Giant Sea Serpent, Meet the Myth - Go Wild

[Music] the ocean's depths are home to mysterious animals amongst them a creature known mostly by its Corpses the sea serpent beachings have enabled scientists to study the strange anatomy of this bony fish the longest in the world its head crowned with a tuft of rays has earned it the name King of the herrings or more commonly the oarfish but because it had rarely been observed alive little or nothing had been known about its biology until today off the coast of France a world's first pioneering scientific equipment anchored in the very depths of the ocean was to accidentally enable some high-tech divers to observe study and reveal the extraordinary habits of this singular creature [Music] [Music] until the turn of the 19th century the sea serpent belonged to the class of legendary sea monsters mythical creatures which haunted the imagination of men and the shadowy edges of marine charts its amazing appearance size Rarity and colors gave rise to Sailors superstitions and Fisherman's Tales it had been seen attacking ships and was even reported to sport fearsome teeth which made it resemble a marine reptile in the 19th century its teeth were to disappear thanks to the descriptions of the first naturalists [Music] nevertheless their observations were rare unreliable and Scattered over the last two centuries less than 250 beachings of dying dead or atrophied or fish have been reported on temperate coasts all over the world in particular in Spain in the Netherlands in Taiwan in Japan in California in Baja California the longest ever found measured an astonishing 23 feet recently through an incredible combination of circumstances this giant fish had been observed quite alive off the French coasts in the south of France the Carefree Riviera with its yachts citadels and fine sand beaches every year more than 12 million tourists Delight in the pleasures of the warm Waters of its slim Coastal Fringe but who would have thought that the implementation of a strange scientific apparatus off the coast of these beaches would make sea monsters reappear it was nevertheless to be the indirect consequence of an incredible experiment in the heart of the summer of the year 2000 The oceanographic Observatory of vilfrostu-mare in association with the top International Space research organizations undertakes the deployment 40 miles off the coast of nice a venotional graphic Bowie named La busol the compass its goal seems more poetic than scientific it is intended to collect and transmit data on the color of the water this data will permit the calibration of satellites that observe the oceans the color of the water which varies according to the seasons and locations is a good indicator of the presence of plankton thus in the spring microscopic algae and their predators abound this is called a planktonic bloom the algae's chlorophyll gives the sea water a green color [Music] here starts the vast food chain of the oceans to study the evolution of the Mediterranean Sea the observations of La bousel Bowie must be continuous over several years the boy must therefore be solidly anchored and periodically checked to carry out this maintenance a passionate biologist my name is David lucake I'm a scientific diver and I work at the Ville francaise Marine Lab where I'm in charge of all diving activities with tools as efficient as they are rudimentary he intervenes only near the surface on the submerged part of the boy [Music] Beyond this he hands the work over to other Specialists of underwater projects to be at the heart of Plankton production scientists decided to Anchor the Bowie in the middle of a gyrating current problem in the chosen location deaths exceed eight thousand feet therefore a heavy Mooring attached to almost two miles of Kevlar cable must be laid down lost in the immensity of the ocean the Bowie its structure and its chain attracts many ocean Wanderers Barrel fish amberjacks pilot fish finally the Atlantic Rec fish these fish live in the photic zone that is to say the layers of water at low depth sufficiently exposed to light so that photosynthesis is possible by the boy's Shadow cone all find both food and shelter most swim by sight some come to feed on algae which grows on the structure and the smallest are devoured by the largest [Music] others finally such as pilot fish are specialized in one particular activity feeding on leftovers of meals or parasites of large predators that visit the Bowie [Music] including the most feared [Music] the great white shark [Music] foreign [Music] the shark has been observed only in the spring near the surface swimming in vast concentric circles around La busal boy [Music] a small population estimated at merely 350 great whites survives in the Mediterranean what have they come to look for Here 40 miles from the Riviera Coast most likely other visitors to the Bowie such as tuna [Music] but no one has ever seen white sharks feeding here and their visits are rare and brief David can expect such unforeseen encounters during his monthly maintenance visits to the boy [Music] foreign [Music] to clean the underwater Optical sensors the equipment is still just as rudimentary but efficient solidly fastened to the diver so as not to sink eight thousand feet to the bottom risky Dives David is alone in open ocean without any protection foreign colonies of algae and seashells