql-iframe|archive-date=August 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Stewart|first=Gail Barbara|title=Water Monsters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV1ICOJbq4EC&pg=PA13|year=2011|publisher=ReferencePoint Press|location=San Diego, California|isbn=978-1-60152-345-7|page=13}}</ref>}}

Norwegian Bishop Erik Pontoppidan (1698–1764) did not disbelieve the existence of sea serpents themselves, but doubted they would prey on ships and feed on humans,{{sfnp|Oudemans1892|p=134}} being more cautious-minded in that respect than Archbishop Olaus (of Uppsala). Nevertheless, a number of reports were made by sailors at the time that sea serpents would destroy ships by wrapping the ship in coils of their body and pulling it underwater. Sailors threatened by a sea serpent were said to have thrown large objects such as paddles or shovels overboard in the path of the serpent, hoping that the serpent would take the object and leave without destroying the ship.<ref name=rathvegh>Ráth-Végh István: ''A tengeri kígyó'', Móra Ferenc Ifjúsági Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1980, ISBN 963-11-2161-5</ref>

=== Greenland in 1734 ===
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 300
 | header = Hans Egede's expedition, 1734
 | image1 = Lee Henry1883-Unmasked-p066-seaserpent-egede.png
 | alt1 = Sea serpent seen by Egede, drawn by Bing and reproduced by Henry Lee.
 | caption1 = Sea serpent reported by Hans Egede, Bishop of Greenland, in 1734.{{right|{{small|―After a sketch by Bing. Reproduced in {{harvp|Lee|1883}}.}}{{sfnp|Lee|1883|p=66}}}}
 | image2 = Hans Egede 1734 sea serpent.jpg
 | alt2 = Another reproduction
 | caption2 ="The Great Sea Serpent (according to Hans Egede)".{{right|{{small|―Engraving c. 1843, signed by artist James Hope Stewart.}}<ref name="antiqueprintmaproom"/>}}
}}

Rev. Hans Egede,{{efn|"The Apostle of Greenland"}}  a [[History:Denmark–Norway|Dano-Norwegian]] clergyman who was an early explorer and surveyor of Greenland, gave an 18th-century description of a sea serpent witnessed by his party. In his journal he wrote:{{sfnp|Ramsvig|1902|p=271}}{{sfnp|Lee|1883|p=65}}

{{blockquote|On the 6th of July, 1734, there appeared a very large and frightful sea monster, which raised itself so high out of the water that its head reached above our main-top (top of the mainmast). It had a long, sharp snout, and spouted water like a whale; and very broad flappers. The body seemed to be covered with scales, and the skin was uneven and wrinkled, and the lower part was formed like a snake. After some time the creature plunged backwards into the water, and then turned its tail up above the surface, a whole ship-length from the head. The following evening we had very bad weather" ―translated in Henry Lee (1883).{{sfnp|Lee|1883|p=65}}}}
[[File:Lee Henry1883-Unmasked-p067-egede-squid.png|thumb|A giant squid as true identity of Hans Egede's  sea-serpent of 1734.|left]]
Egede also wrote on the same sea-monster sighting in his book, noting that the beast was spotted at the 64th degree of latitude, and was as thick{{sfnp|Ramsvig|1902|pp=271–272}} or "bulky as the Ship, and three or four times as long".<ref name="egede"/><ref name="egede-eng"/> Egede himself did not supply a sketch in this otherwise well-illustrated book, but the missionary named Bing who was his comrade drew a sketch, which is reproduced in Henry Lee's work.{{sfnp|Lee|1883|p=66}}

Bing further described this creature as having reddish eyes, almost burning with fire. This convinced Bishop Pontoppidan that this was different from the type of sea serpent seen by others. From Bing's drawing, Pontoppidan estimated the creature to be considerably shorter than the length of a cable rope, or 100 fathoms ({{convert|200|m|yd|abbr=on}}) attested by multiple witnesses, and the pair of fins which were attached "below the waist ({{langx|da|liv}})" in Pontoppidan's view, was another unusual feature.{{sfnp|Ramsvig|1902|p=272}}

