How Scorpions Became Earth’s Ultimate Survivors
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
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Scorpions have been terrorizing other creatures on Earth for hundreds of millions of years. They’ve evolved a perfect cocktail of venom that can mess up both predators and prey. But they are also an evolutionary marvel that could show us the way to some powerful new life-saving medicines.
Filmed at the California Academy of Sciences @calacademy www.calacademy.org/
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Hey joe, smart people here!
Speak for yourself
Hey smart, Joe people here
Good One
Hey people, smart Joe here 😂
Joe mama is smart 😡
Shout out to the doctor who had the bravery to make experiments on a scorpion called "Death Stalker"
Shout out to the patients that agreed to have Death Stalker venom injected into their brains.
shout out to all the Wanderers of the Mojave killed by monsters named after the Deathstalker scorpion
@@egodeathwish man deathstalkers got nerfed so badly in later games breh. 😔
Ah yes the most deadly scorpion
Dude that sounds like a boss from World of Warcraft.
On the topic of aggression, I've been an AZ resident almost my entire life and, in my experience, the bark scorpions out here are the boldest creatures in their size category, except maybe for wasps. While scorpions generally try to avoid humans, I like to say that they "take it very personally" if you try to kill them - it's a coin flip whether they will react by fleeing or flat out berserker running at you with weapons deployed and death in their tiny eyes.
😂😂😂🦂
Just wanna do more then like your post. Well done. Thanks for the info and the humor.
Yikes
I live in the Mojave I notice everything a little more aggressive The further east you get
Sounds like they aggressively pursue the philosophy of 'Fight or flight'.
Rule of thumb. The smaller and weaker a scorpion's pincers are, the more potent and dangerous its venom is.
Hemiscorpius lepturus is a big exception in that regard.
So if those meters long scorpions still exist, you would rather get stung by it? Hahahaha
@@johnpaulalbrecht7305Nah, you dead either way lol
So Indiana Jones was right
@@johnpaulalbrecht7305 Those meter long ones weren't actually scorpions but the ancestors of them. They lacked stingers.
Honestly, scorpions don't get enough credit for their evolutionary design. Changing as little as possible is a clear signal of an exceptionally amazing template since it can not only survive in it's current certainly competitive niche, but is equally viable in new niches as the environment changes. I myself am guilty of giving lot of love to crocodiles for this, but failing to recognise the scorpions that are even older than crocs. From evolutionary standpoint they're both incredible considering how little they've changed in the literal hundreds of millions of years, surviving thousands of emvironmental changes that would have most species adapt or perish, and even numerous mass extinctions that had most species perish all at once. Also crabs. I absolutely adore crabs.
The term "evolutionary design" is an oxymoron. Evolution is emergent. Only manufacture is by design.
@@thehellyousay I was about to type the same thing and I found your comment, lovely.
I hate it when people say a species has a "design" design implies a designer...
And I don't thing there is a designer to evolution
@@JoseAlvarezV there is 1 of 2 possible 'designers' depending on your beliefs
#1 is God
#2 Environment
(I say God idk about u)
@@SupaSneech Imagine one day, the water inside a pothole of the road, magically came alive, and it noticed that the hole around it perfectly fit it, it thinks to itself, wow, whoever made me, made everything here perfect for me, however we outside the pothole know, that is not the case, we know the pothole formed due to erosion, and cars traveling over it, and it filled with water, and then it became alive, the water exists because of the hole, not the hole because of the water, the universe is the pot hole, and everything in it, is the water. there was no designer it was a chain reaction, because even that environment was the reaction of a previous set of events , if you want to call it ad designer it's just semantics, but it does heavily implies one's beliefs (and no I don't believe in god)
Gawwwwd damn
Objection! Euripterids didn’t have book gills, which was why they struggled to leave the water! They actually evolved breathing air completely separately from their arachnid cousins. They are completely unrelated, or at least less related than spiders and scorpions (and euripterids and spider crabs)
I think i can hear AronRa slightly smile because of this.
