Lusca

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 and giant squids, the legend also said that it was half-shark and half-octopus.

Sightings
Many reports of the creature are from the blue holes, off Andros, an island in the Bahamas. On January 18, 2011, the body of what appeared to witnesses to be a giant octopus washed ashore on Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas. According to eyewitness reports, the remains seemed to represent only a portion of the head and mouth parts of the original creature. Based on their knowledge of octopus morphology, local fishermen estimated the total size of the creature when living to be some 20 to 30 feet.

Description
The lusca is said to grow over 75 ft (23 m) long, or even 200 ft (60 m) long, however there are no proven cases of other octopus species growing up to even half these lengths. 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 color, a characteristic commonly found in 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. Although the general identification of the lusca is with the colossal octopus, it has also been described as either a multi-headed monster, a dragon-like creature, or some kind of evil spirit.

In Popular Culture
The History Channel's Monster Quest featured the Lusca in the Series 2 episode "Boneless Horror."

It was also featured in Animal Planet's show River Monsters where Jeremy Wade was investigating encounters in the blue holes on the island of Andros. Wade concluded that the monster was likely a Giant Pacific Octopus which, when swimming, had the appearance of having a shark head.

A half-shark/half-octopus creature appears as the main antagonist in the SyFy original film Sharktopus and returns in two official sequels, Sharktopus vs Pteracuda and Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf.