Hey there and welcome to Life Noggin.
About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water.
Yet a massive amount of the oceans still remains a mystery to scientists.
But the parts that have been studied are incredibly fascinating.
Scientists have found an illusion of an underwater waterfall, an underwater Grand Canyon, and
even a lost Egyptian city, which totally sounds made up but I promise I’m not lying to you.
Another thing that scientists have found are a bunch of terrifying creatures living in
the ocean that are probably better left unseen.
They live far under the water’s surface, but that doesn’t stop them from haunting
my dreams.
So here are my top 4.
First up, we have everybody’s favorite: the giant squid.
Well, everybody’s favorite except for Herman Melville, who described the squid’s arms
as “curling and twisting like a nest of anacondas” in his novel, Moby Dick.
These are massive, terrifying creatures with eyes the size of dinner plates and lengths
greater than a school bus.
And when it is time for them to eat, they capture their prey with their two long feeding
tentacles, bringing it toward their beak, which cuts the prey into pieces.
And then their tongue-like radula, which is covered in small teeth, cuts and shreds the
prey even further before being swallowed by the giant squid.
Next up is a friendlier giant called the giant isopod, which looks like a real-life version
of Kabuto from Pokemon.
These are crustaceans and are related to other animals like shrimp and crabs.
They can get to be over 2 feet in length, which scientists think is an adaptation to
help them survive the high pressures of the deep ocean.
They’re bottom dwellers, living up to 2100 meters deep, and usually eat the dead carcasses
they find on the ocean floor.
Next, we have a creature with a funny name...zombie worms.
What’s weird about these worms is that they are able to feed off of the bones of dead
fish and whales, all without having a mouth, stomach, or any way to drill inside the bones.
Instead, they secrete an acid that dissolves the bone, allowing the zombie worms to access
the protein and fat inside.
And from there, bacteria living inside the worm digest those macronutrients.
And fun fact: another thing living inside these worms are the microscopic males -- which
means that all the zombie worms feeding on bones are the females of the species.
Lastly, we have the goblin shark, who is just are scary-looking as its name implies.
This beast can get longer than three meters and find their prey by detecting the electric
fields generated by other animals.
They usually eat creatures like crabs and squid, and do so by having their jaw protrude
from their face, capturing their prey.
It’s super freaky to watch and will give me nightmares for the rest of my life.
It’s times like these that I’m thankful I live on land...wait, oh no, please, animator,
don’t do this to me!
Helpppp!
So what is your favorite deep sea creature?
Did I miss any good ones?
Let me know in the comments below.
I want to give a special shoutout to the VlogBrothers for making this video possible.
If you don’t already watch John and Hank, I HIGHLY recommend it.
They make some of the best, most thought-provoking videos on YouTube.
Make sure you come back every Monday for a brand new video.
As always, I’m Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.
Don’t forget to keep on thinking!