- 2 hours ago
Do you want to see strange and mysterious creatures living in the darkest corners of the planet? In this video, we show real and fictional creatures that you obviously have not heard of!
Category
🎈
FunTranscript
00:00Do you know how harsh the water around undersea volcanoes is?
00:05It is so acidic that some samples even showed it to be at a level between stomach acid and battery
00:12acid.
00:13This water also contains so many chemicals that are toxic to normal marine creatures and plants.
00:19And yet, some species have found a way to live near or inside hydrothermal vents.
00:26Like this special type of shrimp.
00:28This mysterious creature from the dark depths of the ocean has adapted to grazing bacterial filaments using its small claws,
00:34which are similar to garden shears.
00:37Hydrothermal vents stemming from the volcano coat the rocky surface, which means that all those creatures living down there get
00:44something to eat.
00:45In fact, undersea volcanoes provide three very important life-sustaining elements in those areas.
00:52Minerals, hot water, and bacteria.
00:56Whenever there's an open fissure in the ocean floor, water seeps into it.
01:01Bacteria living in the crust of our planet then move in and remain in the hot water.
01:06The temperature of the water there can go up to 750 degrees.
01:10When the fissure erupts and expels the heated water, these bacteria get expelled along with it.
01:16There's something else that comes along for the ride.
01:19Many nutritious minerals that resided in the rock that has been dissolved by the super-hot water.
01:25The warmth coming from the vents and the minerals sustain the bacteria and give them the perfect chance to multiply.
01:32In many cases, the first sign of life around an underwater volcano is a thick coating of bacteria.
01:40The bacteria develop stable colonies, which is why other deep-sea creatures that inhabit these dark areas use them as
01:47food, like these shrimp.
01:50They're trying to eat that fast-growing bacteria and, at the same time, do their best to avoid the hazards
01:55of all the volcanic eruptions.
01:57The waters surrounding undersea volcanoes are usually too acidic and hot for humans to dive to, even when there is
02:05no lava, ash, or steam spewing from the craters.
02:08But when a group of researchers took adequate equipment and finally managed to leave their camera in the hot acidic
02:15waters for an hour,
02:16they had no idea that they were going to find...
02:20Are those...
02:21Sharks?
02:22They were hiding in the deep, orange, murky waters around the Solomon Islands-submerged Kavachi.
02:29Different shark species, including hammerheads, scalloped hammerheads, and reef sharks.
02:35The story gets even better when you realize Kavachi is an active volcano with pretty common eruptions.
02:42Apparently, submarine-boiling lava and underwater explosions don't scare those sharks at all.
02:48It's their home, where they feel safe and comfortable.
02:51They must have done a great job evolving into this harsh environment over millions and millions of years.
02:57So now, they can swim through steam and lava without any issue.
03:01One of the reasons could be the special pores that they have near their snouts.
03:06One of these theories even says if these pores allow sharks to sense changes in the magnetic field of our
03:11planet.
03:12And sharks need that information for homing and migration.
03:16But that also means that they can detect cyclones and hurricanes,
03:20thus able to skillfully avoid them and similar dangerous situations in time.
03:24Back then, scientists also discovered a sleeper shark about 12 miles from the volcano.
03:30It's a specific type of shark that usually lives in the northern Atlantic and Pacific,
03:35or in some cases even further south near Antarctica in Australia.
03:40All right, now let's check out this unusual worm.
03:43Don't let its rainbow glow fool you.
03:46This mysterious creature is actually a scary predator,
03:49with jaws you usually see in horror movies.
03:51This creep leaves 3,900 feet deep, down on the muddy seafloor near northern New Zealand.
03:59A team of researchers took a three-week expedition throughout deep-sea areas in the volcano-rich Kermadek Ridge.
04:05This enormous area included 3,800 square miles of canyons, continental slopes, mountains, and hydrothermal vents,
04:14parts where undersea volcanoes release gases and hot water.
04:18And that's where they found this thing.
04:21There are 10,000 species of these worms in the oceans.
04:25Most of them have tails and segmented bodies,
04:28but they usually look pretty different from one another,
04:30depending on the area where they live.
04:33There is also a tube worm, which we also call the Pompeii worm.
