- 7 hours ago
Under water there is a whole life! Did you know how many unusual creatures live there? Don't worry, today we will tell you all about it!
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00:00Wanna high-five a sea creature? Well, put your flipper, I mean hand up, for the Tasmanian red handfish.
00:06This fish doesn't swim like a fish. It walks. It uses its flipper-like hands to stroll around on the
00:13ocean floor.
00:15These bottom walkers are disturbed by swimmers and boats a lot. Some people even want to take them home as
00:21pets.
00:21I think it's better to just give them a wave and swim on by.
00:26The Vampire Squid
00:28Its species name is Vampirotuthis infernalis, which translates to Vampire Squid from Hell.
00:35Oh yes, this Vampire Squid means to terrify everyone with its name.
00:40Its dark red color, its spikes at the bottom, and the scary fact that it can basically turn itself inside
00:46out.
00:47The Vampire Squid loves putting on a good show, but it's as harmless as a kitten is to humans.
00:53It's as if Dracula scared the pants off you, but he didn't have blood-sucking fangs.
00:58The Vampire Squid feeds on food particles from plants and animal matter floating near the ocean's surface.
01:05Since they're not predators, they need good defensive strategies, and their vampiric look is designed to ward off large creatures
01:12who want to eat them.
01:13Turning themselves inside out is a defensive mechanism since the spiky areas in the inner skin are more intimidating.
01:20They also shoot out a substance that does not have color, but is packed with bioluminescent particles to distract predators.
01:29The Vaquita
01:30Going out on a boat off the coast of Mexico sounds like the perfect vacation.
01:35The sun, the blue water, the most endangered sea creature.
01:39Wait, what?
01:40The Vaquita isn't dangerous, but don't expect it to stick around to say hello or sign any autographs.
01:47It's incredibly shy.
01:48This little cow, that's what it means in Spanish, is one tiny sea mammal.
01:53With those black markings around its eyes, it looks more like a sea panda to me.
01:58Seeing one should make you feel very special.
02:00They're on the brink of extinction, mostly because they get caught by accident in fishing nets.
02:05It's estimated that there's only 10 left in the wild.
02:10The Blue Dragon
02:11This little creature looks like something out of a kid's fantasy movie.
02:15It's called the Blue Glaucus, casually referred to as the Blue Dragon or Blue Angel.
02:20It can be found in many places, the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
02:25It's kind of a mollusk, and it only grows to be about an inch long.
02:29What you think is the back is actually the mollusk's bright underbelly.
02:34It regularly floats on its back, so that its blue colors help it camouflage with the water's waves.
02:39The Blue Dragon isn't just pretty, it's also smart.
02:43It usually feasts on Portuguese man-o-wars, also known as Fisalia Fisalis.
02:49The Blue Dragon stores their stinging cells for later use, in essence, stealing their defensive mechanisms.
02:55When the Blue Dragon is threatened, it releases those stinging cells it's stored,
02:59directing them at an enemy to sting them with more power than the Portuguese man-o-war would have been
03:05capable of.
03:05As they can store a huge amount of stinging cells, they can be a threat to humans.
03:10So, if you find one, don't pick it up.
03:12It's best to admire it from a distance.
03:15The Barrel Eye Fish
03:16If you ever wanted to have Superman's X-ray vision,
03:20looking at the Barrel Eye Fish will make you feel like you gained that superpower at some point in your
03:25life without even realizing it.
03:26The Barrel Eye has a transparent head, so you can see how their eyes and brain look inside.
03:32This magnificent creature lives in the deep sea.
03:35This is the lowest level of the ocean, where strange creatures roam in near-freezing temperatures and constant darkness.
03:43They're exposed to water's pressure that's almost 1,000 times that of the surface.
03:48If the idea of the deep sea sends a shiver down your spine, stay tuned to learn about another of
03:54its creatures later on.
03:55The Barrel Eye Fish can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
04:00You might be wondering, why, oh why, would a fish have a see-through head?
04:05And that would be a fair question.
04:06Since the species was discovered in 1939, it was believed that the fish's eyes were set to see straight ahead
04:13and couldn't move.
04:14So it was assumed that they had tunnel vision.
04:17Scientists Bruce Robinson and Kim Reisenbichler from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
04:22recently discovered that the fish can move its eyes vertically to see through the top of its translucent head,
04:28thus, noticing if there are predators or prey nearby.
04:32The transparent head also allows more light to enter so they can detect prey better.
04:37It's believed that the Barrel Eye Fish eats jellyfish and small fish species.
04:42If you dive in the ocean at night, you might be lucky enough to see how orange ball choralomorph blooms
04:49in the dark.
04:49But make sure to be quick because as soon as you turn on your flashlight to take a good look,
04:54it will retract its tubes back into itself.
04:58The Megalodon
04:59The whale shark isn't the biggest shark known to humans.
05:02If the entire shark species were a kingdom, the prehistoric Megalodon would be the ruler of the sea.
05:09Megalodon roamed the ocean a long time ago.
05:11Oh, about 15.9 to 2.6 million years back between the early Miocene and late Pliocene eras.
05:18While they've long been extinct, people are still amazed to learn about these gigantic sea beasts.
05:24Megalodon could reach anywhere between 45 feet to 60 feet in length with jaws more than 6 feet wide.
05:30A fossil of a tooth that once belonged to a Megalodon measured at 7 inches.
05:35Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked that these guys have long been extinct.
05:40But there's still some adventurers out there hoping to meet this monster one day.
05:45The Dumbo Octopus
05:46This adorable creature, or creepy creature, or however you want to see it, is officially called Grimpoteuthus.
05:54More casually, it's referred to as the Dumbo Octopus, named after the Disney character.
05:59Though Dumbo, the elephant, not the octopus, was teased for his big ears,
06:03it's highly unlikely that this adorable octopus gets teased by its water neighbors.
06:09They are the deepest living octopuses living in the deep sea, and you know how scary that place is.
06:15They're only about 8 inches tall and spend their days hovering just above the seafloor
06:20eating snails, worms, and other food they find in the current or near ocean vents.
06:25There are nearly 17 species of Dumbo Octopus, and they all have differences in height, color, and body parts.
06:32If you can't get enough strange animals, you'll be glad to learn that the deep sea has barely been explored
06:37by humans.
06:38So, keep an eye out.
06:40There are bound to be more fascinating animals discovered in the deep in the future.
06:45The Sea Angel
06:46These creatures might look and sound pretty cute, but their diet is far from sunshine and lollipops.
06:52Their favorite food are sea butterflies.
06:55They lay mucus traps for them and wait in ambush.
06:59The Squat Anemone Shrimp
07:01This shrimp is tiny, only 0.5 inches.
07:05It's also known as a dancer shrimp because of its peculiar behavior.
07:09When agitated, it raises its bottom above its head and does a little dance.
07:14Divers also say it readily jumps on their hands and cleans them.
07:18The Coconut Crab
07:20This guy may look pretty creepy, especially when the sun goes down.
07:24Mature Coconut Crabs are around 3 feet in length.
07:28Their preferred foods are coconuts, but they can also hunt down lizards and even large birds.
07:35The Slender Snipe Eel
07:36Slender Snipe Eel is a slim and long creature that's still a mystery for marine scientists.
07:42It's 4 feet long, and it has at least 750 bones in its spine, which is much more than any
07:49other animal in the world.
07:50The Sea Pen
07:52Sea Pen is 7 feet long, and it has a lot of varieties, but most of them look indeed like
07:58a pen or a quill.
07:59The similarity is even more striking when the animal has a water-filled bulb that anchors it to the floor.
08:06The Persian Carpet Flatworm
08:08This creature looks indeed like a carpet, despite being very small by comparison.
08:13It's only 4 inches long, able to become both male and female.
08:17It doesn't really mate with other flatworms.
08:20Rather, it fights them for the right to bear posterity.
08:23The Flamingo Tongue Sea Snails
08:26Tourists love these extraordinary snails for their pretty colors, thinking it's a shell.
08:31But in fact, the shell is quite dull and hidden underneath colorful soft tissues.
08:36They eat softer, toxic parts of corals and store their toxins to protect themselves.
08:43The deeper you go, the creepier they get.
08:46You're about to travel to the darkest ocean depths and check whether this claim is true.
08:52Are the creatures living there as scary as people think?
08:55You go 120 feet down underwater.
08:59Pay close attention to the bottom under your flippers.
09:02Oh my, what's that terrifying face half-hidden in the sand?
09:06That's the northern stargazer.
09:08You can meet this fish in the eastern United States.
09:12It buries itself in the sand until unsuspecting prey gets near.
09:16Then, the nightmarish creature electrically shocks the poor animal and dines on it.
09:23You're moving deeper, to 240 feet under the surface.
09:26That's where you spot a colorful, puffy creature, no more than one foot long.
09:31It's the sarcastic fringehead.
09:34At first, the fish seems to be harmless.
09:36Ah, only unless it's provoked.
09:40When this animal is agitated, it opens its huge, huge mouth to fend off predators.
09:46This defense tactic is a sight to behold, both surprising and frightening.
09:51Luckily, the fish is no threat to people whatsoever.
09:55The creature you see next can comfortably live in shallow waters, but you meet it at a depth of 900
10:02feet.
10:03You don't even need to wonder why the animal's called the Game of Thrones' brittle star.
10:09Its body is protected by a hard calcium carbonate shell.
10:13Also called snake stars, these creatures are tiny and easily fit in nooks, cracks, and small crevices and rocks.
10:20At a much greater depth of 2,000 feet, you come across the giant squid.
10:27For a long time, it was thought to be a creature from legends rather than a real animal.
10:32The giant squid was first caught on camera in 2001, and it's exactly as big as its name implies.
10:38The creature's eyeballs are the size of soccer balls, and the squid itself can weigh up to 600 pounds.
10:46Almost 3,000 feet below the surface, you get spooked by another creepy-looking animal.
10:52It's somewhat red and rather small, no longer than one foot long.
10:56As you approach the creature, it looks rather docile, or maybe just indifferent.
11:02The vampire squid, that's the animal's name, looks like an umbrella with tentacles.
11:08It doesn't even produce ink, so you leave it alone.
11:12Soon after that, at a depth of 3,200 feet, you meet the cookie-cutter shark.
11:17This creature is a parasite.
11:20It attaches itself to big fishes, dolphins, whales, and sometimes even people.
11:25Then, using its neatly arranged serrated teeth, it gouges out cookie-sized pieces of meat.
11:32This nasty, glowing animal doesn't grow larger than 20 inches and lives in the ocean twilight zone.
11:39At a depth of 3,300 feet, the light becomes a rare and valuable thing.
11:45The animals living that far away from the surface have to evolve unusual features to survive.
11:50That's how the barrel-eye fish ended up with a transparent head and two super-sensitive barrel-shaped eyes.
11:58Right now, pretty much like always, they're pointed upward, allowing the fish to see potential prey and you.
12:06Almost 4,000 feet below the surface, you see something droopy and saggy.
12:11The blobfish doesn't have a skeleton or any muscle.
12:15Its jelly-like flesh lets the creature survive incredible water pressure.
12:20Despite its appearance, the blobfish is an ambush predator.
12:24It usually lies very still on the bottom, waiting for unsuspecting prey to swim by.
12:30You go a bit deeper and spot a creature that looks particularly ghastly.
12:35The goblin shark senses prey with its snout.
12:39The creature's terrifying jaws are attached to elastic ligaments.
12:43When some animal comes too close, the shark catapults its mouth forward to catch it.
12:48If your mouth could do the same, you would be able to eat things dangling 7 inches away from your
12:54face.
12:55Even deeper than that, at 5,000 feet, you notice another member of the shark family.
