How Water Keeps Sea Snakes Out of the Atlantic

[@BizarreBeasts]

Did you miss this pin the first time around? Find it here until we run out! complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-seasnake And get the sea snake patch here! complexly.store/products/sea-snake-patch

[@ithrangroenen1787]

Yellow bellied sea snake sounds like a pirate insult

[@Goofyahh_shark]

True

[@flickcentergaming680]

It really does.

[@N0sf3r4tuR1s3n]

I thought it was?

[@amateur-madman3047]

@@N0sf3r4tuR1s3nI’ve definitely heard it before

[@JohnPaulBuce]

sounds legit 😂

[@Nikki0417]

The first time I heard about sea snakes was watching Steve Irwin. He talked about how highly venomous they were while holding one. I think I was like 10 or 11 at the time, but I remember thinking "that seems insane." Miss that dude.

[@elonweintraub9758]

They might be much more venomous than a cobra, but they are also completely docile. Researchers regularly handle them barehanded to tag them and take their measurements, as do fishers when the snakes get stuck in nets. I still wouldn't try it without training, but it's apparently far less insane than it seems.

[@RealBradMiller]

I grew up on Steve Irwin, and know exactly where I was when I found out about his passing. Deeply missed!

[@snipelite94]

One poisonous critter eventually jabbed him though, I vaguely remember he took a lot of flak for carrying his baby around crocs or alligators. Dangerous creatures can behave randomly, and it was irresponsible to take a "civilian" into danger like that. I'll grant you, that his excitement was infectious, and he bubbled over with enthusiasm leading to a devoted following, but recklessness will run your luck out one day.

[@safaiaryu12]

@@snipelite94 It was a stingray that happened to get him in the heart. While venomous, the venom usually just causes pain; it was the stab wound that took him down.

[@gilliesiut2332]

Yep it was the same thing here

[@pauls5745]

amazing! I thought if it were temperature tolerance, eventually some would traverse the current and setup in the south Atlantic, but I never thought about needing fresh floating rainwater to survive

[@StonedtotheBones13]

And it's the kind of thing that years ago we would be like "nah, that sounds impossible."

[@liamnixon4428]

Yeah. Near the southern tip of Africa is a desert, and you can see why there's no rainwater there. In fact, sea snakes can't even traverse up the Red Sea and pass through the Suez Canal, because of the Sahara-Arabian deserts, and passing through the Panama canal and its locks is hard for a snake that acts as an oversized Plankton.

[@emotionalfriendone43]

@@StonedtotheBones13so science got it wrong?!? 😮

[@Fledhyris]

@@emotionalfriendone43 Science just hadn't investigated at that point. We simply didn't know. Science is not omniscient, it takes years (sometimes decades) of rigorous, difficult, expensive research by dedicated individuals who are often working for little or no funding (because who is interested in sea snakes?) so there's just really not a lot of science going on in many areas that don't seem economically attractive to universities, Big Pharma, NASA, the military and so on. And the whole area of behavioural biology - trying to understand plants and animals within a holistic context of their evolution, genetics, environment, and natural (not laboratory) behaviour - is very recent, it only really started taking off midway through the 20th century. tldr; science is a lot more difficult and complicated than the internet generation give it credit for. Cut those scientists some slack! :)

[@andrewfreiji4647]

​@@StonedtotheBones13Exactly. You can thank modern science and innovation for creating such beautiful snakes

[@davidarredondo2106]

That plot twist at the end that all sea snakes need to drink freshwater to survive had me reeling. Freshwater pools floating on top of the ocean? There’s clearly a lot for me to learn.

[@jp1431]

As someone from Puerto Rico, I am thankful that there are no sea snakes in the Atlantic Ocean. We have enough problems without encountering a venomous snake while chilling at the beach.

[@janmoravec2584]

They are the hippies of the ocean. I love diving with them, it is exactly opposite of aggressive. Super chill, unless you stick hand to their mouth. And yeah, that's why you dont want to stick your hand to crevices in the sea 😀

[@stanziolad]

As someone from Panama, Your welcome.

