Indonesia...
an underwater garden of Eden
that supports
the highest diversity
of marine life on the planet.
But here
amid the world's richest reefs,
another ecosystem
goes unnoticed,
its riches hidden in the sand.
At first glance,
it's a barren wasteland.
But the mucky seabed is alive
with weird
and wonderful creatures.
&gt;&gt; To actually see them doing
the things that keep them alive
is something very special.
&gt;&gt; To my knowledge,
this footage is the first time
that we've actually gotten an
exact glimpse at what happens.
&gt;&gt; Nothing here is quite
as it seems.
This is the mysterious world
of Life in the Muck.
(♪♪♪)
The Indonesian archipelago
sprawls across an area
the size of the United States.
It stretches from Malaysia
in the west
to Papua New Guinea
in the east.
And lies about 1,000 miles
south of the Philippines.
Its 17,000 islands
skirt the southern lip
of the 'ring of fire',
a chain of raging volcanoes
born in a fiery collision
of tectonic plates.
Indonesia
has more active volcanoes
than any other country on earth.
Some erupt as often
as every 30 minutes,
lighting up the sky
with a violent display
of fireworks above the sea.
Indonesia's volcanoes
both destroy and provide life.
Flowing lava
scorches and smothers
everything in its path.
But volcanic ash,
rich in nutrients,
regenerates soil on land,
and cultivates a marine habitat
unlike any other.
&gt;&gt; It's nothing but sediment
and maybe some trash
and the occasional coral
that sticks out.
But once
you actually look closer
into the sand,
into the sediment,
into some of these
hiding places.
The critters that live in there,
they're extremely beautiful.
(♪♪♪)
The same volcanoes
that scald the land
sustain a thriving
underwater ecosystem.
Though no one is quite sure why.
&gt;&gt; I can tell you for sure
that that black volcanic sand
does have magnetism in it.
I have a feeling that
there's something about that
which somehow attracts
these muck critters.
You can envision
on a flat bottom,
which is basically featureless,
you can't navigate,
so maybe
it's that magnetic field
which allows them to do that.
That's one theory.
No one knows for sure.
There might also be some sort
of a fertility aspect to them.
I mean we know that certainly
volcanic soil is very fertile.
&gt;&gt; Whatever the reason,
this mysterious seascape
of volcanic ash
is a hotbed of activity.
It's also a battlefield.
(♪♪♪)
Down here, predators and prey
run an evolutionary arms race,
developing ever-more unlikely
methods of attack and defense.
These spots of blue war paint
belong to the fingered dragonet,
a predatory fish
that eats small crustaceans.
As the name suggests,
this fish uses finger-like fins
to walk along the seabed
and dig out prey.
Camouflaged
against the sandy bottom,
the dragonet trolls
the ocean floor for food.
When it finds something,
the fingered dragonet
will thrust
its extendible jaw forward
to catch its prey.
(♪♪♪)
But so far
this one's going hungry.
At night the dragonet,
like many bottom dwellers,
buries its body in the sand
for protection
from other predators.
A snowflake eel slithers
along the dark ocean floor
in search of prey.
But however menacing
it may seem,
more dangerous hunters
lie hidden in the muck.
It's tough to escape
the jaws of a predator
when you don't see it coming.
(♪♪♪)
This is the brilliantly
camouflaged ambush hunter
known as a stargazer.
It buries its foot-long body
in the sand
leaving only its face exposed.
The stargazer
is a stealth predator.
It sits
as motionless as a stone
and waits patiently
for its next meal.
Its specialized gills ensure
that not one grain of sand
is disturbed by its breathing.
The stargazer
swallows its prey whole.
(♪♪♪)
Its teeth interlock
to keep sand from falling
into its mouth.
(♪♪♪)
The stargazer
is one of the strangest
and most successful predators
in this ecosystem.
Nearby, what appears
to be a piece of orange coral
covered in algae,
actually has arms and a face
and walks out of hiding.
(♪♪♪)
It's a frogfish,
a master of disguise.
Each frogfish has unique
skin texture and color
that enables it to blend in
with its surroundings.
(♪♪♪)
This warty frogfish
is on a fishing expedition.
It has a clever technique
to attract prey.
Its front dorsal spine
has a fleshy growth on the end
that resembles something tasty.
And the fish waves its lure
around like a fishing rod.
But no one is biting right now.
This hairy frogfish
has better luck.
She's an expectant mother
and has more at stake
than just an empty stomach.
She tucks behind the coral
and waits.
(♪♪♪)
Her mouth balloons to 12 times
its original size
creating a vacuum
to suck in the prey.