render the boy's 20 measuring instruments totally inoperative to every sensor a specific brush cleaning creates vibrations emitted in all directions sound waves which are perceived by all the nomads of the ocean they awaken their curiosity sounds propagate along the structure all the way down to the depths fish do not know man therefore do not fear Him and their curiosity is reciprocal [Music] David under the Bowie is a man faced with the unknown I remember it was in April during the Plankton Bloom the water was really really dirty I had just finished my job and was going to inspect the lower part of the boy attached to the Kevlar cable and that's when I saw a very long silver ribbon rising from the depths [Music] he saw it the king of the herrings curious but fearful for the first time ever a diver swims with the mythical fish [Music] an ambassador of the deep comes to the borders of our world David discovers that it swims vertically not horizontally like the sea serpents in ancient Prince curiously the tail of the animal is split could this be the result of an encounter with the great white shark to answer this David would need to get close and to observe the bite marks unfortunately his bubbles seem to frighten the animal this accidental encounter is too brief to examine the wound after a few minutes the crowned fish returns to the aphotic Zone depths were so little light penetrates that photosynthesis is no longer possible to be able to anticipate other encounters David must first understand how the giant oarfish manages to detect the buoy in the immensity and half darkness of the Mediterranean Sea luckily for him at thousands of miles from the boy and a series of extraordinary events was going to enable scientists to reveal unknown facets of the biology of this mythical fish in Japan a giant oarfish goes by the strange name of ryugunotsukai meaning messenger of the Palace of the Gods over the several months of winter in 2014 more than a dozen giant oarfish of all sizes were deposited by Marine currents on the shores of Southern Japan according to Japanese mythology the beachings of the messenger of the Palace of the Gods announce an imminent earthquake foreign these sudden appearances have never been proved to be correlated to seismic activity in the region but they offered Dr Tyson Roberts the world expert in giant oarfish an unhoped for opportunity to carry out a systematic study on Fresh animals wow its Anatomy would beat all records meters longer than any other bony fish with perhaps one of the smallest brains relatively speaking prove it he's going to use the latest technological advances in a Veterinary Clinic the Japanese provided him with a magnetic resonance imaging machine or MRI which produces images in two or three dimensions of a living body applied to a giant oarfish head the veterinarian MRI designed for small animals enables them to create images finer than with a human MRI indispensable to isolate the brain of the giant oarfish with its ramifications I'd like to know more about its brain and its glandular system or fish anatomy is basically got nearly all the organ systems and organs of human anatomy this really is the first attempt a concerted attempt to learn as much about oarfish Anatomy as we can the MRI images confirm the initial hypothesis and it's about half the size of the eye a pea in the head here is the size of the giant oarfish's brain but however fine it might be MRI resolution cannot discern the nervous system associated with the brain fortunately the x-rays of the veterinarian scanner will enable Dr Roberts to resolve a tenacious enigma how does the giant oarfish find its way in the pitch darkness of the depth fish can use sight sometimes sound but above all smell however in the giant oarfish this sense seemed altogether absent [Music] I've examined now something like 35 specimens of oarfish and I've never seen a nostril the external opening of the old factory organ nobody's ever reported nostrils and oarfish or nor have they reported an olfactory organ with these large oarfish I found the nostrils and the nostrils are not on the side of the head they're at the absolute front of the snout and they open anteriorly the nostrils are thus situated inside its mouth so to catch and locate odors in the Twilight Zone The Giant oarfish must keep its jaws partially open and continually pump water now it's quite possible that both of those which are elongate slits wider at the bottom than at the top they could close so opening and closing could provide a possibility of directional sensation the consequence is surprising the giant oarfish is capable of working its way back up the trail of odors in the vastness of the ocean simply by making pirouettes If you're receiving a strong olfactory signal in your nose but you don't know where it's coming from you face in the direction you think it might be and if it's weak then you close the nostrils and then you turn to another Direction where it might be and open the nostrils and if it's stronger then you home in on it by successively moving your head and opening and shutting the nostrils it's a real underwater game of Blind Man's Bluff when the eyes see only an infinite expanse of blue the giant oarfish with its tiny brain can localize go-to and remain around La bousal boy thanks to a particular smell could it be the smell of the boy that of a food