It was the largest animal in the ancient world. Amazing animals that no longer exist. Megalodon - a huge shark
While we are looking for the secrets of longevity, there are creatures on our planet that live for more than a hundred years. And there are even immortals.
1. George, a huge lobster that weighs about 9.1 kg. George is approximately 140 years old. In 2008, he was caught off the coast of Newfoundland, then sold for $ 100 to a restaurant in New York. However, in 2009, under the influence of the Society for the Protection of Animals, he was released back into the ocean.
2. Tuatara Henry, who lives at the Southland Museum, New Zealand, recently celebrated his 115th birthday. Just imagine that Henry was born back in the 19th century.
Despite his advanced age, in 2009 Henry became a father.
3. Guidaki is a species of marine mollusks considered to be the largest burrowing molluscs. In addition, guidaki are also long-lived: their average life expectancy is 146 years, and the age of the oldest individual found today is 168 years.
4. This is Jonathan, 182-year-old St. Helena giant tortoise. "He is practically blind, has lost his sense of smell, but he still has good hearing," says a local veterinarian. At 182, Jonathan may be the oldest living creature on the planet.
This is Jonathan in the 1900s
This is Jonathan now.
5. Greeter is an 83-year-old flamingo who until recently lived at the Adelaide Zoo. Greeter came to the zoo in the 1930s, but was unfortunately euthanized in 2014 when his condition deteriorated.
6. In the cold dark water at a depth of 600 meters, time flows slowly. Hoplostet are a species of deep-sea fish known for reaching sexual maturity by the age of 20 and can live up to 150 years. The oldest hoplostet was born in the year when serfdom was abolished in Russia.
7. Red sea urchins live an average of about 200 years and live in shallow waters off the western coast of America. Special attention scientists were attracted to red hedgehogs after a mark dated 1805 was found on one of them.
8. Cockatoo Cookie turned 80 last year. He was caught in Australia in 1933 and shipped to the US, where he lives in the Brookfield Zoo.
9. A clam named Min, caught on the Icelandic shelf, according to the first assumptions, lived for 400 years. When re-analyzed, scientists determined its age at around 507 years.
10. Bowhead whales can live up to 200 years. The average lifespan of this species is about 40 years. However, some individuals can live up to 211 years, which is a record among vertebrates.
11. 103-year-old Granny, the oldest known killer whale, is the matriarch of the killer whale community. She was born the same year as Ronald Reagan.
12. Advaita - a giant 250-year-old turtle from the island of Aldabra. Unfortunately, Advaita died in 2006. It was very popular with tourists and attracted many visitors to the Calcutta City Zoo.
13. Turtles are famous centenarians. This is 176-year-old Hariette from the zoo in Queensland (Australia). It is believed that Charles Darwin personally found Gariette in 1835 on one of the Galapagos Islands. Hariette died in the same 2006.
We have already talked about strange, huge and very dangerous dinosaurs and others millions of years ago, but in fact some of these animals have survived to this day. Having undergone minor changes, or without changing their appearance at all, some of these creatures have perfectly taken root in modern world. From fearsome descendants of deep-sea prehistoric sharks to a species of ant that has been around for 120 million years, today we bring you 25 prehistoric animals that still exist today.
25. Shields (Tadpole shrimp)
The shield shield, officially known as Triops longicaudatus, is a freshwater crustacean resembling a miniature horseshoe crab. It is considered a living fossil because its basic prehistoric morphology has changed little over the past 70 million years, closely matching the bodies of their ancient ancestors who inhabited Earth as early as approximately 220 million years ago.
24. Lampreys (Lamprey)
The lamprey is a jawless fish with a toothed, funnel-like sucker mouth. While there are well-known cases of them burrowing their teeth into the flesh of other fish to suck out blood, only a small number of the 38 known species actually do so. The oldest fossilized lamprey skeleton was found in South Africa and dates back to about 360 million years ago, but it certainly bears a striking resemblance to modern specimens.
23 Sandhill crane
Sandhill crane, endemic North America and North-Eastern Siberia, is a large and heavy bird, weighing up to 4.5 kilograms. A 10-million-year-old fossil found in Nebraska is believed to be a sandhill crane, but scientists aren't sure if it's the same species. However, another fossil of the Sandhill Crane dates back to 2.5 million years ago.
22. Sturgeon
The sturgeon, which lives in the rivers, lakes and coastal waters of the subtropical, temperate and subarctic zones, is sometimes called a "primitive fish" because its morphological characteristics have remained virtually unchanged compared to the oldest fossil of this species found, approximately 200 million years old. Unfortunately, overfishing, pollution and other types of habitat destruction have brought this fish to the brink of extinction, with some species already on the brink of extinction.
21. Chinese giant salamander (Chinese giant salamander)
The Chinese giant salamander, the largest salamander and amphibian in the world, can reach a length of 180 centimeters. As a living member of the cryptobranch family (Cryptobranchidea) that appeared 170 million years ago, this unique creature is also considered critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution and overfishing, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
20. Ant from Mars (Martialis heureka ant)
This ant species was discovered in 2000 in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. It is notable for its unusual morphology. The ant from Mars, belonging to the oldest known distinct genus that branched off from the ancestors of all other ants, has been estimated to have been roaming our planet for approximately 120 million years.
19 Goblin shark
The goblin shark, which can grow up to 4 meters long in adults, is a rare and poorly understood species of deep sea shark. Its strange and scary appearance indicates that this creature has its origins in the prehistoric era. The first direct ancestors of the goblin shark lived on Earth 125 million years ago. Despite the intimidating appearance and large size, this type of shark is practically harmless to humans.
18. Horseshoe crab
Horseshoe crabs are marine arthropods that live mostly in shallow ocean water on soft sandy or muddy bottoms. Considered the closest relative of the legendary trilobite, the horseshoe crab is one of the best-known living fossils, having remained virtually unchanged for an astounding 450 million years.
