SEA SERPENT

[Folklore] Imaginary snake-like creatures of monstrous size that inhabit the deep. In the early times of seafaring, but also until more recent times, many sailors mentioned the existence of such creatures, and they were accounted for destroying a great number of ships. These tales were largely exaggerated and probably based on sightings of large amounts of floating seaweed and ordinary marine creatures such as a sea snake and oarfish. A monster such as a sea snake is reputed to exist in Loch Ness.