10 Underwater Creatures with WEIRD Abilities

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• published: 01 Jan 2017
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From a fish that can climb trees, to a solar-powered sea slug; Here are 10 Underwater Creatures with WEIRD abilities! Subscribe to Epic Wildlife http://goo.gl/6rzs5u Let's Connect -- http://www.epicadamwildlife.com/ -- http://www.facebook.com/epicadamwildlife -- http://www.twitter.com/epicwildlife -- http://gplus.to/epicwildlife 5. Sea Cucumbers -- These creatures have a novel ability that allows them to squeeze into -- or out of -- tight spaces at will. The collagen that forms their body wall can be loosened or contracted at will. If it needs to squeeze through a crevice, the animals will essentially ‘liquefy’ its body and pour itself into the space. Upon reaching its destination, the sea cucumber will made it's body firm again by hooking all of its collagen fibers together. Did you know these creatures also have a unique method of self-defense? When startled, they’re known to use a process experts refer to as ‘evisceration’ … The Sea Cucumber will eject part of its guts through the anus to scare off predators like fish and crabs. 4. Mimic Octopus These cephalopods are found in the Indo Pacific … and as their name implies, they’re quite skilled at assuming the identities of local species. They have pigment sacs called ‘chromatophores’ (kruh-MAT-uh-fawr)… enabling them to change the color of their skin and texture in order to stay camouflaged within their environment. Chromatophores (kruh-MAT-uh-fawr) also allow the animal to assume the very shape of various marine objects and animals as well. Normally, it’s a smaller octopus, growing to around 2 feet, including the arms … and its natural color is brown to beige. More often, it will exhibit a striped pattern, intended to evoke a toxic species and discourage predators. It’s called a ‘mimic’ octopus its shape-changing ability. Among the more common creatures it can imitate include the venomous Lionfish and Sea Snake. 3. The Mantis Shrimp These marine crustaceans are sometimes referred to as ‘thumb-splitters’, due to their ability to inflict severe lacerations if handled improperly. That’s due to their robust, hammer-like claws which are designed for close-quarters combat. They’re known to throw the fastest punch of any animal … with a velocity comparable to a .22 caliber bullet! That creates an effect called cavitation bubbles, which releases a shockwave that is strong enough to stun or kill the attacker. These creatures are also noted for having one of the most elaborate visual systems ever discovered. Mantis shrimp possess 16 types of color receptor cones … allowing them to perceive ultraviolet colors well beyond the range of humans … who have only 3 color receptor cones. 2. Planarians These freshwater flatworms are known for their regenerative abilities. For instance, if you decapitate one of these creatures, it will grow a new head. Researchers have found that the new head will actually retain the memories developed by the old one before it was removed. Experiments were conducted where some planarians were trained to tolerate light, which they normally avoid. Their heads were cut off … Some weeks later, after their noggins regenerated, they still exhibited a tolerance to light. Experts aren’t completely sure how this occurred. And did you know these flatworms can actually regrow an entire body from a single cell? Scientists from MIT bombarded a test subject with massive doses of radiation. The single cell of a healthy adult flatworm was placed within the tail of the dying subject. As that new cell started to divide, an entirely new body was regenerated within two weeks … genetically identical to that of the single transplanted cell! .1. Solar Powered Sea Slug (thumb) Eastern Emerald Elysia almost sounds like it could be a bizarre hybrid of a sea slug and a plant. But for the record, it’s a sea slug. The creature eats green algae … but in a process scientists still don’t fully understand, the sea slug hijacks a gene from the algae. It then incorporates that gene into its own chromosomes …enabling it to use the sun’s rays to convert carbon dioxide and water into a source of nutrients to sustain it -- or existing on solar power. The animal can essentially photosynthesize, not unlike a plant! In some pictures by Nicholas E. Curtis and Ray Martinez, you can see just how much the creature resembles a green plant leaf … it even has a network of veins that are extremely plantlike. Many of the same features can be found in pictures by Patrick Krug … along with how the animal seems to ‘wrap itself up’. As you study the pictures from all three photographers, the plantlike illusion is only shattered by the slug’s head … it’s always at the top of the leaflike object and has two protuberances that jut out. Researchers think the sea slug’s ability to ‘hijack plant genes’ might be adapted to treat human diseases.