04:37This type lives in hydrothermal vents, deep down on the ocean floor.
04:42The temperature down there sometimes goes over 140 degrees.
04:47Up next, we got a snaggletooth dragonfish.
04:51A team of researchers found these tiny critters in underwater volcanoes near the coast of Sydney.
04:57It's a black fish with translucent fangs that looks way scarier than most fish you'd see close to the surface,
05:03because it lives in warm, acidic water near undersea volcanoes.
05:07Humans rarely get to see these deep-sea fish.
05:10All right, how about a lobster?
05:13The Eropotychus squat lobster lives in depths of up to 4,600 feet, mostly somewhere around deep-sea coral.
05:21They're called squat lobsters because they look similar to true lobsters,
05:25but are flattened in shape from the top and bottom.
05:27They don't go around carrying their shell with them,
05:30but their carapace is flexible and soft enough so they can squeeze their body into small crevices.
05:36When they do this, they leave their long, sharp claws exposed so they can keep unwanted visitors away.
05:43It's hard and dangerous to directly go into dark ocean depths and study underwater volcanoes,
05:48so researchers came up with a new way to do it.
05:51They study deep-sea coral.
05:54As they develop, the skeletons of black corals contain a record of the noble gases in seawater.
06:00This helps scientists collect information on volcanic activity near these corals.
06:05Check out these unusual yellowish creatures, known as snake stars.
06:09Researchers saw them on an undersea peak at a depth of 4,000 feet.
06:14They spend most of their time wrapped around coral branches.
06:18That's where they can easily capture food particles from the perches around them.
06:23Volcanic vents themselves hide some very pretty unusual creatures,
06:27such as these small, hairy, red-eyed crabs, too.
06:31They live among rocks on the summit of seamounts in dark depths of up to 3,000 feet.
06:36There are crabs that leap even deeper than that, 1.5 miles on the ocean floor near Antarctica.
06:44They got their nickname Hoff Crabs because of their hairy chest
06:47and are part of a lost world of deep-sea creatures that live around volcanic vents at great depths.
06:53Big male Hoff Crabs spend most of their time highest on the mineral spires of the vents.
06:58That's actually the closest to the hot fluids that go out of them,
07:02where smaller male crabs live at the base of the mineral spires.
07:06After they get together, females crawl away, looking for the warm fluids that seep from the seafloor.
07:13They are rich in minerals, but they can be toxic if they're young, so they need to get far away.
07:19This whale, female crabs, move to a safe place and hide from the potential predators,
07:24like seven-armed sea stars and big sea anemones.
07:27Wow, the cavalcade just never ends, huh?
07:30Now, these next creatures, the Galapagos snakes, don't live in undersea volcanoes,
07:35but it's still fascinating how they've managed to adjust to living on the summits of volcanoes.
07:40The Galapagos Islands have 21 volcanoes, and 13 of them are active.
07:45It's a unique area with many animal species that you won't find anywhere else on the planet.
07:50A wide variety of iguanas, tortoises, lizards, geckos, seals, birds, and sea lions.
07:59And snakes that decided to inhabit volcanoes.
08:02Also, Alaskan fur seals have been popping up in some unusual locations,
08:06like the top of a small island that forms the tip of an active undersea volcano, perhaps?
08:12Vents there spew steam, mud, and sulfurous gases.
08:15Their surface is covered with huge rocks that exploded out of the vent a couple years ago.
08:20This place doesn't look that hospitable, but northern fur seals obviously wouldn't agree.
08:25Maybe because there's so much food around this island,
08:28like squid and northern smooth tongue, a deep-water fish.
08:31Because of the ease with which they can gather food,
08:34it's much easier for them to take care of their young.
08:37And check out this giant woolly rat.
08:39It lives in the rainforest that surround the extinct volcano called Mount Basavi.
08:43Its crater is 2.5 miles wide.
08:47There are high walls around the volcano.
08:49And at first glance, it seems like nothing interesting has been going on here,
08:52except for some unusual creatures,
08:54like this large, fluffy animal that kind of looks more like a beaver than a regular rat.
08:59It's 32 inches long from nose to tail and weighs 3.5 pounds.
09:04And it's one of the largest rats in the world.
