Titanoboa

From deep underground in a Colombian coal mine, in a layer dating to 65 million years ago, scientists have uncovered remains of the largest snake in the world, Titanoboa cerrejonensis. Measuring 48 feet long and weighing in at 2,500 pounds, this massive predator could crush and devour a crocodile! Fossil plants and animals found at the site reveal the earliest known rain forest, teeming with life and dating to the Paleocene, the lost world that followed the demise of the dinosaurs. Featuring a full-scale model of Titanoboa and clips from a Smithsonian Channel documentary, the exhibition delves into the discovery, reconstruction, and implications of this enormous reptile.





sources: http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Titanoboa-Monster-Snake-4820,

Giant Squid

Giant squids can grow to a tremendous size. Recent estimates put the maximum size at 13 m (43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males from caudal fin to the tip of the two long tentacles.  The arms and tentacles account for much of the squid's great length, making it much lighter than its chief predator, the sperm whale. It is common to find circular scars from the suckers on or close to the head of sperm whales that have attacked giant squid. Giant squid have small fins at the rear of their mantles used for locomotion. Like other cephalopods, they are propelled by jet – by pulling water into the mantle cavity, and pushing it through the siphon, in gentle, rhythmic pulses. They can also move quickly by expanding the cavity to fill it with water, then contracting muscles to jet water through the siphon. Giant squid breathe using two large gills inside the mantle cavity. The circulatory system is closed, which is a distinct characteristic of cephalopods. Like other squid, they contain dark ink used to deter predators. It also has the largest eyes of any living creature except perhaps colossal squid – over 30 cm (1 ft) in diameter. Adult giant squids' only known predators are sperm whales, but pilot whales may feed on them, also. Juveniles are preyed on by deep-sea sharks and other fish because sperm whales are skilled at locating giant squid. Scientists have tried to observe them to study the squid. Giant squid are very widespread, occurring in all of the world's oceans. They are usually found near continental and island slopes from the North Atlantic Ocean, especially Newfoundland, Norway, the northern British Isles, Spain and the oceanic islands of the Azores and Madeira, to the South Atlantic around southern Africa, the North Pacific around Japan, and the southwestern Pacific around New Zealand and Australia. Specimens are rare in tropical and polar latitudes.





sorces: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid

watch 1. first then number 2.

1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=U2s3C0lkQE0

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NR53smpV_xg

Mimick octopus

It grows up to 2 ft. Their tentacles are around 25 cm in length and no more than pencil thick. It was not discovered officially until 1998. Based on observation, the mimic octopus may decide which animal to impersonate depending on local predators. For example, when the octopus was being attacked by damselfish, the octopus was observed to appear as a banded sea snake, a damselfish predator. The octopus impersonates the snake by turning black and yellow,burying six of its arms, and waving its other two arms in opposite directions. The mimic octopus lives exclusively in nutrient-rich estuarine bays of Indonesia and Malaysia full of potential prey. It uses a jet of water through its funnel to glide over the sand while searching for prey, typically small fish, crabs, and worms. Mimics stalk their prey or the mimic octopus often by covering an area of sand under a disc of webs while using the tips of its fine arms to flush small animals into its suckers. It can probe its arms deep into burrows or holes to search for prey which it can then pass to its mouth. This octopus mimics venomous sole,lion fish, sea snakes, sea anemones, and jellyfish.  For example, the mimic is able to imitate a sole by pulling its arms in, flattening to a leaf-like shape, and increasing speed using a jet-like propulsion that resembles a sole. When spreading its legs and lingering on the ocean bottom, its arms trail behind to simulate the lion fish's fins. By raising all of its arms above its head with each arm bent in a curved, zig-zag shape to resemble the lethal tentacles of a fish-eating sea anemone, it deters many fish. It imitates a large jellyfish by swimming to the surface and then slowly sinking with its arms spread evenly around its body. its scientific name: Thaumoctopus mimicus. Their preferred habitat is relatively shallow water normally less than 15 metres deep where there is a sand or silt substrate, so often this means near river mouths or estuaries. Unlike other reef-dwelling octopuses habitats, there are not hiding places galore within the habitat. Despite this, the mimic forages in daylight which one would expect makes this soft bodied, non venomous creature a prime target for predators. However the mimic clearly thrives in its environment and many believe this boldness is possible only because of its ability to impersonate other venomous creatures.
In mating, the male octopus inserts its hetocotylus, a specialised and extended arm, into the female's mantle cavity, where he deposits packets of sperm. Soon after the hectocotylus falls off and before too long the male will die. The female fertilises, and then carries the eggs in strings while continuing to feed, a feature unusual for octopus. The larvae hatch and shortly thereafter the female dies. The larvae drift as plankton until they mature, when they sink and begin life on the ocean floor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=t-LTWFnGmeg

Sources: , http://www.dive-the-world.com/creatures-mimic-octopus.php, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimic_octopus.