Phantoms of Evolution - The Unknown Underwater Predators | Free Documentary Nature

barely known creatures live in the expanses of the open oceans phantoms of evolution enormous and awe-inspiring [Music] and on the ocean floor we find bizarre fellas extravagantly camouflaged predators that only reluctantly come out of hiding sharks rule the world's oceans from the surface to the deepest depth and we will visit some of the most rarely seen and the most curious looking of them all our film expedition begins in france more precisely in the furthest northwestern part of france the town of brest the rocky shores of the atlantic coastline in brittany numerous famous lighthouses warn every captain that there are many dangerous shallows around here [Music] tidal flats fall dry with the rhythm of the tides the tidal amplitude here is between 18 and 24 feet [Music] after every high tide tons of seaweed floods the shores a sign that the waters around here are very nutrient rich and then the beach seems calm and harmless again the flare of a rough but idyllic landscape but this is a false calm [Music] the atlantic can become rough just as quickly this wildest of all oceans will smash against the land with unexpected force this is what makes the rocky shores of brittany some of the most dangerous in the world [Music] it makes it even more incredible how easily life takes charge of this seemingly uninhabitable place the rocky shores are a great habitat for the atlantic grey seal they find tons of food in the dense kelp forests [Music] when they're not in the water the seals will relax on dry land they're our camerawoman's favorites [Music] grey seals are very sociable animals and don't like to be stressed during the mating season the males have small harems that they jealously protect but they're not to be messed with as their considerable predatory teeth clearly show male gray seals can grow up to a length of eight feet and weigh more than 770 pounds the females are a bit smaller 6.6 feet and 485 pounds [Music] their favorite food is fish and they are very agile hunters despite their size pout whiting is always welcome the kelp forests are also full of life the large algae offer a home to a variety of sea creatures anemones feed on microorganisms barnacles try to catch plankton that's drifting by with the help of special little legs [Music] anthozoa's also called flower animals sparkle in a variety of colors this ocean inhabitant is not quite as pretty a climbing sea cucumber it feeds with the aid of its sticky tentacles a gernod has positioned himself perfectly in the current so that he can prey on small crustaceans [Music] the enormous amount of plankton in the water off the coast of brittany is the reason for this abundance of ocean inhabitants myriads of tiny animals are the basis for many predators to feed on [Music] he is the largest plankton feeder in the atlantic a basking shark this 30 foot long colossus not only feeds on plankton but also on jellyfish they often swim together in a small group of several animals lion's mane jellies can grow up to three feet in diameter they feed on the smaller moon jellyfish that turtles also prefer to feed on jellies consist of 99 water but nevertheless even larger predators enjoy feeding on them the plankton rich current is like the land of milk and honey for the basking sharks millions of small microorganisms are drawn into their large mouths and get caught in their gill rakers on a good day they can filter 44 pounds of plankton out of the water it gives them enough energy that they will store in the form of oil in their liver to be used for meager days in the colder season when there isn't enough plankton in the water [Music] this scallop curiously observes its environment with its eyes located along the edge of its mantle the scallop will soon display its enormous skill of escape which brings this scene to a surprising end [Music] a starfish is out for the scallops blood all of a sudden the scallop shoots back like a rocket with jet propulsion it does so by pushing water out through its mantle [Music] in the meantime a sea urchin is busy furthering its kind it spreads its semen into the current in the hope that the water will carry the male sea urchins genetic information to the eggs of a female sea urchin this hermit crab on the other hand does not believe in coincidences it has a mission to change houses because it's grown out of the old one the abundance of food has made the move necessary and to top it off the hermit crab has got a two for one deal a newer larger home and an anemone on top of the roof for protection and camouflage perfect unfortunately the beautiful coastline of brittany was without any protection on march the 16th 1978 when the large crude oil carrier hamoco cadiz ran aground and caused the largest oil spill of this kind to date nowadays nobody would suspect that this happened here but 90 feet deep we can still see parts of the wreckage the hull is completely overgrown countless organisms have covered the wreck like a second skin some of the rigging reaches close to the surface the deck of the ship has become a habitat for many different species of ocean inhabitants inside the wreck it looks the same as on the outside an abundance of growth and sea life it seems that nature has made the best out of this catastrophe an illustrious bunch of fellas live around the wreck [Music] a monk fish is luring unsuspecting fishes towards him the countless fringes and unequal body contouring give this fish a great way to camouflage itself [Music] this spider crab will have to work a lot harder to disappear into its environment [Music] therefore it plants its own personal roof garden on the back of its shell [Music] this neighbor has tiled its lodgier with rocks in order to look more like the habitat it lives in these cat sharks are not fooled by all their efforts [Music] there seems to be a predator lurking around each corner their fine-tuned sensory organs can even find well-hidden prey this spider crab pays special attention to decorating itself with items that look like the habitat it lives in hence the name decorator crab [Music] the cat sharks are not yet interested in the crabs not all pieces stick as easily [Music] thanks to its telescope eyes it can examine what the decorations look like this is another crab that is already barely visible due to its ingenious form of camouflage [Music] it's almost time to leave the giant wreck again we found two pieces of the ship's hull but the bow seems to be gone forever this school of young fishes is trying to seek cover near the wreck to hide from the horn sharks the predators try to separate several fishes from the school in order to catch them more easily with little success in this quiet corner a couple of cat sharks have been mating now the female has to find a good spot for her egg capsules the sturdy eggs have strings attached to them so that the female can tie them together and anchor them to rocks or corals [Music] she has to be very skilled in order to position the egg capsules in such a way that the strings will attach themselves [Music] the tiny shark babies live off the yolk sac that's located inside their egg each shark basically has its own incubator [Music] the wreck is an optimal spot to moor the eggs [Music] it will take about 10 months until this little shark will hatch [Music] life and death are eerily tied together in this ship's grave underneath this staircase a num fish ray is feeding on a small fish in this underwater jungle of the yamaku cadiz many dramas are played out but also the birth and growth of new life many young ocean inhabitants will find protective places where they can hide and feed until they're large enough to come out and live with the rest of the adult fish society [Music] we leave this incredible wreck and move to the other side of the english channel in order to look for basking sharks professor david sims leaves the harbour of plymouth sims has been studying basking sharks for many years and is intimately familiar with these large animals with the backing of the british government sims has been studying the behavior migration routes and procreation of these large plankton feeders the small tags will record the depth water temperature and brightness [Music] without this data nobody can truly say how many basking sharks there are in order to tag a shark they will have to find one sims and his wife emily know exactly where the sharks will be but it's always an exciting venture that after a week or so tracking signals show where the sharks are currently located to travel right out to where the continental shelf drops away it's time to get everything ready the transmitter has to be attached to the dorsal fin in precisely the right spot not an easy task yeah definitely got one about 250 meters and there they are dorsal fins a first sign that the sharks are here there's always a bit of luck involved in their search it seems as if the large sharks have been waiting for david and emily one of the basking sharks swims very calmly close to the surface in perfect position to target the boat has to be parallel to the shark they're close but are still a few feet too far from the animal just like all other sharks the basking sharks have gill slits but much larger in order to optimally filter feed david is happy that the shark is so close to the surface right now ideal for tagging good position that's fine yeah no that's good hour just coming up on it now he has to wait for the right moment so that he can position the tag in the perfect place now the animal has turned over a bit [Music] it will be tight will david be able to make it there at the last moment the tag is in place and the shark doesn't seem to be bothered much in a few months the basking shark's tachograph will come loose and deliver the information that david needs for his studies [Music] unfortunately not every shark around here will survive despite the fact that they are not targeted for fishing anymore [Music] many fishing trawlers seek out the plankton rich areas because the fishermen know that they will find a lot of fish there basking sharks sometimes become unwanted by catch because they get caught in the troll nets that are often many miles long this time there is no basking shark in the net unfortunately others were not so lucky velvet belly sharks horn sharks cat sharks and many other species die on the deck of the trawler or have already died in the net they have died for no reason the fishermen can't use these sharks and therefore they're thrown overboard a hundred feet down their hungry cousins are waiting [Music] a school of larger horn sharks is happy to feed and not much is left over they meticulously search the area for small little nuggets that they could have possibly overlooked the sharks will find every last piece with their sensory organs [Music] they can even sense prey that is hidden underneath rocks or in the sand with the aid of their electro-receptors the so-called ampoulee of laurencini that are located underneath their snout the smallest movement or even just a heartbeat that creates an electrical current can be detected by the sharks [Music] this small cat shark that has just hatched has already found its first meal shrimps worms starfish and other mollusks are part of its menu anything that lives on the ground and is not too large is considered to be food for this newbie [Music] the colder time of the year has begun and we want to return to the basking sharks right away we see a difference the large mouths of the sharks are closed and with them the gill slits as well which would otherwise stick out [Music] instead they actively breathe and have obviously stopped feeding [Music] the kelp forests also look quite different the giant algae have ceased their photosynthesis and are starting to rot the basking sharks will have no chance against the winter with its heavy storms low temperatures and shorter days now it's time for nature to slow down scientists assume that the sharks withdraw into deeper waters during the winter months scientists believe that while the sharks are not feeding they renew their gill rakers and with that cleanse their feeding apparatus fishermen have proven this hypothesis because they claim to have caught basking sharks in the wintertime without gill rakers the large sharks probably survive the meagre months by drawing their energy from the oil that they stored in their large liver throughout the summer months while feeding on plankton [Music] we will leave the cold wintry ocean and travel