Lee proposed a rational explanation that this sea-serpent was a misapprehended sighting of what was actually the exposed head and one tentacle of a [[Biology:Giant squid|giant squid]] (Cf. figure above left).{{sfnp|Lee|1883|p=67}}

=== New York exhibition in 1845 ===
In 1845, a {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=on}} long skeleton claimed as belonging to an extinct sea serpent was put on a show in the New York City by Albert C. Koch. The claim was debunked by Prof. Jeffries Wyman, an anatomist who went to see the skeleton for himself. Wyman declared that the skull of the animal had to be mammalian in origin, and that the skeleton was composed of bones of several different animals, including an extinct species of whale.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Gordon|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofho0000stei|title=Encyclopedia of hoaxes|date=1993|publisher=Detroit : Gale Research|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-8103-8414-9|pages=261}}</ref>

=== Portuguese waters, 1848 ===
[[File:HMS Plumper sea serpent 1848.jpg|thumb|"Supposed Appearance of the Great Sea-Serpent, From H.M.S. Plumper, Sketched by an Officer on Board", ''Illustrated London News'', 14 April 1849]]
On 6 August 1848 Captain McQuhae of {{HMS|Daedalus|1826|6}} and several of his officers and crew (en route to St Helena) saw a sea serpent which was subsequently reported (and debated) in ''The Times''. The vessel sighted what they named as an enormous serpent between the Cape of Good Hope and St Helena. The serpent was witnessed to have been swimming with {{convert|4|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} of its head above the water and they believed that there was another {{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} of the creature in the sea. Captain McQuahoe also said that "[The creature] passed rapidly, but so close under our lee quarter, that had it been a man of my acquaintance I should have easily have recognized his features with the naked eye." According to seven members of the crew, it remained in view for around twenty minutes. Another officer wrote that the creature was more of a lizard than a serpent. Evolutionary biologist Gary J. Galbreath contends that what the crew of ''Daedalus'' saw was a [[Biology:Sei whale|sei whale]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://centerforinquiry.org/news/mystery_of_the_daedalus_sea_serpent_solved_in_skeptical_inquirer/|title=The Daedalus Sea Serpent Solved|magazine=Skeptical Inquirer|date=September–October 2015|access-date=June 21, 2020}}</ref>

A report was published in the ''Illustrated London News'' on 14 April 1849 of a sighting of a sea serpent off the Portuguese coast by {{HMS|Plumper|1848|6}}.

{{blockquote|On the morning of the 31st December, 1848, in lat. 41° 13'N., and long. 12° 31'W., being nearly due west of Oporto, I saw a long black creature with a sharp head, moving slowly, I should think about {{convert|2|kn|km/h mph|spell=in|disp=sqbr}} ... its back was about {{convert|20|ft|m|0|spell=in|disp=sqbr}} if not more above water; and its head, as near as I could judge, from {{convert|6|to|8|ft|m|spell=in|disp=x|&nbsp;[|abbr=values}}&nbsp;m] ...There was something on its back that appeared like a mane, and, as it moved through the water, kept washing about; but before I could examine it more closely, it was too far astern |"A Naval Officer"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1849-04-14?NewspaperTitle=Illustrated%2BLondon%2BNews&IssueId=BL%2F0001578%2F18490414%2F&County=London%2C%20England|title=Supposed Appearance of the Great Sea Serpent From HMS Plumper Sketched by an Officer On Board|newspaper=Illustrated London News|date=April 14, 1849|url-access=registration}}</ref>}}

:''"A giant snake appeared at once from the water - and the largest cetacean a boa constrictor way wrapped twice. (I note such a physeter It can grow to 20-30 meters long!) It lasted for about 15 minutes the deadly struggle, the sea was just foaming and crashing waves around us, finally the back of the whale stood out Out of the water, he sank head first into the deep where the snake must have killed him. A cold shiver ran through us a cet at the sight of his final struggle; so writhing poor in the monster's double ring, like a little bird between the claws of a falcon. View of the two rings, the snake. It could have been 160-170 feet long and 7-8 feet thick."''<ref name=rathvegh/>

