It turns out that the "sea monster" in Avatar really exists on Earth!

Recently, "Avatar: The Way of Water" was released. When I saw that the background of the drama was the blue sea of ​​Pandora, and saw a few "sea phantoms" flashing by in the trailer, this sea monster lover was very excited. Now, those with deep-sea phobia, please step back voluntarily, and sea monster lovers, come and post, and follow the author to uncover the true face of the sea monsters in "The Way of Water".

Ilu: They look a bit like

Plesiosaur's "sea bus"

The Metkayina people living in the shallow waters of Pandora's ocean ride on a long-necked aquatic reptile, which is their domesticated mount - Iru. Iru has four eyes, six flippers, a tail like a rudder, and two tentacles extending from both sides of the head. Their backs are darker, and their lower abdomens are white and dotted with colorful spots. Adult Iru can reach 7 meters in length and usually live in groups. They are an indispensable means of transportation for seaside tribes, and their importance is like that of heavy armored horses to the Na'vi in ​​the forests and plains.

Iru (Source: Avatar Wikipedia)

Combining some of the above keywords, such as long neck, flippers, and aquatic reptiles, you will find that Iru is very similar to the long-extinct plesiosaurs on our planet. However, the plesiosaurs are a large family with a very long reproduction period and a large number of members. According to the fossil materials discovered so far, from about 210 million years ago to 66 million years ago, this family evolved into different genera and species with very different body shapes, including exquisite and pocket-sized ones like Trinacromerum, which is about 3 meters long, and giants like Elasmosaurus, which is more than 10 meters long. Although Trinacromerum and Elasmosaurus both have "stretched" long necks and flippers, their body shapes are not very suitable for Iru.

Comparison of the body shape of Triceratops and modern humans (illustration by Abyssal leviathin)

Comparison of the body shape of Elasmosaurus and modern humans (drawn by Slate Weasel)

Do you remember the "Beep's Helper" who had a deep bond with Nobita in the two Doraemon movies, "Nobita's Dinosaur" in 1980 and "Nobita's Dinosaur 2006" in 2006? Its prototype is the Futabasaurus, which lived in the late Cretaceous period in the Fukushima area of ​​Japan today. The Futabasaurus is also a plesiosaur with a long neck and flippers. Paleontologists analyzed the materials of the Futabasaurus twice in 2016 and 2022 and believed that its body size was about 6.4 to 9.2 meters. Iru's body size just fits this range.

**Little knowledge: **The model species of the genus Diplodocus is Suzuki Diplodocus, which is commonly called Diplodocus Suzuki by the Japanese people. However, in biological classification, the genus Diplodocus and even the entire plesiosaur family are not dinosaurs. So strictly speaking, Bizhisuke should be called "Nobita's Plesiosaur" or simply "Nobita's Diplodocus"~

Comparison of the body shape of F. suzukii, the type species of the genus Diplodocus, and humans (illustration by King_Edmarka)

Of course, Iru also has many fictional features not seen on Earth's plesiosaurs, such as an extra pair of eyes and flippers, and "antennae" extending from both sides of the head.

Narusa = shark + Dunkleosteus + killer whale?

In the coastal waters of Pandora Ocean, the Metkayina people often see a giant marine creature called Nalutsa. Although Nalutsa is commonplace for the Metkayina people, it is too "weird" for us earthlings.

Narusa (Source: ManuFiguras)

First of all, the appearance is strange. The basic information of the film shows that the Narusa can reach 40 meters in length! They look like a giant shark, but they have a huge "thick armor" on their back. I believe that many friends who see Narusa for the first time will think that it looks very similar to a shark, but the "thick armor" on its back is similar to that of the extinct Dunkleosteus on our earth. Dunkleosteus lived in the oceans of the Late Devonian period about 382 million to 358 million years ago. One of its biggest features is that its huge head and part of its trunk are covered with thick bone plates, which looks like it is equipped with "head armor" and "body armor".

A model of the Dunkleosteus skull on display at the Queensland Museum in Australia (Source: Queensland Museum)

However, Narusa has teeth in its mouth, which is a feature that Dunkleosteus does not have, because Dunkleosteus does not have real teeth in its mouth. Instead, it has bone plates in its jaws that extend to the edge of its mouth. Although they are not teeth, they are extremely sharp. According to a 2009 study by Mark Westner and others at the University of Chicago, the bite force of Dunkleosteus is between 6,000 and 7,400 Newtons. Although it is not as strong as the saltwater crocodile and the great white shark, it is almost on par with the sperm whale.