The entire process takes just
one-six-thousandth of a second -
far too quick
for the prey to react.
(♪♪♪)
It's the fastest bite
in the animal kingdom.
She's back on the move
but this time a smaller male
suitor follows closely behind.
If she accepts his advances,
he'll have to retreat
as soon as they mate
or risk being eaten by her.
On the boundary
where the black muck
meets the colorful reef,
painted frogfish
display vibrant colors
to mimic the corals
and sponges.
Camouflage ensures these
predators don't become prey.
In the dark of night,
nocturnal hunters
come out of hiding.
And the hunted hide.
Crustaceans burrow in the sand.
A jawfish seals the door
to its home.
And one of the ocean's
most unusual creatures emerges.
This is a walking shark.
Rather than swim,
this shark strolls
across the bottom
using its pelvic
and pectoral fins as legs.
&gt;&gt; They look for all the world
like a lizard
moving across the bottom.
Their distribution and evolution
is something which we find
really interesting.
&gt;&gt; Six of the nine
walking shark species
live in Indonesian waters,
in small pockets
around the island of New Guinea.
&gt;&gt; From each region to the next,
you'll get a new endemic species
that's only found in that area.
And what it really comes down to
is their form of reproduction
and then their behavior
afterwards.
&gt;&gt; Walking sharks
live out their lives
on the very reef
where they were born.
They're poor
long-distance swimmers
and tire after just 300 feet.
By comparison,
migrating great white sharks
have been known
to travel an average
of nearly 70 miles a day.
&gt;&gt; We just don't see them
moving across deep water,
and it's just coincidences
of evolution and geology
which allowed a new population
to start in one given area
and then it evolved
into a new species.
&gt;&gt; Dr. Mark Erdmann has been
researching walking sharks
for years.
He's eager to learn more
about these bizarre animals
and how so many different
species evolved
in such close proximity
to each other
in Indonesia's waters.
&gt;&gt; We're very interested
in seeing exactly
how this evolution has happened
and the timing of it,
how long it's taken to come up
with these
nine different species.
So one of the best ways
to do that is through genetics.
&gt;&gt; The only way
to obtain genetic samples
is to go looking for sharks
at night.
Finding these
well-camouflaged creatures
is like a game
of hide-and-seek
in the dark.
This time, Mark's lucky.
In the distance,
he spots
a leopard epaulette shark.
This species of walking shark is
fairly new to marine research.
It was first scientifically
described just six years ago.
Its slow moving walk means
it's relatively easy to catch.
Mark clips a small piece of skin
from its fin,
which will provide the DNA.
He hopes
to take a genetic sample
from each of the nine species
to learn
how they're all connected.
On the reef, the walking shark
has a rival predator.
These beady eyes
and shaggy beard
belong to the wobbegong shark.
(♪♪♪)
&gt;&gt; Wobbegongs are another really
interesting group of sharks.
They typically are down
on the bottom,
they really blend
into the background.
They're basically like a carpet
on the reef.
&gt;&gt; Like the walking shark,
the wobbegong's patterned
markings
keep it camouflaged
against the sand.
Both sharks use stealth
rather than strength to hunt.
But each species evolved
in a different way
to adapt to life
on the ocean floor.
(♪♪♪)
The walking shark
trolls the bottom
in search of small crustaceans
and fish
hiding beneath the coral.
&gt;&gt; They're not a mid-water
predator like most sharks
so by walking,
they're able to basically poke
their head
as they go underneath things
and get their food.
&gt;&gt; The wobbegong
is a better swimmer
but ambushes its prey instead.
Flaps of skin
enclose its mouth and eyes.
Filaments, called barbels,
surround its nose.
These whisker-like organs
probe the seabed
in search of prey
such as crabs and octopuses.
&gt;&gt; They'll basically set up shop
waiting for something to come by
and then
they will pounce upon it.
&gt;&gt; Like walking sharks,
wobbegongs are nocturnal:
they ambush prey at night
and rest during the day.
On rare occasions,
they can be seen swimming about.
This trip is unusually
successful for Mark.
&gt;&gt; We ran into a large number
of them out swimming,
which is normally
a very rare occurrence.
I only see that maybe a couple
of times a year
through extensive diving here.
But we saw them on every dive;
we had six or seven
out swimming.
It seems that we happen
to come across a period of time
when there was mating happening.
That's something
which I've never seen before
and it seems--
that might have been
why they were all out
swimming around.
&gt;&gt; This determined male
may be looking for a mate.
