Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Our favorite sea monsters – The Kraken (#1)

Posted on September 10, 2010August 24, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on Our favorite sea monsters – The Kraken (#1)
Uncategorized

It should come as no surprise that our favorite sea monster is the legendary giant of giants – The Kraken.

Originally of Norwegian and Icelandic legend, the Kraken is described as a giant, tentacled monster that rises from the deep. In the earliest legends, the Kraken resembles an island feeding on schools of fish. Bold fishermen would set their lines above the Kraken, catching the huge schools of fish that surround it. In these earliest stories, the danger to ships was not from the Kraken itself, but from the whirlpool formed when it dives.

From those early stories, the Kraken evolved into a global terror. depicted either as a giant octopus or giant squid, the Kraken found its way into literature, film, and modern cryptozoology. Krakens have been blamed for many ghost ships, disappearances in the Bermuda triangle, they have even been hypothesized as guardians of the lost continent. Krakens even have their own brand of rum.

What earns the Kraken our esteem as the number 1 sea monster is not the mythology surrounding this creature, but the reality. Whereas with the other six sea monsters we’ve pontificated on what they could really be, for the Kraken, there’s little debate.

squidsArchiteuthis and Mesonychoteuthis, the giant and colossal squids.

These are not your Humboldt squid (although for reasons that escape me, the media often refers to Humboldt squid as ‘giant’ squid). These giants are the undisputed kings of the invertebrate world. It is not difficult to imagine an ancient mariner seeing one of these beasts and declaring it a monster.

Somehow I doubt that many ships were ever sunk by one of these creatures. Even in the modern era, they are elusive and difficult to catch, but it only takes one or two sightings to start a chain reaction.

Are these really the Kraken? Perhaps. The only thing larger than the ocean is the human imagination. It only takes a few sparks of inspiration from the natural world for us to create monsters of myth. The Kraken could have just as easily emerged from the mind of a mariner watching an octopus crawl out of a fishing net, or a couple of market squid washed ashore.

How many of our monsters emerge from someone thinking “wouldn’t that be awesome if it were 30 meters tall?”

~Southern Fried Scientist

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: Kraken Sea Monsters

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Ocean of Pseudoscience Linkfest, Round 6
Next Post: Ocean of Pseudoscience Shorty – Iron Fertilization: The Cure for Global Warming ❯

You may also like

Uncategorized
Our favorite sea monsters – Steller’s Sea Ape (#7)
September 6, 2010
Uncategorized
365 days of Darwin: September 10, 2010 (6/7)
September 10, 2010
Uncategorized
Real Monsters – Viperfish
September 11, 2010
Conservation
Our favorite sea monsters – The Giant Manta Special Edition
September 8, 2010

Recent Popular Posts

What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?July 15, 2025David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?Critically Endangered sawfish are spinning in circles until they die. What the heck is going on?May 29, 2024David Shiffman
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Considering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceConsidering writing a popular science book? Here's my adviceJuly 7, 2025David Shiffman
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown