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Underwater Cryptid Encounters

More on the 'Deepstar 4000 Fish' here:

The Deepstar 4000 fish was a cryptid giant deep sea fish seen once, off southern California in the Pacific Ocean, by the crew of the Deepstar 4000 submersible during a 1966 dive. It was estimated to have measured 30–40 ft (9–12 m) in length, equal to some of the largest known living fish, and far larger than any known bony fish.

This fish was allegedly observed by pilot Joe Thompson (1930 – 2003) and possibly marine biologist Gene LaFond (1909 – 2002), during a June 1966 research dive in the San Diego Trough alongside instrumentation engineer Dale Good. They had taken the Deepstar 4000 down to around 4,000 ft (1,219 m) to lay hydrographical instruments on the seafloor, and when Thompson happened to look through the window, he found himself staring into the eye of a giant fish which had swam briefly into view. It moved past quickly, bringing up silt from the seabed, before disappearing. The sighting had only lasted for around 8 seconds.

Thompson and LaFond initially kept quiet, assuming they would not be believed, but eventually described the fish to journalists Paul J. Tzimoulis and Louis Schafer, and cryptozoologist and marine writer Gardner Soule, to whom Thompson also described a much smaller giant grenadier. Furthermore, according to Soule, the live reactions of the two men were recorded on the submersible's audio log. Thompson asserted that LaFond had not been able to see the fish for himself, but LaFond independently stated that he had seen it.

Thompson and LaFond were most impressed by the allegedly enormous size of the fish they reported, which somewhat resembled a sea bass in body form. It was far larger than the 18 ft (5 m) Deepstar 4000, and was judged to be some 30–40 ft (9–12 m) in length, similar in size to some whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), but only 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) across. As well as the submersible itself, the pair were able to judge the fish's length using the hydrological instruments which had been recently placed on the seafloor at set intervals. It possessed gill plates, "huge pectoral fins" 2 ft (60 cm) in length, a rounded grouper-like tail fin which seemed to be 4–5 ft (1.2–1.5 m) in height and "serrated": Thompson was quite struck by this unusual tail, which he described in more detail as "very strange looking, with ragged caudals jutting off its end on a 30 degree angle ... not the tail of a sea bass or shark ... t reminded me of an illustration of a coelacanth's tail." Its eyes, one of which was the first thing Thompson saw, were "as big as dinner plates." The skin was dark and mottled "gray-black" or "brown with grayish white tipping on the fin scales and tail," and Thompson was certain that it was also covered in scales, with those towards the anterior portion of the body being the largest, around the size of coffee cups.

THEORIES & SOURCES AT LINK:
https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Deepstar_4000_fish


Also:​

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“…the factual content of [Gardner Soule’s] works on cryptozoology was disputed. Critics described his work on alleged cryptids like the Flathead Lake Monster as entertaining, not scientific.

Soule…authored The Long Trail which described the history of cowboys and cattle trails. Historian Ralph Bieber wrote that the book was "disorganized, full errors, and generally unreliable." Orlan Sawey a President of the Texas Folklore Society wrote that a "major defect of the book is its historical inaccuracy." “

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardner_Soule

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