source or another scent altogether emitted by a creature of the depths [Music] to make a clean breast of it David must dive to the very limit of the photic zone where all light stops as this is beyond his capacities David calls upon a specialist of deep Dives in the Mediterranean Italian cameraman Roberto Rinaldi I'm very excited at the idea of encountering the oarfish but as soon as we started heading for the Open Sea I lost my bearings and felt like a tiny Speck in the Big Blue it will be very difficult to find the oarfish to approach it he plans on using a respiratory apparatus which combines performance with discretion the rebreather with the rebreather you can go deep and stay underwater for a long time the gas mixture that you breathe is recycled but the most significant Advantage is that you do not produce any bubbles fish are afraid of bubbles so the rebreather increases our chances of getting close to the oarfish on the way to La bousel Boi David suggests diving under another nearby one equally moored at a depth of 8 000 feet a meteorological boy simply named the codazur it's a sophisticated instrument that measures temperatures swells and wind speed and supplies data to forecast centers [Music] under its metal skirts this groaning structure seems to attract more fish in Open Sea than the busal Bowie its creaking carries over a great distance in all directions foreign gone are the short monthly Dives at La busul henceforth David and Roberto stay for several days at a time at the meteorological Bowie diving at all hours starting at dawn they've synchronized their visit with the spring peak of Plankton production therefore of animal proteins thus if the giant oarfish is indeed attracted by a source of food that gives off a smell or by the sounds of the boy they increase their chances of an encounter at the surface valeas these are not jellyfish but polyp colonies that drift with the winds and currents [Music] for his first dive Roberto doesn't go down with a camera but with a stick topped with a scouring sponge this is intended to take mucus samples from the skin of the giant oarfish to conduct genetic analysis [Music] David at shallow depths with his air tank and Roberto deep down with his rebreather thus has organized the methodical quest for the giant oarfish [Music] these serpent-shaped creatures are neither giant or fish nor jellyfish but salts animals who filter bacteria and phytoplankton and develop their chain of fellow creatures by hermaphroditic reproduction foreign [Music] at a depth of 120 feet where the warm and cold Waters meet where their food is abundant they clone and proliferate foreign [Music] Roberto made a record-breaking encounter [Music] foreign [Music] foreign Giant [Music] the largest living oarfish ever observed in its environment foreign [Music] the longest bony fish ever recorded in the Mediterranean [Music] its tail isn't split unlike that of the first animal observed by David a unique opportunity to become acquainted with it for it heads back to the depths [Music] to be able to take a mucous sample Roberto relies upon the discretion of his rebreather and upon the fish's curiosity about him and about the boy [Music] [Music] curiously the smooth scaleless skin of the oarfish seems insensitive to this rough contact to any contact [Music] but once its Curiosity has been satisfied the giant heads back down into the depths covered with its precious mucus scraper is sent in alcohol for analysis to the University of Western Brittany eleonor mayor tries to extract the Giant's DNA and compare it with rare samples from beached animals in fact there is very little genetic data available we can learn a lot from a genetic study with samples from live animals in their natural environment [Music] [Music] after quite a few technical challenges we managed to extract DNA from the mucous samples and we analyzed it we found a 10 variation between different individuals from the same species it's quite surprising for a given DNA sequence in fact it looks like there are two different populations two different species of oarfish and our sample comes from one of them this data seems in keeping with the hypothesis of Dr Tyson Roberts who believes that there isn't one but two species of giant or fish in the Mediterranean the giant oarfish belongs to the species regalicus glacier present in temperate Waters all over the world in the warm Waters of the Pacific Ocean it's the species regalicus Russell eye which dominates the differences in the morphologies of the two kings of the herrings are subtle Glacier possesses between four to seven more crests on its Crown than Russell I the University of Western Brittany focuses Less on these morphological debates than on a most puzzling Enigma what does the giant oarfish feed on in the Mediterranean we even initiated some fatty tissue studies we try to reconstruct the food chain with the available samples instead of getting some stomach content we use the fat which abounds in animal tissues there's a direct link between the composition of the prey fatty tissue and that of its predator unfortunately the mucus did not provide satisfactory results ideally we need real tissues like fins a mission which seems impossible taking samples from fin tips not from one but from several living giant oarfish another difficulty even during the Plankton Bloom encounters remain uncertain