Original subtitles

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NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU’RE WATCHING

TELEVISION THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI THERE, I'M DYLAN DREYER.

WE'RE DIVING HEADFIRST INTO AN AQUATIC ADVENTURE TO SEE

THE CURIOUS CREATURES OF OUR PLANET'S WATERWAYS.

THIS IS "EARTH ODYSSEY."

TODAY WE'RE TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF

WATER-LOVING ANIMALS TO SEE THE CREATURES WHO LIVE LIFE

IN THE SPLASH ZONE.

LIKE THESE AFRICAN AVIANS THAT USE WATER AS A WALKWAY.

AND LOVE IS ALWAYS ON THE ROCKS FOR THIS COLLECTION OF

CRUSTACEANS.

PLUS, STICKS AND STONES AREN'T BREAKING THE BONES OF

THIS CURIOUS CHARACTER.

BUT FIRST, ONE MARINE MOM HAS REACHED THE END OF AN

EPIC MIGRATION.

THIS AND A WHOLE LOT MORE COMING UP ON "EARTH ODYSSEY."

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: OUR OCEANS MAKE UP ABOUT 70 PERCENT OF THE

PLANET'S SURFACE.

THOUSANDS OF MILES OF ROUGH, UNFORGIVING DEEP SEAS

SEPARATE THE CALMER SHALLOWS OF THE COASTLINES.

FEW CREATURES ARE WILLING TO BRAVE THE DAUNTING CHALLENGE

IT IS TO CROSS THEM.

HOWEVER, ONE REPTILE HAS MADE IT THE HALMARK OF THEIR

SPECIES TO UNDERTAKE THIS MIGRATION, TRAVELING

THOUSANDS OF MILES TO ENSURE THE ARRIVAL OF THEIR NEXT

GENERATION.

TAKE A LOOK.

UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS, SEA TURTLES LAND UPON THE COAST.

THIS IS NO MISTAKE OR ERROR OF JUDGMENT; IT'S FOR A VITAL

REASON.

AS ADULTS, THESE OCEANGOING CREATURES RETURN TO THE

SHORES WHERE THEY WERE BORN EVERY 2 YEARS OR SO TO BREED.

[MUSIC AND SOUNDS OF WAVES]

DYLAN: THIS GREEN SEA TURTLE HAS JUST FINISHED DIGGING

ITS NEST.

SHE USES IT TO LAY AROUND 100 EGGS THAT LOOK LIKE

GLOSSY GOLF BALLS.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THEIR SOFT SHELLS CAN EASILY ABSORB ANY IMPACT AT

THE BOTTOM OF THE NEST.

ONCE HER EGGS ARE LAID, SHE SEALS THE NEST.

THE SAND HAS A VITAL ROLE TO PLAY.

ITS TEMPERATURE OVER THE NEXT 8 WEEKS WILL NOT ONLY

HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON THE INCUBATION PERIOD, BUT WILL

ALSO BE A DETERMINING FACTOR IN THE GENDER OF THE HATCHLINGS.

UP TO 80 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, THEY WILL BE MALE.

ANY WARMER THAN THAT, AND THE YOUNG WILL BE MOSTLY FEMALE.

AFTER SPENDING 40 MINUTES SWEEPING THE SAND TO HIDE

ANY TRACE OF HER NEST, THE FEMALE LEAVES HER EGGS TO

THEIR FATE AND RETURNS TO THE OCEAN.

WHILE THIS MIGHT SEEM LIKE A HIGH-RISK STRATEGY, THE

EVIDENCE IS THAT IT WORKS.

MARINE TURTLES COME FROM A LONG LINEAGE WHICH GOES BACK

200 MILLION YEARS.

NOW THAT'S SOME IMPRESSIVE FAMILY HISTORY.

UNDER THESE TROPICAL SKIES THERE'S A NATURAL

ENVIRONMENT WHICH IS NEITHER FULLY LAND NOR SEA.

IT'S A VAST AREA OF FOREST GROWING OUT OF THE WATER

ITSELF.

THESE ARE CALLED MANGROVE FORESTS AND THEY PLAY A

PRIMORDIAL ROLE HERE IN THIS CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENT.

THEY'RE SPAWNING AREAS FOR MARINE SPECIES AND ACT AS

WATER FILTERS, FORMING BUFFER ZONES WHICH PROTECT

THE SHORES FROM HURRICANES.

AT LOW TIDE, THE MIGHTY GROUND BELONGS TO THE CRABS.