09:06They have a silver-gray coat,
09:08and researchers think that they build their nests underground.
09:11These rats eat roots and leaves.
09:14This extinct volcano is in New Guinea,
09:16which is known for its over 70 species of mice and rats.
09:20So these woolly rats have obviously adjusted through generations
09:23and evolved to live in these unpleasant conditions.
09:27To see the strangest and scariest thing hiding in swamps,
09:31you need to go to France,
09:32to the nature reserve of Sting.
09:34If you go to this place alone,
09:36unaware of what awaits you,
09:38you will remember what you'll see there for the rest of your life,
09:41and it will haunt you in nightmares for a long time.
09:45So, imagine you come to these marshes by car.
09:48It's early morning.
09:49Nature is waking up,
09:50and a cool breeze is blowing.
09:53You carefully go through the grass and come out to the green swamps.
09:56At this moment, you notice a silhouette.
09:58The creature is on the shore,
10:00leaning over the water.
10:02It looks like a human.
10:04It's squatting.
10:05Its legs are long like those of a grasshopper,
10:08and its thin arms resemble tree branches.
10:12This skinny creature is completely covered with mud and green algae.
10:16It's sitting right there,
10:17and it looks much bigger than you.
10:19You slowly step back in horror.
10:22Hoping the strange swamp monster won't notice you.
10:25Then, you see another similar creature lying on the grass.
10:29There are several of them.
10:30Your heart is pounding so loudly
10:32that you're afraid the monsters will hear the sound.
10:36Fortunately, you manage to get into the car unnoticed
10:39and drive away from there.
10:40You've just seen Homo algus.
10:43Swamp creatures that consist of algae and mud.
10:46Yes, they do look creepy.
10:48But don't worry, they're not alive.
10:50They're statues made by one architect.
10:52She wanted to show the importance of swamps in the natural world
10:56with the help of her creations.
10:58People associate swamps with something terrible.
11:01But in reality,
11:02they're huge reserves of fresh water
11:04and a habitat for thousands of living beings.
11:07Life starts and ends in swamps.
11:09And of course, loads of scary myths and fairy tales
11:13appear around these places.
11:15The sculptor decided to combine natural features
11:18and creepy folklore into these statues.
11:21The color, texture, and coating of Homo algus
11:24change over time with the surrounding landscape.
11:27The next mysterious thing
11:29is the one you can only see at night.
11:31It's a strange, rare phenomenon called
11:33fool's fire or spooky lights.
11:37So, you're driving along a highway
11:39between two small British towns.
11:41The moon is shining brightly
11:42and you decide to go off the road
11:44and wander around a swampy area.
11:46You leave the car
11:47and notice a strange, orange ball
11:49floating right above the water.
11:51This ball flies in different directions
11:53and seems to lure you closer.
11:55Perhaps it's a person with a kerosene lamp
11:58calling for help.
11:59Two more balls appear next to it.
12:01You get scared.
12:02Don't try to go in their direction.
12:05Otherwise, you'll get into a trap.
12:07It's dangerous to walk through the swamps.
12:10For centuries, people have seen this phenomenon.
12:13Many went towards such balls
12:15because they thought it was someone who needed help.
12:17But those who approached fool's fire
12:19never came back.
12:21Previously, people thought that these were
12:22some mystical creatures from another world.
12:24But today, science can explain the nature
12:27of this phenomenon.
12:29Bioluminescent fungi and algae
12:31grow in swampy places
12:32and can glow blue in the dark.
12:35From afar, they can create an illusion
12:37of an orange ball.
12:39Wind and water shake these algae
12:41and it seems like they're flying through the air.
12:44Also, swamps contain many plant materials,
12:47grass, clay, leaves, and branches.
12:51All this decomposes and releases methane.
12:53As soon as this substance comes into contact
12:55with the air, it ignites
12:57and rises in the form of a fireball.
13:00Now, we're in Alabama,
13:02near the town of Prattville.
13:04Here, there are swamps
13:05that are popular among teenagers.
13:08Young guys and girls come here
13:09to meet with phantoms
13:10and some fantastic monsters.
13:13Of course, these are all fairy tales
13:15and legends people like telling each other.
