Largest Animal in Earth’s History Found in Peru

Bright Side

The biggest animal to ever live on Earth wasn’t a dinosaur — and scientists just found its remains. The discovery happened in Peru, and the size numbers are honestly ridiculous. This creature was heavier than any land animal that ever existed. Its bones are forcing scientists to rethink how big life on Earth can get. And yes, it lived in the ocean… but not the one you’re imagining.  Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00Something exciting and kinda unexpected popped out among the rocks of the Ica Valley in Peru.

00:07The bones of a really old whale that lived almost 40 million years ago.

00:13At first, no one was really impressed because the bones they found were big and weirdly shaped.

00:19So people just thought they were looking at giant boulders.

00:22I mean, that's cool too, but things got way better when they realized those were the remains of a very large ancient animal that roamed along the coast of ancient Peru.

00:33Plus, it was probably the heaviest creature that ever lived.

00:37Sorry, blue whale, I know you worked hard to get to the top.

00:41The length of over 100 feet and weight of more than 200 tons brought you the status of the biggest animal on our planet.

00:49But it seems you've held the title long enough.

00:51Time to hand it over to our next candidate.

00:53And that one's really gigantic.

00:56This ocean beast was probably shorter than the blue whale, but heavier, with a weight that could be between 93 tons and 370 tons.

01:06If it's closer to the higher number, it'll make Puracetus the biggest animal ever known to have lived on Earth.

01:12And it seems its weight was the result of having extremely thick, dense bones.

01:19You can see such bones today in manatees or some other early whales.

01:24Dense bones are a great tool for such marine mammals.

01:29This feature makes them heavy and allows them to stay submerged most of the time.

01:33But at the same time, if their body was too heavy, they would end up sinking all the time and they would waste too much energy to move back up to the surface.

01:42So, to avoid sinking, marine mammals need to have enough lighter tissues like muscles and fat to help them float in the water without using too much energy.

01:53Now, scientists didn't have the whole skeleton, which makes it hard to tell how big the animal was.

02:00But they used the ratio of the heavy bones to the lighter tissues in other marine mammals to estimate the overall weight of this giant, ancient whale.

02:09Experts found these fossils about 13 years ago and spent the next decade freeing the whale from the rock.

02:16Its anatomy and age showed this whale was a cousin of Bacillosaurus, a whale that had a long snout full of sharp teeth and a sleek body similar to that of an eel.

02:29Even if Paracetus wasn't bigger than the blue whale, it was still a giant that ruled the ocean depths.

02:36Unlike modern whales, there's a possibility that this ancient fellow was a predator that liked to go after bigger prey.

02:44And this also changes how we see the history of whales.

02:48Scientists used to think these magnificent creatures became really big about 5 million years ago when they started eating lots of small creatures.

02:57But here's the proof that giant whales existed even before that.

03:01But it's still unclear how this whale managed to find enough food to sustain its enormous body.

03:07Plus, it's still hard to tell what exactly this ancient creature had on its menu.

03:13It was pretty large and not such a fast swimmer, so it's possible it searched for food in shallow waters.

03:19Then it probably ate crustaceans, clams, or some other small animals hiding in the sand.

03:24One theory says it was a scavenger, which basically means it munched on remains of everything that would come its way.

03:32It's not so unusual to find marine animals in deserts.

03:37Many of these regions used to be covered with water anyway.

03:41The Sahara in Africa is a perfect example.

03:44About 50 to 100 million years ago, this was not a dry desert, but a shallow saltwater body called the Trans-Saharan Seaway.

03:52The land is not wet there anymore, of course, but people who lived in that area knew about it because they used to find old shells across the desert.

04:03The sea was about 164 feet deep.

04:06That sounds enough for a nice swim.

04:08Some would say this area looked like modern Puerto Rico, with lots of sun and shallow water.

04:14Mangrove forests were a common thing as well as sea floors covered with molluscs, like snails and clams.

04:20The marine sediment that was left behind after the sea had dried up is full of different fossils.

04:26And the animal that lived in that ancient underwater world didn't look friendly.

04:32Plus, they were much bigger than their relatives from modern times, so a regular-sized human would end up as a snack, not even a whole meal.

04:41Normally, when animals live on small islands, they can become much bigger than their relatives from the mainland.

04:48This is something we call island gigantism, and it happens because there are more resources or fewer predators on islands.

04:57Maybe the same thing happened in the Trans-Saharan Seaway.

05:01Even though it wasn't an actual island, the water moved in and out, which created little pockets of water.

05:07And specific conditions in these pockets might have helped animals grow bigger.

05:13So we're talking about giant sea snakes, catfish, and fish that no longer exist today.

05:19One had incredibly strong jaws, and the animal used them to eat hard things and even crush shells.

05:26Their teeth showed they were fierce predators other animals had every reason to be afraid of.

05:32They went through some changes when it came to diet, similar to some types of piranhas.

05:38And the competition to get to the top of the food chain wasn't a joke.

05:42Not when there were also such large predators as sharks, crocodiles, and ancient relatives of elephants.

05:51Sahara went through different phases.

05:54If you could use a time machine and take a peek at Earth's largest hot desert as it was about 6,000 years ago,

06:00you wouldn't have to struggle with sand and heat.

06:03You'd have a nice walk through a green and pretty lush place.

06:08In the past, people who lived in that area didn't leave drawings on cave walls that showed camels, sand dunes, and scorpions.

06:17All those things you'd see in today's Sahara.

06:20Instead, they drew crocodiles.

06:22That's additional evidence that the Sahara used to have a lot of water and plants enough to support these big yet scary animals.

06:32Around 3 billion years ago, Earth might have been mostly covered with water.

06:37Today, it's about 71% of its surface.

06:40But it seems that our planet used to be a giant ocean world with no continents at all, just some scattered islands.

06:48Scientists studied special rocks in Western Australia that formed in a place deep under the ocean called a hydrothermal vent system.

06:57To explain this better, it's important to mention two common oxygen types, O16 and O18.

07:04O18 is heavier because it has extra neutrons.

07:08O16 evaporates from water more easily.

07:11And as researchers studied an old ocean floor, they found a lot of O18.

07:16More than in today's oceans.

07:18This way, they realized ancient Earth had less dry land than Earth today.

07:24Australia is a good spot to conduct these studies.

07:28Because a long time ago, it also used to be a beautiful place with large animals and lush rainforests.

07:35But as time went by, the land became drier and Australia had more deserts formed.

07:41Such as the Great Victoria Desert.

07:44Rainforests remained only on the edges of the continent.

07:47What happens with deserts across the globe is called desertification.

07:52That's when land that used to be good for growing things turns into a desert or something similar.

07:58Our planet changes over time, together with its climate.

08:02But desertification also happens because of human activities like mining, farming and building cities.

08:11And when land turns into a desert, it's a problem because it can't support people and animals anymore.

08:17Food doesn't grow there.

08:19There's not enough clean water and animals lose their homes.

08:23To help with this problem, there's a plan many countries agreed to.

08:27They decided to work with farmers to take care of the land, fix damaged areas, and manage water better.

08:34All in all, to make our planet a better place for life.

08:40In the past 30 years, scientists have made an incredible discovery of a new creature living deep beneath the surface of the ocean.

08:48And the name of the creature is the Harp Sponge.

08:51Now, if you're wondering why it took so long to come across this animal, then I might have the answer.

08:56These creatures typically hang out at a depth of roughly 11,100 feet beneath the ocean's waves.

09:03This sponge species was first discovered off the coast of California thanks to a robot that was sturdy enough to explore those crazy depths the ocean has to offer.

09:13This is no doubt an area of the planet where even the most benign-looking creatures can be potentially dangerous.

09:19But even scientists were surprised to find that this creature was more than just a sponge.

09:25Now, this might seem obvious, but the Harp Sponge got its name because its basic structure, referred to as a vein, is the same shape as a harp.

09:34Each vein is made up of a horizontal branch supporting several parallel vertical branches.

09:40But don't let the Harp Sponge's fanciful and amusing appearance or its non-intimidating name fool you.

09:47Yeah, the Harp Sponge is very much a deep-sea hunter.

09:51It has a unique ability to capture and envelop small animals using its rhizoids, short, thin fibers.

09:58With their help, the Harp Sponge clings onto the soft, muddy bottom and catches tiny creatures that get swept into its branches by deep-sea currents.

10:07Uh-oh.

10:08Other sponge creatures often feed by pulling bacteria and bits of organic matter from the seawater and filtering them through their bodies.

10:16But not our Harp Sponge.

10:18Instead, it snatches its future meal with minuscule barbed hooks that cover each of the Harp Sponge's branches.

10:26Now, Harp Sponge's prefer tiny crustaceans, like crabs, crayfish, shrimps, and prawns.

10:32Once the Harp Sponge has one of them in its clutches, it envelops the animal in a thin membrane before slowly beginning to digest it.

10:41So, pal, what's eating you?

10:43Oh, Harpo?

10:44Too bad.

10:45Researchers believe that Harp Sponge's use this method of feeding because there aren't enough nutrients that deep down.

10:51This makes traditional filter feeding less effective.

10:54Research has shown that the creature is still in the process of evolving.

10:59Early Harp Sponge's researchers found only had two veins.

11:03But later, scientists discovered other Harp Sponge's that had six veins.

11:07The Harp Sponge might have evolved this elaborate candle-holder-like structure to increase its surface area.

11:13In general, Harp Sponge's typically grow up to a length of one foot.

11:18But researchers have seen a creature that was two feet in length.

11:21The Harp Sponge is not only very unusual, but also beautiful to look at.

11:26See those tiny white balls on top of the branches?

11:29Now, why don't we look at some other creatures that live below the photic zone of Earth's oceans.

11:35The photic zone means the area beneath the ocean's surface that still receives some sunlight.

11:41Thanks to this, there are loads of different creatures and organisms living there.

