Topographic features within a seafloor formation in the Pacific Ocean named after Godzilla will now also bear the names of the fictional monster's body parts, the Japan Coast Guard said Tuesday.
Following the approval by the Sub-Committee on Undersea Features Names on Monday, the names of 14 individual topographic features within the Godzilla Megamullion Province including Hat Ridge, West Hipbone Rise and Neck Peak, will be officially used in nautical charts and papers.
The ridged submarine topography, said to resemble Godzilla sleeping face down, is located around 600 kilometers southeast of Okinotori Island, the southernmost point of Japanese territory.
According to the coast guard, it was discovered during a 2001 survey of the area by the Japanese government, and is currently the largest known megamullion on Earth at around three times the size of Tokyo.
Such oceanic core complexes are formed when the mantle beneath the Earth's crust is exposed on the seafloor as a result of fault displacement.
In January last year, the SCUFN approved naming the area stretching approximately 125 km long and 55 km wide after the world-famous Japanese film character.
The decision departed from the usual convention of naming submarine geologic features after nearby landforms, ships, or deceased persons or institutions that have contributed to maritime research.
A Japan Coast Guard official said the committee likely took into consideration the fact that the megamullion had already been referred to as Godzilla in research papers and other publications.
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