Unchanged in Time
You may have heard of fossils, the preserved remains we use to learn about extinct animals, but what about living fossils? Living fossils are animals or plants that have remained almost unchanged morphologically from their relatives that lived millions of years ago. We have organisms that exist today that existed long before the dinosaurs walked the Earth! We have many examples of them in our oceans!
Coelacanths
The oldest know fossil of these fish is from more than 410 million years ago! They were originally thought to have gone extinct around 66 million years ago, however in 1938 one was discovered living off the coast of South Africa. They are large fish that can grow to around 2m and are estimated to live to around 100 years old.
Mantis Shrimp
Despite their name these are not actually shrimp! These crustaceans are thought to be 400 million years old. The Peacock mantis shrimp may be the most famous, due to the fact they have one of the strongest punches of any animal.
Nautilus
This beautiful species found in tropical waters have remained unchanged since appearing in fossil records 500 million years ago. They are the only species of cephalopod that still have an external shell.
Leatherback turtle
Leatherback turtles are morphologically similar the first true sea turtles, which evolved over 110 million years ago. These are the largest species of sea turtle, growing up to 2.7 metres and weighing 500 kilograms.
Horseshoe crab
Although the name might say otherwise Horseshoe crabs are not crabs, or even crustaceans. Instead, they are more closely related to arachnids. Records show their fossils extend around 250 million years ago.
We hope you enjoyed reading about some of our living fossils. Do you have a mini marine biologist ready to start their ocean exploring journey?
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