Lusca
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The lusca is a name given to a sea monster reported from the Caribbean. It has been suggested by cryptozoologists that the lusca is a gigantic octopus, far larger than the known giant octopuses of the genus Enteroctopus. Many reports of the creature are from the blue holes, off Andros, an island in the Bahamas. The St. Augustine Monster (an example of a globster) which was washed up in 1896 on the Florida coast is considered one of the better candidates for a possible lusca specimen. These claims, however, are doubtful; recent evidence suggests the St. Augustine Monster, like many globsters, was simply a large mass of decomposing adipose tissue from a Sperm Whale. Most scientists dismiss the lusca as a large example of the giant or Colossal squid.[citation needed]
The Lusca is said to grow over 75 feet long, or even 200 feet long, although many skeptics dispute these claims as there are no proven cases of other species growing to half these lengths. Also to attack properly on the surface, the octopus would have to have one tentacle on the sea floor to balance itself, this would mean that such accounts, if real, would have to take place in relatively shallow water. Other descriptions also mention that it can change colour, a characteristic it has in common with smaller octopuses. The supposed habitat is rugged underwater terrain, large undersea caves, the edge of the continental shelf, or other areas where large crustaceans are found, which is supposedly what they feed on.
[edit] Lusca and other sea monsters
Although the general identification of the lusca is with the colossal octopus, there are those who disagree. Others have it as a multi-headed monster, or also as a dragon-like creature, and some as a kind of evil spirit. But as the lusca has usually been described as an octopus-like monster, it may have connection with such other reported cephalopod-like sea monsters such as the kraken, although notably too, the kraken was described as having crab-like and whale-like features.