17. Echidna
Along with the platypus, the echidna is the only surviving mammal that lays eggs. Scientific studies show that echidnas diverged from platypuses approximately 48 to 19 million years ago. Their common ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas have adapted to life on land. Because of her very unusual appearance, the echidna was named after the "Mother of Monsters" in Greek mythology.
16. Hatteria (Tuatara)
Tuataria endemic to New Zealand grow up to 80 centimeters in length and are distinguished by a spiny ridge along the back, especially pronounced in males. Although they look like modern reptiles and lizards, their body structure is believed to have remained the same for 200 million years. For this reason, the tuatara is of great interest for studying the evolution of both lizards and snakes.
15. Frilled shark
The frilled shark, found at depths of 50 to 200 meters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is another scary-looking marine animal. This species of shark belongs to one of the oldest lineages of sharks still in existence, having existed since at least the end of the Cretaceous (95 million years ago) and possibly even since the end of the Jurassic (150 million years ago).
14. Alligator snapping turtle
Vulture turtles, primarily found in the waters of the southeastern United States, are one of two extant genera of the Cayman turtle family, a prehistoric family of turtles with centuries of fossil history dating back to the Maastrichtian stage (72 - 66 million years ago) of the late Cretaceous period. Weighing up to approximately 180 kilograms, the vulture turtle is the heaviest freshwater turtle in the world.
13. Coelacanth
Coelacanth, endemic to the coastal waters of the Indian Ocean and Indonesia, is a genus of fish that includes two modern look approximately of the Latimeria family. Thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1938, these species are more closely related to lungfish, reptiles, and mammals than to common ray-finned fish. It is believed that the coelacanth evolved into its current form approximately 400 million years ago.
12. Giant freshwater stingray
The giant freshwater stingray, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, grows to almost 2 meters in diameter and can weigh up to 600 kilograms. Its thin, oval pectoral fin disc is estimated to have evolved around 100 million years ago. Like most of the animals on this list, this species is also on the brink of extinction due to overfishing and aquarium display, as well as habitat degradation.
11. Nautilus (Nautilus)
Found in the deep slopes of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and the western central Pacific, the nautilus is a pelagic mollusk. Fossils found show that this creature has lived on Earth for an incredible 500 million years, which means that it has survived several mass extinctions and big changes on the planet. But then again, right now this species is probably closest to being wiped out forever due to heartless human activity and over-harvesting.
10. Medusa
Jellyfish, found in every ocean from the surface to the deep, may have settled in the world's seas as early as 700 million years ago, making them the oldest polyorganic animals. The jellyfish is probably the only species on this list that may be increasing worldwide as a result of overfishing of their natural enemies. However, there are also some endangered species of jellyfish.
9. Platypus
This egg-laying animal with a duck's beak, a beaver's tail and otter's paws is often considered the strangest animal in the world. Not surprisingly, his appearance is rooted in the prehistoric era. While the oldest platypus skeletal fossil found by scientists so far is only 100,000 years old, the first platypus ancestor lived on the Gondwana supercontinent as early as 170 million years ago.
8. Long-eared jumper (Elephant shrew)
Widespread throughout southern Africa, long-eared jumpers are small, quadrupedal mammals that resemble rodents or opossums, but ironically more closely related to elephants. According to the fossil record, the first ancestors of this strange creature lived during the Paleogene period (66 - 23 million years ago).
7 Pelican
Surprisingly, these large, long-billed waterfowl are among the living fossils that have changed little since prehistory. The fossil record shows that the pelican genus has been around for at least 30 million years. The oldest fossilized skeleton, found in early Oligocene deposits in France, bears a striking resemblance to the modern form of a bird, with a beak morphologically identical to that of extant pelicans.
6. Mississippi Carapace (Alligator Gar)
Mississippi shellfish, one of the largest freshwater fish in North America, often referred to as "primitive fish" or "living fossils" due to the fact that they retained some of the morphological characteristics of their earliest ancestors, such as a spiral valve and the ability to breathe and air and in the water. The fossil record traces the existence of the carapace to over 100 million years ago.
5. Sponge
It is difficult to measure exactly how long sea sponges have been on our planet, as estimates vary widely, but the oldest evidence for the existence of a sea sponge appears to be a 760 million-year-old fossilized skeleton recently discovered in stone.
4. Schelezub (Solenodon)
Slittooths are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing mammals. it little creature endemic to several Caribbean countries is often referred to as a living fossil because it has remained virtually unchanged over the past 76 million years, retaining the primitive mammalian characteristics typical of its prehistoric ancestors.
3. Crocodiles (Crocodiles)
Unlike the sandtooths and many of the other animals on this list, crocodiles really do look like dinosaurs. Including crocodiles, alligators, caimans, gharials and gharial crocodiles, this group appeared approximately 250 million years ago in the early Triassic period and their modern descendants still share many of the same morphological features of their distant ancestors.
2. Pygmy right whale
The pygmy whale, thought to be extinct until 2012 when it was rediscovered, is the smallest of the baleen whales. Since it is a very rare animal, little is known about its population or social behavior. What we do know for sure, however, is that the pygmy whale is a descendant of the Cetotheriidae, a suborder family of baleen whales that existed from the late Oligocene to the late Pliocene (28 to 1 million years ago).
1. Black-bellied disc-tonguing frog (Hula painted frog)
Even among the frogs, there are also living fossils. Like the pygmy whale, the black-bellied disc-tongued frog was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 2011. The frog was originally thought to have existed for only 15,000 years, however, based on phylogenetic analysis, it has been estimated that the last direct ancestor of the frog existed approximately 32 million years ago, making the black-bellied disc-tonguing frog the only extant member of the genus.
Unseen prehistoric animals
prehistoric creatures. ancient animals. Animals of the past.
Animals of the prehistoric period. Animals of the distant past.
Prehistoric animals that lived on different continents thousands and millions of years ago.