to the warmer waters of raja ampat in indonesia we're searching for two very rare shark species the tropical paradise between the indian ocean and the pacific consists of more than fifteen hundred small islands the population density is pretty sparse and therefore the underwater world is still seemingly untouched the abundance of coral fauna is incredible [Music] also there are fishes everywhere scientists have been able to classify more than thirteen hundred different species [Music] the locals are still living in harmony with their environment [Music] children play with all the animals that surround them even sharks [Music] these nurse sharks are typically good-natured but even a nurse shark can attack a swimmer or a diver [Music] the children know how to handle the sharks this is their playground and the sharks are their pals [Music] we're beginning our search for two of the rarest shark species in the world in this island paradise documentary filmmaker natalie tasha ricciardi has just received some information for their expedition there are worse places to work it won't be easy it's important to check all the equipment the german diver andre kobach will be in the lead our first target is a small island about five sea miles away it's important to have somebody with us who knows the area well [Music] we go deeper and deeper into this nearly untouched environment through a labyrinth of estuaries and passageways [Music] thick mangroves line the shore [Music] this is the ideal thicket for an ingenious ambush predator the archer fish fires on its prey while cleverly hidden by roots and plants [Music] the accuracy of its marksmanship is incredible despite the refraction of the water surface this little fish rarely misses its target archer fishes can live in fresh and in salt water true masters of adaptation but the brackish water along the shore is where they like to be best one never knows what will happen next [Music] a water monitor searching for food it has long since noticed us but it doesn't care [Music] while natalie is keen on finding great motifs for her shots this sleek lizard only wants to feed and it's quite picky it will feed on anything that's within reach but it has to smell good to the monitor even if it's a highly armored insect it moves very slowly a fish out of water this mudskipper is at home in both worlds it feeds on algae and microorganisms in the silt [Music] after a long trip with the boat we finally reach our first destination mike's point andre knows a few fishermen here that could give us more information they don't know much about the biology of this strange shark but they can tell us exactly where we will find one [Music] we don't have to go far to find it the small predator hunts at night and during the day it rests underneath one of the small rocks along the shore the shark is asleep after getting a first glimpse of the unusual shark the team decides to go on a dive and find proof that the other equally unusual shark species they're looking for lives around here the underwater world around raja ampat is a dream for every diver an abundance of flora and fauna strong currents blow through the reefs a group of lionfishes have found a calm corner these colorful beauties have poisonous barbs hidden in their fins [Music] the archipelago of raja ampat is located in the so-called coral triangle which also includes the islands of the philippines most of indonesia and also new guinea these giant sea fans are only one of the more than 540 coral species in raja ampat also at home here a sea cucumber it can get really nasty if attacked the sea cucumber will fling poisoned sticky tubes out of its rectum towards a predator and there it is our first carpet shark we had to look twice in order to really see it its camouflage on top of the table coral is almost perfect natalie slowly moves closer towards the animal they can become very unpleasant if disturbed [Music] it really does remind us of an old shaggy carpet with its detailed patterns [Music] it even has fringes around its head tricks of evolution to blur the contours of this ambush predator [Music] our guide is looking for the smaller epaulette sharks but even he with all his experience in these waters has a hard time finding them [Music] we won't see them hiding perfectly in this hustle and bustle until they move close by another carpet shark moves towards another one of its sights while swimming the wobbegong as it's called is easy to see especially from the side but from above the coloring and patterns of the shark seem to virtually blend in with the reef [Music] hard to identify the shark now [Music] this male is easy to identify on top of the light sand [Music] wobbegongs are a bottom dwelling shark species that has to actively breathe while resting on the ground it's different from other shark species that constantly swim the shark has large holes behind its eyes through which the animal can additionally breathe in the oxygen-rich water which it then expels through its gills the two dorsal fins are close together and on its tail this is very typical for sharks in the carpet shark family despite being closely related to the so-called walking sharks this bottom dweller does not use its large petrol fins for walking but exclusively for swimming and to glide surprisingly the animals also actively breathe while swimming in through the mouth and out through the gills this does not happen every day to swim alongside a carpet shark over a longer period of time [Music] it's tough to keep up the shark only looks like it's swimming slowly it quickly wants to get back to the safety of a coral or a cave the waters around raja ampat are teeming with all kinds of ocean inhabitants [Music] even giant manta rays but they have a good reason to come here nothing seems to be out of the ordinary in this reef [Music] why are they lining up off the island called magic mountain is there something different here [Music] calmly they loop around in a holding pattern [Music] every scuba diver hopes to get this close to one of the giants in their lifetime manta rays are not dangerous to people this is a cleaner station the cleaner fishes are here but not willing to work at the moment at first only a few of them start working on their giant customers who want their