13:01The frilled shark looks like an overgrown eel, but its gills are lined with red fringe at the edges.
13:08Hence the name.
13:09The creature's horrifying mouth has 25 rows of razor-sharp backward-facing teeth.
13:15300 in total.
13:16The shark prefers to hover in the water, waiting for its prey to come closer.
13:21Then, it charges at it like a snake.
13:24Suddenly, you see something glow brightly like an electric bulb.
13:29But after coming closer, you recoil in horror.
13:32The creature looks like an upgraded eel equipped with oversized teeth.
13:35That's the deep-sea dragonfish that can live at a depth of 6,000 feet.
13:42Chemical processes going on inside the fish's body produce an eerie red glow.
13:47This glow is used to communicate with other fish.
13:51At the same depth, you meet another deep-sea inhabitant.
13:55Its most prominent feature is its huge mouth.
13:58Thanks to it, the gulper eel can swallow its prey whole.
14:02Its stomach can expand to a terrifying size when it needs to fit something large.
14:08At a depth of 6,600 feet, you come across an angry-looking creature with a fishing rod over its
14:14head.
14:15It's the deep-sea anglerfish.
14:17The animal has an unusual dorsal spine, even though it's worn only by females.
14:22It protrudes above their mouth and has a lure on its tip.
14:26Some luminous flesh that baits prey.
14:29The anglerfish has such a big mouth and its body is so pliable that it can swallow animals twice its
14:36own size.
14:37You're 7,000 feet down when you see another fish that's glowing in the dark.
14:42The black dragonfish is a sly creature.
14:45It has its light-producing organs arranged along its belly.
14:48The spooky creature also has gleaming flashlights next to its eyes.
14:53They help the animal find prey and attract potential mates.
14:57At the same depth, you also spot an enormous pill bug.
15:02But unlike the critter you can find in your garden, this one is at least 20 inches long.
15:08That's the giant isopod.
15:10And it is, indeed, related to the roly-poly, as well as crabs and shrimps.
15:15These creatures may look somewhat scary, but they're harmless.
15:19They feast on other deep-sea animals only after those have passed away.
15:24At a depth of 13,000 feet, you notice the ocean floor has become a bit... fluffy?
15:30That's because it's covered with zombie worms.
15:33These creatures rarely grow to be more than 2 inches long.
15:37And still, they can break down fairly large animals, so strong the acid they produce is.
15:42The worms' feathery appearance makes them look like plants.
15:46But the truth is, these creatures munch on rock-hard bones of the world's largest animals, such as whales.
15:53The griteye fish almost scares you out of your mind soon after that.
15:57This creature has a pair of large, greenish-oval plates on the top of its head and no eyes whatsoever.
16:04Experts believe that these bony membranes detect light coming from predators, saving the fish's life.
16:11You're now three miles down below the surface.
16:14And that's where you spot something bizarre on the bottom.
16:18It's definitely a fish, but it's standing on the ocean floor on three long, rigid legs.
16:23Ah, it's the tripod fish.
16:26Curious rather than scary.
16:28This creature has adapted to the almost complete darkness by giving up on its vision.
16:33It has to rely on vibration and touch to sense prey.
16:37And then, the fish uses its fins as hands to transport food directly into its mouth.
16:43You don't have time to go any deeper before you spot the faceless fish.
16:48This slightly off-putting creature has no eyes.
16:51And its mouth, smiling a Mona Lisa smile, is underneath its body.
16:56For the first time, the faceless cusk, which is the creature's official name, was seen more than a century ago.
17:03The next time it happened was only in 2017.
17:08Once you've reached a depth of six miles below the surface, you see deep-sea cucumbers.
17:13These bizarre creatures are much bigger than their shallow-water relatives.
17:17They spend most of their time on the seafloor.
17:20But if they need to escape predators, they are able to swim away.
17:24Deep-sea cucumbers have bright purplish coloring, tiny feet, and tentacles that surround their mouths.
17:31Mmm, cute.
17:33The question is, why do these deep-sea creatures look so scary?
