The Scariest Eyes in Nature Seen in 360 Degrees

Bright Side

Hey everyone! Ready to get a close-up look at some of the creepiest, crawliest creatures around? Watch our latest video, "The Scariest Spider Eyes in Nature Seen in 360 Degrees." You'll be amazed (and maybe a little freaked out) by how these spiders see the world. Click play if you dare and explore the fascinating world of spider vision in full 360 degrees!

Transcript

00:00They're watching you, hiding among leaves and stems, crevices and rocks,

00:05detecting way more colors than you do.

00:07These awesome creatures are jumping spiders,

00:10and scientists are mesmerized by their seemingly simple eyes that can do great things.

00:15This is the largest family of spiders,

00:17and they rely heavily on vision as their primary sense.

00:21That's why they have eyes that function like minuscule telescopes,

00:25allowing them to see with outstanding color and detail.

00:28Another amazing thing about their eyes is that they can move independently.

00:33This feature lets them estimate depth using just one eye.

00:37Among others, jumping spiders have six motion-detection eyes,

00:41thanks to which they have an almost 360-degree view.

00:44This super ability helps spiders identify threats, as well as prey, in no time.

00:50Male jumping spiders are also excellent dancers, yeah.

00:53To attract the attention of females, they do a little dance,

00:57involving beating their abdomens on the ground and moving their legs in the air.

01:02While doing it all, male spiders tap their feet against the ground so fast

01:06that the human eye can't detect it.

01:08Another surprising feature of these spiders that distinguishes them from other arachnids

01:13is that they don't use webs to trap their prey.

01:16The thing is, they just jump too well to even eat it.

01:20At the same time, it doesn't mean they can't produce silk.

01:22Some jumping spiders make tiny tents and shelters to hide from rain and nighttime predators.

01:28Plus, when a jumping spider, well, jumps,

01:31it anchors itself with a string, just in case it misses its target.

01:38Velvet worms might look harmless and gentle, but they're active and perilous carnivores.

01:43They prefer to feast on small invertebrates like termites, small spiders, and woodlides.

01:48But the coolest thing about these creatures is probably how they catch their prey.

01:53By throwing sticky slime from their oral tubes.

01:56Eww.

01:57This slime entangles the prey so effectively that it has no chance of escape.

02:03Then the worm emits digested saliva that softens its future dinner.

02:07Afterward, it gradually bites off parts of its meal and pulls them into its mouth.

02:12If there are any undigested portions, they're removed through the rear of the worm's body.

02:17By the way, that yucky slime can also serve as a self-defense mechanism.

02:22Yeah, you just can't unsee this stuff, can you?

02:27Salamanders are truly remarkable creatures.

02:30If this amphibian loses a toe, it simply grows back.

02:34If something chops away a piece of its heart or even spinal cord, it will regenerate.

02:39One of the most well-known salamanders is the axolotl, which is found in lakes near Mexico City.

02:44This creature is a true Peter Pan of the salamander world.

02:48Even a 12-inch-long reproductive adult has certain features of its youthful phase throughout its full life cycle.

02:55For example, these prominent gills protruding from the back of the animal's head are retained from its larval phase.

03:02Scientists are trying to unravel the mystery behind the incredible regenerative abilities of the salamander.

03:07They've found out that its molecules somehow command cells inside the injured axolotl to develop and move,

03:14often restoring an entire limb in the right proportion and size.

03:18Such regeneration is possible as far as the shoulder,

03:21and it looks as if the animal is growing a limb for the first time.

03:25You probably know about lizards that shed their still-wriggling tails when threatened.

03:33They do it to distract predators.

03:34But sea cucumbers take this strategy to the next level.

03:38When startled, some of these creatures shoot a sticky, silky substance out of their rear ends.

03:44And that substance is actually a whole organ.

03:47At first sight, this tangle of tubules looks like intestines.

03:50But it actually evolved from the creature's respiratory system.

03:54And just like a lizard's tail, it regenerates after the sea cucumber uses it.

04:00Researchers analyzed the entire genome of the sea cucumber to figure out the mechanism it uses to accomplish this outstanding feat.

04:07They believe that certain proteins might be responsible for expelling the organ.

04:12They also have concluded that the silk proteins of sea cucumber's tubules

04:16don't have the same sequence of amino acids as spider silk.

04:19On the other hand, they also are made up of long-repeated chains of amino acids.

