Millions of years ago there were tens of millions of creatures, or perhaps even more, and the great majority of them were positively terrifying. These creatures, big or small, would eat whatever they could get their hands on. Millions of years later, to today’s date, some of these creatures are still living, and are even thriving in their current environments. These prehistoric creatures, despite all of the evolution, human expansion, hunting, and more, continue to survive. Here are six unbelievable prehistoric animals alive today.
6. Tadpole Shrimp
Tadpole Shrimp are freshwater crustaceans that resemble a tiny horseshoe crab. They are considered to be living fossils because of their morphology, which has changed very little in the past 70 million years.
5. Sandhill Crane
5. Sandhill Crane
Native to North America and North Eastern Siberia, the Sandhill Crane is a massive, 10 pound bird. A 10-million-year-old fossil was found in Nebraska, and is thought to be from a Sandhill Crane. Another crane fossil dates back 2.5 million years, and absolutely belongs to the crane.
4. Chinese Giant Salamander
4. Chinese Giant Salamander
The Chinese Giant Salamander is the largest salamander and amphibian in the entire world, reaching lengths up to 5.9 feet in total. These come from the Cryptobranchidae lineage, which dates back 170 million years. They are currently endangered, unfortunately.
3. Solenodon
3. Solenodon
The Solenodon is a venomous, nocturnal mammal that is known for burrowing into the dirt. Only found within a few Caribbean countries, this little creature is known as a living fossil due to being virtually unchanged for the past 76 million years.
2. Crocodiles
2. Crocodiles
Crocodiles are the one creature you think when you consider prehistoric animals still alive today. The first group appeared almost 250 million years ago, and today’s descendants still share morphological features with their ancestors.
1. Hula Painted Frog
1. Hula Painted Frog
The Hula Painted Frog was also thought to be extinct until 2011, when it was rediscovered. The frog was originally known to have existed for the past 15,000 years, but scientists discovered the species was actually around approximately 32 million years ago.