17:38Life is very different there, at the bottom.
17:41Tremendous water pressure, a lack of food, and constant darkness.
17:45You have to adapt to survive in such extreme conditions.
17:50Sharks, stingrays, crocodiles.
17:53If you encounter any of these whilst in the water, you know what to do.
17:57Get away quick!
17:59But let's look at some visually less intimidating underwater creatures that you should do the exact same thing upon seeing,
18:07as they can be just as dangerous in their own unique ways.
18:11Let's start with the pufferfish.
18:13Why is this bizarre-looking fish that's usually no more than three feet in size something you should avoid?
18:18Well, let's first address the strange appearance of the fish.
18:22For those of you who've never seen it, which is unlikely given its prominence in numerous film and television shows,
18:29you'll be aware that they have the unique ability to inflate themselves like a balloon.
18:34Researchers believe they developed this feature as a defense mechanism,
18:38given that their slow and clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators.
18:43So, instead of trying to escape by out-swimming their chaser,
18:47the pufferfish can inhale large amounts of water or even air and expand up to three times their original size.
18:55They're able to do this because their stomachs are highly elastic.
18:59And by the time they're finished inflating, they look like a football.
19:03Well, a football with spikes, that is.
19:06These spikes are known as spines.
19:08Even though the fish can inflate to a large size,
19:11this still won't be enough to put off all its potential predators.
19:14So, these spines' purpose is to make the pufferfish even more inedible.
19:19Now, common sense would suggest that you should have no interest in jumping into the water
19:25and trying to eat a pufferfish for lunch.
19:28So, why does being difficult to eat make them something you should avoid if you come across them in the
19:33ocean?
19:34Oh, did I not yet mention that pufferfishes are extremely toxic?
19:39Let's break it down.
19:40In the event a predator fancies proving themselves as fearless and unbothered
19:45by catching themselves a pufferfish as a snack.
19:47They won't enjoy it for long.
19:50Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a poisonous substance.
19:55On top of making a pufferfish a very unsatisfying meal from a taste standpoint,
20:00this substance is also lethal to fish.
20:03And not just fish, but humans too.
20:06The substance is almost 1,200 times more poisonous than the well-known poison cyanide.
20:13But there's enough poison in one pufferfish to endanger nearly 30 humans.
20:18Oh, and in the event you come into contact with this substance, there's no known antidote.
20:24So yeah, maybe it's best to stay away from them altogether.
20:28Might not be the easiest thing to do, by the way, if you spend a lot of time in the
20:32ocean,
20:32as there are more than 120 species of pufferfish found worldwide,
20:37most of which are in plentiful supply.
20:39They range in size from the one-inch-long dwarf, or pygmy puffer,
20:43to the giant freshwater puffer, which can grow to more than two feet in length.
20:48They all have four teeth that merge together into a beak-like form.
20:53Not to worry, though.
20:54Thankfully, pufferfish don't have any real interest in humans.
20:58They're carnivorous, but their diet mostly consists of invertebrates and algae.
21:03Bigger pufferfish will even crack open and eat clams, mussels, and shellfish with their hard beaks.
21:11The pufferfish are believed to synthesize their poison from the bacteria in the animals they munch on.
21:16Who would have thought that those fish that look like the similarly named pufferball could be so dangerous?
21:22So what's the next underwater creature that you should express caution around?
21:27Perhaps even more conspicuous with its deadliness is the Congus geographus,
21:32more commonly referred to as the geography cone,
21:35which is the most dangerous out of the 500 species of cone snails.
21:40Yep, you heard that word right.
21:43Snail.
21:44Not that different from the snails you used to pick up in your garden as a kid.
21:48This little guy, who typically measures between 4 and 6 inches, is better off to be avoided.
21:53However, you might be tempted to try and examine one,
21:57given their beautifully patterned brown and white shells,
22:00which are highly prized by shell collectors.
22:03So, why are they dangerous?
22:05Well, just like the pufferfish, they're also poisonous.
