Real dinosaurs in our time. Do dinosaurs exist in our time? Do dinosaurs exist in our time?
We know well to what extent we are human. animal world of our planet? This question will surprise most people. In fact: there are many scientific works that can fully satisfy curiosity in this area. It seems that in the 21st century there are and cannot be secrets in the animal world. But it is not so. And these days, from time to time there are reports saying that the animal world has not been studied as well as we might think.
In the 20th century, various kinds of studies of mysterious animals similar to dragons, or, in scientific terms, dinosaurs that lived on Earth in prehistoric times, were very popular.
You shouldn't think that modern man, tired of everyday affairs and worries, suddenly suddenly believed in fairy tales, myths and legends that mention dragons and others mythical creatures. In fact, reports, for example, about plesiosaurs look quite convincing and are within the scope of scientific interests of a number of zoologists.
Are all dinosaurs extinct?
Any modern person knows that prehistoric animals disappeared from the face of the Earth a long time ago, millions of years ago. The question of why this happened is very interesting. After all, dinosaurs became extinct a very long time ago. short period, although they lived on Earth for more than 150 million years. Over such a long period of time, the climate on the planet has repeatedly changed and there have been many other changes to which animals have been able to adapt quite successfully.
The dinosaurs disappeared in about 5 million years, that is, very quickly. There are many hypotheses trying to explain this disappearance. One of the scientists, American geophysicist U. Alvarez, proposed a very original version. In the second half of the 20th century, he studied an underwater canyon in Italy and discovered in a layer of clay that belonged to the end Mesozoic era(it was during that era that dinosaurs disappeared), the increased content of iridium is 30 times more than is usually the case in earth's crust.
The fact is that there is not so much iridium in the bowels of the Earth; it is more often found in other cosmic bodies. The scientist suggested that at the end of the Mesozoic era, our planet collided with a large asteroid, the diameter of which was more than 10 km. An asteroid crashed into the Earth at high speed. As a result, the iridium content in the earth's crust increased, which in itself, however, was not dangerous for dinosaurs.
But when the asteroid collided, a huge amount of dust rose into the air. The surface of the planet was covered with a dust curtain from the Sun. Due to shortage sun rays plants began to die. Many dinosaurs were herbivores and ate about 2 quintals of plants per day. They began to die of hunger, which meant that the predators, in turn, began to lack food. As a result, all dinosaurs became extinct. Of course, this is just one hypothesis.
Prehistoric creatures - guests from the Mesozoic era
Meanwhile, cryptozoology assures us that many prehistoric animals have not disappeared, but live in our time. Or, at least, they lived relatively not so long ago.
16th century – S. Herberstein, diplomat, traveler and writer, served as the Austrian ambassador in Russia. In his diary, he described people who lived in the forests and kept large lizard-like snakes with four legs and pointed black bodies as pets.
In Russian chronicles of the 16th century there is a record of how “crocodiles” came out of a river near Novgorod and ate many people. This entry is dated 1582. Of course, it is possible to suspect the ancient chronicler of a hoax, but at that distant time the chroniclers were precisely chroniclers, and not science fiction writers. And maybe everything was exactly as it was said in the chronicle.
A few years later, in 1589, the Englishman J. Garcia, while in Russia, saw a dead crocodile on the river bank. From the point of view of official science, crocodiles should not have lived in Eastern Europe. But we're talking about XVI century. It can be assumed that these reptiles were found in Russian reservoirs at that time. In the future, they could die both from natural causes and as a result of aggression from people. Now it is no longer possible to find out whether those “crocodiles” were prehistoric lizards.
In Scotland there is one fairly deep lake - Loch Morar. According to eyewitnesses, this lake is home to a creature unknown to science. In the 1970s, scientists conducted special research on this lake, after which they stated that they personally saw a large animal with a head similar to a snake. The size of the strange creature exceeded 13 meters. One of the researchers, Professor G. Vakhrushev, is convinced that the mysterious creatures that are talked about so much are in fact lake plesiosaurs; today they may well live in lakes that originated from freshwater reservoirs of the Mesozoic era.
Unknown monsters can exist not only in water, but also on land. It is very interesting that the Irish mysterious beasts appearance similar to the mythological creatures "kelpies", about which there are many legends in Western Scotland. Ireland and Scotland are very close, so it is not surprising that the legends and myths of these countries are similar.
