Journey of Life - Seas of Life 11
Steve travels back 3.8 billion years to when life began. Journeying round the oceans, he explores life's first laboratory and discovers how the incredible variety of sea creatures arose, from the first microbes to hagfish and dolphins.
Even the long-established ammonites didn't make it, but in the shelter of the deep their relatives survived, and they could now branch out in a whole new direction. The super-snails rose up and ultimately became the latest in the cephalopod dynasty -- cuttlefish, octopus and squid.
Today, just once a year, millions of opalescent squid gather to breed.
At just a year old, it’s the last act in their short lives. Once the eggs are laid, most will die. Grow fast, spawn, and die young, a winning formula in the seas of life.
Cephalopod means “head-foot”, not a bad description really. This whopper is the giant Pacific octopus, all head and feet. It’s a gentle giant, with an alien physiology -- blue blood, three hearts, and nine brains. That 's one big central brain, plus eight mini brains -- one in each arm.
If cephalopods were really to compete in the seas, brainpower would be their big advantage.
These are Caribbean reef squid, little cuties. When a barracuda is on the scene, they can think themselves out of a tight spot. They cleverly change their appearance to match their surroundings, both in texture and color, an instant transformation that is directly controlled by the brain. To the predator, it seems that they’ve simply disappeared.
The squid also communicate to tell each other when the danger has passed. They have an entire language based on skin tones. |
