For many years people have considered the ocean to be a vast mystery of interesting creatures. Dating back to Greek mythology, Hercules battled with a hydra and today the living relative of hydras are octopi. An octopus is such a unique animal, that comes in many different forms. As seen in the earlier post about the octopi, the video shows how fascinating the monsters of the sea can be. Just as they can be fascinating some do come with a slight fear of the power these massive creature hold. The giant squid for example can look "snake-like, with a large head and shaggy mane," and for sailors can be intimidating. Marine biologists Rui Rosa, of the University of Lisboa, Portugal, and Brad
Seibel, of the University of Rhode Island have been researching the squid and discovered that it may not be the monster the world perceives it to be. A squid can measure longer than a school bus and can weigh up to half a ton! A perfect suspect for a monster yet the researchers say that there is nothing to fear from a squid because they are basically a massive blog. The amount of energy it takes for a giant squid to be aggressive is close to impossible. This monster moves extremely slow and live in some of the deepest parts of the ocean; close to 6,000 feet under the Antarctic Sea. Many ships can and have been overturned by the massive so called monsters. It is said that in the 1860's a animal similar to a whale shark caused the loss of some sailors. This could be due to the shark causing the boat to either flip over, or the shipmates all jumped off in fear. New research in understanding fossilized shark teeth have lead to advancements in understanding these monsters of the sea. The fossilized teeth as well as stories from history help provide information as to what sailors really did see. In 1875 it is said that a "a sperm whale with a snake-like creature wrapped around it's mid-section" was seen. The crew reported this sea serpent eventually dragged the whale down to it's death. With a better understanding of the ocean it is thought that what these sailors saw was a squid battling a whale, seeming highly possible.
There are many creatures of the sea that could be considered monsters. We have yet to discover many of the monsters of the sea. There is so much yet to discover about the sea. As the we learn more about these monsters the sharks, octopi, and squids the ocean becomes more and more interesting!
http://marinebio.org/oceans/mysteries/
This is very interesting. I was not aware that octopuses could indeed eat sharks, but there I was proved that they can. The octopuses are one huge creature in the ocean and I like your fact about them being the size of school buses, I have heard that somewhere else too. Overall, the octopus is a very interesting individual.
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog! One of the main reasons I am so drawn to life in the sea is because there are so many crazy and bizarre creatures down there! There are countless ways that organisms have adapted to aquatic life. It is a vast place with so many possibilities. We have so much to learn and discover!!
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