Remains of Platibelodon ( Platybelodon) were found for the first time only in 1920 in the Miocene deposits (about 20 million years ago) of Asia. Descended from Archaeobelodon (genus Archaeobelodon) from the early and middle Miocene of Africa and Eurasia and was in many ways similar to an elephant, except that it did not have a trunk, which was replaced by huge jaws.
Platybelodon died out by the end of the Miocene, about 6 million years ago, and today there is no animal with such an unusual mouth shape. Platybelodon had a dense build and reached 3 meters at the withers. He probably weighed approximately 3.5-4.5 tons. There were two pairs of tusks in the mouth. The upper tusks were rounded in cross section, like those of modern elephants, while the lower tusks were flattened and spade-shaped. With its spade-shaped lower tusks, Platybelodon apparently dug into the ground in search of roots or stripped the bark from trees. Platybelodon belongs to the proboscis order - Proboscidea, to the superfamily Elephantoidea, which in Russian can be formulated as elephant-like.
Pakicet (Pakicetus) is an extinct predatory mammal related to archaeocetes. The most ancient of the now known predecessors of the modern whale, who lived about 48 million years ago and adapted to search for food in the water. Lived in what is now Pakistan. This primitive "whale" was still amphibious, like a modern otter. The ear had already begun to adapt to hear under water, but could not yet withstand a lot of pressure.
It had powerful jaws that betrayed a predator, close-set eyes and a muscular tail. The sharp teeth were adapted to grasp slippery fish. He probably had webbing between his fingers. The main feature is that its ankle bones are most similar to the bones of pigs, sheep and hippos. The cranial bones are very similar to those of whales.
Arsinotherium (Arsinoitherium) - an ungulate that lived about 36-30 million years ago. Reached 3.5 m in length and 1.75 m in height at the withers. Outwardly, it resembled a modern rhinoceros, but retained all five fingers on the front and hind legs. His "special feature" were huge, massive horns, which did not consist of keratin, but of a bone-like substance, and a pair of small outgrowths of the frontal bone. Remains of Arsinotherium are known from the Lower Oligocene deposits of northern Africa (Egypt).
Megaloceros (Megaloceros giganteus) or bighorn deer, appeared about 300 thousand years ago and died out at the end of the ice age. Inhabited Eurasia, from the British Isles to China, preferred open landscapes with sparse woody vegetation. The bighorn deer was about the size of a modern elk. The head of the male was decorated with colossal horns, greatly expanded at the top in the form of a spade with several processes, with a span of 200 to 400 cm, and weighing up to 40 kg. There is no consensus among scholars as to what led to the emergence of such huge and apparently inconvenient jewelry for the wearer.
It is likely that the luxurious horns of males, intended for tournament fights and attracting females, pretty much interfered with Everyday life. Perhaps when forests replaced the tundra-steppe and forest-steppe, it was the colossal horns that caused the extinction of the species. He could not live in the forests, because with such a “decoration” on his head it was impossible to walk through the forest.
Astrapoteria (Astrapotherium magnum) - a genus of large ungulates from the Late Oligocene - Middle Miocene of South America. They are the most well-studied representatives of the Astrapotheria order. They were quite large animals - their body length reached 288 cm, their height was 137 cm, and their weight, apparently, reached 600 - 800 kg.
Titanoides (Titanoides) lived 60 million years ago on the American continent and were the first truly large mammals. The area where the Titanoides lived is subtropical with a swampy forest, similar to modern southern Florida. They probably ate roots, leaves, tree bark, and also did not disdain small animals and carrion. They were distinguished by the presence of frightening fangs - sabers, on a huge, almost half a meter skull. In general, they were powerful beasts, with a weight of about 200 kg. and body length up to 2 meters.
Stilinodon (Stylinodon) is the most famous and last species of teniodont, living about 45 million years ago during the Middle Eocene in North America. Teniodonts were among the fastest growing mammals after the extinction of the dinosaurs. They are probably related to the ancient primitive insectivorous animals, from which they apparently originated. The largest representatives, such as Stylinodon, reached the size of a pig or a medium-sized bear and weighed up to 110 kg. The teeth had no roots and had constant growth.
Teniodonts were strong muscular animals. Their five-fingered limbs developed powerful claws adapted for digging. All this suggests that teniodonts ate solid plant food (tubers, rhizomes, etc.), which they dug out of the ground with powerful claws. It is believed that they were the same active diggers and led a similar burrowing lifestyle.
Pantolambda (pantolambda) is a relatively large North American pantodont, about the size of a sheep, who lived in the middle of the Paleocene. The oldest member of the squad. Pantodonts are descended from Cimolestes and are related to early ungulates. Probably the diet of pantolambda was varied and not very specialized. The menu included shoots and leaves, mushrooms and fruits, which could be supplemented with insects, worms, or carrion.
Coryphodon (Coryphodon) were widespread in the Lower Eocene 55 million years ago, at the end of which they became extinct. The genus Coryphodon appeared in Asia in the early Eocene epoch, and then migrated to the territory of modern North America, where it probably supplanted the native pantodont Barylambda (Barylambda). The height of the corphodon was about a meter, and the weight was about 500 kg. Probably, these animals preferred to settle in forests or near water bodies.
The basis of their diet was leaves, young shoots, flowers and all kinds of marsh vegetation. Amblipods, as animals with a very small brain and characterized by a very imperfect structure of teeth and limbs, could not coexist for a long time with the new, more progressive ungulates that took their place.
Quabebihyraxes (Kvabebihyrax kachethicus) is a genus of very large fossil hyraxes of the pliogiracid family. They lived only in Transcaucasia, (in Eastern Georgia) in the late Pliocene, 3 million years ago. They were distinguished by large sizes, the length of their massive body reached 1.5 m. Perhaps it was in the aquatic environment that the Kvabeb daman sought protection at the moment of danger.
Celodonts (Coelodonta antiquitatis) are fossil woolly rhinos that have adapted to life in the arid and cool conditions of the open landscapes of Eurasia. They existed from the late Pliocene to the early Holocene. They were large, relatively short-legged animals with a high scruff and an elongated skull bearing two horns. The length of their massive body reached 3.2 - 4.3 m, the height at the withers - 1.4 - 2 m.
