The Ocean Contains Secrets Humanity Wasn’t Ready For

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Giant [music] vase-like sponges, otherworldly jellyfish, segmented worms covered with bristles, and large octopuses are the newest Antarctica discovery. Scientists found them after a giant iceberg had broken away, and it turned out to be a treasury of ancient life under ice.

[00:00:21]In January 2025, a huge iceberg the size of Chicago called A84 broke off from Antarctica's George V 6th ice shelf, which is a large ice shelf about 280 mi long, 12 to 43 mi wide, and [music] around 820 ft thick. In the summer, which lasts from November to late February, the ice shelf melts at the surface and meltwater ribbon lakes form.

[00:00:50]They're elongated and ribbon-like.

[00:00:52][music] That's how they got their name. Anyway, when the iceberg floated away, it left part of the ocean floor wide open, and it was a spot no one had ever seen before. Scientists on the research ship Falor 2 were nearby in the Belling Shaen Sea. As soon as they heard about the iceberg, they immediately changed their plans. They understood that it was a super rare chance to [music] check out something unknown and amazing, like lifting a rock in the forest to see what's hiding underneath.

[00:01:25]The researchers used an underwater robot named Subastian and explored [music] the deep sea for 8 days. They went as deep as over 4,200 ft. Down [music] there, they found a hidden ecosystem. There were big corals and sponges literally packed with sea animals. a whole world under [music] the ice. The researchers thought they'd find some life down there, but they didn't expect to see so much. And this underwater ancient life wasn't just surviving. It had been thriving in that harsh, icy place for a really long time. Anemmones that looked like fluffy little trees, sea spiders, [music] ice fish, octopuses. The research was live streamed to scientists from all over the world. [music] And those live streams are actually in open access.

[00:02:15]The coolest thing was that some discovered creatures seem to be new species. Yes, there are probably new species in Antarctica in 2025.

[00:02:25]And some might only live in this region.

[00:02:28]That's because Antarctica isn't just really far away. It's been cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years.

[00:02:36]The Antarctic circumpolar current surrounds it like a big water moat surrounding a castle. But even if it turns out that those species are not new, the scientists have still found snails, worms [music] with bristles, crustaceans like tiny crabs and shrimp, and a species of the phantom jellyfish.

[00:02:54][music] Those are super rare and look otherworldly.

[00:02:59]Their official name is too complicated, [music] so let's just call them the giant phantom jelly. This jellyfish is huge. Its bell, the round umbrella part on top, can be more than [music] 3 feet wide. It has four long arms that trail behind it. Each one as long as 33 ft, about as long as a school bus.

[00:03:20]Scientists first caught one [music] way back in 1899, but it took them 60 years to realize it [music] was a totally new kind of jellyfish. The phantom jellyfish has a see-through purplish body that looks kind of [music] ghostly.

[00:03:35]Instead of normal jellyfish tentacles, it has these ribbon-like arms that help it catch [music] food and pull it into its mouth right in the middle.

[00:03:45]Even though jellyfish don't have brains like we do, researchers watching the giant phantom jelly noticed something surprising. The other worldly creatures seemed to move its arms very carefully and with control, especially when swimming through tight spaces on the seafloor. It looked like it was being very cautious and [music] deliberate.

[00:04:05]Uh, creepy. Another sentient being jellyfish have a simple nerve net instead of a brain, which helps them sense the world around them. But the way this phantom jelly moved made scientists think it might be smarter or more coordinated than other jellyfish.

[00:04:26]Studying it can help scientists learn how animals without brains still manage to explore and survive in tricky places underwater.

[00:04:35]Another cool find was little worms called bristle worms. Scientists call them polyches, but let's stick with bristle worms [music] because it kind of sounds fun.

[00:04:46]Lots of different kinds of them live in super cold, deep parts of the ocean.

[00:04:51]Bristle worms have bodies made of many segments, and they have tiny little bristles all along their sides. These bristles help them move around, feel what's near them, and even protect themselves from danger.

[00:05:05]One cool example is the Antarctic scale worm. It's a type of bristle worm that lives in really cold, deep waters and has shiny golden bristles that make it look pretty fancy. During Antarctic deep sea exploration, the team also found giant sponges shaped like [music] vases.

[00:05:23]Usually, sponges grow very slowly. So, to get that huge, they must have been growing there for a really long time, maybe even hundreds of years. Their size shows that the deep sea animals living around them didn't just move in recently. [music] Those sea creatures have been there for decades and managed to form thriving communities under the ice. So, it really was ancient [music] life hiding under all that ice. And that surprised scientists a [music] lot. In older studies, people used to drop cameras through holes in the ice or visit iceberg areas long [music] after the ice had broken off to explore hidden ecosystems.

[00:06:05]Back then, they mostly saw bare, empty seafloor with just a few living things.

[00:06:10]But this time, the team arrived just weeks after the giant iceberg broke away, and they got to see what was hiding right underneath it. The first 9 miles behind the ice shelf can hide rich and busy ecosystems. The area is dark, cold, and hidden for ages, [music] and still all kinds of creatures live there.

[00:06:32]This shows that life can survive in places that seem too harsh or frozen for anything to live.

[00:06:38]On the other hand, finding all this life down there isn't super surprising. Lots of animals live in dark, cold places [music] underwater, so it makes sense that they'd be under the ice shelf, too.

[00:06:50]The ice kind of hides them and keeps them safe from anything going on above.

[00:06:55]But what's weird is how many different kinds of creatures live there, even though it used to be a really closed off space. [music] It actually looks a lot like the seabed in parts of Antarctica that don't have ice on top. [music] How can that be?

[00:07:10]Usually, tiny plants called phytolanton grow near the surface where sunlight hits. Little shrimplike animals called krill eat those plants at night. When krill get full, they sink [music] down and bring food and nutrients to the ocean floor. Even their waste helps feed the deep sea creatures. But if there's a huge ice cap above, sunlight can't [music] get through, so no plants can grow there and no krill bring food down [music] that way. Scientists thought this would mean less food and fewer animals down there, but they found a lot of life anyway. [music] Turns out food and nutrients probably sneak in under the ice carried by underwater currents, [music] kind of like rivers flowing under the ocean. Scientists found some animals that lived a long time. [music] So, it looks like those currents, which mostly come from melting glacier water, bring enough [music] food to keep the ecosystem healthy and full of life.

[00:08:07]>> [music] >> No one really knows what's going to happen to all that deep sea life now that the iceberg has floated away.

[00:08:13][music] Those creatures have lived under the thick ice for who knows how long in superstable pitch black conditions.

[00:08:22]Obviously, they're not exactly fans of change. So, losing that icy roof might totally mess with their whole setup.

[00:08:29][music] One of the scientists mentioned that the ice shelf the iceberg came from has been creeping backward like 25 m over the [music] last 50 years. That's a part of a bigger pattern. Antarctica's ice is melting faster and faster which pushes sea levels up around the world. [music] That's why this Antarctica discovery matters. The team's trying to figure out not just what's happening now, [music] but how this hidden ecosystem fits into the bigger picture.

[00:09:00]If we can understand how this place is changing over decades or even centuries, [music] maybe we can predict what's coming next. And it's pretty amazing that breaking ice can tell us so much, right? [music] Let's talk about some unusual drawings. You've probably heard about those large geometric patterns on fields made by [music] spacecraft from other galaxies. They're fake. The circles were drawn by people [music] to attract attention.

[00:09:28]You might also know about cave paintings that our distant ancestors made to express [music] themselves. Awesome. And still, there's nothing unusual about it.

[00:09:37]But have you ever heard of strange patterns on the seabed? Do you know what's so strange about them and who created them? Scientists know for sure that they weren't drawn by humans.

[00:09:48][music] The deeper the water, the less mobile it is. On the surface or in shallow places, constant currents move the water, [music] carrying nutrients and changing the floor's landscape. But at depth, under very high pressure, [music] these currents are slower. If someone paints a picture on the seabed or swims by touching the sand with their body, [music] those footprints will probably remain there for a long time.

[00:10:12]It's such patterns that help scientists understand how different marine life moves, how it feeds, how it reproduces, in [music] a word, how they live.

[00:10:22]These patterns may look like winding paths, circles, or small pits for storing food. Marine researchers mostly know the cause of these footprints, [music] but what they found at the bottom of the Framm Strait between Greenland and Swalbard stunned them.

[00:10:37]They conducted deep sea surveys of this region. Scientists sent remotely operated vessels into the depths. Using those machines, they took pictures of the seabed and noticed 106 strange octagonal structures. [music] They were quite strange and kind of beautiful. But what animal could leave this pattern?

[00:10:58]And most importantly, for what purpose?

[00:11:01]Scientists suggested [music] that those octagonal footprints might show prey handling. That is some creature did something with its prey and left such patterns. [music] Was it stalking or did some animal grab its prey tightly and drag it along the seabed? The scientists wanted to know for sure.

[00:11:21]Some of the octagons were grouped, others were separated. After analyzing the images, the researchers came to the conclusion that those patterns were left [music] by Dumbo octopuses.

[00:11:32]These amazing creatures with jelly-ike bodies are inkless [music] and have a pair of large lopeared fins on their heads. Pretty cute creatures.

[00:11:42]After the scientists found out the nature of the drawings, [music] they began to study the cause. Why did Dumbo octopuses leave [music] these patterns?

[00:11:51]The researchers observed them and discovered a strange feeding sequence that was repeated in a circle to catch prey. [music] This sequence included spreading, enveloping, retreating, and flapping fins frequently. Look carefully. [music] First, the octopus slowly floats over the seabed. They're extending the tentacles parallel to the ground. Then, [music] they spread their webbed tentacles and grasp the ground beneath them to reach the food. They also [music] flap their fins to catch food that might end up between them and the seabed. After that, they swim [music] off into open water. Their way of extracting [music] food has a scientific name, pelagic benthic feeding. It means they're swimming [music] in the open water and feeding on the bottom. Scientists probably enjoyed watching octopuses because [music] these creatures weren't afraid of the vessels that recorded their hunting process.

[00:12:46]Moreover, the animals [music] showed curiosity and even swam closer to the camera. And then [music] they sailed away in an umbrella pose.

[00:12:56]Okay, we've seen patterns that appear because of an unusual way of getting food. Let's now move over to the Japanese coast. Here on the seabed, you can see amazing geometric designs made for a purpose, to find love. Meet this handsome guy called the puffer [music] fish, also known as fugu. You've probably heard that this fish is poisonous and it's very dangerous to eat it. But you probably didn't know that it painted pictures on the seabed to attract females. A puffer fish male swims above the bottom, flapping its fins on the surface and thus drawing a really beautiful pattern. [music] Then it finds pieces of shells or some kind of trash and decorates the created maze [music] with this stuff. Such a tiny fish the size of a human palm is painting [music] a masterpiece bigger than a round double bed. It works hard to perfect every line and it's been at it for over a week. But why? To impress the love of its life. If a female puffer fish likes [music] the pattern, then they create a family together. In the middle of this circle, the female lays eggs and then swims [music] away. The male takes care of the eggs until they hatch. But this is an open area. How can a small puffer fish protect its offspring from [music] predators? Well, not only people know about its poisonous properties. The toxin in this fish keeps [music] big predators away, so no one dares to touch it. If the female doesn't like the drawing, it swims away and the poor male is left with a broken heart.

[00:14:32]The sea current soon washes away the drawing. The fish after a while draws a new one and tries to make a family again. But why is it [music] only this fish that draws these patterns? How does its brain work while making this maze?

[00:14:46]Does it feel aesthetic pleasure creating it? Scientists [music] don't know.

[00:14:52]The behavior of these fish is very similar [music] to that of bower birds.

[00:14:56]These animals also love creativity. They build beautiful huts from branches and leaves. Then they decorate [music] them with flowers, berries, and basically anything beautiful they find. And they [music] do this to attract females. Fish create beautiful nests on the seabed.

[00:15:14]Birds create beautiful huts for the same [music] purpose. It's fascinating that these creatures are not so different from humans. So, let's move on to our next [music] drawing. This time, you're unlikely to guess who made it. So, in 2013, a photographer used a drone near the town of Nelson in [music] British Columbia to take pictures. He got beautiful shots of forests, lakes, landscapes, and something strange. The drone caught a maze of unknown origin that was located under the surface of Cinney Lake. [music] The maze was made from stones on the lake bed near the shore, and it was big enough, but it's unlikely that any marine life would be able to collect all those stones in one place. Then what is it? The guy who found the maze posted it online. Users immediately assumed that it was a petroglyph, an image carved by ancient people into stone. Petroglyphs can be found all over the world, but this Coupney Lake maze was clearly not set in stone. Theories began to appear on the internet, [music] for example, that the maze was made by indigenous peoples or visitors from other planets. And there was also a version that it was created by a Bigfoot. The truth wasn't that exciting. Professors from the department of anthropology at the University of British [music] Columbia joined the conversation. The first thing they did was reject the petroglyph theory.

[00:16:40]Petroglyphs, they said, were images etched or carved into the surface of rocks. [music] And that maze is just stones lying close to each other.

[00:16:48]Professor suggested the maze was created during [music] low tide which had occurred recently. Later another photo appeared [music] with a similar maze but without water. Obviously it was done by people [music] who were just bored.

[00:17:02]Nothing ancient, nothing extraordinary.

[00:17:05]Here's another example. In [music] the north Caucas stand on the shore of a local [music] river. Stones of different sizes and shapes lie on top of each other forming low towers. They look unnatural. It seems that they're about to fall, but they've been standing there for [music] weeks and even months. Perhaps they're glued to each other or an iron rod passes through them. In fact, they really stand on top of each other and anyone can easily break the towers. But how is this possible?

[00:17:38]A local artist with an amazing sense of balance carefully [music] builds these stone sculptures. Slowly and patiently, he finds the perfect angle and position for each stone before stacking it on top of the others.

[00:17:53]So, imagine stumbling upon a creature so huge it [music] could dwarf even the largest known marine animals today.

[00:18:00]Scientists discovered the fossils of this beast on England's coast and believe it once ruled the waves.

[00:18:07]The new species was named ichthotitan severences, but thankfully for me, scientists nicknamed it the little stock monster. Its estimated length ranged from 72 to 85 ft long, almost as big as a blue whale. Megalodon can't even compare to this. It was only about 60 ft long. And what's crazy is that this fossil we found wasn't even an adult.

[00:18:31]So, who knows what their actual size was? The first piece of the little stock monster was discovered in 2016 in the Westbury Formation. Researchers found a three- foot long jaw part [music] that belonged to an unknown species. For years, this single fragment had been driving them crazy because they had no idea what that animal was. Then, in 2020, a miracle happened of sorts. A father with his 11-year-old daughter found the second piece of fossil on a beach. This discovery led to more findings. Finally, in 2022, the last piece of the literal jaw puzzle was found buried along the Somerset coast.

[00:19:12]This Leviathan belonged to the Shasttoasaurid family. Both the Liltock monster and other Shastasaurids had one ancestor, so all the species in this family are super similar to each other.

[00:19:24]For example, all of them were the largest marine reptiles ever to exist.

[00:19:29]Although our Lilto stock monster is much larger, most Shastasaurids could grow up to only 69 ft long. And it's possible that the Liltock monster when fully grown would reach up to 100 ft [music] or even more. Both of their bodies were just perfect for cruising the ancient seas. These marine titans were elegant and slender with an elongated snout.

[00:19:52]Other marine animals at the time were smaller and look more like dolphins.

[00:19:56]Chestoasaurids [music] had long paddle-like limbs adapted for efficient swimming. Their skulls show large eye sockets, which means they had excellent vision. If you were in the ocean, no matter what time it was or where you were hiding, they could spot you. They were also incredibly fast and could dive to great depths. Of course, all these things made them [music] the most terrifying predators. They ate pretty much everything, including fish and squid, and you if you were there. They probably captured their prey like whales, open their huge mouths, and literally suck the fish in.

[00:20:31]What made the little stock monster especially scary is that it wins in the jaw competition. For other Shasttosaurids, their jaws were a bit weaker, so they hunted smaller fish.

[00:20:41]Kind of like today's orcas, they required vast amounts of food. This shows us that the Earth's triacic oceans had rich, productive food [music] webs.

[00:20:50]But the Liltock monster has this unique feature. It could open its jaw almost 90° upwards. It also had tons of powerful muscles around. Its jaws were horrifyingly strong. So, while others were hunting some squids, the Lilto stock monster probably hunted large fish and even other marine reptiles. Fossils of Shasttoaurus have been found everywhere in the world from North America to Asia. This means that these creatures dominated and terrorized the oceans for millions of years. Although even they weren't completely safe from scavengers and that's exactly why we struggle to find these fossils now.

[00:21:28]Scavengers didn't leave any remnants of them. So while we have some fossils of this marine family, they mostly remain a mystery for us. They lived in the oceans about 200 million years ago in the late triacic period. The earth looked completely different back then. All continents were united in one pangia, a huge land mass. Some parts of this superc continent were covered with lush [music] conifer forests, while others were dry deserts and open prairies. It was before the famous Jurassic period, but there were already first terasaurs and amphibians. It seems like those monsters were crazy resilient. The triacic period was super unstable, but they survived through many changes in the environment. Well, until the last one. The triacic [music] extinction came out of nowhere. It was one of the Earth's big five extinction events. It wiped out almost all species on [music] the planet, including these Leviathans.

[00:22:24]It's still not clear what happened exactly, but it looks like there was a huge [music] tectonic activity.

[00:22:30]Volcanoes in the oceans were going crazy back then. These massive volcanic eruptions [music] have probably altered the climate and ocean chemistry, leading to the extinction of many [music] species. Scientists have a theory that it might have happened because there was a rain of comets flying to our planet [music] from the or cloud. This likely happens about every 200 million years or so. I wasn't around then, so I'm just guessing here. In any case, after the extinction, [music] the Earth took some time to recover. Then it entered the famous Jurassic period. More terrifying sea monsters were on the way. One of them left us a colossal skull. [music] This fossil is 150 million years old and it also belonged to a sea beast from Jurassic times. They called it the sea.

[00:23:16][music] The name is very fitting. This monster could have broken a car in half with one bite. It was also discovered accidentally. A fossil enthusiast was walking along the Jurassic coast. This place is famous for [music] having tons of ancient fossils, all because of the erosion and stormy weather. Typically, people find small spiral fossils here.

[00:23:38]However, this time he discovered a giant sea monster fossil. Excited, he contacted [music] scientists. They arrived at the spot right away and then had to carefully climb down a cliff to search [music] for the rest of the skull. This fragment alone is 6 1/2 ft long. Turns out [music] it's a newly discovered species of plyiosaurs, giant predators of the ancient seas.

[00:24:00]Plyiosaurs were among the [music] largest marine predators ever. Some of them grew up to 40 ft long. They use their huge teeth to snatch and devour prey, [music] including other reptiles.

[00:24:10]Well, at least those creatures are far gone. But what about the horrors [music] that still live in our oceans?

[00:24:17]Recently, biologists discovered the world's longest animal, the one that's still alive to this day. They found it off Australia's coast on the Gascoin coast, a very mysterious and unexplored place. There, underwater vehicles stumbled upon a frightening 150 foot long siphonaphor. That's twice as long as many blue whales and three times as long as a humpback whale. Doesn't it kind of look like one of those toy string worms? But this creature isn't friendly at all. It's a string-like deep sea predator. What's even more scary is that this isn't actually one creature.

[00:24:54]It's a colony of small clones working together as one. basically collective consciousness. Ooh, borg. Together, they stretch out like a single long string in the water. This creature might be the longest siphonophore ever found, and it was discovered at a depth of around 2,000 ft. Siphonophores, similar to [music] jellyfish, capture their prey by dangling, stinging tentacles in the water. When their tentacles touch small crustaceans and fish, they get paralyzed, and then they're reeled up to the colony's body. Expeditions to Western Australia's underwater canyons were definitely worth it. Together with that siphonophore, scientists have discovered up to 30 potential new marine species. Among them were a new octopus or squid, a longtailed sea cucumber, glass sponges, and giant hyoids.

[00:25:45]Colonies of animals resembling upside down jellyfish. None of them have been seen before in Australia, but most [music] of them weren't as scary as the one that was recently discovered in the Gulf of Mexico.

[00:25:58]This creature is straight out of a sci-fi thriller, a 26 ft long manga pinnis squid or big fin squid. It was discovered near an offshore oil rig at a depth of more than 7,800 ft. It has incredibly long elastic tentacles, which can be 15 to 20 times longer than its body. It holds them at right angles to its body, making it look even creepier, almost as if it has elbows. And yes, it's another deep sea predator. These 10 tentacles probably help the squid trap their prey and drag it onto the seafloor. We barely know anything about this extraterrestrial looking creature because they're very hard to find and study.

[00:26:39]And if you think their tentacles are awful, just check out these creatures with 20 arms. This thing looks like a face hugger. This new species is lurking in the frozen depths of Antarctica.

[00:26:50]Experts were searching for cryptic sea animals [music] known as promacho krinis or Antarctic feather stars. They're kind of similar to starfish and sea [music] cucumbers, but have an otherworldly appearance and can live up to 6 12,000 ft below the surface. It's called the Antarctic strawberry feather star.

[00:27:09]Despite its pretty name, its appearance is anything but cute. It has a bizarre strawberry-like body from which 20 spindly arms branch off. Its coloring ranges from purple to dark reddish, and the arms all have different lengths and thickness.

[00:27:25]Who knows how many more of such scary creatures we'll discover in the future.

[00:27:29]Scientists and geologists are out there in the vast ocean towing these trusty devices, also known as streamer cables.

[00:27:37]They drop these cables about 16 to 65 ft deep with each stretching over 20,000 ft long. Now, you can imagine that this whole setup creates quite a commotion underwater, attracting all sorts of curious creatures. And guess who shows up for the party? Sharks. Yep, these toothy pals are drawn to the magnetic fields of the streamer cables and sometimes mistake them for a chewy snack. Now, before you start thinking that sharks have a personal vendetta against these cables, let me tell you something.

[00:28:06]This is not a new problem. It's been going on since the 1980s.

[00:28:12]Even big players like Google have faced these underwater cable conundrums. They had to surround these internet cables with a fancy material to protect them from shark teeth. I mean, can you imagine a shark causing a delay in your internet browsing? That's one hungry predator with a serious grudge against technology.

[00:28:29]So, why exactly are sharks so keen on these cables? Well, no one knows for sure. Some scientists think it's because sharks have a thing for electromagnetic fields and get curious. Others believe they just have a thing for anything cableshaped. It's not all sharks that cause such problems. But which of them are the troublemakers in this aquatic tail? Well, it depends on the depth of the cables. For example, when it comes to a particular depth, the bull sharks seem to be the mischief makers. These bad boys have solid gray physiques and short snouts. They're like the bullies of the underwater neighborhood, causing trouble wherever they go. Bull sharks are widely found in tropical and warm waters around the world. And they seem to have a knack for seeking out these streamer cables. Now, I know what you're thinking. Did these scientists really catch a group of bull sharks and make them bite cables just for science? Nope.

