00:00Imagine a creature with a body resembling that of a seal, with eyes mounted on rods resembling a fantasy deer, fins adorning its tail, and a long, slender nose that ends with a mouth filled with teeth, or maybe a claw.
00:15And yes, the monster of Thule is on the hunt. It is undeniably one of the strangest creatures you would like to meet at sea.
00:23Fortunately, this species disappeared 300 million years ago. Discovered in Illinois in the 1950s, this atypical marine creature has long divided the scientific community in terms of its true nature.
00:35Some researchers thought it was a vertebrate, i.e. a creature with a vertebral column, just like humans.
00:42However, a team of Japanese researchers has recently studied many fossils of the monster of Thule, using advanced laser technology to analyze them in detail and in three dimensions.
00:53Although many mysteries still surround the monster of Thule, scientists have ended up determining that it did not have a vertebral column.
01:02The next step was to identify what type of vertebrate it could be. Did it look like a Phyoxus weapon, which has similarities with vertebrates?
01:13Or was it closer to snails and worms?
01:16They also highlighted a segmentation at the level of the head, which extended from the body.
01:22A feature absent in creatures with bone structures.
01:27However, in recent years, some scientists have advanced the hypothesis that the monster of Thule could be related to jawless fish, such as lampreys.
01:36These creatures, which belong to the oldest group of vertebrates, the superclass of Cyclostomes, are no longer pleasant to look at.
01:44Unlike the monster of Thule, lampreys are not extinct.
01:48They continue to haunt the oceans, sometimes frightening other creatures, sometimes humans.
01:53Especially in the waters of the northern and western regions of the Atlantic where they live.
01:57Present for millions of years, they are even much earlier than dinosaurs.
02:02A long time ago, long before the existence of humans, the Eurypterids lived, singular creatures belonging to the group of arthropods, which includes spiders, insects and crabs.
02:13However, the Eurypterids were born very different from anything you could imagine.
02:18Their body, composed of many segments, evoked that of limuli.
02:23Instead of legs, they had special appendages located at the front, used as rams.
02:29Some even call them sea scorpions, or caparisoned giants.
02:34Although the majority of Eurypterids were of modest size.
02:38With the exception of the Jaychelopterus renaniae, a colossal specimen that can reach an impressive length of 2.5 meters.
02:46The next time you see a crab wandering on a beach, or a spider weaving its web, remember your chance of meeting only modern and reduced versions of its ancestors.
02:57Disappeared hundreds of millions of years ago.
03:00In addition, some Eurypterids were able predators, fast and aggressive, hunting their prey with agility, despite the currents.
03:09Others played, rather the role of scavengers, content to pick up the remains they found at the bottom of the water, a bit like a cleaning team of the primitive oceans.
03:18These singular creatures particularly appreciated the environments of somatic water, a water whose salinity is between that of fresh water and that of seawater.
03:28Imagine that you were floating quietly in the water, and suddenly, you came face to face with this creature.
03:34No, this is not a strange little spaceship.
03:38You will not meet it either in space, even if its appearance, similar to these extraterrestrial creatures that we see in science fiction movies, could lend itself to it.
03:48In reality, you would see it floating in the sea.
03:51It is a tiny animal, but endowed with huge eyes, called holocaris.
03:56Its ocular globes represent to themselves about a quarter of the total length of its body.
04:01This almost extraterrestrial aspect makes it look like a creature living in the underwater oceans of worlds like Europe, a moon of Jupiter, or Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.
04:12We could even imagine beings similar to the holocaris reserving us a warm welcome when we set foot on Mars one day.
04:20The holocaris had a remarkable sight.
04:22Always on alert, it watched the slightest movement around it.
04:26As soon as it spotted an activity, it unhesitatingly projected its appendages, riddled with spikes, forward.
04:33Although it looks like locksmith tools at first glance, its appendages were actually used to capture small arthropods.
04:40What is amazing is that despite its excellent vision, the holocaris spent most of its time hunting prey in clear and shallow waters.
04:49However, the fossils found by scientists are located in rocky layers usually associated with dark habitats, similar to those where species such as abyssal crinoids or vampire squids live today.
05:03This seems paradoxical, but a hypothesis suggests that these creatures of the great depths once lived in shallow waters, before the geographical changes of the Earth led them to the depths.
05:15The exact origin of the holocaris remains a mystery.
05:19It could belong to the group of arthropods, a fascinating reservoir of strange creatures.
05:25Some think it could have a kinship link with shrimp, while others compare it to blind and worm-like crustaceans inhabiting the dark underwater caves.
05:36Now look at this gigantic worm buried under the sand of the seabed, patiently waiting for a prey to pass by.
05:43These ancient creatures were formidable hunters, perfectly camouflaged in their sandbags.
05:49Today, 20 million years later, scientists have uncovered traces of their secret hideout.
05:55The worm discovered in the form of the letter L has been found in ancient sediments off the coast of Taiwan.
06:02It was about 2 meters long, but not more than 3 centimeters in diameter.
06:08It was in these shelters that the ancestors of the current Afro-Hungarian greys lived.
06:12These creatures have crossed the ages, and can measure just a few centimeters, up to an impressive length of 3 meters.
06:20A rather strange creature reigned over the North American skies at the end of the dinosaur era.
06:25Known under the name Quetzalcoatlus, it overflew emblematic species such as the Tyrannosaurus and the Triceratops, affirming its status as absolute sovereign of the sky.
06:36This winged giant belonged to a group of flying reptiles called Pterosaurs, which are among the most imposing flying animals ever identified.
06:44Imagine a Quetzalcoatlus as big as a giraffe.
06:48These extraordinary creatures bore long necks, small bodies, elongated legs, and wings that, although massive, seemed short in their size.
06:59The most imposing specimens hold the record for the largest flying creatures in history.
07:05Their elongated and slender skulls were sometimes adorned with small crests located at the back of the head.
07:12For a long time, scientists have wondered about the hunting methods of these impressive Pterosaurs.
07:18Some have assumed that the Quetzalcoatlus, like its relatives, acted like a gigantic vulture, feeding on carcasses found here and there.
07:27This hypothesis came from the fact that these fossils had been discovered far from the coastal areas, unlike those of other large Pterosaurs such as the Pteranodon.
07:36Other specialists thought that these animals excelled in the art of gliding, flying over shallow water to catch fish.
07:44However, it would seem that the Quetzalcoatlus was a formidable predator, with exceptional hunting skills.
07:52The precise way in which it captured its prey remains a mystery.
07:56Here is another fascinating discovery.
07:59A special fossil, Haotia Quadriformis, which represents the oldest trace of muscle tissue ever discovered.
08:07This fossil belongs to a group of animals, the Cnidaires, which include modern creatures such as jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones.
08:17And admit that it has a truly unique appearance, doesn't it?
08:20This fossil presents organized fiber fibers according to a symmetrical pattern in four parts.
08:25An arrangement similar to what is observed in the current Cnidaires.
08:29This structure is unparalleled among fossils dating from the Ediacaran, between 635 and 540 and a million years before our era.
08:38Although it may seem strange, this fossil plays a key role in understanding the evolution of muscle tissue in animals.
08:45Thanks to such muscles, organisms, including us, have been able to develop new food strategies and explore new possibilities.
08:54Fossilized muscles being extremely rare, researchers generally have to rely on observations related to feeding, reproduction, or animal locomotion to better understand them.
09:05This extraordinary fossil suggests that the appearance of animals could date back to an even older era than we thought until now.
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