A characteristic feature of these animals was a well-developed woolly cover that protected them from low temperatures and cold winds. A low-set head with square lips made it possible to collect the main food - the vegetation of the steppe and tundra-steppe. From archaeological finds it follows that the woolly rhinoceros was an object of hunting for Neanderthals about 70 thousand years ago.
Embolotherium (Embolotherium ergilense) are representatives of the brontotheriid family of the odd-toed order. These are large land mammals that were larger than rhinos. The group was widely represented in savannah landscapes Central Asia and North America mainly in the Oligocene. The skull size of 125 cm condylobasal length suggests the growth of Ergilensis from a large African elephant under 4 m at the withers and a weight of about 7 tons.
Palorchesta (Palorchestes azael) - a genus of marsupials that lived in Australia in the Miocene and became extinct in the Pleistocene about 40 thousand years ago, after the arrival of man in Australia. Reached 1 meter at the withers. The muzzle of the animal ended in a small proboscis, for which the Palorchests are called marsupial tapirs, to which they are a bit similar. In fact, Palorchest are quite close relatives of wombats and koalas.
Synthetoceras (Synthetoceras tricornatus) lived in the Miocene, 5-10 million years ago, in North America. The most characteristic difference between these animals is the bone "horns". It is not known whether they were covered with a cornea, as in modern cattle, but it is clear that the antlers did not change annually, as in deer. Synthetoceras belonged to the extinct North American family of calluses (Protoceratidae), and is believed to have been related to camels. Protoceratids looked very different, although the structure of the lower limbs in them and in camels is similar, which made it possible to place such different animals in one group.
Meriterium (moeritherium) is the oldest known representative of the proboscis. It was the size of a tapir and apparently looked like this animal, having a rudimentary trunk. Reached 2 m in length and 70 cm in height. Weighed approximately 225 kg. The second pairs of incisors in the upper and lower jaws were greatly enlarged; their further hypertrophy in later proboscideans led to the formation of tusks. Lived in the late Eocene and Oligocene in North Africa (from Egypt to Senegal). It fed on plants and algae. According to recent data, modern elephants had distant ancestors who lived mainly in the water.
Deinotherium (Deinotherium giganteum) are the largest land animals of the Late Miocene - Middle Pliocene. Representative body length various kinds ranged from 3.5-7 m, growth at the withers reached 3-5 m (on average - 3.5-4 m), and the weight could reach 8-10 tons. Outwardly, they resembled modern elephants, but differed from them proportions.
Stegotetrabelodon (Stegotetrabelodon) is a representative of the elephantidae family, which means that the elephants themselves used to have 4 well-developed tusks each. The lower jaw was longer than the upper, but the tusks were shorter. The lower tusks entered, when the jaws closed, into the gap between the upper ones. At the end of the Miocene (5 million years ago), proboscideans began to lose their lower tusks.
Andrewsarchus (Andrewsarchus), possibly the largest land carnivorous mammal. Andrewsarchus is represented as a long-bodied and short-legged beast with a huge head. The length of the skull is 834 mm, the width of the zygomatic arches is 560 mm, but the dimensions can be much larger. According to modern reconstructions, assuming relatively big sizes head and shorter legs, then the body length could reach up to 3.5 meters (without a 1.5 meter tail), the height at the shoulders - up to 1.6 meters. The weight could reach one ton. Andrewsarchus is a primitive ungulate, close to the ancestors of whales and artiodactyls.
Amphicyonidae (Amphicyon major) or dog bears have become widespread in Europe since the late Oligocene (2 million years ago). In the proportions of Amphicyon major, bearish and catlike traits were mixed. Like bears, its remains have been found in Spain, France, Germany, Greece and Turkey. The average weight of Amphicyon major males is 212 kg, and females - 122 kg (almost like modern lions). Amphicyon major was an active carnivore, and its teeth were well adapted for gnawing bones.
giant sloths- a group of several different species of sloths, distinguished by their especially large size. They originated in the Oligocene about 35 million years ago and lived on the American continents, reaching a weight of several tons and a height of 6 m. Unlike modern sloths, they did not live on trees, but on the ground. They were clumsy, slow animals with a low, narrow skull and very little brain matter.
Despite its great weight, the animal stood on its hind legs and, leaning its front limbs on a tree trunk, took out succulent leaves. Leaves were not the only food of these animals. They also ate cereals, and, perhaps, did not disdain carrion. Humans settled the American continent between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago, and the last giant sloths disappeared from the mainland about 10,000 years ago. This suggests that these animals were hunted. They were probably easy prey, because, like their modern relatives, they moved very slowly.
Arctotherium (Arctotherium angustidens) is the largest short-faced bear known to date. Representatives of this species reached 3.5 m in length and weighed about 1600 kg. The height at the withers reached 180 cm. Arctotherium angustidens lived in the Pleistocene, on the Argentine plains. At one time (2 million - 500 thousand years ago), he was the largest predator on the planet.
Wintatherium (Uintatherium) is a mammal from the dinocerate order. Most feature- three pairs of horn-like outgrowths on the roof of the skull (parietal and maxillary bones), more developed in males. The outgrowths were covered with skin, like giraffe ossicons.
Toxodon (Toxodon) - the largest representative of the Toxodont family (Toxodontidae) and the order Notoungulata (Notoungulata), was endemic to South America. The genus Toxodon formed at the end of the Pliocene and survived until the very end of the Pleistocene. With its massive build and large size, Toxodon resembled a hippopotamus or a rhinoceros. The height at the shoulders was about 1.5 meters, and the length was about 2.7 meters (excluding the short tail).