[@RevSquatchFultz]

What about the Puerto Rican Racer? It is a venomous snake you could see on your beaches already.

[@jp1431]

@@RevSquatchFultz honestly I didn’t even know that snake existed. In the 23 years I have been in PR I have seen like 4 snakes and only 2 were alive. Still most of the snakes are in the forests and mountains and not in the coast.

[@RevSquatchFultz]

I saw one my first day there lol guess it's the luck of the draw@@jp1431

[@safaiaryu12]

Okay, awesome episode in general, but I had never heard about fresh water floating on top of ocean water?! Like, it totally makes sense, especially with underwater lakes being a thing... sometimes water can kind of stratify based on salinity/density... but dang! Rain water floating on top of the ocean to provide fresh water to sea animals! I never thought of that! How neat!

[@EECyrpys]

mindblown

[@FidelCattto]

Yea made me think about how whales and dolphins get water and it's almost entirely from their diets. Weird stuff.

[@juliaanfloress]

Bots are progressing in language, damn

[@safaiaryu12]

@@juliaanfloress Huh?

[@Fledhyris]

@@FidelCattto So do cats... not as much, granted, but still. It's why cats fed on dry food tend to develop kidney problems, they just don't gulp down water like other animals when they get thirsty.

[@Basement_crusader]

The only reason I tolerate snakes is because I can quickly walk away from them. I cannot swim as fast as I walk. I do not tolerate sea snakes.

[@dreammaker9642]

They don’t tolerate you either so keep your distance and they keep theirs 😂

[@Maccaboy1984]

Keep away from black mambas, they can reach 23km/hr!

[@Back-alley-technician]

As there is not much you can do about them, but more they can do about you. Just be thankful they tolerate you. Because if they were more aggressive towards humans, there would be no defense.

[@philippal8666]

I’m with you.

[@sushantmanandhar1387]

All sea snakes are venomous but if they bite you underwater, they drown. They want to avoid you as much as you want to avoid them

[@LeoStaley]

As someone who lives in a desert, it's really easy for me to forget just how often it rains in other places, especially on the ocean and in the tropics.

[@helixxia9320]

I would be so sad in my life without rain. i love it when it pours

[@oilersridersbluejays]

I like when it rains but rain where I live isn’t common, usually just enough to grow a somewhat decent crop of wheat.

[@cameroonkendrick6312]

I can’t imagine 3 weeks without rain

[@gradesam6306]

they're tiny limbless elasmosaurus

[@sampagano205]

Id actually compare them more to tetrapod moray eels.

[@sillybeanthing]

​@@sampagano205I mean it's obvious to compare them to eels. Elasmosaurus is more creative imo

[@alveolate]

beheaded elasmosaurids who refused to die

[@maxasaurus3008]

That’s my cousin 🦕🦖

[@thiagoalencar3937]

Maybe Elamosauros are huge limbed sea snakes. Have you ever thought of that? No, you only think of yourself.

[@brandondavidson4085]

It's interesting how much ocean currents act like mountains on land, as physical barriers

[@v_wegs]

So interesting, as usual! You answered all the questions I had about sea snakes, very well written

[@rianfelis3156]

You mentioned Panama and the trouble with South Africa, but what keeps them from expanding into the Red Sea, and from there through the Suez Canal?

[@BizarreBeasts]

Hello! This is Sarah! We did end up looking into this a little bit, and it seems like the salinity might be why they don't get into the Red Sea (too salty!).

[@JoSan3]

​@@BizarreBeastsLesson learned. Being salty keeps sea snakes away

[@RobertP.Trebor]

@@BizarreBeasts makes sense it wouldnt rain enoigh up there

[@Mastermachine100]

I would have thought the lack of rain would prevent those surface films from occurring so they can't get any water to drink.

