How Can These Flies Live in Oily Black Tar Pits? | Deep Look
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ย. 2024
- In the sticky oil seeps known as the La Brea Tar Pits, the tiny petroleum fly and their larvae thrive in the natural asphalt that oozes up to the surface. The larvae hunt among the fossilized bones of dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats.
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Thousands of years ago, ice age creatures like dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats met their end in the sticky oil seeps now known as the La Brea Tar Pits (@LaBreaTarPitsAndMuseum) . These tar pits, a window into the distant past, are located in the heart of Los Angeles, not far from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.
But among these fossils, the tiny petroleum fly and their larvae not only survive but thrive in the natural asphalt that still oozes to the surface today.
While scientists aren’t entirely sure how, adult petroleum flies can walk and mate on the tar pits without getting their feet stuck. But if any other part of their body touches the asphalt, they’re doomed.
Their larvae, on the other hand, truly love this environment. They can fully submerge in the dark, viscous asphalt and feast on small insects that get trapped in it. As they eat, petroleum fly larvae end up ingesting a lot of asphalt, which you can see through their guts. Humans, however, could get cancer if we ingested that much asphalt.
The larvae need the asphalt to survive. While other insects rely on a waxy layer to protect them from the elements, the petroleum fly larvae’s exterior is so thin that it would dry out without the asphalt.
Living among the fossils, the petroleum fly, with unique adaptations and resilience, continues to be a mystery to scientists.
--- Are scientists still excavating the La Brea Tar Pits?
Yes. Scientists are working on two active excavation sites where they are still finding fossils of different plants and animals that have lived in the LA Basin between 50,000 years ago and today.
--- Are there dinosaurs in the La Brea Tar Pits?
A common misconception about the La Brea Tar pits is that they contain dinosaur bones. Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years before the tar pits began to form. The tar pits are an ice age fossil site that formed between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago.
--- Have they ever found human remains in the La Brea Tar Pits?
Yes. The partial skeleton of a human woman was discovered in 1914.
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#petroleumfly #oilfly #TarPits
I grew up going to the La Brea tar pits. Went to the museum, saw the fossils, did the little demonstration where you try to lift a weight out of various tar containers with a handle. I was always told nothing could survive in it. Now, like 15 years later, you're telling me there are bugs that have WHOLE LIFECYCLES in the pits?? Science is amazing. Life really does find a way.
GOD is amazing. He created a creature that lives it's entire life in tar where nothing else can.
@@SoHighITouchTheSky22if by god you mean evolution than yes ☝️
@@Brick001 evolution is a process. It has no will, no goals, no desires, and no plan. It designs nothing, it just describes how the world reacts with itself in accordance with the universal laws. Evolution is not a God kiIIer, it is evidence to the contrary. “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you” - Werner Heisenberg
@@SoHighITouchTheSky22Nah.
@brick
Evolution did not create life. Evolution has no will to create anything.
Look.. finding an affordable place in LA means making a few concessions, y'know?
I used to live a few blocks from @LaBreaTarPitsAndMuseum , and let me tell you, on a hot summer morning you could smell the tar in the air! Not a bad fragrance, actually. (Craig)
@@KQEDDeepLook Well, you were better off than the poor saps in this video!
Hilarious conversation here lol
Cleaner too.
Looks like my comment about butt breathing tubes didn't Garner laugh when they were testing this
So basically if the tar is almost a road then the maggots are really just eating roadkill like normal ones
Yes. You can break it down further and take out the road altogether, theyre just eating dead stuff like normal maggots. Since we're pointing out really obvious things.
For thousands of years
It's kind of easy to see how such adaptations could arise. Any time an animal dies in the pit, maggots would inevitably consume the carcass. The carcass would sink, and most of the millions of maggots would die under the tar. Eventually, a few would manage to survive, and whatever mutated genes made that possible would be passed on. It's a strong selective pressure to survive certain conditions, and with the sheer number of "chances" each brood has to gamble on having even one surviving to escape a sinking carcass, odds are in favor of a new trait arsing in the population.
Come one buddy. Don't believe everything you're told. Evolution theory is candy for the secular mind. It doesn't work in real life.
This has to be one of my favorite episodes. The stunning visual contrast between the translucent larvae and the jet black asphalt combined with the peculiar biology is just awesome. Hats off to the film crew here, and to whoever decided to dedicate an episode to these incredible creatures.
and the mercurial soundtrack as usual! the editing is so insanely top notch for these 5-min videos.
"They can even be eaten by its own larvae"
Sounds like a recurring trope.
Insects, what can we say.