You are correct. I believe he’s leaning towards ‘entertainment’ programming. A slow regression away from facts and information, to dialogue and cartoons. Wait, I think this has been the normal since the get-go. Never mind the vocal fry …
@@willisfouts4838 I feel the same with some others science youtubers too ..
Yea those are spiracles I believe, but I think it was just an oversight really
They also explained the grasshopper mouse resistance wrong, I believe there’s a mutation that doesn’t allow (fit) the proteins scorpions use to effect the nervous system
I am so happy these explanations are animated to be accessible for my 2 digit IQ brain
especially the milking the scorpion one, would've never had the idea how they would do it
Meanwhile i wish it was all just talked so i can just listen to these
A few years ago I was in Honduras helping build a kids’ summer camp. While sleeping I felt a mousy thing crawl across my chest and went to whisk it off . . . Wham!! . . . the worst sting I ever felt. I jumped up, looked around. Sitting on my left shoulder was a scorpion bigger than my palm. I shook it off and thankfully didn’t get stung again. The unlucky scorpion ended up in a bottle of alcohol. The burning pain stayed with me for hours, but locals assured me that it wouldn't make me sick, and it didn't. But I understand there are plenty of scorpions that can send ya across the river.
Plenty but not that many, about 10% of species or less
Wait why did it end up in a bottle of alcohol? Lol.
@@jtktomb8598 Well, you're right ... not many. I checked several reliable sources: just a couple dozen species all around the world.
@@segfault- Actually a good question ... so if I did get sick the species could be identified in case antivenom were necessary.
@@dugldooAnd here I was thinking it was used as a decoration for some specific type of liquor. But saving it for identification later is probably a better reason.
‘younger than the mountains older than the trees’
I never knew scorpions have so much in common with country roads!
Older than the trees comes first ...
Definitely misunderstood!!!
Funnily enough, the same day this video came out, I welcomed two new additions to my scorpion family, a couple of Aussie rainforest scorplings! So tiny and ADORABLE!!! 🥰🦂
I once found a huge scorpion in my prosthetic leg. It nearly landed on my foot, and I only have one of those!
As someone who lives with Chronic Neuropathic Pain, I can tell you there absolutely were times I would take scorpion venom if it shut off the damn pain...
Just give it a try ❤
I'm with you my dude :c
What medication do you take?
@@thetechnoking As some one with the same pain issue , it would be quicker to ask what we dont take lol.
Mine is from FMS , and a busted Disc (L5 - S1) , but alot of people get Nerve pain as a result of Diabetes complications or from other serious injuries.
There's been studies looking at venom to actually help this issue
I've lived in Mexico almost three years. In the Yucatan, I regularly found scorpions in my house. Lots of overhanging trees. Recently, I moved to the Central Highlands and on my first night in this city, I got out of bed and immediately stepped on a scorpion. It wasn't as painful as I expected but it was shocking. I left the lights on every night in that Airbnb until I moved to a different one.
Eurypterids weren’t that closely related to scorpions and the largest known Eurypterid was Jaekelopterus which so far the largest of them were 8.2 feet long whereas 5 meters is the same as 16.4 feet.
Paused the vid as soon as she said it and was searching for this comment. Either your comment was lost or cranky people dislike the comment as they dont know better.
@@Makabert.Abylon yeah the Eurypterids were closer to horseshoe crabs than to arachnids which is funny because horseshoe crabs are closer to arachnids than to true crabs.
I had the same doubt and all the sources I could gather point to Eurypterids being the closest we understand as an ancestors of both Arachnids and Limulides. It is not a settled issue but no source I could find suggests otherwise based in our current data.
Just as an observation: you can't say (as said in the comments) something like 'Eurypterids were closer to horseshoe crabs (Limulides)' (in the context of ancestry) and then say 'horsheshoe crabs are closely related to arachnids' and not immediately conclude that Eurypterids should then be close related to Arachnids. That doesnt make the sentence true but it is a weird phrasing.
