Blog Post #1: The Kraken

The kraken is an ancient and mythical sea creature resembling a giant squid-like beast. It can be seen through
the stories of many sailors at sea, and has been passed down for generations as a myth. However, with recent evidence and elaboration on previous knowledge, the debate on the existence of the kraken has been brought back to life.

The legendary kraken was not only known to attack ships at sea, but large sperm whales. Sperm whales dove to depths of around 3,000 feet in search of giant squids to eat. Despite their size, the whales did not always win the mighty battle. Sucker-like markings have been found on the whales that are much larger than those of any known squid. However, scars grow as the whale grows, so the size of the mysterious creature is not definite. Nevertheless, horn beaks and squid-like arms have been found in the stomach contents of sperm whales and are much larger than any known squid identified by humans.

Researchers in Nevada, as of 2013, have discovered fossil evidence of the beak of an ancient squid- or octopus-like creature. The researchers have also found a bizarre arrangement of an Ichthyosaur Shonisaurus Popularis's bones. Professor McMenamin, the main individual responsible for bringing the mystery of the kraken back to life, found signs of a 45 foot Ichthyosaur at Nevada's Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park.The ichthyosaur is an ancient dolphin-like marine reptile, thought to be common prey of the kraken. The way the bones were arranged relates to the way octopuses play and toy with the bones of their prey post consuming them.

The rocks that the prey bones were found in, upon further inspection by Professor McMenamin, were claimed to have been from much deeper ocean sediments than previously predicted. This means they are much older than originally anticipated and could have been from the same time period as the kraken in its prime. The kraken would have existed around the Ordovician time period along with similar cephalopods.

Recent fossil evidence and knowledge of the geological time scale help to prove the legitimacy of this mysterious monster. Battle scars left on sperm whales and the contents of their last meals provides scientists with the evidence that giant squid-like creatures not only exist, but also fight with these mighty whales.