About time for a new cryptid to be introduced to the board. I was a little bored of traditional "sea serpents" and Bigfoot. Let's get refreshed.
Enter: The Con Rit. It means Centipede or Millipede in Vietnamese (2,3). It has been given the scientific name Cetioscolopendra aeliani by
cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans under the assumption that it is an archaic whale (4).
Other Names (2):
Many-Finned Sea Serpent
Cetacean Centipede
Great Sea-Centipede
Physical Description: A sea serpent about 50 feet long and a few feet (probably 3 feet) wide, resembling a giant centipede or millipede with
around 25 armored, jointed segments that measure approximately 2 feet by 3 feet. Each segment contains a pair of legs, each leg is about 2.5 feet
long. The dorsal (back) side is brown, the ventral (belly) side is yellow. (1)
This creature has also been reported as serpentine with many fins, or something similar. (3)
A sighting near Algeria reported a length of 135 feet (5).
Location: Marine. Southeast Asia, especially around Vietnam. (1)
History:
In Vietnamese folklore, the con rit is a revered water dragon, identified as the same segmented dragon that appears in the
classic folklore book Chich-Quai. (1)
The Con Rit bears a striking resemblance to the Oriental dragons of ancient legend. Described as long, serpentine creatures with tough hides
and many fins, faces bristling with tentacle-like whiskers, the dragons of Southeast Asia can be found in deep sea caverns and are usually benevolent.
It is possible that such legends are based on ancient sightings of living con rits, and indeed it is said that a very con rit-like creature once swam
up the Bay of Tonkin in ancient times. (4)
Initial research of the Con Rit was conducted by Dr. A. Krempf, director of the Oceanographic and Fisheries Service of Indo China, in the
1920’s. During his researcher Dr. Kremph interviewed an eyewitness who reportedly touched a beached Con Rit in 1883. (5)
Sightings: The majority of sightings occurred between 1883 and 1903.
Second Century AD-
In his book, On The Nature Of Animals, Greek military writer Aelian reported that these serpents were known to beach
themselves. He went on to say that witness of the time reported that the creatures had lobster like tails and large hairy nostrils. (2)
1883, Hongay, Vietnam - Eyewitness Tran Van Con saw the headless carcass of a Con Rit wash upon shore in Hongay. He said it was 60 feet log by 3 feet
wide and covered in 60cm hexagonal armoured segments throughout its length, with a 2'4" (70 cm) filament protruding from both sides of each segment
(3, 4). "The creature was dark brown above and yellow on its underside, and when he touched it, it sounded metallic, much like the sound produced
when tapping a horseshoe crab shell... The tail section was similar, but had two extra filaments coming from the bottom corners of the hexagon (3). It
could be speculated that the filaments formed either end of a by then decomposed flap or fin (2). It was examined but tossed back due to the smell. At
the time, scientists expected that the new species would be identified quickly but as the sightings decreased, this never happened. (1, 2)
1899, Cape Falcon, Algeria -
The crew of the HMS Narcissus spotted a giant creature near Cape Falcon in Algeria: The sailors reported sighting
a sea monster that possessed an immense number of fins, and measured about 45 metres (150 feet) in length. The creature propelled itself forward with
its fins with enough speed to keep pace with the ship. In all the sailors were able to observe it for about half an hour. (2)
Possibilities:
- Prehistoric whale with armored plates, like a Zeuglodon (Basilosaurus)
(Picture)(1, 4)
- Crustacean (Picture)(1)
- Gigantic isopod (Picture(4)
- New aquatic chilopoda (Picture) (4)
- Oarfish Picture(5)
Invertebrates are some of the most frequently discovered animals these days, and if a giant invertebrate were discovered, scientists would
expect it to be an oceanic creature, since the ocean is the only place where mainstream scientists think giant undiscovered animals might still lurk.
(1)
My Thoughts:
A discussion about aquatic centipedes has taken place at another ATS website (!) called atshq.org, the American Tarantula Society.
They've come to the conclusion that it might be common in some populations and possibly
is a new evolutionary trait.
For the record, the largest living centipede is Scolopendra gigantea ("also known as Peruvian giant yellowleg centipede and Amazonian giant
centipede)", which can grow to over a foot long and has 21-23 segments (pretty close to around the 25-30 of the Con Rit).
en.wikipedia.org...
The largest single millipede is an African Giant Black Millipede, and it is 15.2 inches.
Picture
What do I think? I'm thinking Remipedia, even though they are teeny tiny, they might give us some clues. All myriapodes (centipedes, millipedes,
relates) are terrestrial. But what the other ATS found about centipedes swimming... it could go both ways. It could go lots of ways.
Remipedia is a class of blind crustaceans found in coastal aquifers which contain saline groundwater, with populations identified in almost
every ocean basin so far explored, including in Australia, the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean.
en.wikipedia.org...
The fact that there are segmented crustaceans like these, and that some centipedes are apparently able to be semi-aquatic, leads me to believe it's
probably an invertebrate. I had that feeling from the start.
So, what do you think?
1.
The Cryptid Zoo: Con Rit. Jamie Hall, 2006.
2.
Con Rit- The Great Sea Centipede. Daniel Couzins, 2007
3.
Con Rit
4.
Con Rit. Andrew Coletti
5.
Unknown Explorers- Con Rit
[edit on 8/28/2009 by ravenshadow13]
. It is just CRAZY
how little we know of the ocean, I mean we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do our OWN oceans. A personal thank you for bringing a
TRULY ORIGINAL "Sea Monster" case to ATS' attention. Star and flag obviously...