All the mentioned lineages are Chelicerata Arthropods and, again, the current understanding seems to be Eurypterids contains the common ancestor.
Do you have any newer source that points to what you are stablishing?
@@lobachevscki No I don’t but you’re right I could’ve worded that better.
Thank u for making this comment
1. Today's scorpions don't descend from euripterids, they are part of a sister group (arachnids). The euripterid line died out a long time ago.
2. Euripterids definitely did not get up to 5 meters big, only around 2.5 in the biggest species.
In general, good video tho!
Thankyou for this, I was confused as why they decided to keep that in
Ideed, euripterids weren't really scorpions. The largests known scorpions were brontoscorpio (primarely aquatic) and pulmonoscorpius (terrestrial), both being just shy of 1 meter long.
I had the same doubt and all the sources I could gather point to Eurypterids being the closest we understand as an ancestors of both Arachnids and Limulides. It is not a settled issue but no source I could find suggests otherwise based in our current data.
All the mentioned lineages are Chelicerata Arthropods and, again, the current understanding I could find seems to be Eurypterids contains the common ancestor.
Do you have something newer i can read?
Thanks
At 4"15, when referencing rain forests, you show an image of a Vinagaroon, which is NOT a scorpion. [technically, Eurypterids were not really scorpions either]
Scorpions are to me, the coolest animals in the world. Also, the way they look under UV light isn't unnatural, they've been doing that longer than we've been a species. It's more natural than a lot of things. Possibly even Proto-Natural. ;)
The current theory is that it helps them get away from the light by the way
some look like that under UV. but not all of them. they are super cool animals tho.
@@theflyingdutchguy9870 All scorpions glow under UV but they are not all the same color yeah
They unlocked the glowing at night perk because they got the 1 million kill streak.
Funny aromatic groups
Fascinating animals. Roommate had one in college. Id wiggle my finger in front of him and he’d gently pinch it, and would climb up in my hand when Id present my palm. Would walk around parties we threw w/ him on my shoulder and freak people out. Not sure if others have had similar experiences w/ them…I found ours to be very docile and surprisingly fun to watch and interact with.
Lmfaoo the chill scorpion
Grew up in Utah and was lizard hunting on our farm. We had these rocky cliffs that had thousands of scorpions. I got stung when i was age 10 flipping rocks and thought i was going to die haha. I felt a little naseaus and had a head ache for a few hours but then i was fine the next day. Its actually what got me into animals as a kid. I thought maybe that meant i was special and going to be the Scorpion King haha. Still love learning new thi gs about animals
Blud is going to become the Scorpion King with the stingiest sting across the pokey world LMAO
right there
Honestly it's kinda crazy mouse vs scorpion was the last thing I expected. xD
Honey Badgers: "Pain? Venom? Whats that?"
Dr. Esposito was a great interview. Very knowledgeable and never once did I think she was talking down to the audience (which can sometimes happen with experts). Hope you'll have her back for future episodes.
Yeah, she radiated interest and enthusiasm in an approachable way.
No… shes a sketchy california inhabitant
love this!
thanks for an amazing video
So, scorpion venom is like hot sauce for those mice
Love my scorpions and centipedes. Have kept them for years. Both have similar stories as far as being incredibly ancient. Research on the chemical makeup of the venom from Scolopendra Morsitans has shown components that are thought to be from bacterial and fungal genes that have been horizontally transferred by microorganisms throughout their evolutionary history. Uniquely too!
Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze
The animations were fantastic on this!
I was thinking the same thing!!!
My husband grew up at south of tunisia, in sahara desert. They had big black scorpions that could fly. Flight would be usualy around 5-6 meters. Last time he has seen one flying was some 32 years ago and it is belived it is exterminated because his grandma was telling him that when she was young they had them a lot.