[@arislopes1924]

I don’t think Panama would be a issue with all the locks and safety measures, the Rivas isthmus in Nicaragua is where u gotta watch out this thin isthmus separates lake Nicaragua which empties into the Caribbean despite being close to the pacific

[@RickySTT]

6:09 The Panama Canal is powered by an uphill reservoir, so that water flows outward at both ends. I image this would discourage species from crossing the isthmus.

[@pamelah6431]

PHEW.

[@joedellinger9437]

Also fresh water kills marine species.

[@boxsterman77]

It’s not the flow, it’s the locks and the sequence an animal would have to go through to traverse the isthmus. 1. Make it to one lock and avoid being squished by ships that barely fit. Wait until lock fills up to next level. When gates open, move out with the ship into the next lock. Keep repeating until you are at the level of Lake Gatun traverse the lake. Get on lock on other side. Take the series of locks down but I could see a small number making it to the lake and there breeding sufficiently. It’s a tropical paradise. Keep in mind lampreys had to negotiable locks in the St Lawrence seaway-and they did. The old Panama Canal is “powered” by damning a river,causing a reservoir and directing the captured water out both sets of locks (Caribbean and Pacific).

[@Wolf-hh4rv]

They’ll get through eventually

[@Clawed9]

This channel has to be one of the greatest things KZbin has ever suggested to anyone, I feel. great content!

[@somefishhere]

Deep Look by PBS is also pretty great! They even have behind the scenes on how they capture the video

[@Coral_skies]

Sea SNAAAAKES! I LOVE SEA SNAKES! Bizzare Beasts never misses with the animals they pick! Y'all finally got me to sign up for the pins with this one!

[@TsubasayaYami]

Damn what an awesome pin this month! Unfortunately, just like sea snakes, pins have a hard time crossing the atlantic

[@ThatJaymsWisdom]

I always say that this channel is the best thing on the internet, and that remains true, but this video is amazing! Probably one of the best!

[@Fede_99]

The fact that in the Eocene there used to be giant marine snakes called Palaeophids (unrelated to living ones as they were not venomous) which in some species could reach around 10 meters and maybe even more amazes me so much.

[@1234j]

This is just excellent! Great information, super presentation. Cheers and thanks from England.

[@aaroncoff611]

I once found a dead yellow bellied sea snake washed up on the gulf coast of the Florida panhandle. Must have gotten through the Panama Canal.

[@lightningboltt5437]

Really? Can u give more detail.

[@johnnash1119]

Yellow bellied sea snake or yellow bellied water snake? Cause the latter is a native species

[@StoneGone]

*Lies* 😂

[@baldurdashing501]

I want to know more about how they breathe and dive! The volume of air those long skinny lungs (or that long skinny lung-I seem to remember most snakes have one functioning lung) can hold has gotta be pretty limited. Long and thin is also not a shape optimized to stand up to pressure. What are the mechanics of being a pelagic snake even like?

[@lukasg4807]

Snakes can dive for a long time, their metabolism is so slow even a land dweller can last without oxygen for a while

[@Bzhydack]

They also can breath throu their skin.

[@aiko9393]

​@@Bzhydack like frogs??? Wow

[@fran13r]

This video was just fantastic, was hooked the whole time.

[@ami-scuba-diver]

I dove with hundreds of sea snakes in Manuk island, Banda sea, Indonesia. They are beautiful and majestic - love them. I saw them coming up to the surface to breath. Didn’t know they drink fresh water. Great post.

[@BizarreBeasts]

Join the Bizarre Beasts pin club to get your sea snake pin and keep getting pins every month! complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-pin-subscription And get the sea snake patch here! complexly.store/products/sea-snake-patch

[@marcwhittle9810]

Micrurus surinamensis, an aquatic Coral Snake, and Naja (Boulengerina) annulata, an aquatic cobra, are two other aquatic Elapids though found in fresh water. Both have evolutionary traits similar to the marine Sea Snakes such as eyes towards the top of the head and laterally compressed bodies.

