ONGOING EVOLUTION CAVE CROCODILES

@zekedarwinscience

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SoundTikTok sound · Suspense, horror, piano and music box

Why it worked

The video taps into the public's fascination with extreme environments and unusual animal adaptations. The "cave crocodiles" concept is inherently intriguing, and the visual evidence of their unique coloration and the explanation of their harsh environment create a compelling narrative.

Summary

This video explores the fascinating evolution of crocodiles living in the Abanda cave system in Central Africa. Researchers discovered these crocodiles have adapted to their underground environment, developing unique traits like a golden coloration due to bat guano and a diet primarily of bats and cave crickets. Genetic studies suggest this isolation has been occurring for thousands of years, potentially leading to speciation.

Structure

1Introduction to cave crocodiles in Central Africa
2Discovery of unique coloration and diet
3Explanation of the golden tint and its cause
4Discussion of the crocodiles' diet and isolation
5Genetic studies and potential for speciation

Product placement

Google Earth: APPEARS - a watermark/attribution in the background. Removing it would not change what happens in the video. Earth Touch: APPEARS - a logo/watermark in the background. Removing it would not change what happens in the video.

On-screen text

ONGOING EVOLUTION CAVE CROCODILES Google Earth Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CROCODILES LIVE UNDERGROUND? Maxar Technologies, Landsat / Copernicus, Airbus YOU CAN FIND A POPULATION OF CROCODILES EVOLVING TO LIFE UNDERGROUND WHEN RESEARCHERS WERE FIRST EXPLORING THIS CAVE SYSTEM LESS THAN 20 YEARS AGO THEY WERE SHOCKED TO FIND CROCODILES AND NOT ONLY CROCODILES BUT CROCODILES THAT LOOK DIFFERENT THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS THAT AREN'T IN THE MOST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN APPEARANCE IS THE COLOUR THESE CROCODILES NOT ALL OF THEM TO HAPPEN ESPECIALLY WITH THE LARGER ONES REALLY UNIQUE GOLD BUT THAT GOLDISH ORANGE COLOUR IT'S NOT GENETIC THEY'RE NOT EVOLVING THAT TO DO WITH THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT THEY LIVE IN BECAUSE THEY AREN'T SWIMMING AROUND THROUGH FRESH WATER THEY'RE SWIMMING AROUND THROUGH SLUDGE IS PRIMARILY BAT FECES MIXED WITH TO PUT IT SIMPLY THE GUANO HAS CAUSED THIS GOLDEN TENT NOT ALL OF THESE CAVE CROCODILES HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF GOLDEN TENT SOME ARE ISOLATED IN POCKETS THAT ARE EVEN HARSHER THAN THE OTHER POCKETS WITHIN THE AND THOSE REALLY HARSH CONDITIONS LEAD TO THAT GOLD NOW THEY ALSO TESTED TO SEE WHAT THESE CROCODILES WERE EATING THEIR DIET IS COUNTERPARTS OUTSIDE OF THE CAVE SYSTEM WAS PRETTY MUCH JUST BATS CAVE CRICKETS AND ALGAE GENETIC STUDIES CAVE CROCS OF GABON TOUCH PRODUCTION COMMUNITY OF DWARF CROCODILES IN A SERIES OF CAVES, GABON, HOW DOES AN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. Earth Touch OUR PLANET. CLOSE UP. THESE CROCODILES THIS CAVE SYSTEM FOR THOUSANDS OF POTENTIALLY RIGHT AROUND 3,000 YEARS AGO WHICH LINES UP WITH THE TIME LEVEL WOULD HAVE BEEN CHANGING IT MAKES SENSE THEY WOULD HAVE ENDED UP ISOLATED BUT 3,000 YEARS FOR A SPECIES LIKE A CROCODILE TIME FOR THE EVOLUTION THAT LEADS TO SPECIATION THERE IS SOME EVOLUTION GOING ON AS THE RESEARCHERS SEE THAT THIS IT WAS EVOLVING ITS OWN UNIQUE HAPLOTYPE "This 'population' has accumulated from identifiable genetic differences that in theory could eventually, through a very stepwise process, lead to a new species." - Dr Matthew Shirley SO THIS IS A SCENARIO WHERE SEE TWO MILLION YEARS DOWN THE ROAD IF THIS POPULATION IS STILL ISOLATED SYSTEM THEN WE WOULD REALLY EXPECT TO NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES CAVES LEAD TO SOME EXTREMES WITH EVOLUTION EYESIGHT NOT BEING FOR EXAMPLE DIFFERENT ONES THAT THEY'D RELY ON EXPECT THE BODY SIZE TO GET SMALLER TOO NO PREDATORS TO WORY ABOUT AND ALSO LESS FOOD

Original caption

The Abanda Cave Crocodiles & Evolution Underground #evolution #animals #learning #cave #discovery

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Transcript

Deep inside the Abanda cave system in Central Africa, you can find a population of crocodiles evolving to life underground. These crocodiles remained hidden for so long because to access them you have to go down through a fault seven meters over 20 feet deep before you reach the horizontal layer where you can find the crocodiles along with tons of bats. When researchers were first exploring this cave system less than 20 years ago, they were shocked to find crocodiles and not only crocodiles, but crocodiles that look different than their counterparts that aren't in the most noticeable difference in appearance is the colour. These crocodiles not all of them to happen especially with the larger ones. They have a really unique gold colour, but that goldish orange colour, it's not genetic. They're not evolving that. It actually has to do with the harsh environment they live in because they aren't swimming around through fresh water. They're swimming around through sludge, which is primarily bat feces mixed with, to put it simply, the guano has caused this golden tint. Not all of these cave crocodiles have the same amount of golden tint. Some are isolated in pockets that are even harsher than the other pockets within the and those really harsh conditions lead to that gold. Now they also tested to see what these crocodiles were eating. Their diet is nothing like their counterparts outside of the cave system was pretty much just bats, cave crickets and algae. Genetic studies have tested to see that these crocodiles have been within this cave system for thousands of potentially right around 3,000 years ago, which lines up with the time the sea level would have been changing. It makes sense they would have ended up isolated within there. But 3,000 years for a species like a crocodile, time for the evolution that leads to speciation. There is some evolution going on as the researchers see that this it was evolving its own unique haplotype. "This 'population' has accumulated from identifiable genetic differences that in theory could eventually, through a very stepwise process, lead to a new species." - Dr Matthew Shirley. So this is a scenario where you could certainly see two million years down the road, if this population is still isolated in this cave system, then we would really expect to see some big noticeable differences. Caves lead to some extremes with evolution. Eyesight not being for example, different ones that they'd rely on. Expect the body size to get smaller too. No predators to worry about and also less food.