Terrifying Sea Creatures That Will Haunt Your Dreams

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Transcript

00:00:00Imagine, descending to the depth of the ocean, it's getting darker and darker, and suddenly

00:00:08you see something shocking, the remains of a mysterious creature, you've never seen

00:00:13anything like that before.

00:00:16It actually happened in 2017, an oil and gas industry worker filmed a video and sent it

00:00:22to researcher Deborah Hadswell.

00:00:24Ultimately, the video ended up on the internet.

00:00:28It was recorded at a depth of about 2,700 feet during an investigation conducted by

00:00:34a remote-operated vehicle.

00:00:36At one point during the examination, the submarine came across the remains measuring almost 98

00:00:42feet in length.

00:00:44The operator of the submarine was startled by the unexpected discovery.

00:00:48He tried to use the submarine's remote-controlled claws to get a hold of a piece of the skeleton.

00:00:54But once the claws touched the remains, they immediately crumbled into dust.

00:01:01Some people are sure that the skeleton must have belonged to a whale, but Hadswell has

00:01:06her own idea.

00:01:08She claims that since the video was taken by a professional, he should know what whale

00:01:13bones look like.

00:01:14Those who work underwater occasionally come across such remains.

00:01:19She also adds that a whale's spine has three blades spaced 120 degrees apart, but the discovered

00:01:25creature had only two.

00:01:28Plus, the dimensions of the remains don't fit any sea life in that region.

00:01:33So, is it a representative of some previously unknown giant marine species or just a regular

00:01:39whale?

00:01:40It remains unclear.

00:01:43According to scientists, there are several reasons why marine animals can grow incredibly

00:01:47massive.

00:01:49First of all, they live in the ocean, which means their playground is big enough.

00:01:54They aren't limited by any borders and thus can grow and develop.

00:01:59Besides, you might remember how weightless you feel when floating in the water.

00:02:04Marine giants experience the same.

00:02:07Unfortunately, unlike you, they can't rely on its skeleton.

00:02:10I mean, their bodies wouldn't be strong enough to support such a huge body on dry

00:02:15land.

00:02:16But in the ocean, the buoyancy of the water helps them stay afloat.

00:02:21That's why they can grow as massive as they want.

00:02:26The largest living animal on Earth is the blue whale.

00:02:31The average grown-up animal reaches up to 98 feet in length and weighs like 33 elephants.

00:02:38The blue whale's heart can be compared to a small golf cart.

00:02:42The volume of this magnificent creature is almost the same as the volume of 7 fuel trucks.

00:02:49And if you think that at birth, blue whales are just as huge, you're absolutely right.

00:02:54When a baby whale gets born, it's already bigger than a hippo.

00:02:59At a length of almost 25 feet, this kid sometimes weighs more than an elephant, about 3 tons!

00:03:06A little whale drinks 50 gallons of mom's milk every day.

00:03:10As a result, it gains about 200 pounds of weight every day.

00:03:16But this is nothing in comparison to how much adult blue whales eat.

00:03:21They devour 4 tons of food a day.

00:03:24That's approximately 40 million krill.

00:03:27These tiny shrimp-like creatures are the main food source for blue whales.

00:03:31Now, how about we talk about other giant and unusual animals?

00:03:38These days, the capybara is considered to be the largest rodent in the world.

00:03:42It can grow up to 130 pounds.

00:03:45But around 3 million years ago, there was another rodent that was way, way larger than

00:03:50the capybara.

00:03:52It weighed a whopping 2,600 pounds.

00:03:57Let's call this creature J. monesi, since its full name is too tricky to pronounce.

00:04:02They lived in the forest areas of modern-day Uruguay.

00:04:06These animals had big front teeth.

00:04:09Scientists think they could use them in the same way elephants use their tusks, for getting

00:04:14food and defending themselves from predators.

00:04:18As for the animal's molars, they were small and too weak to chew tough food.

00:04:23At the same time, the J. monesi had a strong bite, three times more powerful than that

00:04:29of a tiger!

00:04:33More than 30 million years ago, a hornless rhino was roaming Earth.

00:04:38This giant weighed more than four grown-up modern elephants, about 30 tons!

00:04:44Even though it reached a height of 18 feet, the animal had a small skull.

00:04:49But its long limbs allowed it to eat branches and leaves off pretty tall trees.

00:04:55Even without the horns modern-day rhinos can boast, their prehistoric relatives had something

00:05:00unusual.

00:05:01It was teeth.

00:05:03Out of two pairs of incisors, the lower one pointed forward and the upper one leaned downward.

00:05:10Experts think this could help the creature hold branches in its mouth more steadily while

00:05:15eating them.

00:05:16This prehistoric rhino is still the largest known land mammal to ever exist.

00:05:24The Argentinosaurus is considered to be one of the largest dinosaurs to have ever roamed

00:05:29the surface of the planet.

00:05:31This creature was discovered in 1987 in Argentina, hence the name.

00:05:36The length of this colossal herbivore that lived around 90 to 100 million years ago could

00:05:43be as long as three school buses!

00:05:47These dinos were pretty slow.

00:05:49Their top speed was around 5 miles per hour, which is the speed of a very slow taxiing

00:05:54Boeing 747.

00:05:56But no wonder they didn't rush.

00:05:58Imagine carrying such a huge weight every day!

00:06:03Scientists haven't figured out yet how these enormous animals held their necks vertically

00:06:08or horizontally.

00:06:10The problem is that in a vertical position, the Argentinosaurus' heart would have experienced

00:06:15enormous pressure.

00:06:17After all, it would have had to pump an impressive amount of blood 40 feet into the air and repeat

00:06:23it 60 times every minute.

00:06:28The green anaconda is one of the largest snakes on the planet considering its length-to-weight

00:06:33ratio.

00:06:34The average specimen might not be the world's longest, but the snake's enormous girth

00:06:39makes it twice as heavy as other huge reptiles.

00:06:43This creature is rather clumsy on land, but sleek and fast in the water.

00:06:48It can also lay in wait for hours while almost totally submerged.

00:06:55The saltwater crocodile can grow up to 23 feet in length.

00:07:00It's the most massive modern reptile.

00:07:03The largest males can weigh as much as a small hippo.

00:07:07Females are usually twice smaller.

00:07:10These super predators have the most powerful bite among reptiles.

00:07:14They hunt by hiding near rivers and waiting for animals to come to drink water.

00:07:19They also don't hesitate to strike people.

00:07:24The largest living organism on dry land might be a particular honey fungus, which grows

00:07:30in the Blue Mountains in Oregon.

00:07:33It spreads over an area equal to 1,700 soccer fields.

00:07:38And although it may sound incredible, the fungus can be from 2,400 to 8,650 years old.

00:07:46The only part of this huge thing you can accidentally spot is small brownish mushrooms on the ground.

00:07:53Even if you take a usual mushroom, what you see is only 10% of the whole deal.

00:07:59The biggest part is hidden from your eyes underground.

00:08:02But while ordinary mushrooms feed on plants and fallen leaves, the honey fungus is much

00:08:07more dangerous.

00:08:09It's very harmful to the trees growing nearby.

00:08:12The fungus attaches itself to tree roots and feeds off of them.

00:08:16Unfortunately, this process damages trees slowly and irreversibly.

00:08:22And if you have doubts about whether this fungus colony can be considered an individual

00:08:26organism, don't worry, it passes the test.

00:08:30It perfectly fits the definition because the fungus consists of genetically identical cells

00:08:35which communicate, coordinate themselves, and share a common purpose.

00:08:40According to rough estimates, the weight of the Oregonian humongous fungus may reach 441

00:08:46tons.

00:08:47That's much heavier than the blue whale.

00:08:51Even if some animal isn't the largest in the world, it doesn't mean it can't surprise

00:08:56you.

00:08:57For example, a one-inch long, subtropical shrimp disorients its prey with a sonic boom!

00:09:04As loud as a sonic boom once produced by the supersonic plane, Concorde.

00:09:09This sound stuns the prey, and the shrimp can catch it without too much effort.

00:09:15The water is bubbling under the fishing boat as if something is coming up out of the water.

00:09:20It gets closer and closer.

00:09:22The water seems to boil.

00:09:24Suddenly, you see giant jaws and glistening teeth.

00:09:27Seconds later, a huge shark jumps out of the water and crushes the boat in one bite.

00:09:32It was the megalodon, the largest fish that ever existed on Earth.

00:09:36Now, we pictured the megalodon as this, an enlarged version of the white shark for a

00:09:41long time.

00:09:42But scientists continue to argue about its appearance.

00:09:45So far, they agree that the image of this giant shark was wrong.

00:09:50Here's the data that scientists are sure of.

00:09:52Size, about 50 feet long.

00:09:54That's as big as a school bus, and comparable to the length of a subway car.

00:09:598.5 times the height of an average person.

00:10:02Let's compare it to the modern white shark.

00:10:04The megalodon is three times bigger, but that's just a rough estimate.

00:10:10We don't have a fully preserved skeleton of the megalodon.

00:10:13That's because it didn't have any bones, but cartilage.

00:10:17Not much of that left in the 3.6 million years since the megalodons went extinct.

00:10:21All that survived were teeth and a few vertebrae.

00:10:25By comparison, dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago.

00:10:29But their solid bones are perfectly preserved, and we have many different examples of their

00:10:34skeletons.

00:10:36Scientists have calculated the size of a megalodon based on its teeth and jaw.

00:10:40Now, this is one tooth.

00:10:42It's about 7 inches long, bigger than the palm of your hand, and 3 times the size of

00:10:47a modern white shark's teeth.

00:10:50The megalodon jaw was 6 feet wide and chalked up 5 rows of teeth.

00:10:54A total of 276 razor-sharp chompers.

00:10:58The other preserved remains are the vertebral column.

00:11:02It consists of 150 vertebrae, each 6 inches wide.

00:11:06They contain much calcium because, well, megalodon love fresh cold milk.

00:11:11Nah, it's because the vertebrae had to withstand the enormous mass of a giant shark.

00:11:16Based on those fossils, scientists created a model and calculated only the approximate

00:11:21size of the megalodon.

00:11:23But it could hardly have been any bigger.

00:11:25It's all about breathing.

00:11:27The bigger the fish, the more oxygen it needs.

00:11:30Which means a larger gill area.

00:11:32That's the organ that filters the water and collects oxygen.

00:11:35If the megalodon were any larger, it would have trouble breathing.

00:11:39So scientists believe that 50 feet is the maximum size of an individual.

00:11:44On average, they were a few feet smaller.

00:11:47Now let's talk weight.

00:11:49On average, one megalodon weighed about 30 to 35 tons.

00:11:53By comparison, a white shark weighs 1 ton, which is 30 times less.

00:11:58Hey, trust me.

00:11:59A school bus is 4 times lighter at 7.5 tons.

00:12:03The weight of a megalodon can be compared to an empty Boeing 737.

00:12:08But the modern blue whale beats the megalodon in size and weight.

00:12:1298 feet long vs. 50, almost twice as long.

00:12:17Blue whale's weight is about 180 tons.

00:12:20That's like 6 megalodons or 6 passenger planes.

00:12:23Or like 33 adult elephants.

00:12:25Hey, don't you love the comparisons?

00:12:28Now about the appearance of the megalodon.

00:12:30Scientists believe it didn't look like a white shark.

00:12:33The megalodon belongs to a different fish family and most likely looked like a giant

00:12:38sand tiger shark.

00:12:39Flattened snout, small eyes.

00:12:42Its dorsal fin is moved backwards.

00:12:44The sand shark has two dorsal fins about the same size.

00:12:48The coloration is light brown with a white belly and may have had brown-red spots like

00:12:53a sand shark all over its body.

00:12:56We used to think of the megalodon as something scary from the first finds of its fossils.

00:13:01That was back in the Renaissance era.

00:13:03People found some teeth in the rocks.

00:13:05At first, these teeth were thought to be the tongues of dragons or snakes.

00:13:09And here's the first drawing of what the owner of these teeth supposedly looked like.

00:13:13A massive snout with a scary nose and a bunch of razor-sharp teeth.

00:13:18We also have the evidence that megalodons were brutal hunters, kings of the food chain.

00:13:24The first combat tool in their arsenal was the battering ram.

00:13:27The megalodon was a slow swimmer, though.

00:13:30It could only accelerate up to 11 mph.

00:13:33In comparison, the modern white shark can reach 35 mph in a dash for its meal.

00:13:39The fastest human swimmer could only go 6 mph.

00:13:42Well, good luck with that.

00:13:44But the megalodon had incredible mass.

00:13:47Though slow, its battering ram had tremendous power.

00:13:51The megalodon would take its prey by surprise.

00:13:53It had only one chance to hit it.

00:13:55If it missed, it would take too long for a second round.

00:13:59The maneuverability of the megalodon was comparable to a large truck.

00:14:03But if the ram was successful, the prey was stunned and couldn't move.

00:14:08At this point, the megalodon aimed at vulnerable spots, like the fins and tail of the prey.

00:14:14Scientists have found many ancient whale remains with megalodon tooth marks.

00:14:18It turned out that the giant shark knew where its prey's vital organs were located and could

00:14:23strike at them.

00:14:25When the prey was immobilized, the megalodon bared its teeth.

00:14:29An adult person could easily fit into its open jaw at full height.

00:14:32And according to various estimates, the bite force of the megalodon was almost 11 tons.

00:14:38Now imagine the weight of 3 SUVs concentrated at the tip of a sharp tooth.

00:14:44That's 9 times the power of the largest white shark bite, and 6 times the power of the modern

00:14:50record holder for biting – the saltwater crocodile.

00:14:53Here, look at a map of where the remains of the megalodon were found – South and North

00:14:58America, Europe, Asia, Australia.

00:15:01It was the master of all seas and was comfortable anywhere on our planet.

00:15:06We've even found some remains of the giant shark in freshwater sediments.

00:15:10Perhaps it wasn't afraid to enter rivers to hunt.

00:15:13Now other scientists say that maybe the megalodon wasn't even a predator.

00:15:18All because of its size.

00:15:19It couldn't swim fast.

00:15:21It couldn't even make short dashes like the white shark.

00:15:24If prey tried to escape, the megalodon didn't rush into pursuit because it could never catch

00:15:29up with it.

00:15:31Another problem is the skeleton of the megalodon.

00:15:33The cartilage is weaker than the bones, so the musculature of the giant shark was not

00:15:39as massive and robust in the first place.

00:15:41The megalodon may even have been a scavenger and never got into fights.

00:15:46This is one of the reasons why ancient sharks became extinct.

00:15:51Megalodons like shallow warm waters with temperatures ranging from 53 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:15:56But over 3 million years ago, the climate turned colder.

00:16:00This deprived the megalodons of territories and plenty of food.

00:16:04The primitive whales that had been the main diet of the giant sharks began to disappear.

00:16:10Faster predators took the remnants of food.

00:16:12The megalodon started to starve.

00:16:15In evolution, a new player entered the field.

00:16:17The toothed whales, ancestors of the modern killer whales.

00:16:21They lived in packs and had bigger brains than the megalodon.

00:16:24So over time, they started to compete with the megalodon.

00:16:28They took advantage of its clumsiness.

00:16:30A group of killer whales could easily win a competition against a giant shark.

00:16:35Many scientists believe this was the reason for the disappearance of the largest shark

00:16:39in the world.