Reconstruction of the head of Dunkleosteus (made by PlacodermReconstructions)

But whether it is a shark or a Dunkleosteus, their size is far smaller than that of Narusa. Wow, it is 40 meters long! The largest known member of the genus Dunkleosteus is Dinichthys terrelli, which was described by American paleontologist John Newberry in 1873. Its body length is over 8 meters, but it is only about one-fifth of the length of Narusa. (Note: Dinichthys is a genus of Dinichthys, because when Terrell's Dunkleosteus was described in 1873, it was classified as Dinichthys, and was later classified as Dunkleosteus after re-study. It is a historical legacy~)

Comparison of the body shape of Tyrrell's Dunkleosteus and modern humans (Prehistorica)

As for whether sharks can compete with Narusa, we will compare filter-feeding sharks and predatory sharks. Currently, the largest filter-feeding shark in the world, that is, the largest shark, is the whale shark. In 2020, Australian fish biologist Mark Mechan and others studied that the average length of adult male whale sharks is between 8 and 9 meters, and the average length of female whale sharks is about 14.5 meters. Although there are occasional sightings or measurement records showing that there are 15-meter or even 18-meter whale sharks, they are still far behind Narusa.

The size of whale sharks at different stages of growth compared to humans, samples from observations of different individuals in different years (Steveoc 86)

To find the big guys among predatory sharks, we have to go back to prehistoric times and look for the Megalodon, which is known as the "enlarged version" of the modern great white shark. The body shape of this great shark that roamed the oceans from the Miocene to the Pliocene is controversial. We have integrated the research of scholars from various schools from 1996 to 2021 and generally believe that the body length of an adult Megalodon is between 14 and 20 meters. Even if we use the 20-meter data, Megalodon is only half the length of Narusa. After a round of comparison, it finally lost to human imagination, Narusa yyds!

The one on the left in the video is Narusa (Source: 'Ivong Na'vi)

Secondly, the behavior is strange. Narusa usually jumps out of the water to catch prey flying on the sea surface. According to the film materials, the adult Narusa will also teach the young Narusa how to jump out of the water to catch prey. This "predation teaching" behavior is easily reminiscent of killer whales. For example, killer whales often capture seals and then deliberately release them, repeating this process, probably to teach their cubs to practice hunting. In 2005, scientists observed a killer whale regurgitating fish on the water surface to lure seagulls to dive before catching birds. Later, the other four killer whales "watching" on the side learned this strategy.

A female killer whale with her calf in the waters near South Georgia (Photo by Christopher Michel)

Narusa's fierce cousin - Akula

In the Pandora Ocean, the Narusa has its own cousin, the Akula. Currently, the film has released little information about the Akula. We only know that although they are cousins ​​of the Narusa, they are much more ferocious and much larger than the Narusa (>>40 meters). The Akula has a deep cultural significance to the Metkayina people on the coast. The serrated edges of the knives made by the Metkayina imitate the teeth of this creature.

Akula (Source: Avatar Wikipedia)

From the Akula revealed in the video above, I personally think it is more like the Liopleurodon that lived in the middle and late Jurassic period on our earth. However, according to the Liopleurodon estimation method proposed by British paleontologist Lambert Halstead, the average Liopleurodon should be between 5 and 7 meters long. If so, then Liopleurodon is not worth mentioning in front of the Akula that is over 40 meters. Given that there is little information released, I will not make excessive speculations.

Comparison of the body shape of Liopleurodon and modern humans (by Slate Weasel)

Tuken: Whale and Diplodocus

The "spark" that was created?

If you think the above Pandora marine creatures are weird, then meet "Toukon".

Tuken is a creature similar to Earth's whales. They are the largest creatures on Pandora. An adult Tuken can reach 91.4 meters in length. We all know that the largest animal on Earth is the blue whale. As of 2015, the International Whaling Commission's whaling database recorded more than 80 blue whales with a body length of more than 30 meters. Although due to the defects in the measurement method, any blue whale with a body length of more than 30.5 meters is questionable, even with this unconservative data, it would take about 3 blue whales connected end to end to compete with Tuken. It seems that Tuken deserves the name of "giant whale" (although it is not a whale).

Blue whale and human body size comparison (Kurzon)

Tukens have dark grey or blue skin with a white area on their belly, which is similar to the blue whale, whose back is generally grey-blue, with varying shades of grey from individual to individual, and whose belly is slightly lighter.

Tuken (Source: Avatar Wikipedia)

The most eye-catching part of Tuken is the two large and brightly colored "head crowns" protruding from the front of its nose. This reminds me of the Dilophosaurus that lived in North America in the early Jurassic period. Their most obvious feature is a pair of narrow arch-shaped "bone crowns" on the top of their heads, which are distributed vertically. Tuken's pair of "head crowns" spread out to both sides and are very wide. We might as well describe them as wing-shaped. Regarding the function of the bone crown, from 1984 to 2020, paleontologists have a hundred schools of thought. In summary, there are theories that regulate body temperature, attract mates, species identification, and both of the above functions. So does Tuken's head crown have one or more of the above functions? Let's look forward to whether there will be an explanation in the film!

The skull of the Diplodocus restored by the American Museum of Natural History (Source: American Museum of Natural History)

The film also revealed that Tukens are very smart and have formed their own culture within their species, such as establishing "Tukenism", which prohibits all forms of killing. Tukens also have strong perception, high cultural accomplishment, and understand mathematics and music, and have a high level of language ability!

References:

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Author: Zhai Shiyi, former editor of Global Exploration magazine, Master of Cultural Relics and Museums

Editor: Guru