Meanwhile, there is information about mysterious creatures, which were also observed in Russia. For example, they say that Nessie’s “relatives” live in the lakes of Yakutia, namely prehistoric animals that should have disappeared from the face of the earth a long time ago.
So, in the middle of the 20th century, some people were lucky enough to see a strange creature whose description was very similar to a plesiosaur. One of the eyewitnesses (who also managed to sketch a hitherto unprecedented animal) was an employee of the biological detachment of the Yakut branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The fish lizard was also seen by geologists working in Yakutia.
It is curious that the Yakuts have long been sure: monsters live in their lakes, feeding on fish and even birds that settle on the shores of reservoirs. The monsters did not disdain people who went to the lakes to fish. Of course, local legends did not at all pretend to be “scientific”. People only wanted to warn each other about the terrible danger and in no case were chasing sensations.
The stories are quite interesting. Aristotle and Euripides also wrote about them. There is a legend that in the 8th century BC. e. King Sargon II saw a huge sea snake off the coast of Cyprus. An image of this creature was found during archaeological excavations in Assyria on the walls of the Korsadad palace.
Modern scientists do not deny the possibility that prehistoric animals can survive today. Some accounts from witnesses who personally saw strange creatures, cites the famous popularizer of science V. Mezentsev in one of his books.
1734 - the Danish missionary P. Egende sailed on a ship along the coast of Greenland, and this is what he wrote in the logbook: “We saw a terrible animal, unlike anything we had seen before. It raised its head so high above the waves that it seemed to tower above the tops of our ship. The monster breathed weaker than the whale; his head was narrower than his body, which seemed short and wrinkled. The animal moved with the help of huge fins located under its belly. After some time we saw his tail. The total length of the monster exceeded the length of our ship."
1848 - the captain of the English warship Daedalus wrote in the logbook: “When our attention was attracted by an object that appeared on the surface of the sea, we decided that it was a huge snake. We did not notice any limbs that served the animal for movement in the water, and no signs of horizontal movement. It passed quickly on such close range that it could be seen with the naked eye. It was moving at a speed of 12-15 miles per hour...
Behind the head, the diameter of the animal’s body was 40–50 centimeters. During the 20 minutes of observation, the snake's head was constantly above the surface of the water. It was brown on top and light yellow underneath. The animal had no fins, but on its back it had something like a mane or a tuft of algae.”
From this description it doesn't look particularly mysterious. There is nothing mystical about it. But science has not described such a creature. Or rather, sea snakes themselves are well known. They live in tropical seas and are dangerous to people because they are very poisonous. But sea snakes are small, the largest individuals are no more than 2 meters. Eyewitnesses report real giants, which, according to descriptions, are similar to prehistoric animals.
Mezentsev cites an extract from the log of the ship “Osborne” for 1877: “The movement of the animal’s flat fins was like that of a turtle, and it looked like a huge seal... The ship was located at the latitude of the island of Sicily, and this is the only observation made in the Mediterranean Sea. Some believed that this animal was an ichthyosaur, others were inclined to see it as a giant turtle.”
1904 - The French Academy of Sciences drew attention to the following message, which was discussed at a special scientific meeting: “On the afternoon of February 25, 1904, heading towards the exit from the bay, the Decide met a mysterious animal at the height of the cliffs of Nua... I saw all parts of the animal , successively plunging into the water with vertical wave-like movements. It looked like a flattened snake and, according to my estimate, reached a length of up to 30 meters with a maximum thickness of 4-5 meters.”
20th century - the Belgian scientist B. Euvelmans studied sea monsters, which are similar in description to prehistoric animals.
He is sure that the eyewitness stories are not fiction and such creatures actually live in the depths of the sea. The scientist wrote: “It seems to me that the legend of the sea serpent arose because people had to meet with various (it is not yet known which) very large snake-shaped animals belonging to different classes: fish, reptiles, mammals.”
1915, July 30 - off the coast of Ireland, the British steamer Iberion was blown up by the German submarine I-28. The captain of the German submarine noticed that after the explosion of the steamer, a huge animal floated to the surface of the water. The length of its body was about 20 meters, in appearance it resembled a crocodile with four flippers instead of paws. After about a quarter of a minute, the monster disappeared under the water.
1932 - An earthquake occurred in the Newfoundland area. Many corpses were washed ashore sea creatures. Among them was a sea serpent, huge creature with a pointed head.