==Natural explanations==
R.L. France proposed in a 2016 paper for the ''International Journal of Maritime History'' that a significant number of sea serpent sightings, including nineteenth century accounts of serpents attacking whales, were due to the misidentification of whales entangled in fishing gear and maritime debris.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=France |first1=R.L.|date=2016 |title=Reinterpreting nineteenth-century accounts of whales battling ‘sea serpents’ as an illation of early entanglement in pre-plastic fishing gear or maritime debris|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0843871416667434?journalCode=ijha|journal=International Journal of Maritime History|volume=28|issue=4|pages=686-714|doi=10.1177/0843871416667434|access-date= December 1, 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In a 2023 article for [[Unsolved:Fate (magazine)|''Fate'']], Karl Brandt suggested well-known sea serpent sightings could be explained by harpooned [[Biology:Sperm whale|sperm whales]] held fast to their hunters’ overturned rowboats. The boats would accumulate debris at the surface which could stretch for hundreds of yards while appearing to be propelled through the water by unknown means. The theory was supported by the majority of sightings in Norwegian [[Earth:Fjord|fjords]] occurring ‘during the summer months of June to August when the whales are most-plentiful’.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fatemag.com/post/sea-serpents-ghosts-of-whaling-s-past|title=Sea Serpents: Ghosts of Whaling's Past|last=Brandt|first=Karl|date= August 17, 2023|website=Fate|access-date= December 1, 2024}}</ref>

Due to their size, elongated bodies, and undulating swimming pattern, [[Biology:Giant oarfish|Giant oarfish]] are also presumed to be responsible for some sea serpent sightings.<ref name=Ellis_Monsters>{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Richard|title=Monsters of the Sea|year=2006|publisher=Lyons Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=1592289673|page=43|edition=1st Lyons Press|}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Soe Orm 1555.jpg|Olaus Magnus's Sea Orm, 1555
Sea serpent Cape Ann 1639.jpg|The first American sea serpent, reported from Cape Ann, Massachusetts, in 1639
Sea serpent, Ama Temple, Macao.jpg|Sea serpents, Ama Temple, Macao
Seljord komm.svg|A sea serpent depicted in the coat of arms of Seljord in Norway
Maned sea serpent 1755.jpg|Maned sea serpent from Bishop Erik Pontoppidan's 1755 work ''Natural History of Norway''
1817 Gloucester sea serpent.jpg|The Gloucester sea serpent of 1817
Sea serpent from Hart Nautical Collections.jpg|A hairy sea serpent
Hydrarchos.jpg|Albert Koch's {{convert|115|ft|m|abbr=off|order=flip|adj=mid|-long}} "Hydrarchos" fossil skeleton from 1845. It was found to be an assembled collection of bones from at least five fossil specimens of ''[[Biology:Basilosaurus|Basilosaurus]]''.
HMS Plumper sea serpent 1848.jpg|"Supposed Appearance Of The Great Sea-Serpent, From H.M.S. Plumper, Sketched By An Officer On Board", Illustrated London News, 14 April 1849
HMS Daedalus with sea serpent.jpg|The sea serpent spotted by the crew of HMS ''Daedalus'' in 1848
Daedalus sea serpent 1848.jpg|Another of the original illustrations of the HMS ''Daedalus'' encounter
Giant oarfish bermuda beach 1860.jpg|[[Biology:Oarfish|Oarfish]] that washed ashore on a Bermuda beach in 1860. The animal was {{convert|16|ft|m|0|abbr=in|order=flip}} long and was originally described as a sea serpent.
File:Lderry co arms.png|The arms of County Londonderry feature sea dragons as supporters.
</gallery>

==In media==
* [[Biography:C. S. Lewis|C. S. Lewis]]'s ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' features a sea serpent as one of many obstacles in ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'', along with the 1989 TV serial and the 2010 film based on it.
* ''Beany and Cecil'', featuring  a sea sick sea serpent. Revived as ''The New Beany and Cecil Show'' by prouducer DIC Entertainment.