when the weather allows it divers make several Dives per day at one or the other of the boys David's statistics are eloquent out of more than 120 Dives at La busal boy he saw a giant oarfish only twice [Music] [Music] luck does not exist only perseverance pays off a giant oarfish answers the call of the boy and it is not alone how can these open ocean fish meet up here at the same time probably thanks to their sense of smell still they need to emit a substance which can travel over long distances with the currents but what might the substance be a pheromone that is a specific chemical produced by an oarfish to attract another oarfish thus the giant oarfish is capable of sending out a coded message only detectable by other giant oarfish over very long distances and when they're close the giant oarfish communicate by using body language what is the significance of the dorsal fin crests and of the pelvic fin or oars which give the fish its name they look obviously like intra-specific signaling devices the divers are going to confirm this hypothesis to be seen by its fellow creatures the fish with mirror-like skin adopts an astonishing posture the cross [Music] these static postures should allow David to approach it and to take tissue samples [Music] but he'll still need to be able to swim at its pace and force it to remain near the surface easier said than done with its small fin that vibrates it doesn't seem to move but it's constantly vibrating and it can be very fast it's a real trap because this fish has the nasty habit of sinking just like that it looks like it's not moving not doing anything does verticality have the same importance for a fish like it does for us for the divers descending is easy but they risk the bends by coming back up too quickly one solution remains passing gently underneath the giant oarfish [Music] over the course of several months David and Roberto carry out more and more Dives and Fin samplings [Music] foreign each time they return to Port they send the samples to the university Laboratory just like the giant oarfish first encountered by David most have mutilated bodies the great white naturally appears among the list of suspects this time divers were able to observe in detail multiple scars [Music] Dr Tyson Roberts puts forth another hypothesis based on the numerous animals washed ashore in Japan the oarfish is typically undergo serial autonomy what do I mean by that I mean they undergo a consecutive series of Auto self-amputation it's like in a lizard when it drops its tail except the lizard can only drop its tail at one place oarfish can drop the body posterior to the vent repeatedly starting from very just in front of the caudal Fin and then progressively breaking off additional Parts they're either short or long or short or long or any length it can or once at a time and it can do it all the way up to the vent which is right here so we can get oarfishes in which only this much is left unlike the lizard the giant oarfish doesn't abandon its tail to escape a predator but for other astonishing reasons autonomy the extent of autonomy and the number of times autonomy is totally a matter of individual history it's energy conservation to metamorphose into a body form where you're only conserving your gonads and your vital organs but it's very rare in fishes this is the only fish is known that do that to be able to prove this revolutionary hypothesis one must observe this self-inflicted mutilation or find pieces of giant oarfish bodies at the bottom of the oceans one might as well try to find fish bones in the muddy sea floor but nearby to the Village of maserata on the eastern coast of Italy a geologist had a stroke of luck Professor Patricio bronzi just excavated in a nearby quarry a curious fossil dating back some 2.2 million years which had surfaced after a tectonic movement Crystal this is the only oarfish fossil that's ever been found it is the posterior part of the body it's folded in two but we can open it [Music] the principle of autonomy was thus engraved in ancient Maritime sediments for all eternity other Clues notably its feeding habits might be found by lipid studies thanks to the fins collected by David and Roberto still it's now necessary to identify the praise of the giant oarfish and thus their lipid signature we're going to sink some special traps one is going to be near the surface to catch shallow Drifters and the other one will be deeper to catch small fish and crustaceans [Music] like an underwater Beacon the light from the trap arouses the Curiosity of the Vagabonds of the Open Sea they swim around the net or try to find refuge in it foreign [Music] but when the Trap is immersed for a whole night the morning collections Reserve many a surprise these small shrimp are none other than krill this species present in abundance in the northern Atlantic makes its bioluminescent organs glow in the aphotic zone of the Mediterranean [Music] better after sample analysis in the lab the lipid signature of this Krill is found in the flesh of the giant oarfish at night Krill make their vertical migrations towards the surface to feed on Plankton thus they avoid diurnal Hunters like most of the fish which swim around the boys but in their wake they lure all the Predators whose sight is adapted to very weak light among them the giant oarfish to observe their feeding habits Roberto and David