Thilacosmil (Thylacosmilus atrox) - a predatory marsupial animal of the Sparassodonta order that lived in the Miocene (10 million years ago). Reached the size of a jaguar. On the skull, the upper fangs are clearly visible, constantly growing, with huge roots continuing into the frontal region and long protective “lobes” on the lower jaw. The upper incisors are absent. Presumably hunted large herbivores. Tylacosmila is often called the marsupial tiger, by analogy with another formidable predator - the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex). It died out at the end of the Pliocene, unable to withstand competition with the first saber-toothed cats that settled the continent.
Sarcastodon (Sarkastodon mongoliensis) is one of the largest land mammal predators of all time. This huge oxyenid lived in Central Asia. The skull of a sarcastodon found in Mongolia is about 53 cm long, and the width at the zygomatic arches is approximately 38 cm. The body length, apparently, was 2.65 meters, excluding the tail. Sarcastodon looked like a cross between a cat and a bear, only under a ton of weight. Perhaps he led a bear-like lifestyle, but was much more carnivorous, did not disdain carrion, driving away weaker predators.
Mongolian (Prodinoceras Mongolotherium) is a species of mammals of the extinct order Dinocerata, family Uintatherium. It is considered one of the most primitive representatives of the detachment.
terrible birds(sometimes called fororacos), who lived 23 million years ago, differed from their counterparts in a massive skull and beak. Their growth reached up to three meters, and they were formidable predators. Scientists created a three-dimensional model of the bird's skull and found that the bones of the head were strong and rigid in the vertical and longitudinal-transverse directions, while the skull was rather fragile in the transverse direction.
This means that the phororacos would not be able to grapple with struggling prey. The only option is to beat the victim to death with vertical blows of the beak, as if with an ax. The only competitor of the terrible bird, most likely, was the marsupial saber-toothed tiger (Thylacosmilus). Scientists believe that these two predators were at the top of the food chain at one time. Thylacosmilus was the stronger animal, but the paraphornis outran him in speed and agility.
In the hare family ( Leporidae), also had their giants. In 2005, a giant rabbit was described from the island of Menorca (Baleares, Spain), which received the name Nurogalus (Nuralagus rex). The size of a dog, he could reach a weight of 14 kg. According to scientists, such a large size of the rabbit is due to the so-called island rule. According to this principle, large species, once on the islands, decrease over time, while small ones, on the contrary, increase.
Nurogalus had relatively small eyes and auricles, which did not allow him to see and hear well - he did not have to fear an attack, because. there were no large predators on the island. In addition, scientists believe that due to the reduced paws and stiffness of the spine, the “king of rabbits” lost the ability to jump and moved on land with an exceptionally small step.
megistotherium (Megistotherium osteothlastes) - a giant hyenodontid that lived in the early and middle Miocene (20-15 million years ago). It is considered one of the largest land predator mammals that has ever existed. Its fossil remains have been found in East and Northeast Africa and South Asia. The length of the body with the head was about 4 m + the length of the tail, presumably 1.6 m, the height at the withers up to 2 m. The weight of megistotherium is estimated at 880-1400 kg.
woolly mammoth (Mammothus primigenius) appeared 300 thousand years ago in Siberia, from where it spread to North America and Europe. The mammoth was covered with coarse wool, up to 90 cm long. A layer of fat almost 10 cm thick served as additional thermal insulation. Summer wool was significantly shorter and less dense. They were most likely painted in dark brown or black. With small ears and a short trunk compared to modern elephants, the woolly mammoth was well adapted to cold climates. Woolly mammoths were not as huge as is often assumed.
Adult males reached a height of 2.8 to 4 m, which is not much more than modern elephants. However, they were much more massive than elephants, reaching a weight of up to 8 tons. A notable difference from the living Proboscis species was the strongly curved tusks, a distinctive outgrowth on the top of the skull, a high hump, and a steeply sloping hindquarters. The tusks found to this day reached a maximum length of 4.2 m and a weight of 84 kg. On average, however, they were 2.5 m and weighed 45 kg.
In addition to woolly northern mammoths, there were also southern ones without wool. In particular, the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), which was one of the largest representatives of the elephant family that ever existed. The height at the withers in adult males reached 4.5 m, and their weight was about 10 tons. It was closely related to the sixth mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and was in contact with it at the northern border of the range. Lived in the wide expanses of North America.
The northernmost finds are located in southern Canada, the southernmost in Mexico. It fed mainly on grasses and lived like today's elephant species in matriarchal groups of two to twenty animals led by a mature female. Adult males approached the herds only during the mating season. Mothers protected mammoths from large predators, which was not always successful, as evidenced by the finds of hundreds of mammoth cubs in caves near Homotherium. The extinction of the Columbian mammoth occurred at the end of the Pleistocene about 10 thousand years ago.
Cubanochoerus (Kubanochoerus robustus) is a large representative of the family of pigs of the artiodactyl order. Skull length 680 mm. The facial part is strongly elongated and twice as long as the medulla. Distinctive feature this animal - the presence of horn-shaped outgrowths on the skull. One of them, a large one, was located in front of the eye sockets on the forehead, behind it were a couple of small protrusions on the sides of the skull.
It is possible that fossil pigs used this weapon during ritual fights between males, as African wild boars do today. The upper fangs are large, rounded, bent upwards, the lower ones are trihedral. In terms of its size, the Kubanoherus exceeded the modern wild boar and weighed more than 500 kg. One genus and one species are known from the Middle Miocene Belomechetskaya locality in the North Caucasus.
Gigantopithecus (Gigantopithecus) - an extinct genus of great apes that lived in the territory of modern India, China and Vietnam. According to experts, Gigantopithecus had a height of up to 3 meters and weighed from 300 to 550 kg, that is, they were the largest monkeys of all time. At the end of this Pleistocene, Gigantopithecus may have coexisted with humans of the species Homo erectus, who began to enter Asia from Africa.