Always a good hang, Joe. Thanks!
"Most scorpions can fit in the palm of your hand..."
... most?!?!
I've had no idea how cool and useful scorpions are!
One night, a scorpion the size of the palm of my hand found a new home in my shoe. The sting between my toes after putting my foot inside really was something. Because of the venom, for one day my fingertips were numb and I had problems standing up and walking (sometimes, me knees would just give away). But worse than all of that was the one second _before_ the sting, when I felt some weird tingling at my toes. I still don't get it how my entire foot and this beast of a scorpion could fit into the same shoe at the same time.
Where do you live?
@@dugldoo That happened in southern Mexico, in a humid, (sub)tropical climate. I was on vacation - if I've lived there, I certainly would have known how to prevent that from ever happening. 🤷♂
Oh my goodness! The animations and editing in this! Soooo good.
Also, really interesting.
Awesome Video!
Let's face it, Scorpions being one of the first creatures to evolve when the Phanerozoic eon began 600 million years ago still being around today, it's safe to assume they'll be one of the last to go extinct when this eon comes to a crushing end in a billion years or so.
I have pet scorpions. (Two olive flat-rocks, but I used to breed gracilis) and even had fat tails. Spiders are smart and beautiful!
Amazing video. It's been a while that I've this good feeling about new science studies
Animation on this video is extra funny! Loved it!
I want to start milking scorpions… supposedly really lucrative! Been stung by scorpions. It’s like putting salt on an open wound, then burning it with a blow torch. Oh, also stung by a huge, B52 bumblebee. Hurt worse to me, then the scorpions
i dont know if its sustainable in any way. milking snakes is already not super effective as it takes a lot of snakes to make a single vile of anti venin. and a scorpion would give a lot less. altho it is less dangerous working with them than with some of the deadly venomous snakes
I live in south Georgia and I made it to 30 before I found out that scorpions live here! Honestly never saw one growing up, and my dad does pest control so I thought I would have seen one. Had to check a glue board in someone's garage to find one! It was tiny, but clearly a scorpion. Found a couple more since in similar situations. Usually out in wooded areas, not well developed.
We saw a lot of small ones growing up in the woods around Athens ga!
Great episode. I learned so many new things today. 👍
Thanks for the hook that has been here so long! Scorpions love helping us!
I've been fascinated by scorpions since I was a kid. But had an accidental close encounter with one that I didn't know it was there and it stung me in the thigh. I believe was a Florida Bark Scorpion. It was surprisingly painful, but quickly wore off. To replicate that kind of feeling in a way that one can probably easily imagine, would be like having a hypodermic needle filled with a small amount of boiling water and having it injected into to you. Apparently that kind of scorpion isn't all that venomous, yet it hurt that much. It made me think how nasty it must be for their prey, to be injected with a much larger dose relative to body size.
Great video
Scorpions 🦂 are fascinating, they’re even found in Fallout which means they also survived the nuclear war 😊
Yeah, except those ones are huge, extremely damage-resistant, and can kill you pretty quickly with their stingers. Not to mention exceedingly fast both on and above ground. So definitely not something you really want to run into without power armor and/or an extremely powerful weapon you can use at close range.
@@eeyorehaferbock7870 now you make me wanna play Fallout 4, all over again 😭
Love your comment
@@clivematthews95 hey, I’ve been wanting on more than one occasion for a while now to replay it myself. Only problem is, I have no idea how long it’ll take for me to get an optimal gaming PC setup, and I’ve only ever wanted to play it on PC precisely because of the endless modding capabilities.
Sick video. Need more!
The Scorpion is that kid with 2 pistols in each hand and bazooka strapped to his pack. He ain't f'ing round
Hey joe here, today I want you to make your little brain about scorpions into mega brains
I have no clue what this means but hell yeah I wanna be mega brains
Scorpio on a date at 5:11 had me in stitches :D
Ditto. “Scorpio” on a date. Too funny.