00:16:41But there are theories that the megalodon is still alive and roaming the dark waters

00:16:45of our planet.

00:16:47Several Australian fishers have allegedly encountered a shark of incredible size.

00:16:52But no one can confirm these testimonies.

00:16:56Fans of this theory believe that giant sharks can hide in deep waters away from human eyes.

00:17:01In the Mariana Trench, for example, it's the deepest place on our planet.

00:17:06It's deeper than if you stuck Mount Everest in the water, and we've even found the teeth

00:17:10of a megalodon there.

00:17:13But science says that such a giant shark couldn't live in the Mariana Trench for many

00:17:17reasons.

00:17:18One, it's too cold.

00:17:20The megalodon was probably a cold-blooded fish, so it had to use the warmth of its environment

00:17:25to survive.

00:17:26But the water in the Mariana Trench is cold, about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:17:30That's because the deeper down, the less sunlight gets in there.

00:17:34The second reason is pressure.

00:17:36Every 30 feet deep increases the pressure by one atmosphere.

00:17:40That is, at the depth of 100 feet, the water presses you three times harder than you would

00:17:45feel it at the surface.

00:17:46The weak muscles and cartilage of the megalodon wouldn't allow it to dive too deep into the

00:17:50Mariana Trench.

00:17:52And most importantly, food.

00:17:55The farther from the ocean's surface, the fewer living organisms.

00:17:59Megalodons used to eat primitive whales, ranging from 10 to 20 feet.

00:18:03Small fish only inhabit the Mariana Trench.

00:18:06A megalodon would never be able to catch one.

00:18:09Judging by its size, all the megalodon did was eat and then look for food again.

00:18:14Compare its weight to that of a human.

00:18:17The average human should get about 2,000 calories a day, with an average weight of about 180

00:18:22pounds.

00:18:23The megalodon weighed 470 times that, and needed many more calories.

00:18:28So even all the fish inhabiting the Mariana Trench could hardly feed a megalodon for even

00:18:34a few days.

00:18:36So all these theories, of course, are not true.

00:18:39But still, it's just smart to be careful out there.

00:18:42Know what I mean?

00:18:45Some sharks have an eerie ability to spit out their stomach and then pull it back into

00:18:49place.

00:18:50Well, that would be handy.

00:18:51Most sharks eat huge amounts of food, but the problem is they can't digest everything

00:18:56they've gulped down.

00:18:57So they need a way to get rid of such stuff as sea turtle shells and beaks, bird feathers

00:19:02and bones, lobster claws, and whatnot.

00:19:05And then, these amazing creatures willingly barf up their whole stomach, along with all

00:19:09the contents.

00:19:11After the shark is done, it pulls its main digestive organ back in.

00:19:14And the entire process usually takes no more than a second.

00:19:18Some shark species, like Great Whites or Mako, have a special eye-warming system.

00:19:23Their retina heats up their eyes and brain.

00:19:26This not only helps them detect movement better, but also improves resolution.

00:19:31As for the Mako shark, this species often travels vertically across different temperatures.

00:19:36Unlike most people with only one movable jaw, sharks can freely move both their lower and

00:19:42upper jaws.

00:19:43This allows them to get a better grip on their meal and chew it up faster and more thoroughly.

00:19:48That's comforting.

00:19:50Sharks give birth to a large number of little ones at once.

00:19:53It depends on the species, of course, but let's say the blue shark is famous for producing

00:19:58more than 130 pups at a time.

00:20:01Great White sharks have a more powerful bite than most jungle cats.

00:20:05A 20-foot-long underwater hunter can produce a force of more than 4,000 pounds per square

00:20:11inch.

00:20:12And that's a bite four times stronger than that of a lion or tiger.

00:20:15People, with their measly 150-200 psi bites, aren't in the running whatsoever.

00:20:23Swell sharks defend themselves by swallowing huge amounts of water.

00:20:27Then the shark's body becomes twice its normal size.

00:20:30And this scares potential danger away.

00:20:33Sharks can grow more than 50,000 teeth during their lifetime, but not all of their teeth

00:20:38are the same.

00:20:39The strongest and most massive ones are at the front, and those closer to the back are

00:20:43smaller and not so powerful.

00:20:45But if the front teeth are damaged, these weaker ones can replace them.

00:20:49It's possible because sharks' teeth aren't as deeply rooted as humans' and can move.

00:20:55Shark skin has the same feel as sandpaper.

00:20:58It's made of teeny, teeth-like scales.

00:21:01They point towards the animal's tail.

00:21:03This helps to reduce the friction that occurs when sharks move through the water.

00:21:07Whale sharks have extremely thick skin.

00:21:10In some places on their body, it can be 6 inches thick.

00:21:13It's one of the toughest in the animal world.

00:21:16Scientists have to make loads of effort if they want to get this creature's blood sample.

00:21:21Sharks have an incredible sense of smell.

00:21:23But besides that, they use one more sense to detect other animals.

00:21:27There are special pores around their head, near the nostrils, and under the snout.

00:21:32Those are special organs, something like second sight.

00:21:36Every creature generates a tiny electrical field.

00:21:39Thanks to the pores, sharks can spot these electrical fields and figure out where other

00:21:43animals are.

00:21:46Sharks are incredibly sharp-eared.

00:21:48They can hear their potential meal from 3,000 feet away.

00:21:51They can also catch low-frequency sounds, like the ones produced by a fish's contracting

00:21:56muscle tissue.

00:21:58Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years.

00:22:01It means they've lived through 4 out of 5 mass extinctions.

00:22:05This makes them way older than Mount Everest, humans, dinosaurs, and even trees.

00:22:10These creatures go back to the period when coral reefs were just beginning to form.

00:22:15Some shark species can jump out of the water, like the great white shark or the basking

00:22:20shark.

00:22:21They're known to leap for more than 8 feet up into the air.

00:22:24Thanks to this maneuver, they can catch such animals as seals or seabirds.

00:22:28But unless you're in South Africa, you aren't likely to see sharks jumping out of the water.

00:22:34Shark skeletons are made of muscle and cartilage, which are lighter and twice less dense than

00:22:38bones.

00:22:39This makes sharks more flexible, which allows them to make sharp turns when they're chasing

00:22:44other animals.

00:22:46Hammerhead sharks have a weirdly shaped head for a reason.

00:22:49Thanks to it, these creatures have incredible 360-degree vision.

00:22:54Their eyes are tilted a bit forward, and it allows them to have an overlapping field of

00:22:58view.

00:23:00The goblin shark's terrifying jaws are attached to elastic ligaments.

00:23:04They can unfold from the animal's snout for up to 3 inches.

00:23:08It allows the animal to catapult its mouth forward to catch other marine creatures.

00:23:13Sharks don't sleep as you do.

00:23:15Some species have to keep swimming all the time.

00:23:18Otherwise, water will stop flowing through their gills, and they won't be able to breathe.

00:23:22Others do rest, but they don't enter an unconscious state.

00:23:26They just go into special rest periods.

00:23:29These creatures don't have eyelids.

00:23:30That's why their eyes remain always open, and their pupils monitor their surroundings.

00:23:35They also keep their mouth open so that the water can pass through their gills.

00:23:40Sharks can travel remarkably long distances without needing any rest.

00:23:44All thanks to their bizarre sleeping pattern.

00:23:47For example, great whites can swim distances of more than 2,000 miles without stopping

00:23:52to eat or rest.

00:23:54How come these creatures don't starve?

00:23:56They draw on the fat stored in their livers.

00:23:59By the way, this organ can compose up to a third of the animal's body weight.

00:24:04Contrary to popular belief, sharks do not and cannot swim in reverse.

00:24:09Their tails propel them forward, and their pectoral fins help them to keep their balance

00:24:13and turn.

00:24:14It means that, anatomically, these animals can't move in any direction other than forward.

00:24:21Sharks have no vocal cords.

00:24:22They can't produce sounds to communicate with one another or express their emotions.

00:24:27That's why they have to use body movements like twisting their bodies or flipping over.

00:24:32Sharks live in all of the world's oceans, but several species also inhabit freshwater

00:24:36rivers and lakes.

00:24:38For instance, bull sharks have been found in tropical rivers.

00:24:42They're also known to be able to swim between fresh and salt water.

00:24:46The smallest shark out there is the dwarf lantern shark.

00:24:50This unique creature doesn't grow longer than 8 inches.

00:24:53But the shark makes up for its tiny size in other ways.

00:24:57For example, some of its organs emit light.

00:25:00And since the creature lives in the shallow waters, this helps to camouflage it in the

00:25:04rays of sunlight.

00:25:06Blue sharks eat a lot, often more than they need.

00:25:10Some of this food can remain undigested for weeks till it's needed for energy.

00:25:15Sharks have something that looks similar to a tongue.

00:25:18But this organ is called the bashial.

00:25:20It's the front section of the cartilage that goes from the shark's chest to its

00:25:24mouth.

00:25:25It doesn't move and is pretty much useless.

00:25:28The so-called tongue doesn't take part in the process of feeding.

00:25:31It isn't covered in taste buds.

00:25:33Its only real use might be that it supports some of the bones connecting the shark's

00:25:38gills.

00:25:39There are hundreds of shark species in the world, more precisely, around 500.

00:25:44Some of them are pretty bizarre.

00:25:46Just look at the goblin, basking, or cookie-cutter shark.

00:25:49All these sharks vary in size, from several inches to dozens of feet long.

00:25:54They also live in absolutely different environments.

00:25:58Tiger sharks eat whatever they can get their jaws around.

00:26:01Some of the weirdest things they've munched on are video cameras, bags of money, license

00:26:05plates from almost any U.S. state, dog leashes, you name it.

00:26:11Each whale shark has a unique pattern on its skin.

00:26:14These spots and stripes can be used to identify individual sharks, just like fingerprints

00:26:19are used to identify people.

00:26:21The blunt-nosed six-gill shark can dive to a depth as great as 5 Empire State Buildings.

00:26:28Baby sharks are called pups.

00:26:30When they get born or hatch, they are already fully nourished.

00:26:34And if they choose to swim away from their mama shark, they don't need to hunt for

00:26:38food for at least several weeks.

00:26:40Uh-oh, did somebody say baby shark?

00:26:44The deeper you go, the creepier they get.

00:26:47You're about to travel to the darkest ocean depths and check whether this claim is true.

00:26:53Are the creatures living there as scary as people think?

00:26:57If you go 120 feet down underwater, pay close attention to the bottom under your flippers.

00:27:03Oh my, what's that terrifying face half-hidden in the sand?

00:27:08That's the northern stargazer.

00:27:10You can meet this fish in the eastern United States.

00:27:13It buries itself in the sand until unsuspecting prey gets near.

00:27:18Then, the nightmarish creature electrically shocks the poor animal and dines on it.

00:27:24You are moving deeper, to 240 feet under the surface.

00:27:28That's where you spot a colorful, puffy creature, no more than 1 foot long.

00:27:33It's the sarcastic fringehead.

00:27:35At first, the fish seems to be harmless.

00:27:38Ha, only unless it's provoked.

00:27:42When this animal is agitated, it opens its huge, huge mouth to fend off predators.

00:27:48This defense tactic is a sight to behold, both surprising and frightening.

00:27:52Luckily, the fish is no threat to people whatsoever.

00:27:57The creature you see next can comfortably live in shallow waters, but you meet it at

00:28:02a depth of 900 feet.

00:28:05You don't even need to wonder why the animal's called the Game of Thrones brittle star.

00:28:11Unlike starfish that slowly crawl across the seabed, this creature moves fast.

00:28:17It wriggles its long, flexible arms to get from point A to point B. Its body is protected

00:28:23by a hard calcium carbonate shell.

00:28:26Also called snake stars, these creatures are tiny and easily fit in nooks, cracks, and

00:28:31small crevices in rocks.

00:28:34At a much greater depth of 2,000 feet, you come across the giant squid.

00:28:39For a long time, it was thought to be a creature from legends, rather than a real animal.

00:28:44The giant squid was first caught on camera in 2001, and it's exactly as big as its name

00:28:50implies.

00:28:51The creature's eyeballs are the size of soccer balls, and the squid itself can weigh up to

00:28:56600 pounds.

00:28:59Almost 3,000 feet below the surface, you get spooked by another creepy-looking animal.

00:29:04It's somewhat red and rather small, no longer than one foot long.

00:29:09As you approach the creature, it looks rather docile, or maybe just indifferent.

00:29:14The vampire squid, that's the animal's name, looks like an umbrella with tentacles.

00:29:20It doesn't even produce ink, so you leave it alone.

00:29:24Soon after that, at a depth of 3,200 feet, you meet the cookie-cutter shark.

00:29:30This creature is a parasite.

00:29:32It attaches itself to big fishes, dolphins, whales, and sometimes even people.

00:29:38Then, using its neatly arranged serrated teeth, it gouges out cookie-sized pieces of meat.

00:29:45This nasty glowing animal doesn't grow larger than 20 inches and lives in the ocean twilight

00:29:50zone.

00:29:52At a depth of 3,300 feet, the light becomes a rare and valuable thing.

00:29:57The animals living that far away from the surface have to evolve unusual features to

00:30:02survive.

00:30:03That's how the barrel-eye fish ended up with a transparent head and two super-sensitive

00:30:08barrel-shaped eyes.

00:30:10Now, pretty much like always, they're pointed upward, allowing the fish to see potential

00:30:16prey and you.

00:30:19Almost 4,000 feet below the surface, you see something droopy and saggy.

00:30:24The blobfish doesn't have a skeleton or any muscle.

00:30:28Its jelly-like flesh lets the creature survive incredible water pressure.

00:30:32Despite its appearance, the blobfish is an ambush predator.

00:30:36It usually lies very still on the bottom, waiting for unsuspecting prey to swim by.

00:30:43You go a bit deeper and spot a creature that looks particularly ghastly.

00:30:48The goblin shark senses prey with its snout.

00:30:51The creature's terrifying jaws are attached to elastic ligaments.

00:30:55When some animal comes too close, the shark catapults its mouth forward to catch it.

00:31:01If your mouth could do the same, you would be able to eat things dangling seven inches

00:31:05away from your face.

00:31:08Even deeper than that, at 5,000 feet, you notice another member of the shark family.

00:31:13The frilled shark looks like an overgrown eel, but its gills are lined with red fringe

00:31:19at the edges, hence the name.

00:31:21The creature's horrifying mouth has 25 rows of razor-sharp backward-facing teeth, 300

00:31:27in total.

00:31:29The shark prefers to hover in the water, waiting for its prey to come closer.

00:31:34Then, it charges at it like a snake.

00:31:37Suddenly, you see something glow brightly like an electric bulb.

00:31:41But after coming closer, you recoil in horror.

00:31:44The creature looks like an upgraded eel equipped with oversized teeth.

00:31:48That's the deep-sea dragonfish that can live at a depth of 6,000 feet.

00:31:54Chemical processes going on inside the fish's body produce an eerie red glow.

00:32:00This glow is used to communicate with other fish.

00:32:03At the same depth, you meet another deep-sea inhabitant.

00:32:07Its most prominent feature is its huge mouth.

00:32:11Thanks to it, the gulper eel can swallow its prey whole.

00:32:15Its stomach can expand to a terrifying size when it needs to fit something large.