ESPECIALLY FIDDLER CRABS WHOSE MALES ARE RECOGNIZABLE

BY THEIR SINGLE, OVERSIZED, HYPER-DEVELOPED CLAW.

THE SMALL PINCER IS USEFUL FOR RUMMAGING IN THE SILT.

ITS SIZE IS ADAPTED TO ITS SMALL MOUTH PARTS.

BUT WHAT IS THE BIGGER ONE FOR?

EACH MALE IS LORD OF ITS OWN TERRITORY, A BURROW THAT HE

BUILDS, MAINTAINS AND DEFENDS FIERCELY.

THE LARGE CLAW IS IN FACT A WEAPON, BUT IT IS MAINLY A

DETERRENT AS VIOLENT CONFRONTATION IS RARE.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BUT ITS MAIN ROLE IS AS PART OF ITS DISPLAY; A

SHOW DURING WHICH EACH MALE PERFORMS A SERIES OF

MOVEMENTS USING THIS REMARKABLE APPENDAGE.

THE AIM IS TO ATTRACT THE SMALL-PINCERED FEMALES TO

LAY THEIR EGGS IN HIS NEST.

AND WHO COULD RESIST SUCH GRACEFUL CHOREOGRAPHY?

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: IN THIS NEW WORLD CRUSTACEAN ORCHESTRA, EACH

SPECIES OF FIDDLER HAS ITS OWN RHYTHM, FREQUENCY AND

SEQUENCE OF MOVES.

IN THE HEART OF THE MANGROVE FOREST, THESE LITTLE CRABS

HAVE DEVELOPED A SIMPLE YET EFFECTIVE METHOD OF

COMMUNICATION BY WAY OF BODY LANGUAGE.

IT MAKES EACH OF THEM FLUENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE.

AFTER THE BREAK, WHO NEEDS TO SWIM WHEN YOU CAN WALK ON

WATER?

THESE DURABLE DECAPODS MAKE THEIR HOME BETWEEN A ROCK

AND A HARD PLACE.

LATER, WE'LL MEET A STRIKING SHRIMP THAT CAN'T HELP BUT

CATCH THE EYE, WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS.

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE ANIMAL KINGDOM DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE WHEN IT

COMES TO CREATURES WHO LOVE THE WATER.

THEY COME IN ALL SHAPES, SIZES AND SPECIES.

AND WHILE MANY MAY NOT SPEND THEIR LIVES UNDER THE WAVES,

FOR EVERY CREATURE, SURVIVAL IS DIRECTLY TIED TO THEIR

NEED FOR WATER.

BUT THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR A BREAK ALONG THE RIVERBANKS.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THE WATERFRONT IS ITS OWN BEVY OF ACTIVITY THAT

SEES ANIMALS OF EVERY KIND TAKING PART.

THIS LORD OF THE LILLIES APPEARS TO WALK ON WATER AS

IT SEARCHES FOR A SNACK.

THE JACANA MOVES EASILY ACROSS THE FLOATING

VEGETATION THANKS TO ITS UNIQUE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.

THEIR FEET HAVE LONG, OVER-DEVELOPED TOES THAT

ALLOW THEM TO SPREAD THEIR WEIGHT EVENLY AND EFFECTIVELY.

SO EFFECTIVELY, IN FACT, THE WATER LILLIES HARDLY DIP AS

THEY STAND ON THEM.

THIS IMPRESSIVE FEAT COMES WITH A DELICIOUS REWARD-

FOOD.

THERE'S ALWAYS AMPLE PICKINGS OF INSECTS AND

INVERTEBRATES OUT ON THE WATER WHERE OTHERS AREN'T

ABLE TO REACH.

IT'S A PRIVATE DINING AREA ALL TO THEMSELVES.

THOUGH JEALOUS EYES ARE NEVER FAR AWAY.

EACH FISHING BIRD HAS THEIR OWN TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING

A MEAL.

SOME DIVE.

WHILE OTHERS SPEAR.

BUT FOR ALL, IT'S THE SIZE OF THE CATCH AND SIZE OF THE

BIRD THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.

AND WHEN IT COMES TO SIZE, TWO FISHING BIRDS IN THE

SAVANNA STAND TALL AS THE GOLD STANDARD.

THE FIRST, THE GOLIATH HERON, THE BIGGEST HERON

IN THE WORLD.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: IT STANDS 5 FEET TALL.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: ITS COMPETITOR, A SOARING RAPTOR, THE FISH EAGLE.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: WITH A WINGSPAN REACHING ALMOST 8 FEET, IT

JOINS THE GOLIATH HERON AS ONE OF EARTH'S MOST

IMPRESSIVE FISHERMEN.