Scorpions are such loving parents and their courtship dances are so sweet.
How can you not love them once you see that!
Love your content dude!
A 16' scorpion would be absolutely terrifying. I am very glad they have shrunk down so far now. Even though the smaller ones generally have the most powerful venom.
While there certainly are several species of excruciatingly painfully envenomed Scorpions in Australia, shockingly, we don't seem to have any lethal ones...
How is that possible? Australia otherwise has the deadliest representatives of any venomous creature! 😂
@@michaelmedlinger6399 I know, right? It's a shock to me & I live here...
Wouldn't surprise me if you had lethal cockroaches down under! Everything else seems to be...
@@76rjackson Nah, not any that're toxic to humans.
Though we do have giant Whistling Queensland Cockroaches which people put collars on & keep as pets.
@@_ninthRing_ I was wondering if this was a joke, but no, wow. They don't look too dissimilar from some large beetles actually. Interesting. I'd heard regular size cockroaches hissing as a child in an entomologist presentation, but I imagine the big'uns are louder!
Insane episode, dr. Joe
Great channel, Joe!😁👍
I don't usually comment but this was an amazing video my jaw was dropped thank you I had to subscribe
I'm surprised you didn't mention Pallid bats, they are also resistant to scorpion venom like the mice and we have them in California too :) go cal academy! I hope you got a world class tour of the facility , it's a really cool museum!
I'm glad this video can help people appreciate the beauty that is the scorpion. They look scary, but that's one of their charms!
By the way...did you know there are scorpions in Tennessee? We've got two species. You see them more in the mountains, but it's easy enough to find them near to Music City if you know where to look.
Yes, we do... Tenessee in a state of the USA which is not a) Alaska or b) North Eastern ConUS, so there are scorpions... Hawaii has no native scorpions, but an introduced pantropic species can be found there.
this was a very intresting episode I really learned something today
Joe you are the best! 🤗🤍 love learning from you!
Scorpions are even more amazing than I thought. :O Thank you for making this!
This has been one of my favorite episodes. I really enjoy how much fun the team had making this, had me learning and cracking up the whole time!!
As a scorpio, I feel seen today.
I never seen one in my country yet. btw I love how passionate she is about her work.
These guys survived multiple mass extinction, moved from the sea and started adapting life on land and most of all, their physical apparances still remains the same since millenia ago which little has changed. They're such badass
I’ll try to keep all this in mind when I go out and hunt them with my black light and hammer. (Only around my house) One night recently I got 16, and they are all the dangerous bark scorpion. You do not want to be stung by one of them, it’s like a red-hot nail stuck in you, and there nothing you can do about it. (For some people and children there is an anti-venom)
"only around your house"
You had me worried - I thought you were obliterating your neighbour's scorpions.
In college, we used to go outside and see how many scorpions we could find. We found like 35 outside my husband’s apartment once. We left them alone, for the most part (sometimes we’d trap one and try to find bugs for it to hunt, usually didn’t work). They’re pretty common in rural Arizona where I grew up, and most people I know have been stung at least once. I don’t think bark scorpions are life threatening for most people, but boy does it suck if you get stung.
Well, hopefully one gets you bad, as it is the least you deserve..... 😠
It's a good thing they're not cannibalistic, or smashing them would just attract more...
...They aren't, are they..!?
@@McPilch I hope at least ten gets YOU bad, that's both for the comment and the "better than thou" attitude
If you think that scorpions look scary, you have not seen solifugae - fascinating group of arachnids, which looks somewhat like scorpions without their poisonous tail, but have very long legs and are excellent runners. They are not dangerous to humans, but finding one in your tent is a pretty good jumpscare. I saw them first in my life in Morocco in the desert. Bedouins call them "wind spiders" since they are most active during windy nights. Common English term is "Camel Spider". They are not poisonous, but their fighting and hunting skills are legendary.