1947 – fisherman D. Zegers near Vancouver Island off the western shores North America I saw an unknown creature. He described the meeting this way: “Suddenly I felt very strange. A shiver ran down my spine, and I began to feel like someone was watching me. I looked around. To the left, about 45 meters from the boat, a head and neck more than a meter long rose above the water, two pitch-black eyes looked intently. They protruded from the head like two buns. I have never seen anything like this before.
The head was 40 centimeters in diameter. Looking at me, the animal turned away, and I saw its back. She had something like a dark brown mane, which consisted more of tufts of warts than hair.”
In the same 1947, in North Carolina, near Cape Lookout, the crew of a Greek ship saw amazing creature with a cylindrical body of dark brown color and a snake head. The creature was wounded, and the water around it was stained with blood. And in the late 40s, a skeleton was discovered off the western coast of North America. Scientists decided that this skeleton belongs to a sea serpent. The length of the creature's spine was 12 meters.
1959 - fishermen in the city of Durban saw a whole herd of sea monsters. There were at least 20 of them, the length of each creature seemed to be about 10 meters.
1963 - also seen off the coast of Iceland. A year later, in Massachusetts Bay, the crew of a fishing boat spotted a sea serpent 15 meters long. Soon we managed to take a few pictures sea monster. Its length, according to eyewitnesses, was about 25 meters. The snake's head was massive and round, the width and length of the head were more than two meters. The animal had uneven skin, without scales. Body color is black with brown rings. But some of the scientists decided that the pictures were either a hoax, or captured, for example, a giant conger eel. Scientists' skepticism is understandable. But it makes no sense to dismiss the numerous evidence of the existence of sea monsters.
1977 - in the area of New Zealand, the Japanese trawler Tsuyomaru lifted from enormous depth(about 300 meters) corpse unknown creature. The animal had a tail up to 2 m long, a small head, a long neck, the total length of its body was 13 m, and it weighed about 2 tons. Scientists did not fully examine the body of the sea monster because it was already decomposing and the crew did not dare to take on board the rotting carcass. He was thrown into the sea, having previously been photographed and the corresponding entries made in the ship's log. One piece of fin was left and put in the refrigerator. Scientists became interested in the find.
Some Japanese experts said that the creature was a plesiosaur, others believed that it was the corpse of a huge shark or a small whale. The situation was further complicated by the fact that the carcass was half-decomposed, so identifying it was not easy. But after carefully studying the fin, scientists found a protein in it that whales do not have. Sharks have such a protein, and it was also once in the tissues of prehistoric animals, which included plesiosaurs. The fact that the body was a prehistoric lizard is also supported by the fact that its head did not look like a shark (it was too small). But the mystery was never solved.
1998 - a sea monster with long neck. Canadian newspapers wrote about this. The riddle was never solved. In Zambia, local residents are sure that in one of the reservoirs there lives a monster of enormous size that feeds on large animals, in particular hippopotamuses. According to evidence, a dinosaur-like monster also lives in the jungles of the Congo.
In the 1980s, University of Chicago professor R. McKell, who had been studying the Loch Ness monster for a long time, made a special trip to this country. He tried to find out more about the animal that lives in the Congo. The professor collected many eyewitness accounts; their descriptions of the animal coincided. It reached 12 meters in length, had a huge tail and a long neck. The creature's skin was gray-brown, its tracks resembled those of an elephant, but differed in the presence of claws. The description of the creature perfectly matches the characteristics of a dinosaur.
The professor suggested that the dinosaur could well have lived in the local jungle, especially since the climate there has not changed over the past few tens of millions of years. Soon Makell organized another expedition into the jungles of the Congo. He was primarily interested in the little-explored area of Lake Tele.
The lake is located among impenetrable forests. It has long attracted the attention of scientists. So, in 1913 a German expedition visited there. Researchers were able to find traces of an unknown creature in the lake. But the war began, and the expedition was curtailed.
Makkel was also unlucky. His second expedition was prevented by a conflict with local residents. A few years later, in 1983, one of the participants in this expedition, a graduate of the University of Havana M. Añanya, decided to go on a search again. He was from the Congo, so he knew the local beliefs well. The researcher interviewed local residents and wrote down a variety of stories about the monster.
One day he himself saw a dinosaur head on a long neck in Lake Tele. The animal noticed the people and began to dive under water. Using binoculars, the researcher was able to examine the creature in sufficient detail and concluded that it was a prehistoric animal. It was not possible to photograph the monster.