10 Underwater Creatures with WEIRD Abilities

• Report rights infringement
• published: 01 Jan 2017
• views: 39496

From a fish that can climb trees, to a solar-powered sea slug; Here are 10 Underwater Creatures with WEIRD abilities! Subscribe to Epic Wildlife http://goo.gl/6rzs5u Let's Connect -- http://www.epicadamwildlife.com/ -- http://www.facebook.com/epicadamwildlife -- http://www.twitter.com/epicwildlife -- http://gplus.to/epicwildlife 5. Sea Cucumbers -- These creatures have a novel ability that allows them to squeeze into -- or out of -- tight spaces at will. The collagen that forms their body wall can be loosened or contracted at will. If it needs to squeeze through a crevice, the animals will essentially ‘liquefy’ its body and pour itself into the space. Upon reaching its destination, the sea cucumber will made it's body firm again by hooking all of its collagen fibers together. Did you know these creatures also have a unique method of self-defense? When startled, they’re known to use a process experts refer to as ‘evisceration’ … The Sea Cucumber will eject part of its guts through the anus to scare off predators like fish and crabs. 4. Mimic Octopus These cephalopods are found in the Indo Pacific … and as their name implies, they’re quite skilled at assuming the identities of local species. They have pigment sacs called ‘chromatophores’ (kruh-MAT-uh-fawr)… enabling them to change the color of their skin and texture in order to stay camouflaged within their environment. Chromatophores (kruh-MAT-uh-fawr) also allow the animal to assume the very shape of various marine objects and animals as well. Normally, it’s a smaller octopus, growing to around 2 feet, including the arms … and its natural color is brown to beige. More often, it will exhibit a striped pattern, intended to evoke a toxic species and discourage predators. It’s called a ‘mimic’ octopus its shape-changing ability. Among the more common creatures it can imitate include the venomous Lionfish and Sea Snake. 3. The Mantis Shrimp These marine crustaceans are sometimes referred to as ‘thumb-splitters’, due to their ability to inflict severe lacerations if handled improperly. That’s due to their robust, hammer-like claws which are designed for close-quarters combat. They’re known to throw the fastest punch of any animal … with a velocity comparable to a .22 caliber bullet! That creates an effect called cavitation bubbles, which releases a shockwave that is strong enough to stun or kill the attacker. These creatures are also noted for having one of the most elaborate visual systems ever discovered. Mantis shrimp possess 16 types of color receptor cones … allowing them to perceive ultraviolet colors well beyond the range of humans … who have only 3 color receptor cones. 2. Planarians These freshwater flatworms are known for their regenerative abilities. For instance, if you decapitate one of these creatures, it will grow a new head. Researchers have found that the new head will actually retain the memories developed by the old one before it was removed. Experiments were conducted where some planarians were trained to tolerate light, which they normally avoid. Their heads were cut off … Some weeks later, after their noggins regenerated, they still exhibited a tolerance to light. Experts aren’t completely sure how this occurred. And did you know these flatworms can actually regrow an entire body from a single cell? Scientists from MIT bombarded a test subject with massive doses of radiation. The single cell of a healthy adult flatworm was placed within the tail of the dying subject. As that new cell started to divide, an entirely new body was regenerated within two weeks … genetically identical to that of the single transplanted cell! .1. Solar Powered Sea Slug (thumb) Eastern Emerald Elysia almost sounds like it could be a bizarre hybrid of a sea slug and a plant. But for the record, it’s a sea slug. The creature eats green algae … but in a process scientists still don’t fully understand, the sea slug hijacks a gene from the algae. It then incorporates that gene into its own chromosomes …enabling it to use the sun’s rays to convert carbon dioxide and water into a source of nutrients to sustain it -- or existing on solar power. The animal can essentially photosynthesize, not unlike a plant! In some pictures by Nicholas E. Curtis and Ray Martinez, you can see just how much the creature resembles a green plant leaf … it even has a network of veins that are extremely plantlike. Many of the same features can be found in pictures by Patrick Krug … along with how the animal seems to ‘wrap itself up’. As you study the pictures from all three photographers, the plantlike illusion is only shattered by the slug’s head … it’s always at the top of the leaflike object and has two protuberances that jut out. Researchers think the sea slug’s ability to ‘hijack plant genes’ might be adapted to treat human diseases.