The glow of those scorpions, they're just so unnatural and out of this world
Man the chills...
i love hwo this was filmed, she looks like so defensive lmao the most aggressive interview posture I've seen
I'm curious about the filming technique in which a 2nd photographer is filming Joe while he films the subject (and Joe is often looking at his lens instead of the subject). Why is this done? It's distracting, appears to disrespect the subject, and - mostly - why? It is as if you are deemphasizing the interviewee!
It's just trendy hip and cool
What happened to the “it’s okay” part of being smart?
Doesn't roll off the tongue enough
that was great, thanks!
Another well done video :)
A good example why basic research can never be questioned at face value. You never know what may pop out of it
Think about the double genome concept as having two kidneys. You can use up one of them without dying. That’s why it helps them survive so well
cool interviewee
The comet only wiped out the NON AVIAN dinos. Yes birds are still dinos!
My wife suffers from chronic pain and can't get the medication she needs because 1) the US healthcare system and 2) the so called "opioid crisis" that is resulting in many people unable to get the help they need just because a few bad actors want to get high. I hope this research proves to be fruitful as well as economical because it would solve the main concern in my wife's daily life: to feel like a normal human without spending $15,000 a year on alternative pain relief medicine.
1:34: 🦂 Scorpions have been around for 450 million years and were originally sea creatures before becoming amphibious.
3:27: ! Scorpions have a successful unchanged body plan and can be found in various habitats around the world.
6:19: 🦂 Scorpion venom is highly evolved to disrupt nervous systems and contains a complex cocktail of neurotoxins and enzymes.
9:08: 🦂 Scorpion venom holds potential for pain relief and brain cancer treatment.
12:35: 🦂 Scorpion venom is being used to develop a tumor paint that helps in treating brain cancer.
Recap by Tammy AI
We love scorpions here! I didn’t know they glow under UV light. That’s really cool
I thoroughly enjoyed this!
I knew there was a reason why I always tame Scorpids (giant scorpions the size of wolves) on my hunters in World of Warcraft, other than they look cool. They really are amazing arachnids! I'm surprised you didn't mention a couple other cool things about them. Most (if not all) scorpions give birth to live young, and the mother carries her babies around on her back.
7:51 we digest our food outside our food for us, it’s called cooking
The editing on this was pristine. The noises freaked me out but the visuals and delivery cracked me up
I knew a guy who grew up in Afghanistan. When he was a kid (12 or 13) his little sister (she was 5 or 6 at the time) was stung by one of those deadly scorpions.
He only had one way to get her to the hospital and that was on his bicycle.
He saved her, but it was a close call.
I just love this channel ❤
First episode I've watched. If they're all this good you have a new subscriber
Great video
Ya to the Deathstalker scorpion. Makes me feel good about keeping one as a pet!
Got stung by one once.
I think that it was a very juvenile one.
Didn't feel anything...
Until a few minutes later and WHAM my foot was hurting!
thats the defensive purpose. to make you feel like you are in pain while nothing bad is really going on. it gives your nerves the illusion your foot is on fire😅
My sibling walked in and heard me watching the video and said. “Why are you watching a video about cancer? Your a Leo!”
You already know what I said after.
Hey Joe, Bob here. Great episode on scorpions. Thanks again.
I had a tarantula for a pet, but I always give scorpions all the space they want.
it is always worth it to watch till the last seconds of the video, that might be the best part.
Wowwwww amazing stuff Joe.. I changed my mind about scorpions too.. love all the jokes 🤣🤣🤣 keep em coming 😂❤
Scorpions in the river catching fish had me laughing 😂😂😂
As a Scorpio ♏️ I thought this was going to be about my sign lol but now I know more about the animal ❤️❤️❤️
I love these videos
1:38 for real scared the heck out of me, joe are you doing horror films now?
Hey Joe, sometimes I get you mixed up with Hank Green from SciShow but I am working on correctly that now!
The animation was top notch!