[@djs3957]

I’ve been watching nature flicks for 45 years. Its rare I don’t know any of the content. Great video!

[@metamorphiczeolite]

I just learned a bunch of things I didn't know that I didn't know. Thanks, BB Crew!

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

0:59 we got loads of eels though

[@ricardo68]

I have wondered why I’ve never seen sea snakes kept in public sea aquariums. 😮

[@surrealfarm]

Many years ago, my brother and I were walking on a beach on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and we saw a snake. I picked it up and tossed it to my brother. He caught it and tossed it back. We did that a few times, then put it back in the water. It wasn't for another 5 years that I learned that we were playing with one of the most venomous snakes on the planet!

[@Lohengrin1850]

Thanks for the education on awesome animals, as always! (Also love the Auryn necklace!!)

[@torstimyle1355]

Demonic

[@knightshade6232]

Im in the Philippines its that thing that prevents me from enjoying my beach ⛱️ vacation besides sharks,boxjellys,salties & stonefish..😢

[@angelalewis3645]

😜

[@helixxia9320]

i had a friend who came from the philipines and i said that since it is kind of an island it must been so nice to have almost a beach around your whole country and you could swim in the nice warm water every day after school, but he said he never really swam and doesnt know how to swim good, and neither does his friends. i never knew why not so many swim from their beaches in philipines but this makes sense now if they have all that creatures around

[@knightshade6232]

Yeah 👍 one thing to note at is an average household here rarely go to the beach because it cost too much, worst if your from the mainland who rarely saw the sea, luckily my city is in the bay area so i got to splash at the coast for a while.

[@NoOne-kx7zs]

same in india..

[@oilersridersbluejays]

It’s funny, I’m from the landlocked and semi-arid prairies of Saskatchewan and can swim like a fish. Most Asians I met? Can’t swim to save themselves.

[@ItsJayCross319]

Ahhhh what a good video on one of my favorite groups of reptiles. I am such a sea snake nerd. I think they are some of the coolest animals on the planet. This is such an easily digestible, thorough deep dive into their biology that includes oodles of fun facts about what makes them special. Incredible work!

[@andrewfreiji4647]

I too am fascinated by sea snakes and all kinds of water snakes. Have you seen one in person

[@akjarni]

I love your Auryn! I have a big one on my shelf that the pins will go great with!

[@zemlidrakona2915]

I am on vacation in Zanzibar at the moment. I've been snorkeling a lot in front of our hotel. At least 50% of the time I encounter a sea snake. But these don't seem very aggressive. I've come within a meter or so several times and they just ignore me.

[@mandibriar9837]

I love this channel- please keep up the good work!

[@Tjalve70]

"The yellow bellied sea snakes don't seem to make it through the Panama Canal either". Well, DUH! The Panama Canal is a fresh water canal, that has locks. In order to make it through there, the snakes basically have to swim up a river. It would have made a lot more sense for them to get through the Suez Canal. Or around South Africa.

[@takenname8053]

Truly a bizarre beast! The head to body ratio and freshwater drinking in the ocean were new and surprising to me!

[@AphidKirby]

Absolutely MINDBLOWN that there is freshwater on top of seas! What!!! There's gotta be other organisms that take advantage of that!

[@Kevin-bl6lg]

Pirates

[@Romanticoutlaw]

wow, the giant ship worm was a thing I didn't know existed, and was happier not knowing

[@carlorielmendez6505]

H. semperi is quite special of the freshwater "sea snakes" that it lives in a lake that is formed by a collapsed volcano (Taal Volcano) approximately 50 kilometers from where I live. It's a pretty active volcano, it erupts pretty frequently within the past few years.

[@KxNOxUTA]

This is indeed absolutely bizarr and fascinating. I know a lot about animals but all of this was new to me! How cool!

[@silentglacierfang]

1:58, correction here of a species name. It is Laticauda *_crockeri,_* not cockeri, also known as Crocker's sea snake.

