One of the first books to attempt a complete and scientific investigation of
"sea monsters" was A.C. Oudeman's "The Great Sea-serpent" published in 1892.
Original copies of the book are rare (and I imagine quite pricey) - but the
work is frequently cited even in recent literature - so I was pleasantly
surprised to find this e-copy:
www.herper.com/ebooks/library/biofort/Seaserpent.pdf
Oudemans took a modern approach and tried to associate details of sightings
with known marine organisms.
You can see a photo of this pioneering zoologist here:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cryptozoo/personalia/oudemans_eng.htm
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