Oudemans relied on nearly 200 eyewitness accounts and many publications, and named the creature Megophias Megophias in Latin, in accordance with scientific convention. However, Oudemans’ colleagues did not approve of his work on sea monsters, as they believed such creatures could not exist. Despite this, his work gained recognition posthumously. In the 1950s, Belgian biologist Bernard Heuvelmans rediscovered Oudemans’ work and found in his sea-serpent the missing link in cryptozoology.

This new revised edition features a clear distinction between Oudemans’ ongoing text and the many included eyewitness accounts, as well as all-original images that have been cleaned up for clarity. Additionally, readers will find a Post Scriptum containing biographical information about the author and – as a bonus – the first English translation of Oudemans’ original 1934 Dutch-language essay on the Loch Ness Monster.