13:18But sometimes, locals hear a strange noise
13:21coming from the swamp's depths.
13:23It sounds as if something heavy
13:25falls on something solid.
13:27So, imagine a small town,
13:30curious teenagers,
13:31creepy tales and legends,
13:33and a place called Bear Creek Swamp.
13:35All these are the perfect elements
13:37for an excellent horror movie.
13:38And here's how it could start.
13:41In 2014, the county sheriff
13:43was driving between towns
13:44on a dirt road past these swamps.
13:47It was Tuesday morning.
13:48From the corner of his eye,
13:50he noticed something strange
13:51sticking out of the green water.
13:53He stopped the car,
13:54got out,
13:55and saw a creepy picture.
13:57Bamboo stakes were sticking out of the swamp,
13:59and 21 dolls were impaled on them.
14:03Most of them were porcelain.
14:04They looked expensive and antique.
14:06Indeed, this collection was worth a lot of money,
14:09but someone left them in the swamp
14:11in such a terrible state.
14:13Their faces and hair were covered with white paint,
14:15as if someone wanted to erase their smiles and eyes.
14:20The sheriff decided it was some kind
14:22of sinister Halloween joke
14:23and thought nothing of it.
14:25He returned to the office
14:26and told his colleagues about his discovery.
14:29Then, one of the police officers
14:31took a photo of the dolls
14:32and posted it on the internet.
14:34It became viral.
14:36The locals began writing to the sheriff's office,
14:39expressing their concerns.
14:40What if it was some kind of ritual?
14:42Who did this?
14:44How long will the dolls stay in the swamp?
14:47After this kind of reaction,
14:48several officers took a canoe
14:50and sailed for 30 minutes to get to the dolls.
14:52They couldn't identify their owner.
14:55The only clue was a logging company
14:57that owned the territory.
14:58The police tried to contact them,
15:00but no one answered.
15:01So they decided that if the owner came,
15:03they would return all the dolls to them.
15:06There's nothing mysterious
15:08in the most terrible things that swamps hide.
15:10These are not some mystical creatures
15:12or strange objects.
15:13I'm talking about crocodiles.
15:16And now, we will go to the one place
15:18where they pose the greatest danger.
15:20This is Ramri Island in Southeast Asia.
15:24While passing through these swamps,
15:26you won't see anything suspicious at first.
15:28But soon, you will notice that everything has become quiet.
15:32Too quiet.
15:33You'll hear a strange sound
15:34as if something is moving in the mud.
15:36The swamp around you will begin to stir.
15:39And then, you'll understand that this is not mud and water.
15:42It's crocodiles' backs.
15:45These creatures are almost impossible to notice.
15:48You count several dozens of them.
15:50Each of them can reach 23 feet in length.
15:53This is almost twice the size of a passenger car.
15:56And their weight is slightly less than a ton.
15:58One reptile can bring a lot of problems.
16:01And dozens can cause absolute chaos.
16:04They are patient and extremely fast.
16:07They hide in the swamps and then suddenly attack you.
16:10Fortunately, there are almost no crocodiles on this island now.
16:14But in the last century, there were many of them here.
16:17In the 40s, crocodiles came across a group of thousands of people
16:21who didn't expect that giant reptiles would be waiting for them.
16:25Only a few of these people managed to get out of the swamps that day.
16:28In the Guinness World Records,
16:30this event is described as the biggest human disaster caused by animals.
16:36Let's move on to the most unusual,
16:39but definitely not the most terrible finding.
16:41It's called Swamp Ghost.
16:43And it's a big plane.
16:45In the 1940s, the pilot made an emergency landing in this swamp.
16:49He was flying over Papua New Guinea and hoped to land in a wheat field.
16:54Unfortunately, he didn't notice a huge swamp because of the poor visibility.
16:58The pilot and two other crew members survived the hard landing.
17:02They left the plane and were cutting their way through sharp grass for two days.
17:06All this time, they were walking through the swamps, fighting off millions of mosquitoes.
17:11Finally, they got to dry land.
17:14Locals noticed them and took the pilots to their village.
17:17After that, the survivors sat in a canoe, went down the river, and reached the road.
17:22Everyone forgot about the plane.