Once he finds one,
he'll stalk her
until she concedes.
This tiny suitor
takes a more romantic approach.
(♪♪♪)
At dusk,
mandarin fish couple up
to take part
in an intricate courtship dance.
And this mandarin fish is
looking for his dance partner.
But he's got competition.
He raises his dorsal fin
high in the air,
an advertisement to females
and a warning sign to his rival.
But the second suitor
refuses to back down.
He also raises his fin
to signal
he's up for the challenge.
The two males briefly size
each other up.
Then they fight.
(♪♪♪)
(♪♪♪)
The dominant male eventually
pins down his competitor.
Defeated, the loser must lower
his dorsal fin and retreat.
The winner of this duel
claims his prize.
The female rests
on his pectoral fin
and the couple rises up together
cheek-to-cheek,
as though slow dancing
in the water.
It's one of nature's
most enchanting mating rituals.
At the peak of their rise,
the pair releases
a cloud of eggs and sperm
in perfect sync,
leaving the eggs to be
fertilized in the water column.
The current will carry
their spawn down to the reef,
where the next generation
of tiny dancers will hatch.
In Indonesia's fertile waters,
every day brings new life.
A sea slug gives rise
to the next generation.
Millions of tiny orange eggs
bound together
in a ribbon of mucus.
The eggs are toxic to predators.
The bright color
is a warning to stay away.
The roles of mom and dad
are interchangeable.
These sea slugs
are hermaphrodites
and have both male and female
reproductive organs.
Their real name is nudibranchs,
which means 'naked gills'.
The name refers to a plume
of exposed gills on their backs.
These creatures evolved
from sea snails.
Over time,
they lost their protective shell
in favor of a more advanced
weapon of defense -
toxicity.
Some species are able
to cultivate their own poison.
Others dine on toxic foods
such as sponges
and store the borrowed artillery
in their extremities.
This golden nudibranch
appears to sport
a brightly colored umbrella
over its gills.
In fact,
it is a sacrificial appendage
that packs
a strong chemical punch.
If a predator nibbles
on this distasteful extremity,
it will be poisoned,
sometimes even killed,
keeping this slug's body
and gills safe.
Each of the 3,000 known species
of nudibranchs
advertises its weaponry
in its own unique way.
This nudibranch
has brightly colored tentacles
on its back in place of gills.
Each of these tips
is loaded with toxins.
At least that's what these
creatures want you to think.
Not all nudibranchs
are in fact poisonous.
Some only pretend to be.
They mimic the bright colors
and patterns
of the toxic slugs
to fool predators.
Most nudibranchs are the size
of a pinky finger.
This one
is the size of a forearm.
The Spanish dancer -
one of the largest sea slugs
on the planet
and one of the few nudibranchs
that can swim.
When it senses a threat,
it takes to the water.
It's easy to see
how this slug earned its name.
Its body twists and twirls
through the water
like the skirt
of a flamenco dancer.
But the Spanish dancer,
like all nudibranchs,
is blind to its beauty.
Its primitive eyes
can only detect light and dark.
Two horn-like appendages
on its head, called rhinophores,
allow the slug to smell, taste,
and feel its surroundings.
(♪♪♪)
Back on the coral outcrop,
the nudibranch has finished
laying its eggs.
With the next generation
of colorful sea slugs
safely protected
by powerful toxins,
this parent is free
to leave its spawn.
Other creatures,
like the peacock mantis shrimp,
must make sacrifices
to defend their young.
This mother will starve herself
for more than a month
while she carries her eggs.
She won't leave the safety
of her burrow
until they're hatched.
But her protection
won't be needed much longer.
Once hatched, the young
will leave their mother's burrow
to fend for themselves.
(♪♪♪)
A pair of eyeballs
pops out of a burrow.
One moves independently
of the other.
The mantis shrimp
has the most sophisticated eyes
in the animal kingdom.
A human eye creates
just one image.
Combined, our two eyes
give us bifocal vision.
The eye of a mantis shrimp
has three focal points.
Together its eyes produce
6 different images.
And whereas human eyes
have three different
color receptors,
red, blue and green,
these eyes have at least twelve.
Which means this hunter
can see in ultraviolet
and also infrared.
Peacock mantis shrimp
belong to a family of shrimp
known as 'smashers'.
They have a pair
of raptorial appendages,
called clubs,
capable of throwing the fastest
and most powerful punch
in nature.
(♪♪♪)
Smasher shrimp
have a spring-loaded mechanism
in their clubs,
allowing them
to strike their prey
with the speed of a bullet...
and a force 2,500 times
their own weight.