00:32:20At a depth of 6,600 feet, you come across an angry-looking creature with a fishing rod

00:32:26over its head.

00:32:27That's the deep-sea anglerfish.

00:32:30The animal has an unusual dorsal spine, even though it's worn only by females.

00:32:35It protrudes above their mouth and has a lure on its tip, some luminous flesh that baits

00:32:41prey.

00:32:42The anglerfish has such a big mouth and its body is so pliable that it can swallow animals

00:32:47twice its own size.

00:32:50You're 7,000 feet down when you see another fish that's glowing in the dark.

00:32:54The black dragonfish is a sly creature.

00:32:57It has its light-producing organs arranged along its belly.

00:33:01The spooky creature also has gleaming flashlights next to its eyes.

00:33:06They help the animal find prey and attract potential mates.

00:33:10At the same depth, you also spot an enormous pill bug.

00:33:14But unlike the critter you can find in your garden, this one is at least 20 inches long.

00:33:20That's the giant isopod, and it is, indeed, related to the roly-poly, as well as crabs

00:33:26and shrimps.

00:33:28These creatures may look somewhat scary, but they're harmless.

00:33:32They feast on other deep-sea animals only after those have passed away.

00:33:36At a depth of 13,000 feet, you notice the ocean floor has become a bit… fluffy?

00:33:43That's because it's covered with zombie worms.

00:33:46These creatures rarely grow to be more than 2 inches long, and still, they can break down

00:33:51fairly large animals, so strong the acid they produce is.

00:33:55The worm's feathery appearance makes them look like plants.

00:33:58But the truth is, these creatures munch on rock-hard bones of the world's largest animals,

00:34:04such as whales.

00:34:05The grid-eye fish almost scares you out of your mind soon after that.

00:34:09This creature has a pair of large, greenish oval plates on the top of its head, and no

00:34:14eyes whatsoever.

00:34:16Experts believe that these bony membranes detect light coming from predators, saving

00:34:21the fish's life.

00:34:23We're now 3 miles down below the surface, and that's where you spot something bizarre

00:34:29on the bottom.

00:34:30It's definitely a fish, but it's standing on the ocean floor on three long, rigid legs.

00:34:36Ah, it's the tripod fish.

00:34:38Curious rather than scary, this creature has adapted to the almost complete darkness by

00:34:43giving up on its vision.

00:34:45It has to rely on vibration and touch to sense prey.

00:34:49Even then, the fish uses its fins as hands to transport food directly into its mouth.

00:34:55You don't have time to go any deeper before you spot the faceless fish.

00:35:00This slightly off-putting creature has no eyes, and its mouth, smiling a Mona Lisa smile,

00:35:06is underneath its body.

00:35:08For the first time, the faceless cusk, which is the creature's official name, was seen

00:35:14more than a century ago.

00:35:15The next time it happened was only in 2017.

00:35:20Once you've reached a depth of 6 miles below the surface, you see deep-sea cucumbers.

00:35:26These bizarre creatures are much bigger than their shallow-water relatives.

00:35:30They spend most of their time on the seafloor.

00:35:33But if they need to escape predators, they are able to swim away.

00:35:37Deep-sea cucumbers have bright purplish coloring, tiny feet, and tentacles that surround their

00:35:43mouths.

00:35:44Mmm, cute.

00:35:46The question is, why do these deep-sea creatures look so scary?

00:35:51Life is very different there, at the bottom.

00:35:53Tremendous water pressure, a lack of food, and constant darkness.

00:35:58You have to adapt to survive in such extreme conditions.

00:36:02You're entering the territory of an amazing but abandoned wildlife park.

00:36:08The animal cages are overgrown with grass.

00:36:11Small houses have been left for a long time, and cobwebs and mold are everywhere.

00:36:18You walk into a dark building and see a green glow ahead.

00:36:22You approach and realize it's a large water tank.

00:36:26There's old green water in it, but you're attracted by the silhouette of a huge fish

00:36:33inside.

00:36:34You've just found a great white shark.

00:36:37Its body is in a formaldehyde solution, keeping it almost perfectly preserved.

00:36:43In 2012, Wildlife Wonderland in Australia ceased its operations.

00:36:49All the animals were moved from there, but the shark was forgotten.

00:36:54In 2018, urban explorer Luke McPherson visited this abandoned place and posted a video of

00:37:03the embalmed shark.

00:37:05The video got millions of views, and the shark got a name, Rosie.

00:37:12Since then, the park has attracted many tourists.

00:37:16Unfortunately, vandals were among them.

00:37:20The fish tank was damaged, and graffiti was painted on it.

00:37:24People demanded to save the unusual find, and a few months later, when the shark tank

00:37:29was almost destroyed, it was moved to another working exhibition center.

00:37:35There, they restored the tank and renewed the liquid in it, so the shark could retain

00:37:40its appearance.

00:37:43The next abandoned place is much scarier.

00:37:47Probably because of this, it attracts lots of visitors.

00:37:52We're in the Czech Republic, in the small village of Luková.

00:37:57It's very beautiful here, with small houses, cozy streets, and rich nature.

00:38:04Among the trees, you suddenly notice the silhouette of an old chapel.

00:38:09Before you go inside, you realize it's completely abandoned.

00:38:15You see old bricks with faded paint on the walls, and a rusting metal roof.

00:38:20It looks a little creepy.

00:38:23You make a step inside.

00:38:26If some travelers discovered this place at night, they would run away screaming from

00:38:31what they saw inside.

00:38:34There are patrons in the chapel.

00:38:37Most of them are sitting on benches, and some are standing.

00:38:41They don't move, because they are plaster statues.

00:38:46But the most terrifying thing is that each statue is covered with a white sheet.

00:38:53In 1968, the chapel roof began to rot.

00:38:58Eventually, it collapsed, and residents stopped coming here.

00:39:02In 2014, an artist made some plaster statues and placed them here to make it seem as if

00:39:09the building was haunted.

00:39:11This installation attracts tourists from all over the world, which helps gather the money

00:39:17to restore the chapel.

00:39:21We're in the U.S. now, driving along Vashon Highway.

00:39:25There's a dense forest on both sides of the road.

00:39:28You get to the bus stop and get out of the car.

00:39:32To see the strange find you've heard about, you need to go into the forest.

00:39:37You wade through bushes, mud, trees, and there you are.

00:39:44At first, you see nothing special, but then you look up.

00:39:49There's a rusty red bicycle, literally inside a tree.

00:39:54It's become a part of the forest.

00:39:57The wheels and handlebar stick out, and everything else is inside the trunk.

00:40:03It turns out that in 1954, a local boy was given a bicycle, but he was not very happy

00:40:10with his gift.

00:40:12The tires were very thin and hard, and the handlebar looked like it came from a child's

00:40:17tricycle.

00:40:19One day, this boy was playing in the woods with his friends, and only he had a bicycle.

00:40:25When everyone started to go home, the boy just left the bike by the tree.

00:40:30The tree continued to grow, and the bike became part of it.

00:40:37Let's leave cold, dark places and come right to the center of the Southern California desert.

00:40:44The sun is very hot, and there's no one around.

00:40:48Only sand, dry brush, and mountains are in the distance.

00:40:53A couple of hours have passed.

00:40:56You're thirsty.

00:40:57The sun burns your skin, and suddenly, you see water.

00:41:02Or is it a mirage?

00:41:04You approach in hopes it isn't.

00:41:07Yes, this is real water, but it's not an oasis.

00:41:13Here, in the middle of the desert, there's an unmarked swimming pool.

00:41:18What a pleasure it is to jump inside.

00:41:21It's called a social pool.

00:41:23An artist built it in the summer of 2014.

00:41:27Absolutely anyone can use this pool, but not everyone will be able to find it.

00:41:33Unfortunately, there's only a carcass left of it today.

00:41:39Abandoned places don't just hold creepy and weird things.

00:41:44Some finds can make the person who found them rich.

00:41:49We're going to the Pigalle Red Light District in Paris.

00:41:53This is a residential area, and nothing looks abandoned.

00:41:57You go into one of these houses.

00:41:59You meet people at the entrance who check their mail in the box.

00:42:03You go up the stairs and stop at the door to a certain apartment.

00:42:08It looks dilapidated.

00:42:10You open it and step inside.

00:42:13What you see here reminds you of a creepy scene from a haunted house movie.

00:42:18All the furniture and decorations are not from this century.

00:42:23The whole apartment looks like an antique.

00:42:26A thick layer of dust covers every inch of this place.

00:42:31Old creepy dolls and stuffed toys lie on the tables and the floor.

00:42:36Add a disturbing tune from a music box, and you have a full horror set.

00:42:42You feel like you've traveled a century back in time.

00:42:45And in a sense, it's true.

00:42:49The owner of the apartment moved out in the 1940s.

00:42:54She left everything as it was.

00:42:56The apartment was left untouched for 70 years.

00:43:01It was discovered in 2010 when people began to evaluate the property of the apartment's

00:43:07owner.

00:43:08She lived somewhere else and didn't tell anyone about the place.

00:43:13When appraisers opened the apartment, they found a painting by the Italian artist Giovanni

00:43:18Boldini, which he created in the 19th century.

00:43:23This painting was sold for $2.5 million.

00:43:28Now we go to another desert in Namibia.

00:43:32Here, among the dunes not far from the ocean coast, you find a dried up lagoon and an old

00:43:40sunken ship half buried in the sand.

00:43:43Or rather, what's left of it.

00:43:46The age of this Portuguese vessel is about 500 years.

00:43:52It originally sailed from Lisbon in 1533 and disappeared near a Namibian diamond mining

00:44:00city.

00:44:01Walking among the wreckage, you can find ship parts from those times.

00:44:06But the most interesting thing is a chest with gold coins.

00:44:11The net worth of the entire ship, along with the valuable treasure, is estimated at over

00:44:17$12 million.

00:44:20The wreckage was discovered by geologists in 2008, but its full glory was only uncovered

00:44:27eight years later.

00:44:29And now you're walking down New York streets, passing a dark, deserted alley where you see

00:44:35some trash bins.

00:44:37You notice a painted canvas sticking out of one of them.

00:44:41You take it out of the trash, and it turns out to be a painting.

00:44:45The image isn't very clear, but it looks beautiful.

00:44:50You decide a piece of art doesn't belong in the trash, and take it home.

00:44:55For the next four years, you try to find out something about this painting.

00:45:00And one day, on a website about antique stuff, you find out that this painting is a missing

00:45:06art masterpiece worth a million dollars.

00:45:12This is what happened to a woman from New York in 2003.

00:45:17When she found the painting in the trash, she immediately felt the power emanating from

00:45:22it.

00:45:23The woman learned the painting was stolen from its owner in 1989.

00:45:28She returned it and received $15,000 as a reward.

00:45:33The painting, called Tres Personajes, was drawn by the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo

00:45:40in 1970.

00:45:43A collector bought this work of art as a gift for his wife, but a few years later, the painting

00:45:48was stolen while the couple was moving into a new home.

00:45:54Now let's finish our journey with the most grandiose and large-scale find.

00:46:01We're in Turkey.

00:46:03You've been living in an old house for a very long time, and you want to redecorate the

00:46:08place.

00:46:09You throw out all of your obsolete stuff, and then remember, you have an old basement.

00:46:16You never needed it before, but now you decide to turn it into a room.

00:46:21You break down a wall and discover a tunnel that leads underground.

00:46:27Excited, you go there and realize the tunnel doesn't just lead to a secret room.

00:46:33It leads to a colossal underground city.

00:46:38In 1963, a man from Turkey discovered an ancient city going down as deep as 18 floors.

00:46:47It could accommodate about 20,000 inhabitants, livestock, and food supplies.

00:46:53It's not just a maze of tunnels.

00:46:56There is a chapel, a school, stables, kitchens, and other attributes of civilization.

00:47:03The city was founded in the Byzantine era over a thousand years ago.

00:47:08It was likely built as a shelter from natural disasters and wars.

00:47:12The coolest detail, though, is that it's not the only underground town.

00:47:18It adjoins many other tunnels that stretch for several miles.

00:47:24Think you know what lurks in the depths of the ocean?

00:47:27While nearly 95% of our oceans haven't been explored yet, it's hard not to let your imagination

00:47:33run wild.

00:47:35But thanks to brave explorers, deep-sea cameras, and awesome archaeologists, we do know about

00:47:41some pretty incredible sea creatures living in our waters today and millions of years

00:47:46ago.

00:47:47From the 9-foot spider crab to the 60-foot prehistoric megalodon, these sea dwellers

00:47:52come in all shapes and sizes.

00:47:55But let's focus on sea creatures famous for their huge size.

00:48:00Can you guess which living species of whale is the largest?

00:48:03Well, it's not the orca, but that's a good guess.

00:48:07The orca is a toothed whale that can grow to anywhere from 23 feet to 32 feet, which

00:48:13is slightly smaller than a school bus.

00:48:16How about the narwhal?

00:48:17Nope, they're not the biggest either.

00:48:20These unicorns of the sea live mainly in Arctic waters and only grow 13 feet to 20 feet in

00:48:26length.

00:48:27And that's including their 9-foot tusk.

00:48:30Tired of guessing?

00:48:31Okay, I give in.

00:48:33The largest whale that still exists today is the blue whale.

00:48:37At a jaw-dropping 82 feet to 105 feet, the blue whale is not only the biggest whale we

00:48:43know of, but is currently the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth.

00:48:48Seriously.

00:48:50These animals are bigger than a T-Rex and even the prehistoric megalodon.

00:48:55If you were to put a blue whale next to a school bus, it would look like it could swallow

00:48:59it.

00:49:00Think about that.

00:49:01According to National Geographic, a blue whale's tongue can weigh the same as an elephant.

00:49:07And their hearts can weigh as much as a car.

00:49:10That doesn't even sound possible.

00:49:13It's no wonder these giants need to eat about 4 tons of krill every day.

00:49:18While there aren't too many animals living today that can compete with the blue whale's

00:49:22epic proportions, there is an entirely different species that is a good contender.

00:49:27And it's not quite what you would expect.

00:49:30It's a jellyfish.

00:49:31No, I'm not talking about the little jellyfish that wash up on the shore and ruin a perfectly

00:49:36good day at the beach.

00:49:38I'm referring to the lion's mane jellyfish, the biggest jellyfish around.

00:49:43This invertebrate can grow up to 120 feet long.

00:49:48They also come in different gorgeous colors, like red, purple, or even shades of orange.

00:49:55As if their length wasn't impressive, the lion's mane jellyfish boast a whopping 8 sets

00:50:00of 70 to 150 tentacles.

00:50:03That means they can have up to 1,200 in total.

00:50:08And here's the giant oceanic manta ray, the largest type of ray in the world.

00:50:14Their wingspan can be longer than a bus.

00:50:17These guys can reach 30 feet in length.

00:50:20They also have the biggest brain compared to body size among all fish.

00:50:25Unlike their stingray cousins, mantas don't have venomous tails.

00:50:30And while the lion's mane jellyfish and the blue whale are yet to be beaten for the longest

00:50:35sea creature, there is one marine creature that can grow even larger in length.

00:50:40The Portuguese Physalia Physalis, tentacles and all, can reach a length of 165 feet long.

00:50:48And that's according to mentalfloss.com.

00:50:50While this thing may look a lot like a jellyfish, it's actually known as a siphonophore.

