Prehistoric animals are animals that come from ancient times. When talking about prehistoric animals, the image of giant animals like a dinosaur is crossing our minds.
Several factors influence this giant size. Those factors are the influence of temperature, bone structure, and differences in reproductive strategies. Unfortunately, many prehistoric animals are already extinct.
However, did you know that some prehistoric animals are still alive today? These animals have gone through many evolutionary periods, so they are no longer in giant size. What prehistoric animals that are still alive?
1. Komodo
Komodo (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest type of lizard. This largest Komodo dragon has a length of 3.13 meters and a weight of 166 kilograms. Komodo can be found on Komodo Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The original habitat of Komodo can only be found in Indonesia and not in other parts of the world.
Komodo is an endemic ancient reptile species that have lived since ancient times. The evolution of the komodo began with the genus Varanus which began to develop in Asia between 40-25 million years ago. Komodo is a close relative of dinosaur.
This can be seen from the discovery of fossils from certain types of dinosaurs that show similarity in body structure to the Komodo. Apparently, komodo is also considered as one of scary animal over the world.
2. Leatherback Turtles
Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), which have survived for more than hundreds of millions of years, are now facing extinction. Leatherback turtles can be found from tropical waters to the ocean sub-polar regions and usually lay eggs on beaches in the tropics.
This species spends most of its life in the open ocean, and it only appears on land when laying eggs. Unlike other endangered sea turtles species, leatherback turtles do not have a hard carapace.
The carapace is like a mosaic of small hard bones. Leatherback turtles only eat low-energy and low-protein foods from soft creatures such as jellyfish, squid, and tunicates.
3. Horseshoe Crab
This crab-like animal is an arthropod type animal that lives in shallow waters and mangrove areas. This animal is one of the ancient animals that have not changed significantly since the Devonian (400-250 million years ago). Compared to its present form, the species are not the same. The shape of this animal is shaped like a horseshoe tailed.
4. Arowana Fish
Arowana fish (Scleropagus sp.) is one of the ancient fish that has not yet become extinct. Genetic studies and fossil findings show that these fish lived on earth at least since 220 million years ago.
Arowana is a carnivorous fish that inhabit rivers and lakes with calm water. These fish can be found in the Amazon and parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Arowana fish can also be found in Indonesian freshwater.
One type of Arowana is a super red Arowana, which is a native fish upstream of the Kapuas River and Lake Sentarum in West Kalimantan. These watersteams are peat forest areas which create a primitive environment for these ancient fish.
5. Goblin Sharks
Goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni) are a relatively rare species of marine shark. This animal is also called a ‘living fossil.’ This species is the only surviving representative of the Mitsukurinidae family, which existed 125 million years ago.
The characteristics of this shark are that they have pink skin with a long flat snout. This shark has teeth like secret nails that stick out and away from its mouth.
This animal is often located on the upper slopes of continents, underwater valleys, and sea mountains throughout the world at depths of more than 100 m. Goblin sharks like to hunt teleost, squid, and crustaceans that are near the bottom of the sea or in the middle of the sea.
Goblin sharks are one type of animal that is very feared because of their scary appearance. It turns out that the goblin shark is not harmful to humans. However, most sharks are classified as dangerous to humans, especially in New Zealand. You may check out these most dangerous animals in New Zealand.
6. Arapaima Gigas
At first glance, this fish is similar to Arowana fish. Arapaima is considered to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. It can grow up to 4.5 meters, but now, large Arapaima like this is rarely found. Arapaima eats small fish, crustaceans, and any small animals. One exciting feature of this fish is that it breathes oxygen from the air to survive.
Arapaima does not pose a danger to humans and is often hunted for meat. Arapaima once found in the Indonesian river, which is suspected to be a fish of foreign tourists that was released in the Indonesian River and can be found in the Freshwater Museum. For more info, you may check this article about the origin, habitat, and characteristics of Arapaima Gigas.
7. Platypus
Platypus is a semi-aquatic animal, which mean animals that live on land, but spend much time in the water. The platypus is a living fossil that is still a family with Echidna. This animal has lived for 122 million years. This animal is included in nocturnal animals. Usually, they eat small fish, worms, and insect larvae.
Many people consider this animal to be a strange animal. This animal is a mammal, but it can also lay eggs. Besides, the shape of its body is also strange. Its beak is like a duck, its feet are webbed, and its body is hairy. At first glance, it looks like a mixture of beaver and duck. Their strangeness makes them become one of the cool and unique animals all over the world.
Those are animals which already exist in prehistoric era to this day. Unfortunately, some of them are considered endangered. Hence, we should keep their existance by banning illegal hunting and illegal animal captivity to help them.