17:24It lay in the swamps for about 30 years, covered with mud and algae.
17:28It became a local landmark.
17:30Then, in 1972, several guys from Austria accidentally discovered the aircraft,
17:36took some photos, and posted them in newspapers.
17:38At that moment, the plane became famous.
17:42In 2016, an American rescuer dismantled the plane and pulled it out of the swamp.
17:48We're in Siberia.
17:49It's so cold here that freezing gusts of wind are burning your face.
17:54All that white snow seems to be blinding you.
17:57This place resembles Antarctica because of the permafrost.
18:00Recently, a group of scientists researched one of the local rivers.
18:04With the help of a drilling rig, they extracted several samples of frozen soil.
18:09The scientists were shocked to find living creatures inside the ice.
18:14Later in the laboratory, they realized that the creatures were microscopic multi-celled organisms
18:19known as deloid rotifers.
18:21These creatures looked like little worms.
18:24Scientists knew that these worms could live in frozen conditions for up to 10 years.
18:29But the age of the rotifers found in the ice was about 24,000 years.
18:34And after defrosting, they began to reproduce, as if they had been sleeping for several hours,
18:40not thousands of years.
18:41Further analysis showed that these organisms could stay frozen for hundreds of thousands of years.
18:47The rotifers might have lived during the time when people didn't invent the wheel yet.
18:51And this isn't their only superpower.
18:54Deloid rotifers are among the most radioactively resistant animals on Earth.
18:59They can survive in places where there's no oxygen and water.
19:02They can also stay alive in areas with high acidity and can live without food and water for a long
19:08time.
19:09By the way, these are not the only creatures that are known for living for thousands of years.
19:14Particular types of moss and some microorganisms are also almost immortal.
19:20Nematodes, also called roundworms, are some of the most adaptive varieties of worms in the world.
19:26Imagine the Eiffel Tower, standing tall and proud.
19:29And now, let's make it ten times higher and place it underground.
19:33Exactly at this depth, many thousands of feet under the surface, scientists discovered these creatures.
19:40There's no sunlight and almost no air in this place.
19:43And since it's much closer to Earth's core than the surface of our planet,
19:47the temperature here is higher than in the middle of the hottest desert.
19:51Millions of tons of soil above create insane pressure.
19:55But all this couldn't prevent life from developing here.
19:59When roundworms run out of air, food, or when the temperature becomes too high,
20:04they get into a unique state of stasis, or deep hibernation.
20:08In this mode, the worm's metabolism slows down, and almost all the processes in their bodies stop.
20:14The creatures can sleep for a very long time, and only wake up when the environment becomes more livable.
20:20By the way, you don't have to go so deep underground to find these creatures.
20:25Nematodes are found all over the world.
20:27They can live in hot springs, deserts, high in the mountains, among the harsh ices of Antarctica,
20:32or inside animals and humans.
20:35Our next invulnerable creatures are tardigrades, also known as water bears.
20:40These are microscopic, eight-legged invertebrates, closely related to arthropods.
20:45It's impossible to see them with the unaided eye.
20:48But a conventional microscope will allow you to see tardigrades in detail.
20:53They look like minuscule bears.
20:55They're called water bears because they need a thin layer of water around their bodies at all times.
21:01It's necessary to prevent dehydration.
21:04Tardigrades have been found in all kinds of environments, from ocean depths to sand dunes.
21:09They're incredibly robust, thanks to their unique organism structure.
21:13Yeah, they look soft, but their body is covered with a tough cuticle.
21:17This coating resembles the exoskeletons of grasshoppers, mantises, and many other insects.
21:24Water bears shed their old layer of the cuticle when they need to grow.
21:28Each of their eight legs has four to six claws, which helps them cling to any surface.
21:33The bears can survive at a temperature that's almost three times as cold as the temperature in the ice of
21:39Antarctica.
21:40Heat doesn't harm them either.
21:41They have been proved to survive at the temperature that makes water boil.
21:45Also, water bears are not afraid of radiation and high pressure.
21:50In the depths of the ocean, pressure can destroy alloys of the strongest metals.
21:55But these creatures can withstand pressures six times greater.
21:59But the coolest thing is that they can live in the vacuum of space.