00:50:56And there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of them that are genetically identical.

00:51:02Their long tentacles help the organism catch prey.

00:51:06And its sting is fatal to most animals, even humans in some cases.

00:51:10What's even creepier is that if one of the tentacles comes off the organism for whatever

00:51:15reason, it can float around the water for days before decomposing.

00:51:20Even if it's detached, this tentacle can still sting you.

00:51:24But don't go running out of the ocean just yet.

00:51:27Your chances of being hurt by a Portuguese Physalia Physalis sting are pretty slim.

00:51:33However, if you do get stung, the side effects aren't pretty, with welts, stomach cramps,

00:51:40an elevated heart rate, and an upset stomach.

00:51:43So you don't want to go anywhere near these long creatures.

00:51:46They sure are pretty to look at.

00:51:48Check out all those colors!

00:51:51The Shastasaurus is the biggest marine reptile that has ever existed.

00:51:56These predators lived during the Late Triassic Period, about 210 million years ago.

00:52:02These amazing giants could reach lengths of up to 69 feet and weighed more than 75 tons.

00:52:09This made the Shastasaurus as heavy as a blue whale.

00:52:13And if you could stand this creature up vertically, it'd be as tall as a seven-story building.

00:52:19Despite appearances, the Shastasaurus was actually pretty slim for its size.

00:52:24Its ribcage was only six feet across.

00:52:27You'd think that this big guy was chowing down on other dinosaurs, but that's not the

00:52:31case at all.

00:52:33This reptile survived on a diet that consisted of small fish and cephalopods, like octopuses

00:52:39and squids.

00:52:41The Albertonectes is a bright representative of the Pleiosaur family, meaning that this

00:52:46marine reptile had a small head on an incredibly long neck and large flipper-like limbs that

00:52:52helped it move through the water.

00:52:55These creatures occupied the seas around North America 76 to 70 million years ago.

00:53:01The length of this sea monster could reach 38 feet, with its neck taking up 23 feet of

00:53:06that length.

00:53:09This neck was a true record-breaker.

00:53:11It had a whopping 76 bones in it!

00:53:14No other animal known to humankind has had so many vertebrae in its neck.

00:53:20Scientists aren't sure why they needed such a lengthy neck.

00:53:23They might have used it to collect shellfish off the seabed.

00:53:27Or perhaps it helped them capture their main prey, fish and squids.

00:53:31This aquatic reptile also had gastroliths in its stomachs.

00:53:35Some of them were as big as 5.5 inches in diameter.

00:53:40The Tylosaurus belonged to the Mosasaur family.

00:53:43It dominated the shallow seas of North America about 85 to 80 million years ago.

00:53:50This was an enormous predator, with the biggest representatives reaching 45 feet in length.

00:53:56It had a narrow hydrodynamic body with a blunt, powerful head that the animal used to ram

00:54:02and stun its prey.

00:54:04This body was equipped with agile flippers and a long tail decorated with a maneuverable

00:54:08fin.

00:54:10The Tylosaurus was a carnivore, and its diet included not only fish, turtles, and small

00:54:16sharks, but also other mosasaurs, pleosaurs, and flightless birds.

00:54:22Meet Ophthalmosaurus.

00:54:24This prehistoric reptile thrived during the late Jurassic period and lived in oceans all

00:54:29over the world.

00:54:31Ophthalmosaurus weighed somewhere around 6,000 pounds and grew to approximately 16 feet long,

00:54:38according to NewDinosaurs.com.

00:54:40That's about the same length as the beluga whale that exists today.

00:54:44It's too bad these guys went extinct before we had a chance to see them ourselves, as

00:54:48their cartoonish wide eyes and dolphin-like features are pretty darn cute.

00:54:53Of course, the Ophthalmosaurus evolved over time to become ophthalmologists, or eye doctors

00:54:59that we know today.

00:55:01No, that's just a lie.

00:55:03Just testing you.

00:55:05The Mosasaurus is a truly gigantic predator that dominated the seas all over the world

00:55:11about 66 million years ago.

00:55:13According to fossil evidence, some specimens could be more than 50 feet in length.

00:55:18This fact makes the Mosasaurus the biggest marine carnivore of its time.

00:55:23One of the most terrifying things about this creature was its crocodile-like head, decorated

00:55:28with literally hundreds of razor-sharp teeth neatly organized in two rows on both jaws.

00:55:34The thing is that it was pretty challenging for the Mosasaurus to grab its prey in the

00:55:38water.

00:55:39That's why it had all these teeth, plus something special, pterygoid teeth anchored to the bones

00:55:46on the roof of its mouth.

00:55:47This made hunting and holding onto its prey much easier.

00:55:52The Styxosaurus belonged to the Pleiosaur family and lived during the Late Cretaceous

00:55:57period, around 85 to 70 million years ago.

00:56:01Upon first glance at this dinosaur, you might mistake it for a sea snake, and it'd be an

00:56:06honest mistake.

00:56:07Styxosaurus were about 35 feet in length, but over 16 feet of that consisted just of

00:56:13their long snake-like neck.

00:56:15They had a comparatively small body and weighed approximately 4 tons.

00:56:20Their mouths were full of razor-sharp cone-shaped teeth that they used to catch fish.

00:56:25They didn't need to chew their prey, thanks to the 200 small stones called gastroliths

00:56:30in their bellies that probably aided in digestion.

00:56:34At the same time, some scientists believe that the Styxosaurus used these stones to

00:56:38sink to the ocean bottom in search of particular types of fish.

00:56:42Huh, looks kinda like Nessie to me.

00:56:47The sky is burning, the world's oceans are foaming, thunder and lightning are shaking

00:56:53the air.

00:56:54Two of the most terrible and powerful monsters collide in a duel.

00:57:00A harbinger of the end of the world, just the sight of this monster can drive anyone

00:57:05mad.

00:57:06Great and atrocious, Cthulhu.

00:57:10And the biggest squid on the planet is fighting against it.

00:57:14A beast that knows no fear, because it's fear itself.

00:57:20The cause of a thousand shipwrecks, the mighty and hideous Kraken.

00:57:26Let the most epic fight in the history of the universe begin.

00:57:32You're on a fishing boat, sailing in a calm ocean.

00:57:35The water is crystal clear, and there's no wind.

00:57:39The sea merges with the horizon.

00:57:41The land isn't visible, and you feel free.

00:57:45You look over the side of the boat and notice something strange in the water.

00:57:50You're floating in the center of a huge black spot, surrounded by a wide field of green.

00:57:56What's that?

00:57:57Oil spilled into the water that took on such a strange hue?

00:58:01Then why is it so perfectly round?

00:58:05Suddenly you realize what it is, and the blood freezes in your veins.

00:58:11The black circle is the pupil in the center of a huge green eye.

00:58:17The thing that's looking right at you from the water right now is so big that your ship

00:58:23looks like a speck next to it.

00:58:26It's the Kraken.

00:58:28But don't worry, the monster isn't interested in a small prey like you.

00:58:33The Kraken has been sinking ships for centuries and never met any decent resistance.

00:58:39There are thousands of boats lying on the seafloor, but what's the point?

00:58:44The Kraken longs for a real challenge, but can't find it.

00:58:48The largest mammal on Earth is the blue whale, which is no more than a pet goldfish for the Kraken.

00:58:55Even a megalodon could easily lose to the tentacled beast in battle.

00:58:59Maybe look for some great monster on the bottom of the Mariana Trench?

00:59:04No, the pressure is too high, and there's almost nothing living there.

00:59:09But then, the Kraken has an idea.

00:59:13It goes to the most remote place on Earth, a place rarely visited and poorly explored.

00:59:20This place is called Point Nemo.

00:59:23Here, deep below the ocean surface, lies the ancient city of R'lyeh.

00:59:29Built long before the appearance of humans, and amidst the slumbering ruins, the huge

00:59:34and powerful Cthulhu is dreaming.

00:59:38This ancient demigod has been resting here for hundreds of millennia.

00:59:43All this time, Cthulhu has been waiting for its hour to wreak havoc on Earth.

00:59:49It's sleeping, but even in its dreams, Cthulhu communicates with members of its very own

00:59:55cult following.

00:59:56It uses telepathy to get into their minds and make them do atrocious things.

01:00:01But all of a sudden, Cthulhu's slumber is interrupted.

01:00:06Who dares wake it so rudely?

01:00:09Cthulhu opens its angry red eyes, overgrown with seaweed, and sees a huge squid in front

01:00:16of it.

01:00:17The Kraken has finally found a worthy opponent.

01:00:20Immediately, it pounces on Cthulhu and wraps its tentacles around the monster's head.

01:00:26The fight begins.

01:00:29Cthulhu heavily pushes off from the seafloor and rushes to the surface, dragging the Kraken

01:00:34with it.

01:00:36Two giant monsters, larger than the tallest skyscrapers, emerge from the water.

01:00:42The sea is raging, and clouds are gathering over the battlefield.

01:00:46Enraged, Cthulhu strikes at the Kraken, but it doesn't seem to feel anything.

01:00:51Lightning flashes in the black and churning clouds.

01:00:55Cthulhu tries to tear the Kraken off itself, but the squid's tentacles firmly grasp the

01:01:00green monster.

01:01:02Meanwhile, you're on your way to Point Nemo to watch the battle unfold.

01:01:06You need to sail from the coast of Chile, and strange things are happening there right

01:01:11now.

01:01:12Hundreds of sailors are climbing on board dozens of ships.

01:01:16There are ordinary fishing vessels, as well as heavily armed and loaded navy ships.

01:01:21And when you ask anyone where all these people are going, they all give you a dark look and

01:01:26answer, into eternity.

01:01:29The Kraken is taking the upper hand, and Cthulhu calls its followers to help.

01:01:34It hopes the ships will be able to help defeat the enemy, but it'll be two days before the

01:01:40first of them arrive from land.

01:01:42Cthulhu finally tears off the Kraken and throws it into the water.

01:01:47The squid attacks again, but Cthulhu grabs it by the tentacles and lifts it above its

01:01:52head.

01:01:53Lightning strikes the Kraken, but it's no more than a spark to the giant monster.

01:01:59At the same time, the entranced sailors stand on decks and look in the direction of the

01:02:04battlefield.

01:02:05At night, they fall asleep and see the same dream about the ancient city of R'lyeh.

01:02:11In the center of it, there's a twisted chapel, and inside, Cthulhu sits on its throne, calling

01:02:18its followers.

01:02:20Day and night and day, the monsters have been fighting each other with their last strength,

01:02:26and at last, tiny dots gather around them.

01:02:29The ships have arrived.

01:02:31They're ready to attack the Kraken, and Cthulhu gives them a mental order.

01:02:35But the Kraken has its own ace up its sleeve.

01:02:40It hadn't been sinking ships just for fun.

01:02:43Very often, it saved thousands of marine creatures caught in fishing nets, and now, they and

01:02:49their offspring from all over the ocean come to help the Kraken.

01:02:55Huge octopuses, blue whales, great white sharks, electric eels, they're all attacking enemy

01:03:01ships.

01:03:02Whales are ramming the submarines, and eels are turning vehicle engines off with their

01:03:07electric discharges.

01:03:08Suddenly, the Kraken dives under the water.

01:03:12Did it give up?

01:03:14Got scared?

01:03:15Not likely.

01:03:16Cthulhu looks out into the ocean and waits for the squid to attack.

01:03:20The Kraken swims beneath the fighting people and fish.

01:03:24It starts twisting its tentacles, creating a huge whirlpool.

01:03:28The ships are doomed now, and Cthulhu can only rely on itself.

01:03:35The Kraken is a powerful creature, but it's an animal after all.

01:03:39While Cthulhu is incredibly intelligent, albeit malevolent, it understands that the Kraken

01:03:45is a sea monster and can be defeated once on land.

01:03:50Cthulhu's roar shakes the skies.

01:03:52Lightning bolts strike the ocean.

01:03:54The water is boiling.

01:03:56The ancient city of R'lyeh is rising from the bottom of the sea.

01:04:01The Kraken can't escape here.

01:04:03It needs water.

01:04:05The squid fights Cthulhu with the last of its strength, but without its element, it

01:04:10quickly loses.

01:04:12Cthulhu is victorious.

01:04:14Now, being woken, it's going to destroy the rest of the world, as was foretold.

01:04:22But the fight couldn't have gone unnoticed.

01:04:24Thanks to satellite data, the world already knows what's happened, and a plan has been

01:04:29devised to put down the ancient monster in case it wins.

01:04:34Fighter jets enter the scene and attack Cthulhu.

01:04:37The monster raises its arms to the sky.

01:04:40Clouds are gathering around it.

01:04:42An electric discharge sparkles in the clouds, and electricity disappears within a few hundred

01:04:48miles, including the electronics on board the jets.

01:04:52They're falling down into the water.

01:04:55There's no way to defeat the mythic beast.

01:04:57But what is it?

01:05:00Satellites are suddenly falling from the sky in dozens.

01:05:03Cthulhu didn't know that Point Nemo is the dumping ground for space debris.

01:05:08Because this is the farthest point from Earth, it's safe to drop idle satellites here.

01:05:14Right now, hundreds of them are falling on the ancient city and bombarding the monster.

01:05:20Disoriented by the sudden assault, Cthulhu retreats back underwater along with its city.

01:05:26Then and there, it decides to go back to sleep for another thousand years and wait for a

01:05:32perfect moment to ruin the world.

01:05:36Cthulhu's mind-controlling ability made all the witnesses of the battle forget what they saw.

01:05:42Humanity is again unaware of the dangers from the depths.

01:05:46Cthulhu doesn't want people to be ready for its awakening.

01:05:50If you enter these coordinates in the GPS, you'll see where Point Nemo is.

01:05:55In 1997, oceanographers recorded a mysterious sound from the depths of the sea.

01:06:01It was called the Bloop, and can be easily found on the internet.

01:06:06This event led many people to believe in the existence of Cthulhu.

01:06:10But the panic didn't last long.

01:06:13It turned out that the Bloop was the sound of a glacier splitting.

01:06:17Or maybe it's Cthulhu that made people think that way.

01:06:21Who knows?

01:06:23The Megalodon was the biggest shark to ever live.

01:06:26Not only that, it's one of the biggest fish and the largest predator in Earth's history.

01:06:32Over three times longer than the biggest great white shark on record,

01:06:35the females have also been found to be twice the size of the males.

01:06:40The Megalodon could swallow a small car without even touching its teeth,

01:06:44if cars had been around then.

01:06:47In fact, the Meg was so big and powerful that it had no natural predators.

01:06:51It was the uncrowned king of the seas, swimming freely from ocean to ocean.

01:06:57This cosmopolitan creature was found all over the world from America to Europe and

01:07:01Australia and Japan, assuming there were countries back then.

01:07:06Meg fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica.

01:07:10Everybody skips Antarctica.

01:07:13Science tells us that the Megalodon went extinct over 3.6 million years ago.

01:07:17But could they still be alive at the deepest depths of the ocean?

01:07:22The fearsome name, Megalodon, comes from two Greek words,

01:07:25megas meaning big and odont meaning tooth.

01:07:29Combined, they mean big tooth.

01:07:31And it certainly lived up to its name.

01:07:33Just one of its chompers is the same size as a human head.

01:07:36It had 276 humongous teeth in total,

01:07:40across five terrifying rows.