will have to DARE night Dives in open ocean using rebreathers without any bearings we need to be very careful we're in complete darkness without any way of knowing where we are foreign ghost-like visitors make their appearance out of the infinite Darkness [Music] like super organisms these aliens of the deep Ascend together each and every night for an exceptional feast [Music] foreign [Music] it is the largest biomass migration in the world in the stinging traps Krill a promising sign but where have the fish gone [Music] [Music] they seem to fear great invisible predators and huddle together likewise faced with ghostly threats David and Roberto regroup to keep a better watch in all directions foreign [Music] fish false alarm diving at night feels like breaking into a toy store with the light beam you reveal incredible colors that can't be seen during the day you know there are toys all around you although you can only see a few but it's enough to be amazed [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] the king of herrings in all its splendor foreign the diver's underwater lights reveal multi-colored reflections what use is this shiny skin in total darkness it to mirror the dim lights of the Krill and blend in with its prey it's a mystery all the more so as the oarfish pays no attention to the krill nevertheless it partially opens its mouth as if to catch invisible prey the diver's light seems to disturb it [Music] closer look reveals tiny visitors which swim in and out of the mouth of the oarfish of their own free will parasites these are external parasites which do not remain permanently in the body of the giant oarfish internal parasites on the contrary pass from prey to predator these gift scientists a clue as to the oarfish's Predators this at least is the opinion of American doctoral students specialized in the study of fish parasites at the University of California at Santa Barbara the stomach contents of stranded or fish enabled Sarah Weinstein and Anna Garcia to make astonishing discoveries parasites offer a really great snapshot most of these parasites have complex life cycles so they go through multiple hosts for instance we've found at least three different species of nematode this is interesting because one of them looks a lot like a species that uses marine mammals as its final host [Music] after further DNA analysis of the parasites scientists at the University of California in Santa Barbara deduced that the oarfish fall prey to deep-sea Predators such as sperm whales because they found some juvenile nematodes in oarfish and some adult nematodes in sperm whales [Music] these nematodes actually end up in the oarfish they're picking it off of something they're eating like krill Krill also provide oarfish with bioluminescent bacteria but until now no bioluminescent organ had been found on the oarfish for good reason bioluminescent organs become undetectable once a fish dies and no one had ever dived in the Twilight Zone with a living oarfish revealing such organs would be difficult bioluminescence is a low emission phenomenon compared to the ambient light we are accustomed to so David and Roberto suggest replacing the ordinary diving lamps with ultraviolet ones which fluorescence a possible indicator of bioluminescence notably the luminescent lures of the creators [Music] unfortunately the range of such UV lamps in water is far less than that of ordinary lamps which cancel out their effect the task is both dangerous and difficult David is going to have to spot the oarfish with ordinary white lights then turn them off and let Roberto and his UV lights try to approach it [Music] foreign [Music] challenge a success the UV lamps reveal two fluorescent organs on the oarfish's head one on the forehead the other under its chin these spots may be bioluminescent but only a close examination of a still living oarfish could prove it these organs should enable the oarfish to be seen and to lure its prey at one point I realized that its Crest was pointing upwards and that I was quickly sinking foreign depth gauge it indicated 71 meters this fish had trapped me and was taking me home to its Abyss foreign [Music] serpent is no longer the mythical creature which devours ships it's only Menace spellbinding Beauty David and Roberto looked deeper to uncover the first secrets of the oarfish [Music] the rare eerie yet harmless ghost of the Open Seas [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] oh

Channel: Go Wild

Views: 704,085

Keywords: orf universum, documentary, blue chip, natural history, secrets of nature, planet earth, wildlife, free documentary, watch full documentary, nature films, wildlife films, go wild, nature, natura

Id: dlLb3yHAHpA

Length: 52min 12sec (3132 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 22 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/PeachSnappleOhYeah]

these are rare but live on the east side of my island. i've caught a few, and they've fetched me upwards of 9,000 bells.

[u/Shiningc]

It's the fish from Animal Crossing.

But seriously, the ocean is fucking weird.

[u/archon80]

Worth like 10k or 15k bells too

[u/CeeArthur]

Saw one of these at the Vancouver Aquarium, it was really something to see it in person.

[u/Hangman11]

Well that gave me a great nap

[u/Killawife]

Antashashesha?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W\_LBeqZjLNo&t=9s