COMING UP, THESE COLORFUL CRUSTACEANS LOOK ABSOLUTELY

CRABULOUS.

AND LATER, WE'LL MEET A DEEPSEA SWIMMER WITH A

SEE-THROUGH STYLE.

ALL THIS AND MORE NEXT ON "EARTH ODYSSEY."

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BIZARRE SHAPES, VIBRANT COLORS, SKELETONS

ON THE OUTSIDE.

CRUSTACEANS ARE A CLASS OF ANIMAL THAT SEEMS STRAIGHT

OUT OF THE IMAGINATION.

BUT THESE CREATURES ARE MORE THAN JUST AN INTRIGUING

SIGHT, THEY ARE CONSUMMATE SURVIVORS.

OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS EACH SPECIES HAS ADAPTED TO HAVE

HIGHLY-SPECIALIZED SKILLS THAT ARE AS UNIQUE AS THEIR LOOK.

ABLE TO THRIVE FROM THE DEEPEST OCEAN TRENCHES TO

THE SUN-SOAKED SHORES.

CRUSTACEANS CAN BE FOUND EVERYWHERE.

CRABS, FOR INSTANCE, MEET ON ROCKS BETWEEN THE LAND AND

THE SEA.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BUT THEY ONLY EMERGE BRIEFLY FROM THEIR FAVORITE

PLACE.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: SEVERAL MILLION YEARS OLD, THIS GROUP IS A BRANCH

OF THE KINGDOM ANIMALIA WHICH CONTAINS ABOUT 50,000

SPECIES; MOST OF WHICH ARE AQUATIC.

IT ISN'T ALWAYS EASY TO OBSERVE THEM IN THEIR

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THEY HIDE IN HOLES AND

CRACKS DURING THE DAY.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THESE ANCIENT ANIMALS LIVE IN EVERY REGION OF THE

WORLD.

FROM THE SEA SURFACE TO DEPTHS OF THOUSANDS OF FEET.

THEY VARY IN SIZE FROM WELL UNDER AN INCH TO MORE THAN

10 FEET FOR THE JAPANESE SPIDER CRAB; THE LARGEST

KNOWN CRUSTACEAN IN THE WORLD.

THEIR CLASSIFICATION IS VERY COMPLEX.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: THERE ARE BRACHIOPODS; SO NAMED

BECAUSE THEY HAVE GILLS ON THEIR FEET, SUCH AS ARTEMIA

WHICH BREATHE BY TAKING IN OXYGEN FROM THE WATER

THROUGH THEIR FEET.

OR CIRRIPEDES SUCH AS BARNACLES, WHOSE DISTINCTIVE

FEATURE IS THAT THEY SPEND THEIR ENTIRE LIFE ATTACHED

TO THE SAME PLACE.

THERE ARE MANY SUBCLASSES TOO.

THE ONE WE ARE INTERESTED IN IS MALACOSTRACA AS IT

CONTAINS THE ORDER DECAPODA WHICH INCLUDES THE WORLD'S

BEST-KNOWN CRUSTACEANS.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: DECAPODS, SO NAMED BECAUSE OF THEIR 10 LEGS,

INCLUDE CRUSTACEANS SUCH AS SHRIMPS, CRAYFISH, CRABS AND

SLIPPER LOBSTERS.

AND WITHIN THIS GROUP THERE ARE SWIMMING CRUSTACEANS AND

WALKING CRUSTACEANS.

SOME, LIKE LOBSTERS, SLIPPER LOBSTERS AND CRAYFISH HAVE A

VERY LONG, WELL-DEVELOPED ABDOMEN ENDING IN A TAIL FIN.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: WHILE OTHERS SUCH AS HERMIT CRABS HAVE ASYMMETRICAL

ABDOMENS.

AND LASTLY, THERE ARE THOSE THAT ARE ROUNDER WITH A

SMALL ABDOMEN OFTEN FOLDED UNDER THE THORAX LIKE SPIDER CRABS.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: BUT THIS GROUP IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS.

THERE ARE MANY OTHER SUBCLASSES SUCH AS AMPHIPODS

REPRESENTED BY THESE SKELETON SHRIMPS.

OR ISOPODS, REPRESENTED BY PARASITES.

CRUSTACEANS COME IN ALL SORTS OF SHAPES AND COLORS

AND VARY FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER.

SOMETIMES THEY LOOK ALMOST UNREAL.