01:07:43In all of history, only a couple of saber-toothed cats and the T-Rex

01:07:47had consistently bigger teeth.

01:07:49Now that's a showdown I'd like to watch.

01:07:52The Megalodon vanished millions of years ago,

01:07:54leaving only huge teeth to be found by modern archaeologists.

01:08:01Only around 80% of the ocean has been explored,

01:08:04so who knows what's lurking at the bottom.

01:08:07If you did manage to make it down, it's unlikely that you'll run into Meg though.

01:08:11The sharks, like us, preferred warm coastal waters.

01:08:15Deep ocean living would be too cold for the beasts,

01:08:17and food would be scarce.

01:08:20Their entire bodies would also have to evolve

01:08:22to avoid being squished by the enormous water pressure down there.

01:08:26It's unlikely that they're still around, but not impossible.

01:08:31Now, about the appearance of the Megalodon.

01:08:33Scientists believe it didn't look like a great white shark.

01:08:36The Megalodon belongs to a different fish family

01:08:39and most likely looked like a giant sand tiger shark.

01:08:43With a flattened snout, small eyes, its dorsal fin moved backward.

01:08:48The sand shark has two dorsal fins about the same size.

01:08:52The coloration is light brown with a white belly.

01:08:55It may have had brown-red spots like a sand shark all over its body.

01:09:00We used to think of the Megalodon as something scary

01:09:02from the first finds of its fossils.

01:09:04That was back in the Renaissance era.

01:09:06People found some teeth in the rocks.

01:09:09First, these teeth were thought to be the tongues of dragons or snakes.

01:09:13And here is the first drawing of what the owner of these teeth

01:09:16supposedly looked like.

01:09:19A massive snout with a scary nose and a bunch of razor-sharp teeth.

01:09:25The Megalodon is usually described as a sort of giant great white shark,

01:09:28but this is just a common myth.

01:09:30In fact, the ancestors of today's great white

01:09:33existed at the same time as the Meg.

01:09:37But they weren't the best buddies and were even in competition with each other.

01:09:42The great white shark was a better hunter,

01:09:44using its smaller size and agility to snap up Meg's prey quickly.

01:09:49They were also known to eat Meg pups, who were only half their size.

01:09:53This didn't help the whole extinction thing.

01:09:56We also have evidence that Megalodons were brutal hunters,

01:09:59kings of the food chain.

01:10:01The first combat tool in their arsenal was the battering ram.

01:10:08The Megalodon would take its prey by surprise.

01:10:11It had only one chance to hit it.

01:10:13If it missed, it would take too long for a second round.

01:10:17The maneuverability of the Megalodon was comparable to a large truck.

01:10:22While a great white was no match for an adult Meg in a head-to-head fight,

01:10:26they sure weren't scared of stealing their food.

01:10:29This only left the bigger fish and whales for the Meg.

01:10:32But its food supplies began to run out as the whales swam to the cooler new seas.

01:10:38The whales adapted to prefer the colder temperatures,

01:10:40leaving our friend the Meg behind.

01:10:43The Megalodons either starved or were frozen into extinction by the Ice Age.

01:10:48Rather than a great white, the Megalodon is more like a modern bull shark.

01:10:52It had a short snout, a flat lower jaw, and huge pectoral fins

01:10:56to support its massive weight and size.

01:10:59As scary as they are, these sharks were actually caring family guys.

01:11:03Several Megalodon nursery areas have been discovered in Florida,

01:11:06Maryland, and Panama.

01:11:08They gave birth to their young in shallow water environments.

01:11:11We know this from discovering loads of tiny Megalodon teeth found in these areas.

01:11:16I wonder if they had nannies too.

01:11:19But how come there are so many Megalodon teeth out there for us to analyze?

01:11:24Due to their messy, aggressive eating habits, sharks regularly lose their teeth.

01:11:29They lose a set of teeth every one to two weeks.

01:11:32That's 40,000 teeth in a lifetime!

01:11:35They must rake in a fortune from the tooth fairy.

01:11:38Because of this, their teeth were continually raining down to the ocean floor.

01:11:42Luckily for us, they're also the hardest part of the shark's skeleton,

01:11:46which is why so many teeth have survived and become fossilized.

01:11:50It's fair to say the first discoveries of the Meg's teeth confused people.

01:11:54Early discoverers thought that the Meg's teeth were petrified tongues of ancient serpent creatures.

01:12:00They even used to call them tongue stones.

01:12:03It's also a common myth that the Megalodon was around at the same time as the dinosaurs,

01:12:08although this would have been pretty cool.

01:12:10The dinosaurs were wiped out around 66 million years ago,

01:12:14but the Megalodons came much later.

01:12:17The oldest Meg fossil is only around 23 million years old,

01:12:21but it's tricky to pinpoint the exact date.

01:12:24After all, calendars weren't invented yet.

01:12:27They became extinct way before humans even evolved.

01:12:30The earliest Homo sapiens, which is a fancy name for the first humans,

01:12:34emerged about 2.5 million years ago.

01:12:37But what if the Megalodon shark didn't go extinct?

01:12:41Whale populations have dropped drastically since these guys were last around,

01:12:45so there'd be way fewer whales for them to chomp down on.

01:12:49Whales have also gotten a lot smarter and learned new defensive moves,

01:12:53making them way harder to take down.

01:12:55It's estimated that they ate around 12 tons of food each day.

01:13:03The Kraken is a colossal squid, a legendary sea monster,

01:13:07the biggest hunk of calamari you ever saw.

01:13:10And if this monster had existed, the world would have changed beyond recognition.

01:13:15The Kraken has powerful tentacles, solid muscles with suckers at the end.

01:13:20They're impossible to escape.

01:13:22The Kraken can break a ship in half or just pull it down into the depths.

01:13:27But the worst thing about the Kraken is its size.

01:13:31According to old sailor stories, its size is almost 10 soccer fields.

01:13:36Hey, maybe the Kraken could play soccer!

01:13:39The Kraken legends said the monster was so giant

01:13:42that sailors mistook it for a small island.

01:13:45In past centuries, it would have been impossible to defeat such a beast.

01:13:51If the Kraken existed in reality, it might have had offspring.

01:13:55Yeah.

01:13:56In all the world's oceans, there would be giant monsters that could sink any ship.

01:14:01It's unlikely that the Kraken would have competitors in its habitat,

01:14:04so its population would grow strongly.

01:14:07Since the Kraken is enormous, it would need a lot of food,

01:14:11so the population of other large sea animals would fall significantly.

01:14:15Blue whales, great white sharks, other giant squids,

01:14:19and other big sea creatures would be endangered.

01:14:22The Kraken belongs to the cephalopod genus.

01:14:25This species includes squid and octopus,

01:14:28some of the most intelligent creatures on the planet.

01:14:31The Kraken is a skilled hunter and will never fight in the open.

01:14:35Colossal squids live in deep waters,

01:14:38and they have the largest eyes among all animals.

01:14:41The squid's eye is the size of a dinner plate.

01:14:44Thanks to this, they can see their prey from far away.

01:14:47Similarly, a Kraken would spot the ship much sooner than sonar could pick up the Kraken.

01:14:52It would always have the drop on you.

01:14:55Well, that's not good.

01:14:57In 1857, a squid beak was discovered on the coast of Denmark.

01:15:02Other huge squid remains were found in the Bahamas,

01:15:05and then scientists were convinced that gigantic squids existed.

01:15:10While colossal squid have been officially discovered since then,

01:15:14it's been more than a hundred years, and we still don't know what the max size they can grow to.

01:15:19The fact is, colossal squids are one of the most elusive creatures on Earth.

01:15:23They live in the depths of the ocean, where it's challenging for scientists to reach.

01:15:27Any dive to a greater depth requires powerful, bulky equipment.

01:15:32Underwater bathyscaphs and cameras make a lot of noise and light,

01:15:36which squids notice from afar.

01:15:38They flee before we can see them.

01:15:42It's difficult to say if these huge squids were the size of a small island,

01:15:45but the truth is, we've only studied about 5% of the ocean.

01:15:49It may be that in its depths, monsters much more terrible than the Kraken swim.

01:15:57Want to high-five a sea creature?

01:15:59Well, put your flipper, I mean hand up, for the Tasmanian red handfish.

01:16:03This fish doesn't swim like a fish.

01:16:06It walks.

01:16:07It uses its flipper-like hands to stroll around on the ocean floor.

01:16:11These bottom walkers are disturbed by swimmers and boats a lot.

01:16:15Some people even want to take them home as pets.

01:16:18I think it's better to just give them a wave and swim on by.

01:16:25Its species name is Vampyroteuthis infernalis,

01:16:28which translates to vampire squid from hell.

01:16:32Oh yes, this vampire squid means to terrify everyone with its name.

01:16:37Its dark red color, its spikes at the bottom,

01:16:40and the scary fact that it can basically turn itself inside out.

01:16:44The vampire squid loves putting on a good show,

01:16:47but it's as harmless as a kitten is to humans.

01:16:50It's as if Dracula scared the pants off you,

01:16:53but he didn't have blood-sucking fangs.

01:16:55The vampire squid feeds on food particles from plants and animal matter

01:17:00floating near the ocean's surface.

01:17:02Since they're not predators, they need good defensive strategies,

01:17:05and their vampiric look is designed to ward off large creatures who want to eat them.

01:17:10Turning themselves inside out is a defensive mechanism

01:17:13since the spiky areas in the inner skin are more intimidating.

01:17:17They also shoot out a substance that does not have color,

01:17:20but is packed with bioluminescent particles to distract predators.

01:17:26The vaquita.

01:17:27Going out on a boat off the coast of Mexico sounds like the perfect vacation.

01:17:32The sun, the blue water, the most endangered sea creature.

01:17:36Wait, what?

01:17:37The vaquita isn't dangerous,

01:17:39but don't expect it to stick around to say hello or sign any autographs.

01:17:43It's incredibly shy.

01:17:45This little cow, that's what it means in Spanish,

01:17:48is one tiny sea mammal.

01:17:50With those black markings around its eyes,

01:17:52it looks more like a sea panda to me.

01:17:54Seeing one should make you feel very special.

01:17:57They're on the brink of extinction,

01:17:58mostly because they get caught by accident in fishing nets.

01:18:02It's estimated that there's only 10 left in the wild.

01:18:07The blue dragon.

01:18:08This little creature looks like something out of a kid's fantasy movie.

01:18:12It's called the blue glaucus,

01:18:13casually referred to as the blue dragon or blue angel.

01:18:17It can be found in many places,

01:18:19the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

01:18:22It's kind of a mollusk,

01:18:23and it only grows to be about an inch long.

01:18:26What you think is the back is actually the mollusk's bright underbelly.

01:18:30It regularly floats on its back

01:18:32so that its blue colors help it camouflage with the water's waves.

01:18:36The blue dragon isn't just pretty,

01:18:38it's also smart.

01:18:40It usually feasts on Portuguese man o' wars,

01:18:42also known as Fiesalia Fiesalis.

01:18:45The blue dragon stores their stinging cells for later use,

01:18:49in essence, stealing their defensive mechanisms.

01:18:52When the blue dragon is threatened,

01:18:53it releases those stinging cells it's stored,

01:18:56directing them at an enemy to sting them

01:18:58with more power than the Portuguese man o' war would have been capable of.

01:19:02As they can store a huge amount of stinging cells,

01:19:05they can be a threat to humans.

01:19:07So, if you find one, don't pick it up.

01:19:09It's best to admire it from a distance.

01:19:12The barrel-eye fish.

01:19:13If you ever wanted to have Superman's x-ray vision,

01:19:16looking at the barrel-eye fish

01:19:18will make you feel like you gained that superpower

01:19:20at some point in your life without even realizing it.

01:19:23The barrel-eye has a transparent head

01:19:25so you can see how their eyes and brain look inside.

01:19:28This magnificent creature lives in the deep sea.

01:19:32This is the lowest level of the ocean

01:19:34where strange creatures roam in near-freezing temperatures

01:19:37and constant darkness.

01:19:39They're exposed to water's pressure

01:19:41that's almost 1,000 times that of the surface.

01:19:44If the idea of the deep sea

01:19:47sends a shiver down your spine,

01:19:49stay tuned to learn about another of its creatures later on.

01:19:52The barrel-eye fish can be found in the Atlantic,

01:19:55Pacific and Indian Oceans.

01:19:57You might be wondering,

01:19:58why oh why would a fish have a see-through head?

01:20:01And that would be a fair question.

01:20:03Since the species was discovered in 1939,

01:20:06it was believed that the fish's eyes were set to see straight ahead

01:20:09and couldn't move.

01:20:11So it was assumed that they had tunnel vision.

01:20:13Scientists Bruce Robinson and Kim Riesenbichler

01:20:16from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

01:20:19recently discovered that the fish can move its eyes vertically

01:20:22to see through the top of its translucent head,

01:20:25thus noticing if there are predators or prey nearby.

01:20:29The transparent head also allows more light to enter

01:20:32so they can detect prey better.

01:20:34It's believed that the barrel-eye fish

01:20:36eats jellyfish and small fish species.

01:20:39If you dive in the ocean at night,

01:20:42you might be lucky enough to see how

01:20:44orange ball coralomorph blooms in the dark.

01:20:46But make sure to be quick because

01:20:48as soon as you turn on your flashlight to take a good look,

01:20:51it will retract its tubes back into itself.

01:20:56The whale shark isn't the biggest shark known to humans.

01:20:59If the entire shark species were a kingdom,

01:21:01the prehistoric megalodon would be the ruler of the sea.

01:21:05Megalodon roamed the ocean a long time ago,

01:21:08oh about 15.9 to 2.6 million years back

01:21:11between the early Miocene and late Pliocene eras.

01:21:14While they've long been extinct,

01:21:16people are still amazed to learn about these gigantic sea beasts.

01:21:20Megalodon could reach anywhere between 45 feet to 60 feet in length

01:21:24with jaws more than 6 feet wide.

01:21:27A fossil of a tooth that once belonged to a megalodon

01:21:30measured at 7 inches.

01:21:32Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked

01:21:34that these guys have long been extinct.

01:21:36But there's still some adventurers out there

01:21:38hoping to meet this monster one day.

01:21:41The Dumbo octopus.

01:21:43This adorable creature or creepy creature,

01:21:46or however you want to see it,

01:21:48is officially called Grimpoteuthis.

01:21:50More casually, it's referred to as the Dumbo octopus

01:21:53named after the Disney character.

01:21:55Though Dumbo, the elephant, not the octopus,

01:21:58was teased for his big ears,

01:22:00it's highly unlikely that this adorable octopus

01:22:03gets teased by its water neighbors.

01:22:06They are the deepest living octopuses

01:22:08living in the deep sea.

01:22:10And you know how scary that place is.

01:22:12They're only about 8 inches tall

01:22:14and spend their days hovering just above the sea floor

01:22:17eating snails, worms, and other food

01:22:19they find in the current or near ocean vents.

01:22:22There are nearly 17 species of Dumbo octopus

01:22:25and they all have differences in height,

01:22:27color, and body parts.

01:22:29If you can't get enough strange animals,

01:22:31you'll be glad to learn that the deep sea

01:22:33has barely been explored by humans.

01:22:35So, keep an eye out.

01:22:37There are bound to be more fascinating animals

01:22:39discovered in the deep in the future.