Fossil evidence suggests that the Gigantopithecus was the largest primate of all time. They were probably herbivores and moved on all fours, feeding mainly on bamboo, sometimes adding seasonal fruits to their food. However, there are theories that prove the omnivorous nature of these animals. Two species of this genus are known: Gigantopithecus bilaspurensis, which lived between 9 and 6 million years ago in China, and Gigantopithecus blacki, which lived in northern India at least 1 million years ago. Sometimes a third species is distinguished, Gigantopithecus giganteus.
Although it is not entirely known what exactly caused their extinction, most researchers believe that climate change and competition for food sources from other, more adaptable species - pandas and humans - were among the main reasons. The closest relative from now existing species is an orangutan, although some experts consider Gigantopithecus to be closer to gorillas.
Diprotodon (Diprotodon) or " marsupial hippopotamus"- the largest known marsupial that has ever lived on earth. Diprotodon belongs to the Australian megafauna - a group of unusual species that lived in Australia in the period from approximately 1.6 million to 40 thousand years ago. Diprotodon bones, including complete skulls and skeletons, as well as hair and footprints, have been found in many places in Australia.
Sometimes the skeletons of females are found along with the skeletons of the cubs that were once in the bag. The largest specimens were approximately the size of a hippopotamus: about three meters in length and about two at the withers. The closest living relatives of diprotodons are wombats and koalas. Therefore, diprotodons are sometimes called giant wombats. It cannot be ruled out that the last diprotodons died out already in historical time, and also that the appearance of man on the mainland became one of the reasons for their disappearance.
Deodon (Daeodon) is an Asian entelodont who migrated to North America around the end of the Oligocene era (20 million years ago). "Giant pigs" or "hogwolves" were four-legged, land-dwelling omnivores with massive jaws and teeth that enabled them to crush and eat large animals, including bones. With a growth of more than 2 m at the withers, it took food from smaller predators.
Chalicotherium (Chalicotherium). Chalicotheriaceae are a family of equids. They lived from the Eocene to the Pliocene (40-3.5 million years ago). Reached the size of a large horse, which they probably were somewhat similar in appearance. They had a long neck and long front legs, four-toed or three-toed. The fingers ended in large split talons, which were not hooves, but thick claws.
barylambda (Barylambda faberi) - a primitive pantodont, lived 60 million years ago in America, was one of the largest mammals of the Paleocene. With a length of 2.5 m and a weight of 650 kg, barylambda moved slowly on short powerful legs ending in five fingers with hoof-shaped claws. She ate shrubs and leaves. There is an assumption that barylambda occupied an ecological niche similar to ground sloths, while the tail served as a third fulcrum.
Argentavis (Argentavis magnificens) is the largest flying bird known to science in the entire history of the Earth, which lived 5-8 million years ago in Argentina. It belonged to the now completely extinct family of teratorns, birds that are quite closely related to the American vultures, with which it was included in the order of storks (Ciconiiformes).
Argentavis weighed about 60-80 kg, and its wingspan reached 8 m. (For comparison, the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan among existing birds - 3.25 m.) The skull of Argentavis was 45 cm long, and the humerus was long over half a metre. Obviously the basis of his diet was carrion.
He could not play the role of a giant eagle. The fact is that when diving from a height to high speed, a bird of this size has a high probability of crashing. In addition, the paws of the Argentavis are poorly adapted to grasping prey, and are similar to those of the American vultures, not the Falconiformes, whose paws are well adapted for this purpose. Like American vultures, Argentavis' claws were likely relatively weak, but the beak was very powerful, allowing it to feed on dead animals of any size.
In addition, Argentavis probably sometimes attacked small animals, as modern vultures do.
Thalassocnus- edentulous from the Miocene and Pliocene (10-5 million years ago) of South America. He probably led a semi-aquatic lifestyle.
What animals of antiquity have survived to this day, and what do we know about them? The pages of our site have already talked about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals that once inhabited our planet, but have already become extinct by now.
Is there really among the contemporaries of dinosaurs those who could survive to this day ?! Today we will present to your attention 25 of the most real "living fossils".
shield
A freshwater crustacean similar to a small horseshoe crab. Over the past 70 million years, its prehistoric morphology has hardly changed, almost no different from the ancestors of the shieldfish that inhabited the earth about 220 million years ago.
24. Lamprey
Jawless fish. It has a funnel-like sucker mouth. Occasionally they burrow their teeth into the bodies of other fish, sucking out blood, but the bulk of 38 species of this fish do not do this.
The most ancient remains of this fish date back to 360 million years ago.
23. Sandhill crane
Endemic to North-Eastern Siberia and North America is a heavy and large bird, weighing up to 4.5 kilograms. Presumably the most ancient representative of this species, the fossils of which could be found, lived 10 million years ago in Nebraska.
22. Sturgeon
Living in lakes, rivers and coastal waters, the subarctic, temperate and subtropical sturgeon is sometimes called "primitive fish". The reason for this is that the morphological characteristics of the sturgeon have not changed much. In any case, the most ancient fossils of the sturgeon are practically indistinguishable from its modern descendants, despite the passage of 220 million years.
It is true, regrettably, but the pollution environment, overfishing has put these unique fish on the verge of complete extinction, and certain types sturgeon is almost beyond recovery.
21. Giant Chinese salamander
The largest amphibian, the length of which can reach 1.8 m. It represents the family of cryptogills that appeared 170 million years ago. Like the sturgeon, it is on the verge of extinction.
The reason is habitat loss, overfishing and pollution. Like many other rare species, it is used by the Chinese for food and goes to the dubious needs of Chinese medicine.
20. Martian ant
It lives in the tropical forests of Brazil and the Amazon. Belongs to the oldest genus of ants and has an age of about 120 million years.
19. Goblin shark
The body length of this fish can reach 4 meters. A very rare and poorly studied species of deep-sea shark. Creepy and unusual appearance indicates prehistoric roots. Apparently, her first ancestors lived on Earth already 125 million years ago. Despite the frightening appearance and size, it is absolutely safe for people.
18. horseshoe crab
A marine arthropod that lives primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft, muddy or sandy bottoms. It is considered the closest relative of the trilobite and is one of the most famous living fossils that has not changed much over 450 million years.