22:08Their venom is a complex concoction of hundreds of different toxins.
22:13It's delivered via a harpoon-like tooth,
22:16propelled from an extendable proboscis, which is the long nose of any mammal.
22:21What is it with these creatures' lack of concern for human safety?
22:25Just like the pufferfish, there's no known antidote for the geography cone's venom.
22:30Treatment is limited to keeping any of their victims alive and well.
22:35Are there any side effects of their venom?
22:37Well, more bad news.
22:39Yes, there is.
22:40And it's instant paralysis.
22:42It has to be.
22:43Or the snail's prey would simply swim away to die,
22:46and the creature would be left with nothing for its efforts.
22:49You have to remember that speed isn't the strong suit of most species of snails.
22:55Most gastropods, another name for both snails and slugs,
22:59move at a maximum of 3 inches per minute.
23:02This means if a snail didn't stop to rest for an hour,
23:05it could still only travel a distance of 16 feet.
23:09Not exactly an underwater cheetah.
23:11This type of speed doesn't make them terrifying as far as predators go.
23:15But what is terrifying is how something so slow can still be so dangerous,
23:20and several humans have had unfortunate encounters with the creature.
23:24Luckily, though, like the pufferfish,
23:27the geography cone doesn't have regular contact with humans,
23:30and accidents usually only occur due to divers startling or stepping on the creature,
23:36or picking up a shell, not knowing the creatures inside.
23:39The creature has more of an interest in seeking out fish, marine worms, or other snails as prey.
23:46The geography cone also provides evidence that Mother Nature might have a great sense of humor.
23:52Research has found that among the compounds found in cone snail venom
23:57are proteins that, when isolated, have massive potential as a pain-killing medicine.
24:02These proteins target specific human pain receptors,
24:06and can be up to 10,000 times more potent than other pain-killing medicine,
24:10without any of the potentially unhealthy added properties and side effects.
24:15So, pufferfish and underwater snails.
24:18Not exactly something as humans that we're going to think about
24:21when we have a gaping hole in our stomachs caused by hunger.
24:24Unlike crab meat,
24:25a total of 11 million tons of crab, lobster, and prawns are caught or cultured annually.
24:33Be careful about which type of crab you eat, though.
24:36Not all of them make an enjoyable meal.
24:38This is especially true of the xanthidae family,
24:42which is a diverse family of crab species found in Australia.
24:46They're easily identifiable from their black-tipped claws.
24:49We should be grateful for this unique identifying feature, too,
24:53and not just because it could help bring attention to
24:56and prevent a potentially nasty pinch from the crab.
24:59No.
25:00What you really need to worry about with some members of the xanthidae crab family
25:04is the toxins that they possess.
25:06Although they don't produce the poison themselves,
25:09the muscles and egg masses of some of the species
25:12have been found to accumulate two of the most dangerous natural substances known to man,
25:18saxitoxin and tetradotoxin.
25:20The second one is the same poison found in the pufferfish.
25:24As little as half a milligram of either of these substances
25:27can cause serious damage to a human.
25:29The good news is that if you do encounter one of these poisonous xanthidae crabs,
25:34they don't have any ability to deliver the poison themselves,
25:38such as by a bite or jab.
25:40The only way to come into contact with their poison is by consuming them.
25:45And if you ever consider cooking that crab meat,
25:48note the toxins they possess are heat-stable.
25:51This means that the toxins within the crab will persist in the tissue,
25:56even if you boil them.
25:57If you really only have a xanthidae crab to eat,
26:01which, as we've established, you can't,
26:03there's a Japanese species of pufferfish that may be a viable alternative.
26:08It won't be easy, though.
26:10Only the most skilled chefs in Japan have licenses
26:13to use the creature as an ingredient
26:15to make a local delicacy known as fugu.
26:18How about you just run to the store and pick up some salmon?
26:22Then again, maybe it's best to just do as originally discussed
26:26and avoid pufferfish, poisonous snails,
26:28and toxic crabs at all costs.