Creeps Of The Deep Explore The Ocean S Strangest Creatures

Examines many of the strange creatures that lurk in the dark, cold depths of the ocean.

A wonderfully weird book about the strangest creatures in the sea. A feathery tutu dancing through the water? A tiptoeing rock wearing a wig? Not everything is as it seems in this fascinating exploration of bizarre sea animals. Each creature is introduced with intriguing art and text, and the question, “Am I the strangest thing in the sea?” Open the gatefold, and the actual creature in its habitat and a full description appear, along with the answer: No, it’s not the strangest thing in the sea. That is, until the last creature, which is the strangest. But what could it be? What’s cooler than bizarre things that are real? Kids will want to dive right in!

A wonderfully weird book about the strangest creatures in the sea. A feathery tutu dancing through the water? A tiptoeing rock wearing a wig? Not everything is as it seems in this fascinating exploration of bizarre sea animals. Each creature is introduced with intriguing art and text, and the question, “Am I the strangest thing in the sea?” Open the gatefold, and the actual creature in its habitat and a full description appear, along with the answer: No, it’s not the strangest thing in the sea. That is, until the last creature, which is the strangest. But what could it be? What’s cooler than bizarre things that are real? Kids will want to dive right in!

Beasts of the Deep: Sea Creatures and Popular Culture offers its readers an in-depth and interdisciplinary engagement with the sea and its monstrous inhabitants; through critical readings of folklore, weird fiction, film, music, radio and digital games. Within the text there are a multitude of convergent critical perspectives used to engage and explore fictional and real monsters of the sea in media and folklore. The collection features chapters from a variety of academic perspectives; post- modernism, psychoanalysis, industrial-organisational analysis, fandom studies, sociology and philosophy are featured. Under examination are a wide range of narratives and media forms that represent, reimagine and create the Kraken, mermaids, giant sharks, sea draugrs and even the weird creatures of H.P. Lovecraft. Beasts of the Deep offers an expansive study of our sea-born fears and anxieties, that are crystallised in a variety of monstrous forms. Repeatedly the chapters in the collection encounter the contemporary relevance of our fears of the sea and its inhabitants – through the dehumanising media depictions of refugees in the Mediterranean to the encroaching ecological disasters of global warming, pollution and the threat of mass marine extinction.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of legendary sea monsters *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The oceans of the world have always had an air of mystery. About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, and until the 20th century no one had plumbed its depths. Even today the bigger seas and oceans remain a largely unexplored frontier, with new species being discovered every year. Thus it comes as no surprise that countless legends have arisen of strange creatures lurking in the depths. What follows is just a sampling of these stories, including sightings of unusual sea creatures by experienced witnesses in the 19th, 20th, and even 21st centuries. The idea that there might be large species still swimming in the oceans that haven't been classified by marine biologists isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. For example, the megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) was entirely unknown to science until a U.S. Naval vessel off the coast of Hawaii accidentally skewered one on its anchor. The megamouth shark is a deepwater shark that can reach up to 18 feet in length, making it quite a large creature to go unnoticed for so long. In fact, since its accidental discovery, fewer than a hundred specimens have been spotted and the species had only been filmed three times. The Peruvian beaked whale (Mesoplodon peruvians) was discovered the same year and not formally described until 1991. Very little is known about this small species of whale that has only been seen off the west coast of Central and South America. Even more poorly known is the Spade-toothed whale (Mesoplodon traversii), which was first documented in 1872 thanks to the discovery of a partial jaw in New Zealand. It wasn't recognized as a distinct species until a partial skull was found in 1986, and no complete body was found until two specimens washed ashore in New Zealand in 2010. The fact that an entire species of whale is known to exist and yet no one has ever seen one alive adds fuel to the imagination of any monster hunter, who insists that there may be even more intriguing unknown species waiting to be discovered. Cryptozoology is the science that investigates these creatures, which investigators generally call "cryptids". The word is made up of the Greek stem "kryptos" (hidden) and suffix "zoology" (study of animals), thus cryptozoology is the study of hidden, as-yet-undiscovered animals. Cryptozoologists are quick to point out that they are not searching for alien beings or occult creatures; they do not hunt UFOs or ghosts. They are serious scientists, some amateur and some with professional degrees, who want to find, study, and protect these rare species. Sea Monsters: A History of Creatures from the Haunted Deep in Legend and Lore profiles the various sea creatures that people have told tales about for centuries, from ancient sources and doubtful legends to sightings by more reliable witnesses, such as ship's captains and naturalists. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about legendary sea monsters like never before.

There is still so little we know about all that happens in the world’s vast oceans. The dark depths beneath the waves are a mysterious realm scientists are still exploring. That means there’s plenty of freaky creatures we don’t yet understand or haven’t yet seen, hiding in the blackness. Readers will delight in learning about otherworldly and ghastly sea animals, such as the prehistoric-looking frill shark and the fierce anglerfish. They’ll even discover how the Titanic is being eaten by bacteria! Amazing color photographs of the underwater world and fact-filled sidebars further enhance this high-interest journey beneath the sea.

In text and photographs, presents what is known about the deep ocean and the exotic creatures that live there.