17. Echidna
Like the platypus, the echidna remains the only egg-laying mammal. Its ancestors diverged from the platypus about 48-19 million years ago. The common ancestor of both led an aquatic lifestyle, but echidnas adapted to life on land. Due to its appearance, it was named after the "Mother of Monsters" from ancient Greek mythology.
16. Hatteria
Endemic tuatara from New Zealand can reach a length of 80 cm, distinguished by a spiny ridge along the back, which is especially pronounced in males. However, despite the clear resemblance to modern reptiles and lizards, the body structure of the tuatara has remained unchanged for two hundred million years. In this regard, tuatara are extremely important for science, as they can help in the study of the evolution of both snakes and lizards.
15. Frilled Shark
Frilled sharks live in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at a depth of fifty to two hundred meters. Like the goblin shark, the frilled shark has an extremely intimidating appearance.
This line has existed for at least 95 million years (since the end of the Cretaceous). It is possible that the age of frilled sharks may be 150 million years (the end of the Jurassic period).
The frilled shark is a living fossil belonging to one of the oldest extant lineages of sharks. 14. Vulture Turtle
The vulture turtle lives mostly in the waters adjacent to the southeastern territories of the United States. Belongs to one of the two surviving families of Cayman tortoises.
This prehistoric tortoise family has a centuries-long fossil history dating back to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous (72-66 million years ago). The weight of the vulture turtle can reach up to 180 kilograms, which makes it the heaviest freshwater turtle in the world.
13. Coelacanth
Endemic to the coastal waters of Indonesia, a genus of fish that includes two living species of the coelacanth family. Until 1938, coelacanths were considered extinct until they were rediscovered.
Ironically, coelacanths are more closely related to mammals, reptiles, and lungfish than they are to other ray-finned fish. Presumably, the coelacanth acquired its current form about 400 million years ago.
Coelacanth is endemic to Indonesian waters. 12. Giant freshwater stingray
The giant freshwater stingray is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, growing in diameter to almost two meters. Its weight can reach up to six hundred kilograms. According to research, its oval pectoral fin disc formed about 100 million years ago.
Like most of representatives of the animal world mentioned in this article, the giant freshwater stingray is on the verge of extinction due to excessive capture for the purpose of demonstration in aquariums, sale for meat, and due to pollution of the living conditions of this animal.
11. Nautilus
A pelagic mollusk that lives in the central-western region of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
Prefers deep slopes of coral reefs. Based on fossils, the nautilus managed to survive five hundred million years, during which the earth changed several eras and several mass extinctions occurred. Of course, nautiluses, too, having existed for half a billion years and survived the most severe cataclysms, may not withstand the most terrible (and this is not an exaggeration) of the evils that our planet has ever faced - with a person. It is on the verge of extinction due to overfishing and human pollution.
10. Medusa
They live in all oceans from the depths of the sea to the surface. Presumably, they appeared in the seas about 700 million years ago. In view of this, jellyfish can be called the most ancient polyorganic animals. This is probably the only animal included in this list, the number of which can increase significantly due to excessive capture of natural enemies of jellyfish. At the same time, some species of jellyfish are also on the verge of extinction.
9. Platypus
An oviparous mammal with otter legs, a beaver tail and a duck bill. Very often it is called the most bizarre animal in the world. In light of this, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the roots of the platypus go into the prehistoric wilds.
On the one hand, the oldest platypus fossil is only 100,000 years old, but the first platypus ancestor roamed the expanses of the Gondwana supercontinent about 170 million years ago.
8. Long-eared jumper
This small four-legged mammal is widespread throughout the African continent and looks like opossums or some kind of small rodents. However, oddly enough, they are much closer to elephants than to opossums. The first ancestors of the long-eared jumper lived on earth already in the Paleogene period (about 66-23 million years ago).
7. Pelican
Oddly enough, but this large waterfowl with a long, heavy beak is one of the living fossils that have hardly changed since the prehistoric period. The genus of these birds has existed for at least 30 million years.
The most ancient fossilized skeleton of a pelican was found in France in the deposits of the early Oligocene. Outwardly, it is almost indistinguishable from modern pelicans, and its beak is morphologically completely identical to the beaks of modern birds of this genus.
Pelicans are one of the few birds that have not changed since the prehistoric period. 6 Mississippi Carapace
One of the largest North American freshwater fish. It is often called a living fossil or "primitive fish" because of the preservation of a number of morphological characteristics of its most ancient ancestors. In particular, among these characteristics we can mention the ability to breathe both in water and air, as well as a spiral valve. Paleontologists trace the existence of the shell for 100 million years back into the centuries.
The Mississippi shell is a primitive fish. 5. Sponge
The duration of the existence of sea sponges on our planet is difficult to trace, since estimates of their age vary widely, but today the oldest fossil is about 60 million years old.
4. Slittooth
Nocturnal venomous burrowing mammal. It is endemic to several Caribbean countries at once and is often called a living fossil, which is not at all surprising, since it has hardly undergone any changes over the past 76 million years.
3. Crocodiles
Unlike most animals on this list, the crocodile actually looks like a dinosaur. In addition to crocodiles, mention should be made of gharial crocodiles, gharials, caimans and alligators. This group appeared on our planet about 250 million years ago. This happened in the early Triassic period, and the descendants of these creatures to this day carry a lot of morphological features that were formed even in their distant ancestors.
2. Pygmy whale
Until 2012, the pygmy whale was considered extinct, but since it did survive, it is still considered the smallest representative of baleen whales. Since this animal is very rare, very little is known about its population and its social behavior. But it is known for sure that the dwarf whale is a descendant of the cetotherium family, which is included in the suborder of baleen whales and which existed from the late Oligocene until the late Pleistocene (28-1 million years ago).
1. Black-bellied disc-tongued frog
As it turned out, living fossils can also be found among, it would seem, such a completely prosaic creature as a frog. Like the aforementioned dwarf whale, this black-bellied frog was thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered in 2011.