[00:29:20]They're way too clever for that.

[00:29:22]Instead, they used a 3D scan of an authentic bull shark jaw to create a computer model. Talk about high techch.

[00:29:28]They simulated shark attacks on the cables, measuring the impact and compression forces. It turns out that a shark can really do a number on those cables. But here's the kicker. The strength of the cables depends on how fast the shark is swimming when it decides to take a chomp. So if you see a shark cruising by at top speed, you better watch out for those cables. But wait, we can't blame the poor sharks entirely for the fate of these underwater cables. A 2009 report points out that a lot of fish have a considerable history of nibbling on cables. It's like a buffet for these underwater creatures. Barracudas, sharks from shallow and deep waters, and even some other sneaky culprits have been identified as cable biters. They just can't resist sinking their teeth into the cable wrapping, which then lets the power conductor hang out with the seawater. It's a recipe for cable failure.

[00:30:18]Still curious about the fascinating world of cable installation? Did you know that more than over 90% of international data takes a watery journey? These cables, which are like underwater highways, stretch for hundreds of thousands of miles beneath the ocean's surface, reaching depths as deep as the size of Mount Everest.

[00:30:38]Now, you might be wondering how these cables are placed. Well, it's not as simple as dropping wires in the water like in the cartoons. In fact, it requires some careful planning and specialized boats called cable layers.

[00:30:50]These brave boats meticulously run the cables across the flat surfaces of the ocean floor, making sure to steer clear of all obstacles that mother nature throws their way. When it comes to cable sizes, the shallow water cables are about as thick as a soda can. On the other hand, deep water cables are way smaller, measuring up to the size of a marker. Why the difference, you ask?

[00:31:12]Well, it's all about vulnerability. Way down there, 8,000 ft below sea level, there isn't much action going on.

[00:31:20]Therefore, these deep sea toads, the larger ones, can be half as long [music] as a full-sized bed, but most are less than a foot long.

[00:31:30]Since [music] the choice of meals where these guys live isn't that huge, they had to come up with a unique hunting strategy. They don't waste [music] their priceless life energy on following prospective prey. Instead, they use a [music] piece of dorsal spine that sticks above their mouths like a fishing pole, hence [music] the name of the fish. There's a sack of bioluminescent bacteria that glows brightly [music] in the dark at the end of that rod. The light lures prey, and all the angller fish has to do is wait and then enjoy its [music] lunch delivered right to its mouth. Their bodies are pliable and huge, so they can easily swallow prey [music] twice their size. Deep sea angler fish eat whatever they can find.

[00:32:13]Species that [music] live in more shallow water aren't picky either and can eat anything from shrimp to snails and small fish. [music] Only female angler fish have the cool fishing rod feature, though. So, what about their males?

[00:32:28]Finding [music] a soulmate deep under the sea isn't that easy. I mean, literally, there's no light down there.

[00:32:35]Plus, there are frigid temperatures and low oxygen [music] levels. Angler fish can't afford to go on many dates in those conditions, so they mate for life.

[00:32:45]And before you go awe about it, I have to tell you, they do it in quite a special way.

[00:32:52]Male angler fish are much smaller than their ladies. The contrast [music] is so striking that when researchers first got interested in their love life, they thought those males were actually the offspring or [music] larae hanging out next to their moms. Certain angler fish male species have receptors that alert them that there's a female nearby. After they mate, the male bites into his woman and stays attached to her head, belly, near her tail, and other areas he can access. While they morph [music] together forever, the female fish gets the male's cells, DNA, and reproductive organs, but loses her immune response cells. The male gets [music] free permanent housing and nutrition. Given the current real estate prices, it sounds like a dream. But that accommodation [music] is shared by up to eight males, and they can't move out if they ever feel like it.

[00:33:47]You're unlikely [music] to meet this deep sea fish in real life. But if you meet an angler fish in [music] your favorite video game, remember that you can easily outswim it and make it kinder to you with tranquilizing [music] arrows. Once you befriend it, the anglerfish can be your scout and help you discover new areas with its bioluminescent pods.