11:45Any animal living beyond this layer qualifies as a deep-sea creature.

11:50The Tomopterous worm is a segmented worm you can find in the twilight zone of the ocean.

11:55This is the area that lies between 650 and 3,300 feet beneath the surface.

12:01These creatures are often no more than one inch long.

12:04But the largest of them can grow up to one foot.

12:07While swimming around and feeding, these worms do what researchers describe as an amazing smooth dance.

12:14That's because the creatures can swim extremely quickly and maneuver at tight angles with ease.

12:20Now, I know most people hear the word worm and think of the common earthworm.

12:24So, it's quite interesting to know there's a deep-sea worm out there that never leaves the water during its entire life.

12:32Similarly, most of us try to avoid jellyfish that either rest on the sand or sit on top of the ocean waves.

12:38This isn't the case with a Cresota jelly.

12:41That's a deep-sea creature, too.

12:43This beautiful jellyfish is mostly ruby red, bright orange, or electric purple.

12:49That's what helped researchers realize they had found a new species of jellyfish.

12:54The creature grows to a maximum size of one inch across.

12:57It has tentacles that stretch out in every direction.

13:01Now, if you come close to this jellyfish, it'll pull all these tentacles in toward its body

13:06before rapidly swimming away to avoid danger.

13:09Yes, you are dangerous.

13:11The Cresota jelly is extremely rare.

13:13You won't see it very often.

13:15You might need to borrow that deep-sea diving robot I mentioned earlier.

13:19While worms and jellyfish might seem quite harmless, this isn't the case with the Pacific Viperfish.

13:25Ooh!

13:26This creature is equipped with a noticeably big mouth, like me.

13:30And the needle-like teeth inside are key to its hunting strategy.

13:34Pacific Viperfish live at around 5,000 feet below the ocean surface.

13:39But they're among those numerous marine animals that migrate each night from the ocean depths toward shallower waters to dine.

13:47What's on the menu for dinner tonight?

13:49Hmm.

13:50Lots of small fish and shrimp.

13:52The creature can grow up to 12 inches in length.

13:55Its two front fangs, which stick up from the fish's bottom jaw past its own eyes, are especially dramatic.

14:02When the fish unhinges its jaw, its mouth can open wide enough to engulf smaller animals.

14:08And the teeth form a cage to prevent an escape.

14:11Now, have you ever seen an underwater creature that looks like a strawberry?

14:16Trust me, it does exist.

14:18Just look at these dots on the strawberry squid.

14:21The creature has a big eye and a smaller one.

14:24You might think this unconventional pairing would be awkward and uncomfortable.

14:28But it's actually the opposite.

14:30The big left eye looks upward.

14:32It spots shadows cast by other animals in the dimly lit waters above.

14:37The eye's tubular shape helps it collect as much light as possible.

14:41On the other side of the squid's head, you can see its right eye.

14:45It's small and looks downward.

14:47This eye searches for flashes of bioluminescence produced by animals lurking in the darker waters below.

14:53Now, bioluminescence means the production and emission of light by living organisms.

14:59By the way, the squid has a nickname.

15:02And no, it's not squiggy, although that's a great one.

15:05It's known as the cockeyed squid.

15:07This is simply due to the remarkable difference in size between its two eyes.

15:12Hmm, I think I like squiggy better.

15:14And so it goes.

15:16Since light doesn't reach the deep sea, the strawberry squid's body actually looks black.

15:21This helps the creature hide from enemies, such as sharks and dolphins.

15:25In general, the strawberry squid grows to a length of 5 inches.

15:29It typically lives around 3,000 feet below the surface, but floats to shallower waters at night.

15:35Now, the feather star is a marine creature without a backbone, but with feather-like arms that radiate from the center of its body.

15:43These creatures first appeared around 200 million years ago.

15:47Related to sea stars, they look like a flower, but if you approach them, they'll quickly swim away.

15:54But not all feather stars can swim.

15:56Many species can only crawl along the bottom of the seafloor.

16:00Like some of the other deep sea creatures we've looked at, the feather star can adapt to its surroundings.

16:05It has a creepy ability to shed its arms, the same way some lizards can shed their tails.

16:11This also helps them escape from their enemies.

16:14Feather stars live all across the globe, from the equator to the poles, from the shallow waters on top of reefs to the deep, deep sea.

16:23Now, given that we're dealing with mysterious creatures, the name of this one is quite fitting.

16:29The swift vampire squid should be the official symbol of life in the deep sea.

16:34The animal has a dark red body, huge blue eyes, and a cloak-like web that stretches between its eight arms.

16:41This, along with its name, may suggest that the creature is some form of a terrifying hunter.

16:47In reality, though, the vampire squid is a soft-body, timid creature, about the size, shape, and color of a football.

16:55It grows to roughly 12 inches in length and lives 3,000 feet below the waves.

17:00There's almost no oxygen there, but also relatively few predators.

17:05Whew, I think I'll need to decompress from this one.

17:08That's it for today!

17:11So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

17:16Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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