At first it was believed that the black-bellied disc-tonguing frog existed for only 15 thousand years, but resorting to phylogenetic analysis, scientists were able to calculate that the last direct ancestor of this unique animal jumped on the earth's surface about 32 million years ago. This makes the black-bellied disc-tonguing frog not only a living fossil, but also the only representative of its kind that has survived to this day.
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Earth is an amazing planet. It has an innumerable variety of life forms, both relatively recent and very ancient. Here is a list of the oldest living things on Earth that will definitely make you feel young.
10. Martialis heureka
Age: 100-120 million years
This rare Amazonian animal has been dubbed the "ant from Mars" because it looks and behaves completely differently than any other ant species. This is one of the oldest animals on Earth, according to various estimates, it appeared from 100 to 120 million years ago.
Martialis heureka live in the soil and do not have eyes, but nature has awarded them with numerous hair-like protrusions on the body. They help these strange ants sense vibrations and pressure changes in the surrounding soil.
9 Frilled Shark
Age: 150 million years
One of the oldest living members of the shark family. In 2007, a frilled shark was caught near Tokyo, which is very strange, because usually these predators live at a depth of 600-1000 meters. Scientists have suggested that the female was sick, and therefore rose to the surface. The caught shark, despite caring care, lived only 2 days.
Special chemical and physiological adaptations allow the frilled shark, more like a snake or an eel, to survive at depths where there is no access not only to humans, but also to many marine life.
8. Shields
Age - 200 million years
Perhaps one of the distant great-great-great (and many, many more "great-great") great-grandfathers of these freshwater crustaceans saw a living dinosaur with his own eyes. Or the only continent at that time - Pangea.
The shield is a very small animal, 2 to 4 millimeters long, which is able to survive even in the harshest geological conditions. Shield eggs can lie dormant for several years until the right conditions for hatching occur. And even the cannibalism inherent in shields could not destroy this species.
7. Sturgeons
Age - 200 million years
These largest freshwater fish are found in North America and Eurasia and are one of the oldest animal species belonging to the bony fish class.
However, due to the extraction of expensive black caviar, which has refined taste, sturgeon fish are under the threat of destruction. For 15 years, the number of sturgeon fish in the Caspian Sea alone has decreased by 38.5 times
6. Latimeria
Age - 360-400 million years
This ancient fish is one of the rarest and endangered fish in the world. For a very long time it was believed that the coelacanth is an extinct species, but in last years these fish were found in the Indian Ocean.
Giant coelacanths grow up to 190 cm in length and live at a depth of about 100 meters. They have electrosensory organs that help detect the presence of prey, and the structure of the lobe fins is unique and not found in any modern fish.
5. Horseshoe crab
Age - 230-450 million years
This strange crab, looking more like a facehugger from Aliens upside down, was a contemporary of the most ancient dinosaurs. Despite its name, horseshoe crab (aka horseshoe crab) does not refer to crabs, but to arachnids. Its closest relatives were trilobites.
The body of the horseshoe crab reaches 60 cm in length and consists of two sections: the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Both parts from the back are protected by a powerful shell, greenish-gray in color. Excellent camouflage against the background of silt. And on the tail needle there are prickly protrusions that help the horseshoe crab balance in the water with a strong current. The tail is also needed for “plowing” the seabed in search of food and as a lever if the horseshoe crab suddenly rolls over. Alas, it doesn't always work.
This amazing creature swims funny - belly up, using its own shell as a boat.
4. Nautilus
Age - 235-500 million years
One of the last representatives of a very old group of molluscs. According to various estimates, this cephalopod appeared on Earth from 500 to 235 million years ago and is older than many dinosaur species. Thus, the nautilus is rightfully called a living fossil.
Its beautiful spiral shell would surely arouse the envy of modern cephalopods, deprived of such luxurious shelter. Luckily, they don't have that feeling.
About 90 small tentacles, arranged in a crown around the mouth, help the nautilus catch prey and repel attacks from enemies.
3. Medusa
Age - 505-550 million years
It is the most primitive aquatic animal (after the second number of the most ancient animals on Earth). A jellyfish never gets a headache, because it has neither a brain nor nervous system, but there are primitive digestive and sensory organs.
90% of a jellyfish's body is water, giving it a clear, jelly-like appearance. But don't be fooled by its seeming harmlessness. Many types of jellyfish are poisonous. And the most dangerous of them is the box jellyfish. Its venom can kill an adult human and many large animals almost as quickly as . Moreover, the victim dies in the interval from 2 to 15 minutes from severe pain shock or cardiac arrest. The box jellyfish is also known as one of the most transparent animals on planet Earth.
2. Sponges
Age - 580 million years
Who lives at the bottom of the ocean? These sponges are one of the most primitive animals that look like plants.
They are nothing more than an aggregation of cells and have no internal organs or body parts. Sponges live in sea and fresh water. One of the most famous types of sponges are corals. There are about 8 thousand species of sponges in the world. So Sponge Bob, a famous cartoon character, has a huge number of living relatives, with a very ancient pedigree.
1. Cyanobacteria
Age: 3.5 billion years
You've never seen this tiny bacterium, but it's the one that tops the top 10 longest living organisms on Earth. And it is she who is one of the reasons why life on our planet became possible. Cyanobacterium or blue-green algae is probably the first living organism that appeared on Earth. It is a photosynthetic microorganism that lives in large colonies and releases oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. Thanks to their activities, according to scientists, an "oxygen catastrophe" began - a change in the composition of the earth's atmosphere. This process began about 2.4 billion years ago and caused the restructuring of the biosphere and the global Huron glaciation.
Today, cyanobacteria are one of the main sources of oxygen in the world. And thus support the existence of all other oxygen-respiratory life forms.
The most ancient animals in the world that are still preserved, while most of their counterparts are long extinct, are called living fossils. Studying these animals gives scientists more information about evolution and successful survival strategies used in the animal kingdom.