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墨書 Inktalez
Beneath the deep sea lies a world filled with the unknown and danger, yet it is also a place that nurtures miracles and discoveries. In this darkness, where sunlight cannot penetrate, the last secrets of Earth are hidden.
Perhaps those forms of life yet to be discovered by humanity are surviving in this endless abyss in ways we cannot even imagine. What I want to share with you is the story of the “Deep Sea Star,” an unknown giant fish discovered during the rise of manned submersibles in the mid-20th century.
The “Deep Sea Star 4000” was a manned deep-sea submersible manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1965. For most of its seven years of service, it was rented by the United States Navy for various underwater exploration missions.
The scientific name of the Abyssal Medusa genus is derived from this submersible.
On August 5, 1966, Joe Thompson, the chief operator of the Westinghouse “Deep Sea Star” series submersibles, along with pioneering ocean explorer Eugene Cecil LaFond and his assistant Dale Good, descended to the Santiago Trench Fault Zone, located about five miles southwest of Crownado Island. Their mission was to collect biological distribution and temperature data at different depths.
During this seemingly routine dive, they encountered a shocking giant unknown fish. However, fearing that others would not believe their report, they did not accept an interview with American writer Paul K. Morris until six months later in 1967.
In March of that year, Morris published an article in SKIN DIVER that recounted Joe Thompson's original words in the first person.
Here are his words; due to length, I have made some modifications and summarized key content:
"I gently piloted the ‘Deep Sea Star’ down to the seabed at a depth of 4,000 feet. I turned on the navigation lights and started cruising along the ocean floor. Even at this depth, the water flowed slowly, and the dim seafloor appeared like a vast desert—though not as desolate.
Every ten minutes, we would see small marine creatures such as sea snakes, tail fish, and sea cucumbers. We continued our cruise to find a suitable survey site for Eugene Cecil LaFond.
Soon he indicated a location, and I began preparing the instruments, angling the bow downwards to deploy the current meter and temperature probe. After two or three minutes, LaFond started reading data; we had been on the seabed for about fifteen minutes.
As I was checking the technical and timing equipment, I suddenly noticed a massive gray shadow passing outside the window. At first, due to poor visibility on the seafloor, I thought it was just a swirl of mud stirred up by the engine propeller and didn’t pay much attention. But soon I saw a gigantic eye."
Considering the distortion caused by refraction, I estimated that the eye was the size of a dinner plate, with a diameter of about 5 to 7 inches, although it appeared much larger.
In just a moment, I caught sight of its operculum and the chest fin that extended about two feet behind it. The fish overall appeared to be a mottled brown, with grayish-white scales at the tips and on its tail.
This massive creature was approximately 25 feet long and between 5 to 6 feet wide. Unlike the descriptions of deep-sea sharks I had read before, this fish was covered in scales, with the largest scales near its head being about the size of a coffee cup.
The buoyancy of the water supported the weight of these ocean animals, making it hard for us to imagine how large they could grow. However, comparing the fish I saw to our vessel, the Deep Sea Star, helped me understand my feelings about encountering this gigantic creature.
Joe Thompson said, and I couldn't help but exclaim, "Look at that monster!" Everything happened so quickly that I barely had time for logical thought.
At first, I thought it was a giant bass, but I quickly dismissed that idea. Having worked at sea for many years and being familiar with all common marine life, I knew that bass could not be found at a depth of 4,000 feet.
The fish swam past the left side of the submersible, avoiding our illuminated area. Although it moved very naturally, the visual impact on me was like watching a long freight train rush by; I could see rows of scales passing by and clearly discern its robust tail.
It looked strange; the irregular tail fin extended at a 30-degree angle from its rear. It didn't resemble a bass or shark tail; instead, it reminded me of illustrations of a swordfish's tail I had seen in a book.
This was the only way I could describe it. The entire sighting lasted about eight or nine seconds; we had no time to adjust the lights or cameras as it passed by only once.
I felt an impulse to turn the Deep Sea Star around to capture its trace. But as a trained deep-sea diver, I quickly dismissed that thought.
I regretted discovering an oceanic behemoth 4,000 feet beneath the surface of the Pacific. I couldn't track it, take photos, or share it with other crew members, but I believed that either the Deep Sea Star or another submersible would encounter this special deep-sea resident again.
This is the entire account from pilot Joe Thompson. He mentioned that only he among the three had seen this large fish. However, in subsequent interviews, Eugene Cecil Lafond stated that he too had seen it.
However, opinions on the size of the creature varied. Mr. Joe Thompson later revised his statement in an interview, claiming that the fish could be as long as 40 feet, while Eugene Cecil Lafond believed it was no more than 30 feet. The location of the sonar equipment, which had become lodged in the seabed, provided them with relatively reliable comparative coordinates.
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