skin cleaned of parasites and old skin pieces the cleaner fishes have got help butterfly fishes also like to clean finally this manta ray gets his turn interestingly the cleaner crews are more interested in acquiring new clients than taking care of old ones [Music] the grey remoras also help with the dermatological procedure as long as the giants swim slowly they're the constant companions of the manta rays [Music] the remoras attach themselves to the ray with special suction cups usually on their underside this way they're carried through the oceans without much of their own doing [Music] the unusual cephalic fins next to the mantas mouth give them a diabolic look therefore they're also known as devil fish [Music] like most shark species they also have five gill slits but theirs are located on their underside mantas can grow up to 18 feet with a wingspan of 24 feet they weigh up to two and a half tons but their friendly colossi and live around the entire globe [Music] the cleaning crew in action this manta ray is being relieved of its bothersome parasites there are few ocean inhabitants more elegant than the manta rays it's phenomenally beautiful to watch such a large animal virtually fly through the water [Music] this wobbegong is not quite as elegant but it also wants to be cleaned this shark is typically active at night but once it gets dark the cleaner fishes close up shop so the shark has no other choice than to go now the ocean is now being taken over by the night shift natalie and andre are eager to see what has changed [Music] in preparation for the night dive the two of them check their footage to see what they have already shot the ocean around raja ampat at night is exceptional it's the time that the most glitzy fellas come out a parrot fish is sleeping in its sleeping bag of mucus that way a predator can't detect it this white spotted box fish is one of the most beautiful of its kind a rare porcelain crab [Music] this worm-like creature searching for algae to feed on is a type of sea cucumber feather stars shy away from light and curl up these climbing corals have found a great spot on top of the reef to feed on plankton that's drifting by the current is very strong in many parts of the reef a colorful new debrank with the appropriate name spanish dancer has found a calm spot in the reef numerous microorganisms and young fishes romp around here natalie and andre have been engulfed by this dark magical world of sleeping coral gardens but some are still right awake a carpet shark has caught a fish there's no escaping out of its strong jaws [Music] as macabre as it sounds numerous smaller fishes appear out of nowhere to feed on the little pieces that are left over natalie on the other hand is searching for another reef inhabitant [Music] it should be hiding here somewhere and there it is finally very small and very well camouflaged the epaulette shark not many divers have seen this shy little shark that withdraws from the light [Music] it was only discovered a short while ago it was hailed as the walking shark by the media and this specimen is certainly living up to its name [Music] it's almost pointless to follow the little predator with our lights [Music] all of a sudden natalie finds another wobbegong she almost missed because the shark is so well camouflaged interestingly the animal lets the diver get exceptionally close [Music] it either trusts its camouflage or likes to be touched maybe it feels that there is no danger from the diver here but they can bite quite badly and many snorkelers and swimmers have found that out the hard way little by little the team gets a feel for where they will find the shy epaulet sharks the shark is completely still its breathing is the only thing that gives it away epaulette sharks are also called bamboo sharks and a part of the long-tailed carpet shark family there are several kinds of this species in the reefs around raja ampat they're small only three feet [Music] it's quite a challenge to find them and then also film them epaulet sharks become one with their environment while feeding the sharks rely on their olfactory and electro-receptive sensors to find small fishes worms and crustaceans on the ground and in the reef [Music] these sharks will swim if they have to but mostly they like to walk on their fins through the reef walking makes them very versatile and with their slender physique they don't have a problem to squeeze into the tightest corners of the reef the team leaves the reef and swims to the seagrass meadows in the shallow water this is where the bamboo sharks hunt the thicket of seagrass offers food and shelter to many smaller ocean creatures [Music] this is also the nursery for many fish species and therefore a perfect opportunity for smaller sharks to feed [Music] the team goes back in the water early the next morning but not to the reef this time [Music] bamboo sharks will venture towards open areas on occasion but it's dangerous for them there fishermen often catch sharks in raja [Music] ampat we accompany klaus orlick on one of his missions the german dive enthusiast has a lot of experience with sharks he will help sharks that have got into trouble as often as he can klaus feels a personal sense of responsibility to help all ocean creatures and to do his part it's not easy to free a shark that's got caught in a fishing net and is now helplessly tangled as soon as the animal feels that there might be a chance to come free it starts fighting with all its strength unfortunately also against klaus its rescuer nothing new to klaus he keeps calm [Music] despite having done this many times in the end the reaction of the shark still takes him by surprise [Music] it's up to us to protect these sharks and make sure that they continue to enrich our world's oceans with their incredible diversity [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 5,017,058

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife, Nature Documentary 2021, nat geo wild, Marine Life, Sharks, Shark, Shark Documentary, Underwater, Evolution, Endangered Species, Ocean Life, Lemon Shark, Phantoms of Evolution, Underwater Predators, Under the Sea, Animals, Animal Documentary

Id: xZiQiGxlF-E

Length: 51min 44sec (3104 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 13 2021