CREEP SEA
Eerie deep-sea footage shows whale carcass being devoured by seafloor critters
DEEP sea scavengers have been caught on camera devouring a whale carcass.
Divers exploring the underwater volcano Davidson Seamount off the Californian coast recently spotted the spooky skeletal remains crawling in creatures.
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Ocean specialist EVNautilus posted the video to and explained: "During the final dive of this year’s Nautilus expedition season, our team discovered a whale fall while exploring Davidson Seamount off central California’s coast with researchers from Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
"The skeletal remains of the whale lying on its back are estimated to be 4-5 meters long.
"The team is working to identify the species, but it is confirmed to be a baleen whale as indicated by baleen remaining along the whale’s jawbones."
The ocean explorers noted that the whale carcass still had organs and bits of blubber on it.
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The scavengers on the carcass included eels and sea worms.
Eels are known to strip whale skeletons of their blubber.
Osedax worms eat bones to consume the fats within.
Other creatures joining in on the feast included deep-sea octopuses and crabs.
E/V Nautilus divers are working to explore unknown regions of the ocean and learn more about biology, geology and archaeology under the sea.
They have highlighted the whale carcass footage as important because it shows "an interesting mid-stage of ecological succession".
Whale facts
Here's some wonderful facts about lots of different whales...
- The blue whale is the largest animal in the world and can grow to over 90 feet
- Baleen whales can live for over 200 years
- In 2014, a Cuvier’s beaked whale was recorded diving a staggering 1.9milles and staying underwater for over two hours
- The tongues of blue whales can weigh as much as an elephant
- Killer whales have strong family bonds
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What do you think of the creepy whale footage? Let us know in the comments...
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