Real-life sea creatures behind myths and Disney classics

Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)

The ocean is full of mysteries. Did you know that only five per cent of the ocean has been studied? Hundreds of years ago, our understanding of the sea was even more limited. Sailors came across many strange creatures, which inspired the myths of sea monsters we know today.

Let’s explore some real-life animals that gave rise to mythical beings.

Manatee or mermaid?

Sailors in the Middle Ages often thought manatees were mermaids. This is because of the manatees’ humanlike upper bodies and fishlike tails. This inspired Danish author Hans Christian Andersen to write the story The Little Mermaid. His book later became the basis for the iconic Disney animated film with the same name.

Manatees are large, fully aquatic marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. Photo: AFP

Giant squid or kraken?

In Nordic mythology, krakens were mythical sea monsters. They inspired stories of mysterious creatures with large arms that attacked ships at sea. Today, we believe that these tales about the legendary krakens were likely based on deep-sea giant squid. It is also thought that sailors often exaggerated their descriptions of these creatures.

Despite knowing that these so-called “sea monsters” are just giant squid, we still know very little about them, as they live in the deep ocean and don’t come to the surface a lot.

This picture shows a deep-sea giant squid which scientists of Japan’s National Science Museum caught at 640 metres deep. Photo: AFP/The National Science Museum

Oarfish or sea serpent?

You may have heard stories about sea serpents, whether from myths in ancient Greece and the Mediterranean, folklore from Germanic and Scandinavian cultures or tales from Mesopotamia.

These stories may have been inspired by real-life creatures, such as the oarfish.

The oarfish is the longest bony fish. It measures anywhere from three metres to over 10 metres in length. Like giant squid, oarfish live deep in the ocean, so humans do not see them very often.

This image shows an oarfish that washed up on the beach in the US state of California. It measured nearly 14 feet long. Photo: AP/Mark Bussey

Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.

Suggested answers

• Before you read: Answers will vary.

• Stop and think: Sailors in ancient times would see manatees in the ocean and think that they were mermaids.

• Consider: The kraken took inspiration from giant squid, as sailors saw the squid and exaggerated their appearance when telling tales about them.