==See also==
* [[Unsolved:Bakunawa|Bakunawa]]
* [[Unsolved:Chinese dragon|Chinese dragon]]
* Cirein-cròin, a sea monster that may have been a serpent.
* [[Biology:Giant oarfish|Giant oarfish]]
* Gyarados
* [[Company:Kraken|Kraken]]
* Lindworm
* [[Unsolved:Nāga|Nāga]]
* [[Biology:Pyrosome|Pyrosome]]
* Selma
* [[Unsolved:Stronsay Beast|Stronsay Beast]]
* [[Unsolved:Ogopogo|Ogopogo]]
* [[Unsolved:Jörmungandr|Jörmungandr]]
* [[Unsolved:Imugi|Imugi]] (Korea)
* Mizuchi (Japan)
* [[Biology:Palaeophis|Palaeophis]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="antiqueprintmaproom">{{cite web|url=
https://antiqueprintmaproom.com/product/the-great-sea-serpent-according-to-hans-egede-james-hope-stewart/ |title=The Great Sea Serpent (according to Hans Egede) |work=Antique Print & Map Room |date=2023 |access-date=2023-02-28 }}</ref>

<ref name="egede">{{cite book|last=Egede |first=Hans |chapter=Kap. VI. Hvad Slags Diur, Fiske og Fugle den Grønlandske Søe giver af sig etc. / § Andre Søe-Diur |title=Det gamle Grønlands nye perlustration,..<!-- eller Naturelhistorie, og beskrivelse over det gamle Grønlands situation, luft, temperament og beskaffenhed ...--> |location=Copenhagen |publisher=Groth |date=1741 |orig-date=1729 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrRgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA47 |pages=47–48 |language=da}} [https://www.nb.no/nbsok/nb/8f66a1676dffdbda3dca0b052c05c08c?index=4#69 digital copy]@National Library Norway. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jZPhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA65 modern typeset reprint, pp. 65–66] (1926) A.W. Brøggers boktrykkeris forlag.</ref>

<ref name="egede-eng">{{cite book|last=Egede |first=Hans |chapter=Ch. 6. Of the Greenland Sea Animals, and Sea Fowl and Fishes <!--p. 65--> / § Of other Sea Animals |title=A description of Greenland : Shewing the natural history, situation, boundaries and face of the country, the nature of the soil;..<!--the rise and progress of the old Norwegian colonies; the ancient and modern inhabitants; their genius and way of life, and produce of the soil; their plants, beasts, fishes etc. With a new map of Greenland. And several copper plates representing different animals, birds and Fishes, the Greenlanders way of hunting and fishing; their habitations, dress, sports and diversions &c--> |location=London |publisher=Printed for C. Hitch in Pater-noster Row; S. Austen in Newgate-Street; and J. Jackson near St. James's Gate  |date=1745 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YHJUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA87 |pages=85–89}} [https://www.nb.no/nbsok/nb/b46f21fcfe737773778304bbaed62df2?index=1#121 digital copy]@National Library Norway.</ref>
}}

;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Oudemans |first=A. C. |others=Lackerbauer, P[ierre] (illustr.) |title=The Great Sea-serpent: An Historical and Critical Treatise<!--: with the Reports of 187 Appearances (including Those of the Appendix), the Suppositions and Suggestions of Scientific and Non-scientific Persons and the Author's Conclusions--> |volume=1 |location=Leiden |publisher=E.J. Brill  |date=1892 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SERnAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA414 |pages= }}

* {{citation|last=Lee |first=Henry |title=The Great Sea Serpent |work=Sea Monsters Unmasked |series=The Fisheries Exhibition Literature 3 |location=London |publisher=William Clowes and Sons |date=1883 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i3cFAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA52 |pages=52–103}}

* {{cite journal|last=Ramsvig |first=S. A. |title=Sjø-ormens historie: Beretninger om dette hav-uhyres tilsynekomst  |journal=Kringsjaa |volume=20 |date=July–December 1902 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MUCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA649 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uhNIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA267 267-275] |lang=da}}
{{refend}}

;(Further reading)
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first= Sherrie Lynne |last=Lyons |title=Species, Serpents, Spirits, and Skulls: Science at the Margins in the Victorian Age |publisher= State University of New York Press |year= 2010 |isbn= 978-1-4384-2802-4 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.educatedearth.net/video.php?id=3869 Video of the oarfish], a creature that possibly inspired the sea serpent mythology.
* https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/great-sea-serpent/
* https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36677/36677-h/36677-h.htm

[[Category:Dragons]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sea serpent}}