[@kyliegangwish17]

That opening line was 🤌🏻🤌🏻😂

[@bryanbradley6871]

random flordia man: hold my beer

[@AllCanadianReptileGirl]

Sea snakes and sea kraits are so cool. So many cool adaptations!

[@bazra19]

You have just received my award for the best dressed presenter on KZbin. Thank you for starting my day off on a high note.

[@SeanRundell]

Props for the Auryn medallion!

[@raynac224]

so how thick are these lenses of fresh water? If I was stuck at sea and out of water but I had a straw would I be able to suck it off the surface after a heavy down pour?

[@TonyCasamassima]

Very informative. I had no idea there was even such a thing as sea snakes. Also very easy to watch 👀!

[@believein1]

Glad to have found your channel 👏

[@janzei]

I live near the sea in the Philippines and I sometimes see sea snakes, atleast they’re not aggressive

[@ihcfn]

Great video, never knew about the thin headed snakes or the lens of fresh water on the surface of the ocean. 👍

[@jaiward4869]

Okay so I live in Barbados, an island in the Atlantic Ocean, East of the Caribbean. I've seen yellow bellied sea snakes twice while snorkeling here, and i know other people who have seen them. How exactly do you explain that?

[@Arri7979]

Yeah, I'm from South Florida and we have water moccasins in the Atlantic Ocean, eastern coast, part of the state. There are definitely snakes in the water in the Caribbean, but they're probably discussing a specific type of snake in this video. She mentioned a "true sea snake", so maybe what is currently in the Caribbean is something else.

[@BBBrasil]

Oceanic fresh water oasis, like it. One of those things that sound obvious once you think about, but on our own we would never think about. Thinking about Polynesian sailors, they might have used this, too, for pathfinding.

[@thedude7319]

Is sea really a misnomer when you have 60 species but only 4 that also can be found in fresh ? Seems like a stretch

[@BryanBradley-vm1jp]

Well that was a nice run... Flordida man: Hold my beer...

[@robrice7246]

Salt-marsh snakes are the closest you may get to marine snakes in the Atlantic (especially since they're live bearers). If they were to occur, it's mostly from human introductions (directly or indirectly via cargo ships).

[@cameronwilsey9334]

That sea snake footage was phenomenal

[@blairesantos5491]

There are no sea snakes in the Atlantic, until somebody accidentally releases them in our waters like Lion Fish. ._.

[@mattmc9812]

Grenades for fishing 😂😂

[@Hushpuppysox]

This was a cool video i just figured it was too cold but didn't realize the cold water was being brought up by a current. Also Sarah where did you get your top at for this video? It's so cool!

[@gracie_cat]

Fantastic episode and shout out to the Neverending Story ouroboros medallion!

[@ryangonzalez3225]

Now I know one thing I can do that forever change the world. To think less than a day's drive across Panama you could change history...

[@stuartAF888]

I love the Ms. Frizzle vibe you’re giving! ❤❤❤

[@m.k_dk7622]

I live in the Atlantic Ocean I've seen plenty of sea snakes over here

[@carto4028]

Our ocean was once dominated by reptiles, i find the ones still around to be fascinating. Last holdouts of a long standing tradition.

[@CG-xb1kh]

This was a really interesting ep!

[@Vanguardkl]

This is an absolutely fascinating video I've learned 5 new things watching this, I'm 36 and watch hours of different things everyday so yea this is really great work

[@rajr1032]

Great commentary.TIL - no sea snakes in Atlantic Ocean & lens of fresh water over sea water ! Thanks.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

her hair and make up are so cool

[@Marlodrama]

“I like snakes, i just dont expect them in the water” im sure they dont be expecting us either 🤭

[@mysterium364]

Such a peculiar adaptation caused that snake to be one of the most successful snakes ever. Fascinating.

[@vampyricon7026]

Holy damn that's a good looking pin

[@fabiomenezes5887]

Very interesting! I've never heard of sea snakes before

[@sciencenerd7639]

Sea snakes are one of my favorite bizarre beasts

[@augustlizabethmoore]

I love your hair! Such a pretty color!!