@@KQEDDeepLook human children do that more slowly and adorably 😅
The forbidden Coke Gummy Worm!
Aha! I knew it looked a bit delicious for some reason.
Act mature and stop picking the low hanging fruit because that was as predictable as heck
I’m just stating not angry or anything
@@user-vx6gs1ci1h you must be so cool at parties
@@user-vx6gs1ci1h god you're miserable
@user-vx6gs1ci1h did you roll out of the wrong side of the bed??? lighten up!
This answers the question I've had since childhood about why we get fossil bones from the pits instead of anaerobic mummies.
That fly can get out of a sticky situation.
Slow clap
holy corny batman!
Heey! Is Deep Look looking to hire!?
I will swim through it for 3mil for science
Slow
This just proves for every pot there is a lid somewhere. Who would’ve thought something, anything, could live inside the pits?!
I've always found the Petroleum Fly fascinating- so glad to see a video on this weirdo.
Glad you enjoyed it!
well, get into entomology and be the scientist to tell us why those flies can walk on oil!
I love life's ability to rurn anything into an ecosystem
When I first saw these guys, I just assumed they somehow fed on the ancient bones in the tar! Another amazing vid as always DeepLook team!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Insect in a tar pit: " - Well, just great, this day can't get any worse" ( Wild fly larvae appears behind them)
insect: "- Why Im hearing boss music?"
Woo! Something to watch before work. Thank you, Deep Look!
Enjoy!
I’m 64 and I’ve been to LA many times, last year I finally stopped at this place and I loved it. Fascinating place.
Have you been to The Museum of Jurassic Technology?
@@eyescreamcake no I haven’t, is that also in LA?
@@a.m.v.6938 Yes! Visit it. Don't read about it first. 😉
*"This maggot is it's baby!"*
*ME:* Awwwwwweeeeeeewwwwww!
👶😍💀
4:11 Aw, I think I'll name them Al And Peg...
😂😂😂😂
Fascinating! Never would I have though there would be an animal specifically adapted to life in asphalt pits! What a delight to learn about such a well designed creature!
absolutely perfect alien worm design right here on earth
So this is why there are always so many flies at the tar pits! Next time, I'll have to look for the larvae gliding across the top. Amazing how easily they get around and talk about a specialized organism!
Visiting the tar pits is always super interesting. The main pits are fenced off for obvious reasons but you can find small trickles of tar that seep up from the ground around the area and play with it if you're so inclined. The museum itself has an interactive exhibit where you can feel how much force it takes to pull out of the tar and how exhausting it would be. Also, if you've only ever heard of dire wolves from game of thrones, you might be surprised to find out that they were a bit smaller than today's wolves, but they did have a stronger jaw. The museum has an entire wall of their skulls.
Hide your roads, the asphalt flies are coming
hehhehe
chill, they ain't literally eating the asphalt... if they do it's accidental and they'll poop it back out xD
That's some sticky situation..
😡
Next thing you know flies can walk on lava
They surely are light enough.
Just have to find a solution for the heat.
There is a cricket drawn to freshly cooling lava! In Hawaii!
@@TragoudistrosMPHwhat is it called?
@@anonomooose Kīlauea lava cricket !
The Wikipedia page mentioned they especially like cheese 😅
Funny species
You've fired up my imagination, here's a D&D '5 room dungeon' idea:
1. Shore (start) = hut w dock + odd ferryman
2. Ferry = punt style, requires teamwork + 1 skilled navigator
3. Open 'water' = unsinkable giant maggots, cling-able skeleton / corpse rafts
4. Island shore = giant flies, pupae, and scattered paleolithic treasure
5. Island cave = set foot inside, and giant dire wolf (etc) skellies animate and come ashore! contains haunted sentient cave paintings, guarding plot MacGuffin. maybe a gooey pollution spirit with a bicycle stuck in its side?
✨
Life is amazing! It always seems to find a way into every niche of this wonderful planet we live on💕🌍🌎🌏🧬💕
This was the coolest video I have seen on this channel. Very informative of something I never knew.
Wow, thanks!
There's so many fascinating critters in the world!!
Indeed!
That's so cool! I had no idea life could survive in tar. It really is true... Life finds a way!
Life, uh, finds a way
Crazy how a creature was able to evolve for such a small niche!
Every day I learn about a new animal. Thank you for the content !
Even flies know the beauty of black with amber and gold. 😎
Indeed, a very handsome fly.
Always the coolest creatures!
Thanks!
i've never seen something this close!
This is why I subscribed to DeepLook. I had no idea these things existed.
