WEBVTT FILE

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[♪ INTRO]

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Hey Squeaks, you sure have been looking up
a lot of pictures of sea monsters

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since we got back from the beach.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Oh, our trip to the ocean inspired you?

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So you’re doing research for a special art
project?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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What is it?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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You’re designing your own sea monster!?

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That’s such a great idea.

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You know, I bet you could get some inspiration
from real animals, too.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Well, even though “sea monsters” aren’t
exactly real,

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there have been lots of really big, strong
animals that have lived in the ocean.

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And even though they aren’t alive anymore,

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we can learn what they looked like from their
fossils!

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Fossils are anything that tells us about life
in the ancient past.

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They can be bones, teeth, footprints, and
all kinds of things!

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In fact, looking at fossils from ancient ocean
creatures might be a great place

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to find inspiration for your sea monster design.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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How about you tell me what features you want
your sea monster to have

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and I’ll help you look for real life inspiriation.

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Let’s get started!

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Ah!

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You want your monster to be able to swim around
the ocean.

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Well, that makes sense.

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Let’s start off by checking out this fossil.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Yes! This one has a super long neck.

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These fossils come from an animal called a
plesiosaur.

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Plesiosaurs were really big reptiles that
lived around the same time as dinosaurs,

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but plesiosaurs lived in oceans.

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This Plesiosaur, called an Elasmosaurus, had
a neck that was over 6 meters long!

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That’s longer than two cars put together.

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Plesiosaurs’ long necks and sharp teeth
helped them to catch fish to eat.

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They also had something to help them get around
in the water.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Yes, flippers!

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Instead of hands and feet like we have, the
plesiosaurs had flippers kind of like a seal.

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These made plesiosaurs pretty great swimmers.

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And plesiosaurs had another giant cousin in
the ocean too.

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Take a look at this!

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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It does kind of look like an alligator!

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This is an animal called Tylosaurus, which
is a kind of mosasaur.

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Mosasaurs were also giant reptiles that lived
in the ocean.

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They first evolved around 75 million years
ago!

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They were huge like plesiosaurs, but they
looked a bit different.

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What special features do you notice, Squeaks?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Yes!

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Instead of a long neck like plesiosaurs,

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mosasaurs had powerful tails that helped them
to swim.

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But they both have really big, pointy teeth
to help them catch their food..

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Mosasaurs ate all kinds of other animals - fish,
birds, even other mosasaurs!

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So, Squeaks, did any of those animals give
you any ideas?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Oh, your monster will have flippers and a
long tail to help it swim quickly so it can catch its prey.

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Great! What’s next?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Oh, your monster needs to be tough, eh?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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That reminds me of one of my favorite ancient
sea monsters, the Dunkleosteus

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Dunkleosteus is a giant fish from a group
called placoderms.

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Can you see what special feature is my favorite
about Dunkleosteus?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Yes, its head is covered in bony plates that
make it look a little like its wearing a helmet

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that a knight in shining armor might wear!

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In fact, these animals are sometimes called
armor-headed fish.

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Dunkleosteus were really big, almost as long
as a school bus.

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And they needed a lot of food for their big
bodies!

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Sometimes, they would even try to eat other
placoderms.

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Their giant, thick skulls worked like armor,

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and might have helped keep them safe from
other big predators.

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What do you think, Squeaks?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Squeaks’ monster will be covered with bony
plates to keep it safe.

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What’s next for your monster?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Oh, your monster needs to look ferocious!

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Hm, well, there is another ancient sea animal
that we could get some ideas from.

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One that might be a little more familiar.

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Take a look.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Oh you’re right, it does look like a shark
tooth,

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and sharks are still around today too, but
they’ve been around for a really long time!

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Sharks first evolved way before the dinosaurs.

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And in the past, there were sharks much bigger
than the ones we have around now.

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This tooth is from a Megalodon, the biggest
type of shark that ever lived.

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Compare it to the tooth from a Great White
Shark.

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What do you notice, Squeaks?

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Yes, the megalodon tooth is much bigger.

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Megalodons were enormous!

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Megalodons could grow at least 45 feet long,
or 15 meters.

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That’s as long as a semi-truck.

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If you look really closely at the edges of
the Megalodon’s tooth,

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you might notice one more feature that helped
them eat their prey.

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Their teeth have serrated edges,

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which means they have little bumps along the
sharp side, like a bread knife.

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These made megalodon teeth super sharp and
good at slicing into their prey!.

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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Oh, yeah!

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I think a set of big, serrated teeth would
be the perfect addition to your sea monster!

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It sounds like you have a lot of great ideas
to make a really fearsome sea monster.

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It’s got flippers like a plesiosaur, a strong
tail like a mosasaur,

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bony armor like a dunkleosteus, and serrated
teeth like a megalodon.

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Let’s see how it turned out.

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Now that is an amazing sea monster, Squeaks!

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[Squeaks squeaks]

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I hope learning about these animals from the
past,

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gave you some fun ideas for designing a sea
monster too!

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What special traits would you want to give
your own sea monster design?

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Thanks for joining us, and remember to hit
the subscribe button

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to keep exploring with Squeaks, me, and all
our friends.

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And we’ll see you next time here at the
Fort.

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[♪ OUTRO]