04:25This discovery might mean that such long repeats are likely to be a shared structure in many silk-like proteins,

04:31even when they evolved independently.

04:35Would you imagine when I say shrimp?

04:38Right, a small and unassuming creature.

04:41But there's one tiny wonder out there called the pistol shrimp that is so powerful it can annihilate its prey.

04:47Pistol shrimps are also known as snapping shrimps.

04:50They're pros at creating something seemingly childish and harmless as bubbles.

04:55But those aren't your ordinary bubbles.

04:58They produce a sound louder than a gun and generate enormous amounts of heat.

05:02The pistol shrimp can not only send fatal bubbles to eliminate its prey,

05:07but they also jackhammer into the rock to make burrows and protect these burrows from other shrimps.

05:12To do this magic, the creature uses one oversized snapper claw that often grows to be half the size of its body.

05:21Moisture-harvesting lizards, like the Australian thorny devil,

05:25have one remarkable ability that helps them survive in super-arid regions.

05:30They have a special skin structure with tiny capillary channels in between their overlapping scales.

05:35This allows the lizard to collect water into these capillaries and transport it to the mouth for ingestion.

05:42The animal can get water from any available source – rainfall, dew, puddles, moist sand, and even condensation on the skin.

05:50The amount of the water the creature needs to fill the skin capillaries is just a bit more than 3% of its body mass.

05:56Wood frogs have an uncanny ability to freeze up to 60% of their bodies to survive winter.

06:04But that's not all.

06:06Alaskan wood frogs also stop breathing.

06:09And their hearts stop beating.

06:11Thanks to this, wood frogs can live through temperatures as low as 3 degrees Fahrenheit.

06:16And in the spring, they simply thaw out.

06:19To enter this semi-frozen state,

06:21wood frogs build up a high concentration of glucose in their tissues and organs.

06:25This glucose level can be 100 times the norm.

06:30Sugar acts as a cryoprotectant.

06:32It prevents ice crystals from forming in the animal's cells.

06:35Otherwise, they could puncture blood vessels and damage tissues.

06:41Now, some species of Antarctic fish have special antifreeze proteins in their blood.

06:46Without them, they wouldn't be able to survive in the frigid waters of the southern oceans surrounding Antarctica.

06:51Almost no fish can live at temperatures of around 28 degrees Fahrenheit.

06:57But these antifreeze proteins bind to ice crystals in the fish's blood,

07:01which stops the crystals from growing there and harming cells and tissues.

07:05Scientists believe that after interacting with the proteins,

07:08ice crystals might travel to the fish's spleen,

07:11where they remain stored until the fish get rid of them.

07:14It's still unclear how it happens.

07:17Maybe these crystals melt.

07:19Such an extraordinary adaptation explains why these fish make up around 90% of the fish biomass in that region.

07:27Tube worms are amazing creatures.

07:30They can thrive in a mix of ultra-hot water heated by magma and oxygenated seawater.

07:35Once, scientists thought that the deep ocean floor was totally devoid of life.

07:40But in 1977, they discovered giant tube worms living along the Galapagos Rift,

07:46around 1.5 miles below the ocean surface.

07:49These creatures literally thrived in hydrothermal vents.

07:53Tube worms live there, surrounded by total darkness.

07:56Their bases remain in hot hydrothermal fluid,

07:59water filled with dissolved elements and compounds.

08:01Meanwhile, their tops stretch into oxygenated seawater.

08:06Tube worms can reach lengths of over 6 feet,

08:09and they have no digestive system.

08:11They're long white tubes and in red plumes.

08:14Those are full of hemoglobin.

08:16The plumes act like gills, circulating oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide.

08:21Inside tube worms, there are bacteria producing carbohydrates and proteins.

08:26These bacteria feed both themselves and the worms.

08:31Puffer fish can inflate to enormous sizes, more than double their original size.

08:37You see, the problem is that slow-swimming fish can't always escape predators due to their speed limitations.

08:43But puffer fish have elastic stomachs that can be inflated with water if they feel threatened.

08:49Interestingly, puffer fish's cousins have spines instead of scales that pop up when they puff.

08:55It makes them look especially threatening.

08:56Anyway, sometimes puffer fish expand just to stretch their muscles.

09:01In any case, they can swell up to more than twice their original size.

09:07That's it for today.

09:08So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

09:13Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!

09:16Alright.

09:17So let's get started.

09:18So let's get started.

09:18Let's get started.

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