If a human had the same speed
and strength,
a single punch would break
through a steel wall.
With such devastating weaponry
at its disposal,
it's no wonder
this smasher shrimp
is comfortable flaunting
its vibrant colors.
Those who aren't born fighters
can't afford to stand out.
A young longhorn cowfish
blends into the coral
while it waits
for its fragile body
to harden as it matures.
This juvenile yellow
blotched razorfish
floats in the current
to mimic a dead leaf
but will dive into the sand
at the first sign of danger.
The nutrient-rich sandy bottom
is a nursery for juveniles.
For an adult predator,
this playpen is a meal ticket.
(♪♪♪)
This ambush hunter
hides in plain sight
camouflaged
by a masterful palette
of colors and patterns
designed to look like seaweed.
The rhinopia scorpionfish -
intricate, beautiful, lethal.
It pounces on its prey
faster than the blink of an eye.
Armed with venomous spines,
a rhinopia can stun its victim
into submission
and disable any animal
that attempts to turn predator
into prey.
Lionfish,
the flamboyant cousins
of the scorpionfish,
sail through the water.
Reviled in the Caribbean
as an invasive species,
here
they're in their native home.
A dorsal fan of 18 venomous
spines ripples in the water,
as a deterrent
to would-be predators.
A nearby lone coral outcrop
energizes the bare seascape.
Lionfish rest
beneath a coral canopy
swarming with glassfish.
For these fortunate fish,
the coral outcrop
is both a hunting ground
and a home.
Away from the coral reef
is a marine desert
where finding shelter
is key to survival.
A resourceful sea urchin
settles in a paint can,
clownfish crowd an anemone
that sprouts from the muck.
It's tough to find refuge
on a seabed
with few natural habitats.
(♪♪♪)
A piece of garbage becomes
a prime piece of real estate.
When there's nowhere left
to hide,
the best defense is to pretend
to be something else.
Strands of algae
sway in the current.
But this seaweed
isn't attached to the seafloor.
It's a decorator crab
playing dress-up.
Decorator crabs collect debris
on their bodies
to blend
into their surroundings.
&gt;&gt; Perhaps the most spectacular
of all of those
is something which is known
as the orangutan crab,
which looks
for all the world exactly
like a red hairy orangutan
on the bottom of the ocean.
&gt;&gt; The orangutan crab
drapes itself in living algae,
fastening the weedy fibers
onto tiny hooks on its body.
Once the outfit is complete,
it's nearly impossible to spot
this expertly camouflaged crab.
&gt;&gt; Now the problem, of course,
with this approach to camouflage
is that crustaceans,
when they grow,
they have to molt their skin,
and so if a decorator crab
molts,
it loses all those bits
and pieces
which its accumulated
and stuck to itself.
And so what we normally see
with decorator crabs is that
as soon as they have molted,
they'll go around finding new
things to stick to themselves.
In the case
of the orangutan crab,
no one's really ever known
exactly what they do.
&gt;&gt; This never-before-seen
behavior gives Mark a
backstage peek
at this critter's remarkable
costume change.
&gt;&gt; In this particular case
the animal has molted,
it then goes back
to its dead molt skin
and then it pulls off
pieces of that red algae
which I don't think
is particularly easy
to find otherwise
in the environment.
So it pulls it off
its old molt skin,
puts it on to its body
and that's going
to presumably grow back
into a full orangutan
shaggy coat
over the next week or two.
And to my knowledge,
this footage is the first time
that we've actually gotten an
exact glimpse at what happens.
&gt;&gt; One mystery has been solved
but many more lay hidden
in the muck.
It takes a trained eye
to find these extraordinary,
well-camouflaged,
small creatures.
(♪♪♪)
&gt;&gt; The critters generally range
from the size of your palm -
you know, even that could be
concerned micro critter -
to the most common ones
are about the size
of your pinky.
And the smallest could be
as small as half the size
of a match head.
You have to understand
critter behavior, habitat
to actually know
where to look.
&gt;&gt; A seahorse
drifts over the seabed,
then grips a plant
with its specialized,
prehensile tail.
These tiny creatures
aren't strong swimmers
and can easily be carried away
by the current.
(♪♪♪)
Tiny hairs on its skin
collect algae and debris
to create an effective disguise.
(♪♪♪)
Some of them have evolved
into the most well-camouflaged
creatures in the animal kingdom:
The pygmy seahorse.
As small as a fingernail,
they are so tiny
and so well camouflaged
they were not even discovered
until 1969.
The pipefish is a relative
of the seahorse.
