Cryptozoology
Types of sea serpents

HOME

Cryptozoology Info
Frequently Asked Questions
Cryptids
Terms of Use

In his book, In the Wake of the Sea Serpents, Bernard Heuvelmans came to the conclusions that there must be several different kinds of sea serpents, as the many sightings gave very different descriptions. Before then, people trying to explain the sea serpents had tried to explain away differning accounts in order to fit all the descriptions into one species.

Long Necked The Long Necked has a long neck, a humped back, and little or no tail. Some super otters have two horns, and the creature has a fast speed. The Long Necked has flippers (similar to those of a seal) and is probably about 15-60 feet long. The Long Neck is probably a kind of pinniped (seals, sea lions, etc) and the first known sighting was in 1846.
 
Super Otter It has a head like an otter, a serpentine body, and a short tail and neck. The Super Otter may be about 65-100 feet long. The creature seen by Hans Egede was probably a Super Otter, and it is also probably a pinniped. As of 1965, the last sighted Super Otter was in 1848, so it might be extinct by now.
 
Many Humped As the name suggests, this has several humps on it's back. It has a small head, and (sometimes) a pair of flippers. It seems to be about 60-100 feet long, and may be threatened or endangered, as there are very few recent sightings. It is probably a mammal.
 
Many Finned This has a round head, short neck, and many fins on his back. It is probably about 60-70 feet long. The many finned seems to have some kind of armored protection, and seems to be a mammal.
 
Merhorse The Merhorse has a head similar to a horse, a long neck, and a mane. It has big eyes and a snake-like tail. Sightings suggest that ther Merhorse ranges in size from 30-100 feet. The Merhorse's big eyes suggest that it may normally live in the deeper parts of the ocean. A Merhorse was seen fighting a giant squid in 1923.
 
Super Eel The Super Eel may actually be several different species. Most of them look like eels (some of the only sea serpents that actually are serpentine) though the description of their heads differ. Super Eels have large eyes and are said to be 50-100 feet long. Super eels are usually dying when sighting, and are probably fish.
 
Marine Saurian When Heuvelmans designed his classifications, the Marine Saurian was known from only 4 sightings. It is describe as looking like a gigantic crocodile (50-60 feet), and may be some kind of ancient archosaur.
 
Father-of-all-Turtles Also known from only a few sightings, this is described as a giant marine turtle. It may have some relation to the ancient giant turtle, Archelon. Heuvelmans considered the existence of the Father-of-all-Turtles to doubtful.
 
Yellow Belly Known from only 3-6 sightings (as of 1965), this has a yellow color and is tadpole shaped. It's size is estimated at around 60-100 feet. Heuvelmans suggested that it might a shark or other fish, or even an ampihibian.

Sources
  • In the Wake of the Sea Serpents, by Bernard Heuvelmans