01:22:43These creatures might look and sound pretty cute,

01:22:46but their diet is far from sunshine and lollipops.

01:22:49Their favorite food are sea butterflies.

01:22:52They lay mucus traps for them and wait in ambush.

01:22:58This shrimp is tiny, only 0.5 inches.

01:23:01It's also known as a dancer shrimp

01:23:03because of its peculiar behavior.

01:23:05When agitated, it raises its bottom above its head

01:23:09and does a little dance.

01:23:11Divers also say it readily jumps on their hands

01:23:13and cleans them.

01:23:17This guy may look pretty creepy,

01:23:19especially when the sun goes down.

01:23:21Mature coconut crabs are around 3 feet in length.

01:23:24Their preferred foods are coconuts,

01:23:26but they can also hunt down lizards

01:23:28and even large birds.

01:23:32The slender snipe eel

01:23:34Slender snipe eel is a slim and long creature

01:23:37that's still a mystery for marine scientists.

01:23:39It's 4 feet long,

01:23:41and it has at least 750 bones in its spine,

01:23:44which is much more than any other animal in the world.

01:23:48The sea pen

01:23:49Sea pen is 7 feet long,

01:23:51and it has a lot of varieties,

01:23:53but most of them look indeed like a pen or a quill.

01:23:56The similarity is even more striking

01:23:58when the animal has a water-filled bulb

01:24:00that anchors it to the floor.

01:24:03The Persian carpet flatworm

01:24:05This creature looks indeed like a carpet,

01:24:07despite being very small by comparison.

01:24:10It's only 4 inches long,

01:24:12able to become both male and female.

01:24:14It doesn't really mate with other flatworms.

01:24:16Rather, it fights them for the right to bear posterity.

01:24:20The flamingo-tongued sea snails

01:24:23Tourists love these extraordinary snails

01:24:25for their pretty colors.

01:24:26Thinking it's a shell,

01:24:28in fact, the shell is quite dull

01:24:30and hidden underneath colorful soft tissues.

01:24:33They eat softer toxic parts of corals

01:24:35and store their toxins to protect themselves.

01:24:39It looks like a prehistoric creature

01:24:41that came from the time of dinosaurs.

01:24:43This scary beast is called the basking shark.

01:24:46It can grow up to 39 feet.

01:24:48People have only reported 3 of them

01:24:50in the past 160 years.

01:24:52The last sighting was in 2015,

01:24:55and before that, about 80 years ago.

01:24:57These sharks sometimes rise to the surface

01:25:00to filter out small animals,

01:25:02such as shrimps and other small crustaceans,

01:25:05when they want to have a nice, tasty seafood dinner.

01:25:08But when there isn't enough grub at the surface,

01:25:10they go down to the depths of almost 3,300 feet,

01:25:14where they tend to stay for months,

01:25:16which is something researchers discovered

01:25:18using satellite tags.

01:25:20Tag, you're it!

01:25:21Now, basking sharks like to spend their time

01:25:23in more temperate waters,

01:25:25but they can migrate long distances.

01:25:27They live across the globe,

01:25:29but in warm tropical or subtropical areas,

01:25:32they won't go near the surface

01:25:34because they're not fans of high temperatures.

01:25:36The lion's mane jellyfish is not that rare,

01:25:39but it's fascinating how large it is.

01:25:42It's the biggest among jellyfish species

01:25:44and the longest animal.

01:25:46Its total length can reach 120 feet.

01:25:49That's approximately 23 feet more

01:25:51than the longest blue whale scientists know about.

01:25:54Each jellyfish has around 70 to 150 tentacles,

01:25:57and they all contain huge amounts of neurotoxins

01:26:00that can seriously harm you

01:26:02if you come in contact with the animal.

01:26:04But people don't usually come across

01:26:06this type of jellyfish

01:26:08because it rarely lives near the coast,

01:26:10preferring the open ocean.

01:26:12Generally, you can find the lion's mane jellyfish

01:26:14no deeper than 65 feet below the surface,

01:26:17where it dines on small fishes, zooplankton,

01:26:20and some other types of jellyfish.

01:26:22It uses its tentacles to catch its value meal.

01:26:25Hey, want fries with that?

01:26:27The giant phantom jelly comes out of the darkness

01:26:29and depths of the ocean's midnight zone.

01:26:32Its sunhat-shaped bell reaches over 3 feet across.

01:26:36This bell trails four ribbon-like mouth arms

01:26:39that can be up to 33 feet long.

01:26:42This quite rare creature uses its mouth arms

01:26:45to catch unfortunate animals swimming around

01:26:48and not knowing what's coming for them.

01:26:50Giant phantom jelly propels itself through the water

01:26:53with periodic pulses coming from its orange head.

01:26:57It glows faintly and mysteriously

01:26:59in the pitch-black depths.

01:27:01It lives across the globe in all the oceans

01:27:04except for the Arctic.

01:27:05I'm guessing it's too cold.

01:27:07Because of its odd shape,

01:27:09people often call the oarfish

01:27:11the dragonfish or sea serpent.

01:27:13It's about 26 feet long,

01:27:15which makes it the longest bony fish we know about

01:27:19and lives at depths of 3,300 feet.

01:27:22Oarfish spend most of their time

01:27:24in the deep, dark parts of the open ocean

01:27:26in tropical and subtropical areas.

01:27:29They almost never come to the surface

01:27:31unless, you know, invited.

01:27:33It's a ribbon-shaped and shiny silver creature

01:27:36with a long red dorsal fin

01:27:38and red oar-like pelvic fins.

01:27:40Its body has no scales and is very thin.

01:27:43The fish can grow to a length of about 30 feet

01:27:46and weigh 660 pounds.

01:27:48Oarfish have really big eyes

01:27:50that help them see better

01:27:52in their dark, scary surroundings.

01:27:54The frilled shark is definitely

01:27:56one of the gnarliest-looking marine animals out there.

01:27:59If you saw it somewhere,

01:28:01you'd probably think you went back

01:28:03to the age of dinosaurs.

01:28:05Yup, the frilled shark is a prehistoric creature

01:28:08because its roots go back 80 million years.

01:28:11This living fossil can grow to be 7 feet long.

01:28:14It got its name from its frilly gills.

01:28:16Even though frilled sharks

01:28:18have the shark part in their name,

01:28:20they swim similar to an eel

01:28:22in a distinctly serpentine way.

01:28:24Its mouth is terrifying.

01:28:26Similar to the maw of the great white shark,

01:28:29it has 300 trident-shaped teeth

01:28:32lined in 25 rows.

01:28:34Hey, come a little closer, huh?

01:28:36Researchers discovered this creature

01:28:38in the 19th century,

01:28:40but people rarely see it.

01:28:42And no wonder.

01:28:44It usually lives at depths

01:28:46of between 390 and 4,200 feet.

01:28:48Most of the time,

01:28:50the frilled shark feeds on squid,

01:28:52swallowing them whole.

01:28:54Its long jaws allow the frilled shark

01:28:56to gape extra wide

01:28:58and swallow animals half as long

01:29:00as its entire body.

01:29:02Goblin sharks are very rare.

01:29:04Researchers have spotted fewer than 50 of them

01:29:06in more than 120 years.

01:29:08But maybe that's for the best

01:29:10since we're talking about

01:29:12a pretty scary fella

01:29:14with a narrow snout and sharp teeth.

01:29:16It's also capable of thrusting

01:29:18its entire jaw outward

01:29:20when it wants to catch something.

01:29:22Sounds familiar.

01:29:24As it's lurking through the dark depths

01:29:26of the ocean, a goblin shark

01:29:28sees a small squid that looks quite yummy.

01:29:30The dangerous animal inches toward the squid.

01:29:32When the poor creature notices the predator,

01:29:34it tries to dart away.

01:29:36But it's too late.

01:29:38The shark has already thrust its jaw

01:29:40the whole three inches out of its mouth.

01:29:42This jaw is connected to the flaps

01:29:44of skin the shark can unfold.

01:29:46This helps a lot because the goblin shark

01:29:48is a sluggish animal,

01:29:50so it's pretty hard for it to chase its food.

01:29:52After finishing its lunch,

01:29:54the goblin shark puts its jaw

01:29:56back in its mouth and swims away

01:29:58as if nothing's happened.

01:30:00Goblin sharks mostly live

01:30:02at the bottom of the ocean.

01:30:04Like many other shark species,

01:30:06they prefer swimming alone.

01:30:08Here's a silver-colored creature

01:30:10with very rough skin.

01:30:12That's the ocean sunfish,

01:30:14with a total length of almost 11 feet.

01:30:16Its other name is mola.

01:30:18The ocean sunfish

01:30:20is the heaviest of all bony fish out there.

01:30:22People sometimes call it

01:30:24a swimming head because of its bizarre

01:30:26appearance.

01:30:28These creatures have such a weird shape

01:30:30because they're born with a back fin

01:30:32that never actually grows.

01:30:34But it grows back into itself

01:30:36as the animal matures

01:30:38and creates a rounded rudder.

01:30:40The sunfish is a bit clumsy.

01:30:42It moves with the help of its mighty fins

01:30:44that allow the animal to swim on its side.

01:30:46This marine inhabitant

01:30:48is a solitary creature.

01:30:50It mostly feeds on zooplankton

01:30:52and jellyfish.

01:30:54The spotted wobbegong

01:30:56is one of the world's rarest sharks.

01:30:58It grows to be more than 10 feet long.

01:31:00It may not look as terrifying

01:31:02but it's pretty good at catching

01:31:04unsuspecting animals swimming past,

01:31:06mostly during the night.

01:31:08The animal has a spiracle,

01:31:10which is why it can breathe while staying still

01:31:12at the bottom of the ocean.

01:31:14It's motionless most of the time,

01:31:16which is why you can barely notice it.

01:31:18Its flat body and large pelvic and pectoral

01:31:20fins blend in with the underwater terrain.

01:31:22That's why they're so good at hiding.

01:31:24This ability helps

01:31:26when these sharks want to protect themselves too.

01:31:28Wobbegong means

01:31:30carpet shark.

01:31:32They usually live close to the ocean floor

01:31:34in coral reefs, on sandy bottoms,

01:31:36and under piers.

01:31:38People have even spotted the shark in the water

01:31:40that is barely deep enough to cover

01:31:42its flattened body.

01:31:44Blobfish lack teeth and bones

01:31:46so they can't actively hunt.

01:31:48Since they don't have much muscle mass,

01:31:50they can barely move around.

01:31:52I had a roommate like that once.

01:31:54They get their energy from animals

01:31:56they scoop up from the sea floor.

01:31:58That's how it usually goes

01:32:00with deep-sea creatures.

01:32:02They don't have as much food as those animals

01:32:04that swim closer to the surface.

01:32:06Instead, they have special body

01:32:08mechanisms that allow them to save

01:32:10energy for the times when they don't

01:32:12have much to eat.

01:32:14Pressure at the depths where the blobfish lives

01:32:16is 120 times as high

01:32:18as that at the surface.

01:32:20That's why the bizarre creature looks like

01:32:22a weird gelatinous mass

01:32:24only when you bring it up to the surface.

01:32:26The pressure here is not strong enough

01:32:28to keep its body together.

01:32:30Breaking up is hard to do.

01:32:32The white-margin stargazer

01:32:34could compete with the blobfish

01:32:36for the title of the ugliest animal in the sea,

01:32:38don't you think?

01:32:40This animal has eyes on the top of its head

01:32:42together with an upward-facing mouth

01:32:44which the creature uses to hide

01:32:46itself in the sand.

01:32:48That's where it spends most of its time

01:32:50with only its eyes protruding from the sand.

01:32:52It chills this way

01:32:54until some small animal passes by.

01:32:56It can lunge at its target

01:32:58incredibly quickly, literally within

01:33:00milliseconds. This creates a vacuum

01:33:02in the water that pulls in a crab,

01:33:04fish, or some other small

01:33:06unfortunate animal.

01:33:08Another tactic involves venom.

01:33:10This fish has a venomous spine in its

01:33:12shoulder blade that helps with catching

01:33:14other animals and defending itself

01:33:16against enemies. Even though it's not

01:33:18related to the electric eel,

01:33:20the white-margin stargazer can generate

01:33:22an electric shock as powerful as

01:33:2450 volts.

01:33:26Ow!

01:33:28The Heikegani crab lives off the coast

01:33:30of Japan and has a distinct

01:33:32pattern on its shell that looks like

01:33:34a human face, more specifically

01:33:36the face of an angry

01:33:38samurai, hence the nickname

01:33:40the samurai crab.

01:33:42The scarlet-striped

01:33:44cleaning shrimp is a natural

01:33:46hitchhiker. It stands

01:33:48on the seafloor and waves its

01:33:50long antennae for fish and sea

01:33:52animals to go down and pick it up.

01:33:54Then it pays for the ride

01:33:56by cleaning the host from bacteria

01:33:58and plankton.

01:34:00Sea salps are often confused with

01:34:02jellyfish, although they're closer

01:34:04to Portuguese man o' war.

01:34:06They're very quick to mature,

01:34:08growing from newborns to adults

01:34:10in less than 48 hours.

01:34:12The Galapagos

01:34:14Islands are legendary.

01:34:16They've got giant tortoises,

01:34:18blue-footed boobies,

01:34:20sally lightfoot crabs, and red-lipped

01:34:22batfish. But if you've ever

01:34:24swum around there, you might have seen

01:34:26something really unexpected in the water.

01:34:28Iguanas! Everywhere!

01:34:30These large marine

01:34:32reptiles eat the algae that grow

01:34:34on underwater rocks. They're strict

01:34:36vegetarians. I bet the fish

01:34:38are happy about that.

01:34:40A long flat tail designed for swimming

01:34:42helps them move around, and

01:34:44sharp claws keep them on the rocks

01:34:46for their daily sunbathing sessions.

01:34:48But watch them closely.

01:34:50They sneeze a lot.

01:34:52They haven't got a cold or anything.

01:34:54They're sneezing out salt.

01:34:56A special gland keeps the salt out

01:34:58of their nose, and they've got to

01:35:00get rid of it somehow. Sounds painful.

01:35:02What's cool is that they

01:35:04don't mind us in the water with them.

01:35:06Because the islands have been so

01:35:08isolated, the creatures here

01:35:10aren't afraid of humans.

01:35:12Fish can fly, too.

01:35:14Thanks to their wing-like fins,

01:35:16flying fish can soar a distance

01:35:18of about 600 feet,

01:35:20almost as long as two football fields.

01:35:22They need flight

01:35:24to escape from predators.

01:35:26The skeleton shrimp

01:35:28could be the stuff of nightmares

01:35:30if it wasn't so tiny.

01:35:32As it is, it looks like a stick

01:35:34insect, but almost completely

01:35:36transparent.

01:35:38This creature looks more like a fish

01:35:40from a horror movie than from Earth's

01:35:42oceans. The sea devil

01:35:44anglerfish resides at a

01:35:46whopping depth of 3,200

01:35:48feet and has no shortage

01:35:50of weird features. Razor

01:35:52sharp teeth, a misshapen body,

01:35:54and an unsettling stare.

01:35:56But perhaps the creepiest

01:35:58thing about the sea devil anglerfish

01:36:00is the way it catches its prey.