[00:34:08]Back in the real world, down [music] in the twilight zone of the ocean, about 650 to 3,300 ft down, the angler fish isn't the only creature [music] you're lucky you'll probably never meet. Many of the locals look like they come straight out of science fiction or horror movies, but that's because they had to adapt to this dark, deep world.

[00:34:29]>> [music] >> I did my best to get you prepared for the creatures you're going to meet.

[00:34:34]Starting with the common fang tooth.

[00:34:37]They spend most of their lives deep down, but at night they move toward the surface to snack. These guys are more active than most other deep sea dwellers. They don't wait for food to come their way, but actually follow it and then get it with their long, hungry teeth. They don't have a built-in light bulb like the angler fish, so they've developed a great sense of smell and use as much sunlight as they can get there in the depth to get around. Sometimes even the shadow of a passing by prospective prey is enough for them to switch to action mode. And though they don't look too charming, they're completely harmless to humans if you ever run into one of these guys.

[00:35:20]Stoplight loose jaw sounds like a great name for an alternative band, but it's actually another deep sea resident with sneaky hunting habits. It has [music] special light producing photofors under each eye. They emit green and red light like a stoplight, hence the name of the fish. Unlike other fish, these guys hardly ever leave the twilight and midnight zones. Their lower jaw is a quarter of the total body length, and the stoplight keeps it open all the time, hoping to get some lunch. It looks like a ferocious predator, but mostly prefers zop plankton with an occasional dessert of shrimp, krill, and fish.

[00:36:00][music] I'm sure you didn't expect to meet a hybrid of an eel and a bird, but here it is. The slender snipe eel has a beak much like that of a bird with curving tips. The beak is equipped with tiny hooked teeth that the [music] eels use to catch the antenna of delicious shrimp. And it sure is [music] slender, stretching up to 5 ft and weighing only a few ounces. Scientists don't know all of this guy's secrets since it's pretty tricky to study in their natural habitat. But it looks like they only produce offspring once in a lifetime and then pass away. [music] Glass squids like to take it easy in life and literally go with the flow.

[00:36:44]They're [music] filled with a solution which is lighter than water, so they don't have to make any effort to move around the deep sea looking for food and partners. [music] These creatures are transparent, so they blend into any landscape and don't even cast a [music] shadow while moving. Talk about a great survival tactic. If danger finds it anyway, it can transform into a [music] lumpy ball, pushing its head and tentacles into its mantle cavity. It can also release ink into the mantle and go from transparent to black. The same ink can protect it against hungry whales and seabirds. Another tactic they use to scare off predators is to [music] activate their light emmitting organs around their eyes.

[00:37:28]Hm, I'm getting hungry. Maybe I can snack on this sea cucumber. Ouch, it's moving. So, I guess it doesn't belong in a salad after all. These softbodied fellows [music] live in all parts of the ocean, from shallow waters to the deep underwater world. Most of them [music] slowly move around with their tiny feet, but some crawl around by flexing their bodies. Z cucumbers can shed their internal organs [music] when there's a predator approaching. Those sticky organs distract the intruder and the happy [music] cucumber moves on and just throws the organs back.

[00:38:04]What's that glistening [music] in the distance? Looks like someone dropped gems in the water. That's a sea sapphire. Also known as the most beautiful animal you've never seen.

[00:38:15][music] Some males of this type of cocoa pod can change color from deep blue to purple, red, or gold. 1 second later, it's gone. and it's back shimmering bright. The secret to this magic is that their bodies [music] are transparent and reflect light differently at certain angles. It looks like it's their way of communicating between each other and attracting mates. Female sea sapphires don't have the same superpower, [music] but their eyes are bigger compared to males, probably to spot them from a distance.

[00:38:47]>> [music] >> Males roam wild and free and their ladies stay in the crystal palaces.

[00:38:53]>> [music]