Prehistoric fish that have survived to this day

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

In the modern world, Homo sapiens is the dominant predator on the entire planet. But it is worth recognizing that humanity has risen to this degree quite recently and holds the palm for a very short time. An individual who was able to protect himself from the surrounding "enemy" world appeared only 2 million years ago. But there are many prehistoric representatives of flora and fauna left on the planet, whose ancestors saw the world even before the existence of dinosaurs.

Sturgeon

Their image is present on the coats of arms of some countries, they are revered - it's all about fish from the sturgeon family. Caviar of this species is valued all over the world. But few people know that this is a real prehistoric fish.

Scientists are sure that the first representative of the sturgeon genus appeared on the planet 170 million years ago. This time is called the Jurassic period. Although the heyday of the species occurred at a later date - the Cretaceous period. It is believed that it was then that the largest individuals lived,which in length reached 7-8 meters. This is confirmed by the remains found on the territory of the Volgograd region of Russia.

Several varieties of fish belong to the sturgeon genus: beluga, sterlet and others. The largest individual was caught in 1940, its length was 576 centimeters. It was a beluga. Today, no one else has been able to find a fish of such large sizes.

Atractosteus spatula

In fact, no matter how you write the name of this fish, for the inhabitants of our continent it will not say anything. The Mississippi shellfish is an inhabitant of the waters of Central and North America. He lives in the coastal zone, and this creature is also called the alligator fish. However, it lives in fresh water and very rarely can enter the waters of the Caribbean and Cuba.

The creature belongs to the order of armored pike and is the largest representative of the species. A distinctive feature is the ability to breathe air, albeit for a short time.

By the way, this fish is often mistaken for a crocodile. It has something like a long "beak" with many large needle-like teeth. The body of the fish is covered with diamond-shaped scales that form armor. It is believed that for the entire time of the existence of this species, which is about 150 million years, it has not changed at all in appearance.

Alepisaurus

This Latin name translates as "alepisaurus" and defines a species of fish that is classified as a genus of alepisaurs and is considered a cross between a sailfish slave and a daggertooth.

For the first time this inhabitant of the waters was seen by members of the expedition to Kamchatka (1741year). At that time, no descriptions were made, only the fact of the presence of a unique inhabitant of the ocean was recorded.

After several decades, it was found out that the Alepisaurus fish is represented in two forms. One, called "ordinary" is found in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and the other - "short-winged" - prefers cool waters. Fish can be found on the coast of the northwest Atlantic, during the Gulf Stream.

Coelacanth coelacanth fish

This fish is also called coelicant. In 1938, an unprecedented large individual was discovered and caught in the waters of the Indian Ocean, which was taken to the East London Museum. Range - the waters of the Comoros, the coast of Indonesia, Madagascar, southern Mozambique.

Scientists suggest that today there are no more than 200 individuals of this species of fish. Their meat is inedible, but still there are many who want to catch it and make a stuffed animal, so the fish is protected.

The coelicanth is a predator and nocturnal. These are very slow creatures and for hunting they descend to a depth of up to 700 meters. The largest individual found was 108 centimeters long and weighed 95 kg.

Dragon of African Waters

The Senegalese multifeather is the oldest creature on the planet, which is often confused with an eel, but it belongs to a completely different species. The dorsal fin of the fish is divided and looks very much like a saw.

Habitat - reservoirs of India andAfrica with slowly flowing water and dense thickets of plants. The fish is a predator and grows up to 50 centimeters in length. Polyfeathers are even kept in aquariums, where they do not reach more than 30 cm, but they can live for about 30 years.

An amazing feature of the fish is that its swim bladder is light, which allows it to breathe oxygen. Under natural conditions, the creature can even live without water for a while.

Mixins

This prehistoric fish is believed to have appeared on the planet 300 million years ago. It lives at great depths in tropical waters. An amazing feature of the creature is that it is able to easily tie into a knot. And this is done in order to break their prey.

Mixins are very hardy and can even survive a shark bite. In the conventional sense, they bear little resemblance to fish. They have cartilage instead of bones, and a skeletal rod instead of a spine. The creature's body is covered in fibrous slime.

Aravana

Another prehistoric fish that managed to survive to our times from the Jurassic period and hardly change. The creature lives in the fresh waters of Australia, Asia and Africa. This is a real predator that can even jump 2 meters out of the water and catch a small bird.

Aravanu is often kept in large aquariums. In the wild, the creature grows up to 90 centimeters in length, very rarely up to 1.2 meters. The average weight is 4.6 kg. Has a ribbon-like body structure with scalessilver tone.

Cloak Bearer

This prehistoric fish has an intimidating appearance and is a shark. It was first described in 1884. Years of research have proven that this shark has been living on the planet since the Cretaceous period.

The fish is completely harmless to humans, grows up to 2 meters in length and feeds mainly on stingrays. Also does not disdain fish and sharks smaller than her, and squid. Scientists have been arguing for a long time how a slow frilled squid can catch a nimble and slippery squid. It is supposed to eat injured or sick individuals.

The mouth of the fish has 300 teeth with curved tops. The jaws can be greatly extended, allowing them to swallow prey half their own length.

Outwardly resembles an eel or a snake with a large head. Body color is dark brown. The creature really hunts like a snake, making a swift throw and attacking prey.

Female frilled bear cubs 3, 5 years. There are up to 15 babies in a litter. The fish lives at a depth of up to 1.5 thousand meters in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.