Thanks, we love making these videos for you.
lovely creatures
Both the babies and the adults are cute in different ways. Love these little guys, never knew they existed.
The maggots squirming their way through the dark, shimmering asphalt is so strangely beautiful.✨🕳✨
Amazing how nature can evolve to adapt to such a particular environment and thrive. It reminds me, I think another one of your videos, there's like a lake so salty that nothing lives in it except a certain species of fly? I hope I'm not just making this up XD
My new favorite creature, thank you deep look ❤
This is actually so cute
As a traveler, I've noticed that when I park for the night, many flying insects take advantage of the bug guts on my windshield. That has to be an adaptive behavior I believe
The phone call was so funny😊😂😂😂😂 when he yelled yes sergeant😂😂😂😂
Imagine having stomach that can eat asphalt
Nature never sees to amaze me and animals always finds a way through evolution. ❤
As a software engineer I can relate.
Tell us more!
@@KQEDDeepLook "Out of the Tar Pit" by Ben Moseley and Peter Marks
Aha!
Ok, this might be the best Deep Look video yet! I loved this one! They keep getting better and better ❤
This was a learning experience. Thank you for your post. 👍🇨🇦
Thank you for the tee shirt and letter!
-Sofya
Nature is amazing.
I always enjoy the music used in these videos
I didn't know these were a thing. So cool!
When I visited last year I was very disappointed there were no actual TAR PITS! Just that dirty pond. Do the flys even have a natural habitat any more?
You’ve inadvertently figured out why so many animals got stuck there. It just looks like a dirty pond. An animal wading in would suspect nothing.
A game developer stares at the Tar pit.
“So I got this idea for my game… Hear me out!” - Kojima to Sony
Extremophile organism: i like to live dangerously
The soundtracks are so good!
Khudos to the team...thank you so much...lovs from Manipur, India
구더기 타르구덩이에서 살다니 생명력이 경이롭네
Flies can live off of anything, I swear to God.
Wow! Truely remarkable footage. Looking through the larva's transparent skin, at its mouthparts working, is the most alien thing I have ever seen. 2:50
My favorite voice on TH-cam
Another great video. Thank you.
Our pleasure!
Oh, The La Brea tar pit I remember watching that on dirty jobs It’s very, very, very gloopy It was like frozen molasses and maple syrup and honey. Mix together and turn jet black. That’s kind of what it’s like except with lots of lots of bones
I love insects, thank you for this video
another type of fly to add to my swatting list
Never before have I seen myself represented by a creature as much as now
Wow, much respect
You're my fav channel fr
There are also those Antarctica bugs that are the biggest fully terrestrial animals on the continent, idk if you made video on those but those are really interesting on how those insects could even live in Antarctica
Im learning something new everyday
It's like life on a whole other planet!
Life truly finds a way
I actually did a podcast episode on these a while ago. Would have been nice to have this video as a reference!
Thanks for the new nightmare idea
You learn something new every day
Coolest video series ever. I love it! Gross, beautiful, fascinating, and secretive. Thank you for educating us!
..."if they stay on top of things..." wink wink
" silent but deadly " Last Action Hero movie quote.
Petroleum flies. Sounds like a low level monsters in RPG game where they'll explode if you burn them.
Fascinating
moisturised, unbothered, in it's own asphalt puddle lane 💅
Can you imagine knowing that if any part of your body, other than your feet, touches the ground little babies might eat you.
- That is *so gross,* yet so interesting at the SAME time ! How !?! 🤔
Petroleum flies can get stuck on oil when the larvae don't.
I hate it when evolved Pokemon have fewer move options than the previous stage.
Ok. Im finally motivated to take nephews to the tar pits! 😅😆
I have always wondered why the skeletons were so clean & not asphalt mummies. Now I know why!
Simply amazing 😮
Thank you! Cheers!
Love you videos of nature I used to watch this when I was young :)
Your doing amazing 👍
Awesome! Thank you!
Your welcome :)
Imagine getting stuck in that
Oof.
Ooooh i just got an idea of implementing these creatures in my game as enemies..... Supersized.
Could you imagine living like the adult flies? If you ever touch the ground with ANYTHING but your feet, your life ends.
do they put the eggs on the tar or the water?
Flies getting stuck on fly paper.
Petroleum Fly: Amateur
Footage So coollll!
Dipterans are amazing. So many niches occupied by flies of all sorts.
The real life nurgle. Nothing phases their internals.
Thank you for sharing very well
this tar reminds me of the tar found on Petrichor V...
Next time I go to LACMA and the Tar Pits, I'm gonna look out for these friendly flies :D