22:03Our planet has a magnetic field.
22:05This is a shield that protects us from solar radiation.
22:09Tardigrades don't need this protection.
22:11They can go into near-Earth orbit and come back unharmed.
22:15All thanks to a protein protecting their DNA from ionizing radiation.
22:20Like other immortal organisms, water bears can fall into a state of cryptobiosis.
22:26Tardigrades pull their head and legs inside their bodies and fall asleep.
22:31If the surrounding conditions suggest freezing, drying out, or experiencing a lack of oxygen,
22:36they will remain in this barrel form until the situation improves.
22:40So those are microscopic organisms and microbes that can only be seen through a microscope.
22:45But how about something bigger?
22:48Meet ironclad beetles.
22:50They live in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
22:53These insects can not survive high temperatures, live without oxygen, or in conditions of increased radiation.
23:00But their shells are so tough that they can only be pierced with a drill or hammer.
23:07Their durable exoskeletons are made of a special substance, chitin.
23:11It can also be found in the armor of crabs or shrimp.
23:14And still, the chitin of the ironclad beetle is so durable that it allows this creature to withstand the impact
23:21of a car moving at high speed.
23:24In times of danger, they can hide their whiskers and strong legs in special recesses in their shell.
23:29Other animals can't bite through the armor, so they spit the beetle out and leave to look for lunch somewhere
23:35else.
23:35As soon as the danger disappears, the bug stretches out its legs again and goes about its business.
23:41Also, the armor saves the beetles from dehydration, which is very useful in hot areas of Mexico and the southwestern
23:48U.S.
23:49Inside the exoskeleton, they can store moisture.
23:53In other words, these bugs can absorb water whenever they find it and transport this liquid inside themselves.
23:59The next creatures are incredibly fragile, but they know how to survive in places where almost no other animals can
24:06live.
24:06We're going to the southeast of Romania, near the Black Sea.
24:11Here, on a desolate wide plain, you can notice a pit.
24:14This is a mine leading deep underground.
24:17The air on the surface of our planet usually contains around 20% oxygen.
24:22But in the mine, it's only 10%.
24:25Inside the cave, the air also has an increased content of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.
24:31People can't breathe there without an oxygen tank.
24:34We can probably say that the water and air there are poisoned.
24:39Almost no animals would be able to survive here.
24:41Still, 48 species of living organisms have been found in this cave.
24:4633 of them are newly discovered species.
24:49And they aren't the only microbes or bacteria that can't be seen without a microscope.
24:54Something bigger lives here.
24:56Strange white snails crawl over the walls of the mines.
24:59Transparent shrimp and a bunch of unknown kind of leeches swim in the water.
25:04White centipedes with huge whiskers.
25:06And creepy white spiders run on the ground.
25:09And they all have been growing here for almost 5 million years.
25:13You might notice a water scorpion and another unidentified species of this animal.
25:18It doesn't look like its relatives living in hot sands or tropical forests.
25:23No living creature here looks ordinary at all.
25:26All animals are either white or transparent.
25:29They have no eyes, but are equipped with long paws and antennae whiskers that help them navigate in this dark
25:35space.
25:36The deeper you go into the cave, the less oxygen the air contains.
25:40But the number of living organisms is increasing.
25:43The air is filled with methane and carbon dioxide.
25:47All the inhabitants of this cave have never seen the light of the sun and have never gone out of
25:52the darkness.
25:52It seems impossible to survive in such conditions where plants don't produce oxygen.
25:58The answer to the question of their survival is hidden in a small lake.
26:02The surface of the water is covered with strange foam.
26:05If you look closely, you can see that this white substance is alive.
26:10It resembles soft wet paper that is easy to tear.
26:14The thing is billions of living organisms, bacteria called autotrophs.
26:19There's much more carbon dioxide in the cave than there is outside.
26:23And these bacteria, like plants, absorb it.
26:26But they don't do this with the help of photosynthesis, which means they don't need sunlight.
26:31They use water for chemosynthesis.
26:34What these bacteria secrete is food for other bacteria.
26:38And these other bacteria are food for bigger creatures.
26:41A unique food cycle that you can't find anywhere else on the planet only exists here.