There is evidence that similar creatures live in Zambia and Mozambique. Dinosaurs could well have survived African continent, where the climate is so favorable for reptiles. There is a lot of unexplored territory here and in our time.
In prehistoric times, animals, which we can rightfully call “monsters,” lived everywhere - in the depths of the sea and on land. They swam, ran, flew. By the way, our contemporaries also saw such flying monsters. True, flying prehistoric lizards were found much less frequently than sea monsters. This is quite understandable. We humans have been very weak in exploring undersea world, especially deep-sea. But with land the situation is different.
Here humanity has developed vast territories. And yet, the winged monsters remained in some places. Perhaps these are pterodactyls?
1932 - the famous American zoologist A. Sanderson was on an expedition in Cameroon. One day he saw a little Dragon(at least the creature looked like a dragon). The scientist looked at it carefully and could swear that the “dragon” did not belong to a species known to science. After some time, Sanderson saw the dragon again. The lizard flew so fast that it knocked down one of the expedition members, made several circles, and then flew away.
The expedition had a local guide. He became very agitated at the sight of the little dragon and declared that the monster was a harbinger of death and whoever saw it would soon die. But Sanderson was not so pessimistic. He decided that the flying creature was a prehistoric pterodactyl.
This is not the only “ancient” lizard that supposedly lives in Africa. There is a belief that on the border of Zaire and Angola there is a huge - up to two meters in length - flying lizard with sharp teeth. There it is also believed that seeing her is a bad omen.
In the 1970s, in the USA, in the state of South Carolina, incredible monsters were repeatedly seen in the swamps. They were covered with green scales, their height reached 2 meters. The creatures walked on their hind legs. According to the description, they also resembled prehistoric animals.
1976, June - a 16-year-old teenager saw a lizard running across the field straight towards him. The boy barely escaped in the car. Then the police received several more reports of this mysterious animal. But it was not possible to catch him, although traces were found.
Of course, this kind of message can be perceived as a kind of hoax. But we must remember that scientists to this day have not refuted the existence of prehistoric animals. In fact, the mystery of the “modern dinosaurs” has not yet been solved. And it may well be that in the future we will learn a lot of new and interesting things about this.
O. Larina
Dinosaurs (from the Greek dinosauria, deinos - “terrible” and saurus - “lizard”) lived during the Mesozoic era, which is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Over the entire history of studying the remains of ancient lizards, paleontologists have been able to identify and describe over 500 different species of these reptiles.
Where and in what territories ancient lizards lived, see the infographics of AiF.ru.
When did the first dinosaurs appear?
The first dinosaurs, archosaurs, appeared 230 million years ago. Typical representatives Triassic period there were Placerias, Plateosaurus, Coelophysis, Cynodont, and Petheinosaurus. What dinosaurs lived in Russia from the Triassic to Cretaceous periods,
During the Jurassic period, when the Earth established temperate climate, flying lizards appeared (Archaeopteryx, pterodactyl, pterosaur), as well as predatory dinosaurs large sizes(stegosaurus, diplodocus, anurognathus, allosaurus, ankylosaurus and others). The remains of some of them are paleontologists.
During last period During the Mesozoic era, giant lizards lived on Earth, many of them reaching 5–8 meters in height and 20 meters in length. Typical reptiles Cretaceous period: Velociraptor, Seismosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Iguanodon and Kulasuchus.
What dinosaurs lived in Russia during the Mesozoic era?
How long did dinosaurs live?
Paleontologists believe that the lifespan of small species ranged from one to two decades, and large dinosaurs could live from 200 to 300 years.
Who inhabited the Tula region 300 million years ago,
Why did dinosaurs become extinct?
The changes that occurred on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period led to the gradual extinction of all types of dinosaurs. Among possible reasons disappearances may be as follows:
- an asteroid that fell to Earth;
- sudden warming and climate change;
- a strong earthquake or volcanic eruption;
- an increase in the number of mammals that ate food familiar to dinosaurs.
What marine animals lived on the territory of Russia in ancient times,
When were dinosaur bones first discovered?
The first dinosaur skeleton was described in the 1820s by British paleontologist William Buckland.
When was the last time a dinosaur was discovered on Russian territory?
Last thing significant discovery was made in 2014. During the extraction of shale, an almost intact skeleton of an ichthyosaur was discovered.
