XKCD did a comic (1747) about spider webs not fossilizing. It's really cool (and sad) to think of all the cool structures and habits of animals we'll never get to see simply because they didn't fossilize.
No matter if you absolutely love paleontology, are totally indifferent to it, or absolutely hate it( why would you?) , this video's title and thumbnail have got to intrigue you
It would be really cool to see a series on, “inferred species.” Like, species we don’t have any evidence for, but we know could answer some missing link questions like, splitting the two ways rays traverse the water.
I literally yesterday was thinking about how I would love you doing a video on the evolution of rays. This is definitely close enough to satisfy that need. Great work!
Flappy filter feeding sharks are cool, but what about that filter feeding anomalocarid that started as a speculative artwork piece then turned out to be real? Nature pulled the ol' bamboozle with that one.
I don't know if you're making a joke that I don't believe is a joke or whether you misinterpreted what has happened? He said there were groups known by their teeth only. Thus their body form is unknown. To be more scientifically correct he thus put up the groups name only rather than a possibility misleading image. Great channel.
@@Paul_Rohde Helicoprion has been reconstructed many times, like all the other reconstructions he has ever edited into an episode. All reconstructions are best guesses. He doesn't avoid showing pictures just because they're artists' best attempts at renders and not an actual photograph.
@@nihilusdirus Whether you're right or wrong that Helicoprion has been reconstructed many times is a bit beside the point as Moth Light Media believes/states they (or whole lineages) are only known by their teeth, and his video is the topic here. (Reconstructions from known pieces are a bit different to full fantasy renditions too.) You may right, but I thought it was neat he used the word to exemplify that it is unknown. Out of all the videos he's made, he's just randomly done this mistake in this video at this particular point, whilst he's stating whole lineages are unknown but for their teeth? A bit of a coincidence? Not to mention the time it takes to make these things, needing to shuttle/jog through the edit all the time to get it right. If he comes out and says it was an editing mistake, that would make me go wow. What a coincidence! Cheers.
2:20 = note that modern filter feeding sharks (whale, basking & megamouth, even manta rays as well) all have numerous teeth, so it would be unusual if Aquilolamna truly was edentulous.
The thing that immediately jumps out to me as an aerospace engineer that’s weird is that having fins for lift situated that far forward on its body would be hydrodynamically unstable because the center of lift will be ahead of the shark’s center of gravity if the wings are just held out flat for lift. To me, this indicates they must be used for propulsion.
What an informative and entertaining video!! Love all your content. You said this was discovered 10 years ago and only described a few weeks ago? Is that typically how stuff works within paleontology, time wise from discovery to identification/taxonomy?
I'm gonna guess it's not uncommon? Often when fossils are found, it's a small part of a whole. That mummified dinosaur that I think was maybe an Ankylosaur took years of very delicate work to be freed from the surrounding rock. And a paleontologist might have an idea of what it is, but then you gotta round up some scientists and compare it to the other fossils. Analyze it, run tests if necessary, describe it, and make a case for why it's that one essentially. And then those studies may have to make revisions before they're published.
And this is why I wish time-travel were possible, so that we could study how alien our world was millions of years ago. Probablt would need some kind of air supply, though...
The unbelievable amount of species lost forever to history because they weren’t conducive to fossilizing, or are buried miles beneath the ground, or are under the ocean floor, or were rare for their time, and so on… I want to see them all…
Since rays and mantas are related to sharks, might this be more of a ray or manta than a shark? Especially as it seemed to be a filter feeder, having no teeth, than a flesh-eater like most sharks.
Yes! Great video! Do more about prehistoric fish, not just sharks. I feel like prehistoric fish don’t get too much love, when they were some of the coolest animals to ever have swam our oceans
Powerful large tail, wide 'wingspan'...slim body.....possibly glide capabilities? I wonder if it could create enough speed to 'launch' itself out of the water for transportation, or more likely as a defense mechanism to evade large predators.... that'd be so cool
My theory is that aquilolamna mainly used it's large pectoral fin to swin slowly through the water when it wasn't in any danger/feeding and used it's shark like tail to swim away quickly from predetors. This explains why it still possessed that functional tail.
I looked at the sources provided, saw their dates, and knew this wasn’t an April fools day prank, I was pointing out the bad idea of posting this on that day. Mainly cause it seems so perfect, flying sharks? Perfect April fools day prank title
Two reasons. The remarkable preservation is very rare, and the body shape is unlike any other species known so far. A fossil of this quality of a known species would have been an important find, but one that shows an animal that's unique and hitherto unimagined is extraordinary.
DRINKING GAME!!! Take a sip of your drink when there is: - a time lineage - a genetic tree - a new illustration - a size comparison Take a shot when: - the narrator says "however"
It is likely that they just ended up fossilized at the same time by chance instead of ending up like that because Aquilolamna actually hunted the little guy
On second thoughts, the long fins may not have been for locomotion at all. They may have been extended to house sensitive electroreceptors, similar to why hammerhead sharks have a weird shaped head.
i love archeologists and paleontologists and shit. they see a tiny bone from the feet of some animal from 400 quadrillion years and tell you in detail how that bone likely comes from the metatarsal of the feet of an ancient mollusc that walked on land but had evolved to use their feet for eating since it gave them the evolutionary advantage of leaving their hands free to use as feet.
Heya, just so you know as someone who’s also butchered this particular word - cartilaginous is pronounced as ‘KAR-TILL-AJ-IN-OOS’ not as ‘KAR-TILL-IJ-IN-OOS’ - other than that, great and interesting video
I don't know if you're making a joke that went over my head (or I just didn't find funny), or whether you weren't listening. He said there were groups known by their teeth only. Thus their body form is unknown. To be more scientifically correct he thus put up the groups name only rather than a possibility misleading image. Great channel.
@@Paul_Rohde If that were the case, he would have used a picture of the teeth. Look at the video at the time I mentioned, he has the word "helicoprion" in the bottom left just like the other reference images, but he also has the word in the middle of the screen. This makes me think it was an "insert here" placeholder in editing for until he found a good image to use, but then forgot to insert the image in the final version.
@@maddockemerson4603 You may be correct. It just seemed to me he had the word "up in lights" (in addition to the subtitle) to exemplify that Helicoprion/ the whole lineage is unknown other than their classification from teeth. And yes, showing the teeth would have been a nice touch. However, out of all the videos he's made, he's just randomly done this mistake in this video at this particular point, whilst he's stating whole lineages are unknown? A bit of a coincidence? Not to mention the time it takes to make these things, needing to shuttle/jog through the edit all the time to get it right. If he comes out and says it was an editing mistake, that would make me go wow. What a neat coincidence! Cheers.