01:36:02It has a fishing rod

01:36:04type appendage on its forehead

01:36:06that has a glowing light attached to

01:36:08the end to attract animals.

01:36:10Once these animals come close enough

01:36:12to the light, bam, they're

01:36:14captured by the sea devil's massive jaws.

01:36:16These guys are even capable

01:36:18of eating prey larger than

01:36:20they are, so their eyes

01:36:22aren't bigger than their stomachs.

01:36:24Starfish can

01:36:26cover their prey with their stomachs

01:36:28and eat it outside its body.

01:36:30Then they simply

01:36:32bring their stomachs back inside.

01:36:34Well, that's handy.

01:36:36Their relatives, sea cucumbers,

01:36:38can do the same party trick,

01:36:40except that they leave part

01:36:42of their guts behind to scare their

01:36:44attacker. It's okay.

01:36:46The missing parts quickly grow back.

01:36:48Cockatoo

01:36:50squids, or glass squids,

01:36:52are a large genus whose members

01:36:54can reach quite impressive size.

01:36:56Yet one thing they have in common

01:36:58is that their bodies are transparent

01:37:00and the internal organs

01:37:02glow in the dark.

01:37:04Despite the hairy

01:37:06octopus looking like it's forgotten

01:37:08to comb its hair in the morning,

01:37:10it's actually its skin that's sticking

01:37:12in every direction. Other sea creatures

01:37:14have a harder time realizing

01:37:16where the octopus itself is this way,

01:37:18I guess.

01:37:20The hairy squat lobster

01:37:22lives in reefs, hiding from its

01:37:24enemies in crevices.

01:37:26If you're lucky to see it, you'll instantly

01:37:28notice the drastic difference between

01:37:30its whitish hairs and vibrant

01:37:32pink and violet claws.

01:37:34If you step on a sea urchin,

01:37:36you're gonna know right away.

01:37:38Look at those spikes!

01:37:40While they're not aggressive, they've got

01:37:42a great defense going against any creature

01:37:44that wants to eat them.

01:37:46Venomous spikes and a poisonous bite.

01:37:48Pick your poison, literally.

01:37:50They live in all

01:37:52the oceans of the world, so avoiding

01:37:54them is out of the question.

01:37:56They mostly hang out in shallow

01:37:58water, hiding in rock pools

01:38:00and reefs. So,

01:38:02some mindful people step on them a lot.

01:38:04The long, venomous spikes

01:38:06of the urchin look like needles.

01:38:08I feel like them, too.

01:38:10They can go in quite deep.

01:38:12Plus, they release a strong toxin.

01:38:14So, what's the cure?

01:38:16Remove the spikes quickly

01:38:18and wash with salt water.

01:38:20Sea turtles are

01:38:22constantly crying. They're not

01:38:24sad or anything. The weeping

01:38:26is only because they excrete

01:38:28excess salts from their body through

01:38:30tears.

01:38:32Box jellyfish tentacles grow up to

01:38:3410 feet long.

01:38:36And each tentacle has 5,000

01:38:38stinging cells. Not bad

01:38:40for a creature that's mostly just water.

01:38:42Their venom is strong enough

01:38:44to paralyze anything they want to eat.

01:38:46Now, if you happen to get

01:38:48stung, it's going to hurt

01:38:50a lot. Its toxins

01:38:52contain proteins that affect the heart,

01:38:54skin cells, and even our

01:38:56nervous system.

01:38:58No wonder it's considered one of the most dangerous

01:39:00creatures on the planet.

01:39:02I wouldn't recommend using sunscreen,

01:39:04soda, coffee, or other

01:39:06older methods. They don't work.

01:39:08Your best bet is some

01:39:10good old-fashioned seawater.

01:39:12Looks like jellyfish are the rulers of the ocean,

01:39:14not sharks.

01:39:16The margin

01:39:18sea lizard isn't an actual

01:39:20lizard. It's a kind of sea slug

01:39:22that dwells close to the water surface.

01:39:24It swims upside down

01:39:26and somersaults to get food.

01:39:28And, let's admit,

01:39:30it looks very cute.

01:39:32When some foreign object

01:39:34gets into an oyster's shell,

01:39:36be it a grain of sand, a parasite,

01:39:38or garbage, the thing

01:39:40irritates the mollusk's inner walls.

01:39:42Since the animal can't spit

01:39:44the item out, it envelops it

01:39:46in thin layers that separate

01:39:48from the body. These pearlescent

01:39:50layers accumulate until

01:39:52they form a round pearl.

01:39:54In the past, people believed

01:39:56that pearls were the tears of

01:39:58mermaids. Now we know they're

01:40:00just some decorated debris.

01:40:02Dolphins have highly

01:40:04developed communication. They

01:40:06call each other by name.

01:40:08Each dolphin responds to a specific

01:40:10sound. Mostly they say,

01:40:12Stop calling me Flipper!

01:40:14The orca

01:40:16is the largest of dolphin species.

01:40:18And they actually have

01:40:20different cultures. Two orcas

01:40:22from different social groups

01:40:24won't even understand each other's language.

01:40:26They're the only animal known

01:40:28to do this. I wonder if they

01:40:30developed any Google Translate for dolphins.

01:40:32The banded shrimp,

01:40:34or banded boxing shrimp,

01:40:36was really aptly named.

01:40:38It's got bands of color

01:40:40all over its body and always

01:40:42stands in a boxer-like,

01:40:44ready-to-strike pose.

01:40:46The brown-lined paper

01:40:48bubble is another sea slug

01:40:50and it definitely looks like one.

01:40:52It's got a special ability

01:40:54though. It can quickly burrow

01:40:56holes in the seafloor,

01:40:58hiding from enemies inside them.

01:41:00The snakefish,

01:41:02as the name implies, looks

01:41:04a lot like a snake. But it has

01:41:06a very distinctive feature.

01:41:08It can walk on its fins.

01:41:10Thanks to this peculiarity,

01:41:12it easily crawls from one

01:41:14waterbed to another, choosing

01:41:16habitats more to its liking.

01:41:18On the way, a snakefish can get

01:41:20hungry for sure, so it

01:41:22often munches on small birds

01:41:24and rodents. It can grow

01:41:26quite big though and hunt even

01:41:28larger animals. How much weirder

01:41:30can it get than to walk through the woods

01:41:32and suddenly see a huge and toothy

01:41:34fish stalking some rabbit?

01:41:36The alligator

01:41:38snapping turtle catches

01:41:40its prey by going fishing.

01:41:42Its tongue looks like a worm

01:41:44and the turtle waits with its mouth

01:41:46wide open at the bottom of a stream,

01:41:48lake, or pond until

01:41:50some unsuspecting fish takes the bait.

01:41:52Then, snap!

01:41:54The jaws come together faster

01:41:56than the blink of an eye and

01:41:58dinner is served.

01:42:00The mossy jellyfish is

01:42:02normally invisible in the dark abyss

01:42:04where it dwells. But when exposed

01:42:06to light, it will reflect it

01:42:08and shine beautifully.

01:42:10The black swallower might be small,

01:42:12but make no mistake,

01:42:14it could easily gulp down your favorite

01:42:16puppy. It can open

01:42:18its mouth extremely wide,

01:42:20allowing it to swallow prey

01:42:22twice its size.

01:42:24The African tigerfish will

01:42:26eat whatever it finds, and

01:42:28given its own size and that of its

01:42:30monstrous teeth, you can imagine

01:42:32it finds a lot of food.

01:42:34It mostly feeds on other

01:42:36fish, but when nutrition is scarce,

01:42:38it can jump out of the water

01:42:40and catch both insects and

01:42:42small birds right in the middle

01:42:44of the flight. It's not so big

01:42:46as to eat a human, of course,

01:42:48but the name should warn you that

01:42:50it can easily take a bite out of your

01:42:52arm or leg.

01:42:54Your brain controls your arms

01:42:56and legs, but with an octopus,

01:42:58each arm is actually

01:43:00kind of independent, with its own

01:43:02special brain held together

01:43:04by a bigger central brain,

01:43:06kind of like the conductor of an orchestra.

01:43:08The central brain sends

01:43:10higher-level signals to each arm,

01:43:12saying things like,

01:43:14move to the left, there's a crab behind the corner,

01:43:16or touch this silly

01:43:18human's foot, let's mess with them a little bit.

01:43:20No matter

01:43:22how smart their arms and legs might be,

01:43:24an octopus still needs to look

01:43:26after them all the time.

01:43:30450 million years ago,

01:43:32no, I wasn't around then,

01:43:34the sea level was higher, coral reefs

01:43:36started to form, the climate on our planet

01:43:38was stable and warm, not even

01:43:40dinosaurs were around yet,

01:43:42the time when bony and jawed fish

01:43:44we know as sharks appeared.

01:43:46They've been dominating the oceans and making

01:43:48other marine creatures flee in fear

01:43:50ever since. Many of them,

01:43:52like great white sharks, have evolved

01:43:54and adjusted to life in the open ocean

01:43:56as hunters with a pretty high position

01:43:58in the food chain.

01:44:00They're less diverse today than before.

01:44:02One of the reasons is the asteroid strike

01:44:04from the age of dinosaurs.

01:44:06After it reduced the number of shark species,

01:44:08only smaller and deep water kinds

01:44:10that ate primarily fish survived.

01:44:12They started getting bigger over time.

01:44:14Near the surface,

01:44:16sharks such as makos, or great

01:44:18white ones, develop faster movements

01:44:20and are somewhat between grey and

01:44:22blue to blend in with their surroundings.

01:44:24The epaulette shark

01:44:26can even walk on the land.

01:44:28It can't take a walk on the beach because it can't breathe

01:44:30outside of the water, but it lives

01:44:32on coral flats in shallow

01:44:34tropical waters, so it can walk

01:44:36in kind of a crawling motion.

01:44:38But deep down below,

01:44:40there are mysterious alien-looking,

01:44:42often huge shark species

01:44:44that didn't come to the surface.

01:44:46Which is why they didn't need to adjust

01:44:48to the new environment and different conditions.

01:44:50They haven't changed a lot through time,

01:44:52so they're some living

01:44:54fossils. These creatures

01:44:56mostly don't have 5 gill slits,

01:44:58the most common number, but 6

01:45:00or 7. It's because

01:45:02there's less oxygen the deeper you go in the

01:45:04ocean, so they need more gill slits.

01:45:06Sharks on the surface

01:45:08evolved to have fewer gill slits.

01:45:106-gill sharks are

01:45:12the most primitive sharks we have today.

01:45:14Their skeletons are like those of

01:45:16ancient extinct sharks, and

01:45:18they can survive only in very deep

01:45:20waters. Like cats,

01:45:22sharks have a layer of reflective

01:45:24cells placed inside their eyes,

01:45:26which helps them see better in the dark

01:45:28deep sea or cloudy waters.

01:45:30Sharks on the surface have big

01:45:32eyes because they evolved to hunt in the

01:45:34sunlight, so they tend to rely on

01:45:36their vision. Those that live in shallow

01:45:38waters have small eyes, so

01:45:40they can protect themselves from the sand.

01:45:42Like some other deep sea

01:45:44creatures, 6-gill sharks

01:45:46also have bigger eyes to take in as much

01:45:48light as possible. They have

01:45:50more light-sensing rods, but don't

01:45:52distinguish colors that well.

01:45:54In the ocean's twilight zone,

01:45:56with the minimum of sunlight, there's a

01:45:58couple of bioluminescent shark species.

01:46:00They don't take in light within their

01:46:02eyes, but produce or re-emit

01:46:04it with their bodies. Their skin

01:46:06or organs have specialized cells

01:46:08that produce a soft blue-green

01:46:10light. Deep sea creatures

01:46:12that produce their own light do that

01:46:14to attract their prey, deter

01:46:16animals from going after them, or

01:46:18scientists think, communicate

01:46:20with each other. It can even

01:46:22help them to camouflage.

01:46:24They do it by hiding their silhouettes

01:46:26from animals going after them.

01:46:28They produce enough light to match their

01:46:30surroundings. The biggest

01:46:32luminous underwater creature is

01:46:34the kitefin shark, found

01:46:36swimming 980 feet below

01:46:38sea level, preying on groundfish

01:46:40or smaller sharks. It can

01:46:42grow almost 6 feet long and lives

01:46:443,200 feet below

01:46:46sea level. Deep sea

01:46:48sharks are also bigger than those on the surface.

01:46:50The greenland shark can grow

01:46:52up to 24 feet long, bigger

01:46:54than a great white. There's a thing called

01:46:56deep sea gigantism.

01:46:58Creatures in nutrient-poor depths of the

01:47:00ocean grow bigger, because

01:47:02that way, they lose less energy

01:47:04as heat. The greenland shark

01:47:06lives its life in slow motion.

01:47:08It has a slow metabolism

01:47:10and can go very long periods without

01:47:12food. With their slow pace,

01:47:14they evolve to live up to

01:47:16500 years at depths of

01:47:187,200 feet.

01:47:20Sharks in shallow waters catch their

01:47:22prey, relying on agility and

01:47:24speed. But for them, it's easier

01:47:26because there's plenty of food on the

01:47:28surface. Deep sea sharks,

01:47:30with less food and slower life rhythm,

01:47:32had to develop a different style.

01:47:34They're more opportunistic,

01:47:36definitely not picky, and

01:47:38don't care if their future meal is alive

01:47:40or not.

01:47:42Frilled shark, another living fossil

01:47:44from the darkest depths, hasn't evolved

01:47:46much through time, and they're one of

01:47:48the last of their kind, with all of their

01:47:50relatives already gone extinct.

01:47:52It grows up to 7 feet long,

01:47:54primarily hunts on squid,

01:47:56and catches other sharks and fish.

01:47:58It looks like a dinosaur,

01:48:00a snake-like face, a

01:48:02long, smooth, thin body that moves

01:48:04in a serpentine way.

01:48:06It can propel itself with the power of its

01:48:08tail and curl like snakes.

01:48:10They don't swim in a straight line like

01:48:12other sharks. Cookie cutter

01:48:14shark grows up to 20 inches.

01:48:16It got the name because of the way it feeds,

01:48:18biting off small pieces.

01:48:20It's a parasite creature,

01:48:22which means it feeds off bigger animals

01:48:24but leaves them alive.

01:48:26They have sharp teeth, and sometimes

01:48:28even swallow those that fall off on purpose.

01:48:30Some researchers think it

01:48:32could be because they live in the depths

01:48:34that are nutrient-poor.

01:48:36If they swallow the teeth, they could

01:48:38recycle calcium and other material

01:48:40from it. Prickly shark

01:48:42is a rare and unusual creature,

01:48:44with many thorn-like denticles

01:48:46and two small dorsal fins.

01:48:48It lives mostly in the depths of the

01:48:50Pacific region up to 1,900

01:48:52feet. Ghost sharks

01:48:54are not even real sharks,

01:48:56but fish closely related to them

01:48:58and rays. They have big

01:49:00pectoral and pelvic fins,

01:49:02two dorsal fins, pretty big eyes,

01:49:04and unlike their cousins, have a single

01:49:06external gill opening.

01:49:08Ghost sharks have slender tails

01:49:10and can grow up to 80 inches,

01:49:12silver to blackish color.

01:49:14They sometimes live in rivers and coastal

01:49:16waters, but also in the depths

01:49:18of the ocean of 8,200

01:49:20feet or even deeper.