WHILE ALL THESE CREATURES BELONG TO THE SAME GROUP,

THEY CAN BE WILDLY DIFFERENT; SOME LIVING IN

THE SEA, OTHERS IN FRESH WATER LIKE HERE.

CRAYFISH EVOLVED FROM PRIMITIVE MARINE ANCESTORS

LIKE ALL ITS RIVER AND LAKE-DWELLING FELLOWS.

MAKING AN APPEARANCE IN ALMOST EVERY BODY OF WATER

ON EARTH, CRUSTACEANS ARE EVERYWHERE.

WHEN WE RETURN, WE'RE DIVING INTO THE DEEP OCEAN FOR A

LOOK AT SOME DELICATE DECAPODS.

UP NEXT ON "EARTH ODYSSEY."

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: EARTH'S OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS ARE CONSTANTLY

MOVING AND SHIFTING WITH THE CURRENT.

BUT EVEN IN THE WATER, SOME CREATURES EXCEL AT STAYING PUT.

BARNACLES, FOR INSTANCE, GATHER PARTICLES OF PLANKTON

BY CONSTANTLY FILTERING THE WATER.

THESE SMALL, BARELY VISIBLE CRUSTACEANS OFTEN FIND

THEMSELVES INVADED BY CORAL AND THEIR HARD PART IS

NO LONGER VISIBLE.

HERE, LESS COLONIZED, IT'S EASIER TO SEE THEM FEEDING.

[MUSIC]

DYLAN: BARNACLES CAN LIVE NEAR THE SURFACE BETWEEN THE

AIR AND WATER.

WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK AT FIRST GLANCE ARE SHARP BUMPS

ON THE ROCKS ARE ACTUALLY LIVING CREATURES.

THESE ANIMALS HAVE CALCIUM PLATES WHICH CAN BE PULLED

TOGETHER.

THIS HERMETIC SEAL PREVENTS THE BARNACLES FROM DRYING

OUT AND IT MEANS THEY CAN WITHSTAND LONG PERIODS OUT

OF THE WATER.

THEY ALSO NEED SOMETHING ON WHICH TO ATTACH THEMSELVES;

EVEN SOMETHING LIVING.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: ALWAYS IN PAIRS, HARLEQUIN SHRIMPS FEED

EXCLUSIVELY ON STARFISH.

WITH THEIR PINCERS, THEY HAVE CUT OFF AN ARM AND ARE

TAKING IT AWAY TO EAT.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: LESS THAN A HALF INCH IN LENGTH, SKELETON SHRIMP

ARE THE ONLY CRUSTACEANS ABLE TO STAND UP BY

ANCHORING THEMSELVES WITH THEIR REAR LEGS.

THEY CAPTURE THEIR PREY WITH THEIR MUCOUS-SECRETING

ANTENNAE; A THICK AND VISCUS SUBSTANCE.

THIS MUCOUS PARALYZES THE PLANKTON LARVAE AND SMALL

INVERTEBRATES THEY FEED ON.

BUT TO FEED, SOME SHRIMP HAVE ADOPTED A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE.

THEY OFFER THEIR SERVICES IN WHAT ARE KNOWN AS CLEANING

STATIONS.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THEY REMOVE OTHER CREATURES' PARASITES.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: AND THOSE WHO MIGHT'VE BECOME PREDATORS IF IT WASN'T

FOR THIS INDISPENSABLE REMOVAL FUNCTION, OPEN THEIR EARS

AND MOUTHS WIDE WHERE THE CLEANER SHRIMP WORK UNDISTURBED.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: IT'S A REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF SOLIDARITY AND

TRUST; SHOWING HOW ANIMALS CAN HELP EACH OTHER THRIVE

IN EARTH'S WILDEST WATERS.

WITH SO MUCH OF OUR PLANET COVERED BY WATER IT'S NO

SURPRISE THAT THERE ARE SO MANY CAPTIVATING SIGHTS IN

THE AQUATIC ANIMAL KINGDOM.

FROM MOUNTAIN STREAMS TO OPEN OCEAN, OUR WATERWAYS

ARE BURSTING WITH AN INCREDIBLY DIVERSE ARRAY OF

LIFE MADE ALL THE MORE ASTONISHING BY THE DIFFERENT

WAYS THEY'VE LEARNED TO SURVIVE BENEATH THE SURFACE.

WE'RE SO GLAD YOU COULD JOIN US AND HOPE TO SEE YOU FOR

THE NEXT EPISODE OF "EARTH ODYSSEY."

[MUSIC]