»Giant Sea Snake Fish«

Length: 85 meters
Mass: 4,000 tons
Powers/Weapons: Constricting body; adept swimmer
First Appearance: King Kong Escapes (1967)

The Giant Sea Snake lives in the waters around Mondo Island, and survives by devouring smaller animals that happen to come in contact with it.
During a unexpected stop off on Mondo Island by Carl Nelson, Susan Wason, and Jiro Nomura after the Explorer encounters technical trouble, the trio are attacked by the Giant Sea Snake. King Kong intervenes by throwing boulders at the Snake in a attempt to distract it. The boulders, although hitting their target, do not seem to shift the snake's attention from it's prey. So Kong goes in the water after it, and the two battle it out. The Giant Sea Snake quickly begins to constrict around Kong, but in response Kong throws the Snake off of him, winning the battle.

Monsters of the Deep

The mysterious deep ocean has always been a fertile source of tales of fearsome giant animals. Some of the innumerable accounts of seafarers' experiences with strange, gigantic sea creatures are undoubtedly based on misinterpretation of things such as tree trunks, whales, shallow-living sharks and other large fish swimming or floating at the surface. In this session we will learn that other accounts are certainly founded on truth, because real deep-sea giants do exist.

The oarfish, or king of the herrings, Regalecus glesne, is an obvious candidate for sea-serpent sightings. With a flattened, snakelike body up to almost 10 metres long, a bright-red dorsal fin and crest of long fin-rays on the top of its head, this strange and harmless fish is seen occasionally at the surface and may even be washed on to the shore. Because it is encountered so rarely, very little is known about the oarfish's life style, though its stomach contents have revealed that it feeds mainly on planktonic animals. Because it is so large, it probably needs to live where its food is abundant, so it is likely that it does not live deeper than a few hundred metres.

Most people have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, reported to be living in the body of water called Loch Ness in Scotland. Many people have tried to photograph it or see it firsthand. The first sighting of this creature was more than 60 years ago. The length of the sea creature and its eel-like way of swimming have caused some to wonder if it’s a monster at all.
There’s no question about the monstrous size. The animal is easily as long as a boat, though its head is small. Could it be a dinosaur, or is it something more common? Some scientists are now considering the possibility that it is an Oarfish. These deep-sea fish are hardly ever seen in shallower waters, and Loch Ness is thought to be 750 feet deep. Oarfish live in the abyssal plain at about 6,000 feet. They can get to be 60 feet in length. Their body resembles an eel, with a top (dorsal) fin that runs the length of the body. This fin undulates, propelling it along the in the water, similar to the movement a snake uses. The only fin this fish uses to swim is the top (dorsal) fin.

The Oarfish may have gotten its name from either the shape of its body or the shape of the spines that jut out from its pelvic fins. The fish uses these spines for navigation. It is often seen swimming vertically in the water, pointing its head straight up. Like many deep-sea creatures, it has large eyes that help it see well in the dark, and “lures” that hang down and off to each side of the fish. These “lures” are ribbon-like and have with a yellow diamond-shaped tip. The bright yellow attracts fish, and the Oarfish can then grab them with its protruding mouth. Pink or red spiny fins extend from its head straight up in an “A” shape. This helps the fish protect itself from predators. Red or pink colorations on a fish are a warning to predators and a type of camouflage. In the ocean, red cannot be seen easily because of the lack of light, and red to a fish that can see it means “danger!”

The Oarfish is a monster of the deep, but is it the Loch Ness Monster? The reason scientists are considering this possibility is because the size, shape, and swimming style of the Oarfish are so similar to accounts of Loch Ness Monster sightings. Oarfish have been found washed-up on beaches, and do sometimes swim closer to the water surface. They are found worldwide in all tropical and temperate waters. About 300 sightings of Oarfish have been recorded. This once-rare fish seems to be making its way into other water systems. There are dozens of Loch Ness Monster sightings every year, and “"South Bay Bessie”, a North American sea monster, is reported to be living in Lake Erie’s western basin near Huron, Ohio. Lake Okanagan in Vancouver, British Columbia has a sea monster also. The natives named it Ogopogo, after a character in a song.

Any of a group of deep-sea bony fishes, found in warm parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Oarfish are large, up to 9 m/30 ft long, elongated, and compressed, with a fin along the back and a manelike crest behind the head. They have a small mouth, no teeth or scales, and large eyes. They are often described as sea serpents.

Giant Oarfish Caught off the Coast of California!
Here is a picture of Giant Oarfish caught at the US Navy SEAL training center on Coronado Island, just off the coast of San Diego, California. The photo was taken in 1996! Giant Oarfish are one of the strangest looking fish that you will ever see. It is believed that Giant Oarfish which get up to 50 feet long, have been the source of many sea monster reports. Take a look at the photo and I think you will understand why!