[@bcddd214]

I have see a few sea snakes in Miami on a couple of occasions.

[@drizzlingrose]

at 6:32 i was like "Whoaa! thats the same music GoldShawFarm uses in their videos! Neat :D "

[@2121bassplayer]

as a floridian, i am so grateful for this 🙏🙏🙏

[@bulleyes.btp1601]

I had a personal experience with a sea snake at Timor Leste as I started to dive. I tried to keep in distance from the sea snake and it did the same thing. Finally, we separated and I decently to 30 meters underwater. It was an odd and scary experience to me.

[@remknightly5222]

Really lovely Neverending Story necklace! I adore the video, but I got distracted every time the necklace appeared, it's such an obscure interest.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

Sounds like it's only a matter of time until enough escape from aquariums to establish a population around Florida.

[@LiveActionKimPossibleRufus]

4:34 I can not stree how much I do NOT want to do that

[@SAmaryllis]

Cool, I didn't know about freshwater lenses!

[@1TakoyakiStore]

There's more to it than that. Black Marlin are stopped by the Atlantic side of the Cape of Good Hope, and they do not need to drink fresh water. From what little I've been able to find on the subject it seems that this particular area of the Southern Atlantic is an aquatic dead zone preventing a lot of Indo-Pacific species from establishing populations in the Atlantic. While we are on the subject of snake mysteries, I would love to know why there are no boas native to Florida?

[@eljanrimsa5843]

As said in the video the water temperature will be the bigger problem, the missing rainwater puddles is just the cooler one.

[@margaretfulton9676]

Sea snakes hurrah! But also that is a damn fine auryn necklace. Someday I'd love to see a Bizarre Beasts about the purple buffalo. Or luck dragons.

[@brratata6767]

So living in south caribbean (Curacao) i was seeing eels as a kid thinking they where sea snakes?

[@samwill7259]

Imagine being an animal that gets yeeted into the Atlantic by the Panama Canal of all things, literal alien abduction

[@thatguy9502]

i shall never leave the atlantic

[@reyjur1493]

6:18 Why don't they traverse the Suez Canal?

[@toastnjam7384]

When I was in the Gulf of Tonkin with the Navy the water was churning with sea snakes as far as the eye could see. It was like a horror movie.

[@Jham3D]

Finally, the algorithm is feeding me the type of content I actually enjoy and learn from. Only took 2+ years 🐍

[@deisisase]

Glad you mentioned the Panama Canal.

[@daltongalloway]

So if I took a ton of them to the Caribbean would they be able to survive theoretically?

[@erichtomanek4739]

I wonder if a lineage of Sea Snake may evolve into a filter feeder for plankton or krill? Maybe grow a layer of blubber to insulate that long and slim body? Maybe establish itself over in the rich waters of Antarctica? And then become a plaything for the awesome Leopard Seals!

[@Spookysaladbri]

The neverending story necklace is killer

[@Mars-ev7qg]

What stops sea snakes from moving into the Red Sea and then through the Suez canal into the Mediterranean sea and eventually through the straight of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean?

[@reptilez13]

I love sea snakes!!! Well, all snakes lol. Even tho highly venemous, no recorded deaths are on record from any sea snake species (genus hydrophiinae - i think of sea kraits that may differ but i could be wrong, as mainland Kraits have bitten and killed at least a handful of times iirc) Theres some amazing videos of people on one person boats coming across sea snakes, the snake investigating, saying hello, and slither-swimming by lol. Theres so many cool species and variants!! Sizes, colors, etc. Beautiful, amazing animals! Oh and turtle-headed sea snakes are the only non-venemous true elapids. Tho African House Snakes are closely related to Elapids too, tho not considered Elapids.

[@aozaire2445]

Been swimming with these guys every time I go snorkeling. I always seem to catch them pop their heads out of the water to breathe.