01:49:22They are pretty weak swimmers,

01:49:24so they tend to feed on invertebrates

01:49:26and small fish.

01:49:28Goblin sharks. Swimming through

01:49:30the deep sea, this creepy

01:49:32shark with a flabby body

01:49:34suddenly sees a small, innocent squid.

01:49:36It goes toward it, but the

01:49:38potential snack notices it and

01:49:40quickly starts moving to dart away.

01:49:42It seems like the plan could work

01:49:44at first, but then the shark suddenly

01:49:46thrusts the jaw of its mouth and

01:49:48catches the poor little squid in a second.

01:49:50After the meal is finished,

01:49:52the animal simply fits the jaw back

01:49:54into the mouth and goes away

01:49:56as if nothing happened.

01:49:58This is possible because it has a jaw

01:50:00connected to 3-inch long flaps of

01:50:02skin, which is why it can unfold

01:50:04from the snout. It can

01:50:06grow up to 12 feet long with a weight

01:50:08of 460 pounds.

01:50:10Scientists think goblin sharks are

01:50:12mostly active in the morning and evening.

01:50:14The shark has a long, prominent snout

01:50:16and specific sensing organs

01:50:18on it. It uses them to sense

01:50:20electrical fields in the dark oceanic

01:50:22depths.

01:50:24Sevengill shark is a big cow shark,

01:50:26brown to silver gray on top,

01:50:28white underneath, black and white

01:50:30spots, with a thick body,

01:50:32a small dorsal fin, and a wide,

01:50:34blunt snout. It can grow up to

01:50:3610 feet long, mostly lives in

01:50:38the depth of 1,870 feet,

01:50:40but you can also find it in deep

01:50:42channels and bays. It can be

01:50:44aggressive toward humans if provoked.

01:50:46So don't.

01:50:48Like most deep-sea creatures, it's an

01:50:50opportunistic hunter that's not quite

01:50:52picky, but likes to go after dolphins,

01:50:54seals, porpoises, and

01:50:56other marine animals.

01:50:58Megamouth sharks mostly live

01:51:00in the depths of 15,000 feet

01:51:02and spend most of their time in

01:51:04the dark, like me.

01:51:06Scientists discovered it in 1976

01:51:08because it went near the surface

01:51:10at night to feed on zooplankton.

01:51:12That's the only time these sharks

01:51:14go there. During the day, they

01:51:16return to their quiet, dark, and mysterious

01:51:18depths. They are filter

01:51:20feeders, which means they keep their

01:51:22mouths wide open while swimming

01:51:24so they filter the planktons they like to

01:51:26eat. There are organs that

01:51:28produce light inside of their mouths,

01:51:30which attracts potential prey,

01:51:32such as pelagic crustaceans.

01:51:34These sharks live in the deep parts

01:51:36of the ocean, but you can rarely find

01:51:38them below almost 2 miles.

01:51:40Scientists think some other

01:51:42stronger bony fishes out-competed

01:51:44them. Deep parts of oceans

01:51:46became oxygenated around 70

01:51:48million years ago, and sharks

01:51:50have been around way longer.

01:51:52But bony fishes adjusted and

01:51:54adapted efficient ways to use oxygen,

01:51:56while sharks were slow with

01:51:58adaptations, so they lost.

01:52:00Also, oceanic depths

01:52:02are way colder, which is challenging

01:52:04for fish and the rest of cold-blooded

01:52:06animals because the speed of their

01:52:08metabolism widely depends

01:52:10upon the external temperature.

01:52:12Dwarf lantern shark.

01:52:14Sounds kind of like

01:52:16a superhero, huh? This is

01:52:18the smallest shark in the world. It's

01:52:20only the size of your palm, and it can

01:52:22glow in the dark. Well, that's a super

01:52:24power. Blue-ringed

01:52:26octopus. The most beautiful

01:52:28octopus in the world. But the

01:52:30bright colors of animals usually

01:52:32indicate they're venomous. An

01:52:34antidote to its venom is yet to be found.

01:52:36Although, this little guy

01:52:38is the size of a TV remote.

01:52:40Sarcastic

01:52:42fringehead. Though this

01:52:44fish is only 12 inches long,

01:52:46it can eat prey much larger.

01:52:48Its jaw can open just like

01:52:50a dinosaur's. The sarcastic

01:52:52fringehead has been known to attempt

01:52:54to swallow a whole octopus.

01:52:56Hey, can't we all just get along?

01:52:58Red lionfish.

01:53:00This beauty has an incredible

01:53:02appetite. It can eat fish

01:53:04two-thirds the size of its body,

01:53:06and it hides the needles on its

01:53:08fins, which contain a potent

01:53:10venom. Striped

01:53:12surgeonfish. It has scalpel-sharp

01:53:14spikes on its fins, not

01:53:16to perform surgery, but to hunt.

01:53:18And, unlike a doctor,

01:53:20it has venom on them.

01:53:22Black dragonfish.

01:53:24This is the only fish that can produce

01:53:26infrared light thanks to the chlorophyll

01:53:28in its eyes. It lives

01:53:30only at a depth of 6,600

01:53:32feet, and you can only

01:53:34reach that depth in a special submarine.

01:53:36Reef stonefish.

01:53:38This genius of

01:53:40camouflage usually lies on

01:53:42the bottom and pretends to be a rock.

01:53:44Tourists can often step

01:53:46on it, and sharp needles on its back

01:53:48can easily cut even through

01:53:50the hard sole of a boot.

01:53:52Viperfish.

01:53:54This fish, the size of your forearm,

01:53:56has the largest teeth in relation

01:53:58to its head in the world.

01:54:00But you're unlikely to encounter it,

01:54:02because it lives at a depth of

01:54:0413,000 feet.

01:54:06Lamprey. These are

01:54:08parasites that stick up to other creatures

01:54:10and live off of them. Only

01:54:12these guys are ten times bigger than the

01:54:14average river leech.

01:54:16Mega piranha. The most

01:54:18aggressive fish in the world,

01:54:20the size of a Doberman dog.

01:54:22A pack of these guys could leave nothing

01:54:24of an entire cow in just a couple of

01:54:26minutes. Fortunately for

01:54:28all of us, they ceased to exist

01:54:308 million years ago.

01:54:32Black paku.

01:54:34Pretty ordinary big

01:54:36fish until it opens its

01:54:38mouth. It has human-like

01:54:40teeth, and the richest black

01:54:42paku even had golden

01:54:44dental crowns. Just kidding.

01:54:46Payara.

01:54:48The most dangerous freshwater

01:54:50resident. It can swallow prey

01:54:52half its size. Even

01:54:54piranhas fear this monster.

01:54:56Anglerfish.

01:54:58It has a fishing rod on its head.

01:55:00It's a bait that lures small fish

01:55:02right into the mouth of this hunter.

01:55:04Slender

01:55:06snipe eel. It's very

01:55:08long and flexible due to the number

01:55:10of vertebrae in its back.

01:55:12There are 750 of them.

01:55:14By comparison, we only have

01:55:1633 to 34 vertebrae.

01:55:18Barracuda.

01:55:20Its jaw is similar to that of a

01:55:22great white shark, but its trademark

01:55:24is speed. It would beat any

01:55:26Olympic swimmer at 29

01:55:28miles per hour.

01:55:30Ocean sunfish. It's a fish

01:55:32the size of an adult person,

01:55:34and it's the heaviest bony fish

01:55:36in the world. Although peaceful,

01:55:38thank goodness, they sometimes damage

01:55:40the bottoms of small fishing boats.

01:55:42Frilled

01:55:44shark. Its length would allow it to

01:55:46successfully play basketball.

01:55:48It hunts with the strategy of a snake.

01:55:50The shark bends its body

01:55:52and then makes a sharp dash forward.

01:55:54And it has 300 teeth.

01:55:56Plenty of frills there.

01:55:58Electric eel.

01:56:00Its feature is its electrical

01:56:02organs, which can discharge

01:56:04four times as much as a normal

01:56:06household socket. The electric

01:56:08eel's shock can easily stun

01:56:10a large horse.

01:56:12Box jellyfish. It doesn't

01:56:14just drift in the waves near a

01:56:16shore like a regular jellyfish.

01:56:18Oh no! These guys are very fast

01:56:20and can even catch up with a person

01:56:22in the water. And their sting

01:56:24is hazardous. They don't look for

01:56:26trouble, but they're always ready to

01:56:28defend themselves.

01:56:30Goblin shark. Its snout

01:56:32ends in a long, blade-like outgrowth.

01:56:34And its jaw could extend

01:56:36all the way to the end of the snout.

01:56:38It's one of the most terrifying sharks

01:56:40in the world, despite its

01:56:42tender pink color.

01:56:44Saltwater crocodile.

01:56:46This is the most bad-tempered crocodile

01:56:48on the planet, and one of

01:56:50the largest at 20 feet.

01:56:52They're not afraid of humans, and only

01:56:54consider us as food.

01:56:56Hey, don't snack on me!

01:56:58Great white shark.

01:57:00The most notorious inhabitant

01:57:02of the oceans. Once, a great

01:57:04white shark pierced the bottom of a

01:57:06tourist yacht. The boat sank, but

01:57:08luckily, no one was injured

01:57:10or eaten.

01:57:12Greenland shark. These are the

01:57:14real, long livers of the marine

01:57:16world. They have a very slow

01:57:18metabolism, and can live up to 300

01:57:20years. For comparison,

01:57:22the oldest human was

01:57:24122 years old.

01:57:26Giant oarfish.

01:57:28This fish is as long as a giant anaconda,

01:57:30and it holds the title

01:57:32of the largest bonefish in the world.

01:57:34Giant manta ray.

01:57:36This creature might look

01:57:38like it's smiling, but it'll rush

01:57:40at you without hesitation.

01:57:42They reach up to 16 feet in diameter,

01:57:44and have a very sharp spike

01:57:46with a neurotoxin. Great.

01:57:48Orca.

01:57:50They can swim at the speed of a car,

01:57:52and are as big as a large

01:57:54minivan. And they're the only

01:57:56sea hunters that can jump out onto

01:57:58the coast and grab their prey there.

01:58:00Dunkleosteus.

01:58:02This guy was the

01:58:04size of a limousine. Although it

01:58:06had no teeth, it had bony plates

01:58:08that gave it one of the strongest

01:58:10bites among sea creatures.

01:58:12Camryocerus.

01:58:14This is an ancient clam

01:58:16of incredible size.

01:58:18But 90% of its entire body

01:58:20was a cone shell.

01:58:22It was heavy, which prevented it from moving

01:58:24very fast. So most of the time,

01:58:26Camryocerus

01:58:28lay motionless on the bottom, waiting

01:58:30for small fish to swim by.

01:58:32Cronosaurus.

01:58:34It was similar to a crocodile,

01:58:36only several times larger.

01:58:38The remains of one of them contained

01:58:40dinosaur bones. So

01:58:42Cronosaurus hunted not only

01:58:44in the sea, but also on land.

01:58:46Pelicopria.

01:58:48One of the few species

01:58:50to survive the Triassic extinction

01:58:52event. It did so thanks

01:58:54to its high intelligence and a powerful

01:58:56fighting tool, the circular

01:58:58saw-shaped jaw on its nose.

01:59:00Elasmosaurus.

01:59:02Its appearance resembles

01:59:04a giraffe, only twice as big.

01:59:06And these guys were real

01:59:08travelers. They swallowed small

01:59:10rocks to grind their food.

01:59:12300 rocks from all over the world

01:59:14were found in the remains of one

01:59:16of them. Colossal

01:59:18squid. It weighs as much as

01:59:20two polar bears and is five times

01:59:22as long as a human. They're

01:59:24extremely rare, but still exist

01:59:26far out in the cold waters

01:59:28of our planet. Humpback

01:59:30whale. Like ordinary whales,

01:59:32they feed on plankton and small fish,

01:59:34using their mouth as a huge

01:59:36net. They use their giant tail

01:59:38to stun large schools of fish.

01:59:40Mosasaurus.

01:59:42Aren't you impressed that I can say these

01:59:44Latin names? No? Oh well.

01:59:46The Mosasaurus were as

01:59:48big as a subway car and

01:59:50were the kings of the seas 66

01:59:52million years ago. Their jaw

01:59:54and skull were snake-like, and

01:59:56they could swallow their prey whole.

01:59:58Today, we can still find their

02:00:00relatives, the monitor lizards.

02:00:02They monitor where you go.

02:00:04Not really.

02:00:06Melville's leviathan.

02:00:08Now this guy had the biggest teeth

02:00:10ever known. They were basically

02:00:12as big as half your hand.

02:00:14And their appearance resembled something between

02:00:16an orca and a sperm whale.

02:00:18Late cygnus.

02:00:20They were bigger than a school bus,

02:00:22but they weren't hunters.

02:00:24Their large size prevented them from being

02:00:26fast, so they fed mostly

02:00:28on plankton.

02:00:30Megalodon.

02:00:32The most famous ancient sea creature.

02:00:34They were heavier than a tank

02:00:36or even a small house.

02:00:38Some people think they're still living in

02:00:40the deep waters of the ocean.

02:00:42But this, of course, is not true.

02:00:44Bacillosaurus.

02:00:46Giant ancestors

02:00:48of modern whales. They had

02:00:50large lower limbs. Perhaps

02:00:52it's because they used to be land creatures.

02:00:54But in the course of evolution,

02:00:56they gradually moved into the water.

02:00:58Cachalot.

02:01:00Sounds like it should have been on a baseball

02:01:02team. They were almost as long

02:01:04as a basketball court.

02:01:06Their brains weighed 15 pounds.

02:01:08That's seven times the weight of a human

02:01:10brain.

02:01:12Sawail. Okay, whale.

02:01:14Actually, it's its name,

02:01:16not a command.

02:01:18One of the best swimmers of all whales.

02:01:20Sawail could go up to 31

02:01:22miles per hour and dive deeper

02:01:24than the height of the Empire State Building.

02:01:26Shastosaurus.

02:01:28Though only bones

02:01:30remain of this monster.

02:01:32Calculations say it was as long as a

02:01:34tennis court or as a truck and trailer.

02:01:36Blue whale.

02:01:38The largest mammal to ever

02:01:40live on our planet.

02:01:42Its heart alone weighs as much as a big

02:01:44motorcycle. And its veins are

02:01:46as wide as a big pot.

02:01:48And these guys can sing songs.

02:01:50Lion's mane jellyfish.

02:01:52The world's largest

02:01:54jellyfish. It has a hat

02:01:56seven feet wide and tentacles

02:01:58as long as a ten-story building.

02:02:00Although they're not dangerous at all,

02:02:02people can still get tangled

02:02:04in their incredible tentacles like in

02:02:06a net.

02:02:08Portuguese man o' war.

02:02:10Although its head is very small,

02:02:12just like an ordinary jellyfish,

02:02:14its tentacles are as long as half a

02:02:16soccer field. And these things are

02:02:18venomous. They paralyze fish

02:02:20and anything caught in them.

02:02:22Even people. So like, stay

02:02:24away, huh?

02:02:26That's it

02:02:28for today. So hey, if you pacified

02:02:30your curiosity, then give the video

02:02:32a like and share it with your friends.

02:02:34Or if you want more, just click on these videos

02:02:36and stay on the Bright Side!

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