It gets its name
from its long pipe-like snout.
There are many varieties
of pipefish,
each has a skin color
to match its environment.
They too are are poor swimmers,
making camouflage essential
to their survival.
(♪♪♪)
Two ghost pipefish
sway with the seagrass
so precisely camouflaged
they're more likely
to be attacked by a herbivore
looking to eat the grass.
(♪♪♪)
This ghost pipefish has more to
worry about than just herself.
Her enlarged pelvic fins
conceal as many as 350 eggs.
She'll carry them in her pouch
like a kangaroo
until they hatch.
Soon the protection of her young
will be out of her control.
The offspring will drift
in the current
until they find a suitable home
on the reef.
Like the decorator crabs,
many pipefish collect algae
on their bodies for camouflage.
The ornate pipefish
has a much flashier disguise.
It adopts the colors
of its habitat
and even grows wing-like skin
flaps to hide in plain sight.
Nearby, a goby melds
into the stem of a sea pen.
It's not quite as intricate
as the camouflage
of the ornate pipefish
but it does the trick.
Fish that are less
easily camouflaged
must find other ways to survive
or risk becoming a meal
for a hungry predator,
like this cuttlefish.
It's got a small goby fish
in its sights
and a long trick up its sleeve.
The goby had no chance.
Cuttlefish are masters
of illusion.
When it comes
to changing skin color,
they can outperform chameleons.
(♪♪♪)
Millions of pigmented skin cells
light up like a Christmas tree
when a cuttlefish
feels threatened.
With no hard shell
for protection,
the cuttlefish uses brains
over brawn to survive.
This one has adopted
a defensive posture.
Rather than trying to blend in,
it changes color to stand out
and raises its tentacles
to appear larger.
It's trying to ward off
an incoming threat.
In this case,
it's not a predator
but a rival cuttlefish
that has this creature up
in arms.
The defensive display
isn't all for show.
The muscle tissue
of the cuttlefish
contains potent toxins.
The challenger takes no chances
and leaves this patch of coral
to its opponent.
(♪♪♪)
With so many skilled hunters
on the prowl,
some creatures team up
to improve their chances
of survival.
On this mucky seabed,
strong partnerships thrive.
A goby offers a pistol shrimp
protection from predators
in exchange
for a well-maintained home.
The little housekeeper
is nearly blind,
yet is able to dig a burrow
for its protector.
The goby stands guard
outside the entrance.
When a flick of its tail warns
the shrimp of incoming danger,
the tiny tunnel builder retreats
into the burrow
to avoid becoming a meal.
Here another housekeeper
grooms its host
in exchange for a free ride
and much needed protection.
The host is a sea cucumber
and its guest
is a tiny crustacean.
It's a symbiotic relationship.
The crustacean,
a commensal shrimp,
picks the cucumber's skin clean
of algae and parasites:
It's food for the shrimp
and a healthy service
for its host.
Sea cucumbers come
in all shapes and sizes.
The largest can grow to 10 feet.
These are the street sweepers
of the ocean.
(♪♪♪)
A black-spotted sea cucumber
creeps across the bottom
on its tube-like feet
and gathers minute particles
of food
with the retractable tentacles
that surround its mouth.
Some crustaceans seek refuge
on anemones and sea urchins.
On this one,
a porcelain crab shares its home
with the clownfish.
Like clownfish,
the porcelain crab
has a special coating of mucous
that protects it from the
stinging tentacles of its host.
(♪♪♪)
A zebra crab hooks
onto a sea urchin,
which provides both protection
and mobility.
Sometimes roles are reversed,
as with this sea urchin crab.
The urchin gains speedy transit
to new feeding grounds
while protecting the crab
with its long spines.
The long tentacles
of a tube anemone
sway in the current, catching
plankton that drifts by.
Tube anemones make ideal homes
for crustaceans
like the squat shrimp.
They are known among divers
as 'sexy shrimp',
for their vivid color
and the provocative way
they wave their tails.
(♪♪♪)
In this barren landscape,
every coral outcrop,
every piece of debris,
teems with life...
secretive creatures
about which we know very little.
&gt;&gt; We like to think of the world
as already being quite explored,
the reality is
there's still so much
that we don't know about it.
&gt;&gt; Indonesia's mucky seabed
is a hidden kingdom
ruled by weird
and wonderful creatures.
A place where predators have
evolved to hunt in plain sight
and prey have mastered
the art of deception.
It's a story of survival
where you'd least expect it,
a mysterious tale...
of life in the muck.
(♪♪♪)
