10 Real Life Sea Monsters... That Actually Exist!

With the use of modern technology, marine biologists and scientists have discovered many amazing creatures living in the deepest parts of the ocean. It’s quite safe to speculate that the most fearsome and scariest creatures disappeared with the dinosaurs millions of years ago. But even if there aren’t any leviathans hiding in the ocean, there are still some incredibly impressive sea creatures that we could still label as sea monsters, although to be fair not all of them are dangerous. Here are 9 supposed sea monsters classified by size, the bizarre nature of their shape or body, and those that could pose real danger — if they really exist.

Number 10: Crabzilla

A 50-foot (or 15 meter) crab dwelling somewhere off the English coast is the stuff nightmares are made of. A satellite picture of a shadowy giant crab close to a pier in Kent has been aptly dubbed “Crabzilla.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, this shocking headline turned out to be a hoax and the work of local artist Quinton Winter, who is thought to have photoshopped the image of a giant crab. There is, however, another “Crabzilla” and this one is very real. A gigantic Japanese spider crab that measured more than 12 feet, or 3.7 meters, across was caught in the Pacific Ocean in 2009. This type of crab has extremely long legs and resembles a giant spider. It is highly unlikely that one of these sea monsters would ever bother you, though, as they tend to live at a depths of more than 650 feet, or 200 meters.

Number 9: Ningen

When it comes to sea monsters where does one separate fact from fiction? Crew members on many Japanese research vessels have tales of a humanoid lifeform called a “ningen.” One Japanese magazine devoted to the study of paranormal phenomena featured an article about the Antarctic ningen. Described as being human-like in shape and white in color they appear most often at night. They are estimated to be 100 feet, or 30 meters, long and have eyes and a mouth on a ghost-like face. The Japanese government has detailed recordings of these sightings but as of yet have released no information to the public and have reportedly told eyewitnesses to remain silent. Is this a real-life monster? The truth remains to be seen.

Number 8: Lamprey

This eel-like creature, native to the Northern Hemisphere, lives in coastal and fresh water and is sometimes referred to as a “vampire fish.” This parasitic fish sports a disc-shaped, suction-cupped mouth, which it uses to latch onto its unfortunate victims. The lamprey then proceeds to suck the blood and body fluids out of its prey. These primitive fish have existed in a virtually unchanged state for an amazingly long time and are thought to date back 360 million years. While they prefer to prey on fish, there have been unconfirmed accounts of lamprey attacks on humans. An interesting story from ancient times is about a wealthy and exceedingly cruel Roman named Vedius Pollio who kept a pool of hungry lampreys. It was rumored that if one of his many slaves did something that displeased him, the offender would be thrown into the pool and fed to the hungry animals.

Number 7: Blue Whale

The blue whale makes its way on to this list based on sheer size. Blue whales can reach a whopping length of 100 feet, or 30 meters, and weigh up to 330,000 pounds, or 150,000 kilograms, making them the largest animal to ever exist. For all their mammoth size, however, these gentle giants of the ocean are quite docile and feed on tons of their favorite food, namely krill, each day. It’s remarkable to think that the planet’s largest creature subsists entirely on one of the smallest. Once abundant in nearly all the world’s oceans, blue whales were hunted almost to extinction. Commercial whaling was banned in 1967 but not before more than 350,000 of these graceful whales were slaughtered — 99 percent of the entire population. Estimates today put the population around 8,000 to 14,000 blue whales left on earth. Recovery of these animals has been slow and new threats plague blue whales: ship strikes and climate change. Hopefully in time these gentle giants will roam the seas aplenty.