OCTIPOS

No, that isn't a misspelling of octopus.  This is the name given by C. Rafinesque (1783-1840) to a strange creature seen in the Atlantic in 1818.  Its head was 2 feet in length and its body a further 56 feet. It had 8 gills.  Its head and neck stuck out of the water.  Rafinesque thought another creature reported from the Atlantic might be a type of octipos.