Find out if dinosaurs really existed and why they disappeared. Here you will find expert opinions on whether there are dinosaurs on Earth today, whether omnivorous dinosaurs exist in the 21st century.
Answer:
Are there dinosaurs today? Modern scientists were sure that these creatures became extinct at the end Jurassic. However, the latest find says the opposite in this regard.
Not long ago, the remains of the last dinosaur that managed to survive that disaster were found. He was immediately dubbed Leinkupal laticuada, which means “disappearing family.” This type of dinosaur managed to stay alive after its relatives became extinct. His remains were discovered by scientists in a place where nothing like it had ever been found before.
The dinosaur belongs to a species of sauropods, which are considered representatives of giant herbivores. These are some of the largest living creatures to ever inhabit the Earth.
After the dinosaur mass extinction this type was able to evolve in the Cretaceous period and continue to exist.
Scientists managed to discover these remains in South America and Argentina (Patagonia), despite the fact that the previous existence of dinosaurs of this type of sauropod was assumed in the regions of Northern and Central America. This allows us to consider the discovery very interesting, since the information will help to clarify movements after climate change and the extinction of the main part of the dinosaurs.
Did dinosaurs exist and why did they disappear?
Today, when science has made great progress and it is possible to reconstruct the picture of events from the found remains, doubts about whether dinosaurs existed are no longer relevant. News regularly appears about the discovery of a tooth or bone of an animal. And yet, why did they really disappear?
Huge living creatures that inhabited the Earth many millions of years ago became extinct for inexplicable reasons. However, different scientists are putting forward more and more new versions on this matter. Among them are the fact that there were too many males and eating their own eggs. Also more probable hypotheses.
One of the most reliable versions is the change climatic conditions in that era. This led to the fact that many plants began to disappear, thereby depriving the dinosaurs of their main source of food. At the same time, it is still unknown in which direction the climate has changed: whether it was a strong cooling or, on the contrary, warming.
There is another version. This is the fall of a huge meteorite 65 million years ago, which caused a powerful shock wave all over the planet.
The exact cause of the extinction of dinosaurs has not yet been found. It is also difficult to name it because of the discovery of finds indicating that the animals died over a long period of time, that is, not all at once.
As it turned out, almost all known to science Dinosaurs, even ones as popular as Velociraptor or Tyrannosaurus, may actually have looked different from how they are usually imagined.
Until the mid-20th century, these ancient reptiles were seen as sluggish and clumsy animals. But then researchers found that dinosaurs led a very active lifestyle. This radically changed the perception of them, and Jurassic Park, released in 1993, helped confirm this opinion.
Over the past 20 years, new discoveries in China and the use of modern technologies the idea of what dinosaurs looked like no longer seems so reliable even in relation to the most studied reptiles. As it turned out, many of them had plumage all over their bodies.
Velociraptor
At the end of the last century, paleontologists suggested that dinosaurs from the velociraptor family were feathered. Researchers increasingly came across the remains of an early representative of this species - a dromaeosaurid with full wings.
2007 brought a big sensation. American researchers have discovered feather landing sites on the forearm bones of the remains of a velociraptor. This discovery was further convincing evidence that the reptile was winged.
Indeed, the depiction of the Velociraptor in Jurassic Park was heavily altered. In fact, the dinosaur, enlarged to the size of an adult in the film, was no larger than a regular turkey.
Archeopteryx
History shows this animal as a transitional link between reptiles and birds. But new discoveries have revealed that Archeopteryx may actually be the predecessor of Velociraptor. Disputes between followers of the two theories have been going on for several decades.
Archeopteryx is considered one of the earliest species of dinosaurs, but this is rather arbitrary. According to English paleontologist Steve Brusett, it is impossible to accurately create an evolutionary tree that includes birds and reptiles.
Triceratops
This huge dinosaur is one of the most popular among lovers of ancient reptiles. But even they, as it turned out, are not so well studied.
In 2009, researchers John Scannella and John Horner published an article that made a sensational assumption. In their opinion, Triceratops was a small version of the less studied Torosaurus. Since then, there has been heated debate about which dinosaur was larger.
Brontosaurus
This dinosaur is shown in Jurassic Park as a huge, lumbering beast with a very long neck. But for a century, all scientists thought that in fact it never existed.
The first time the remains of a brontosaurus were presented to the public, it was just a fake. In fact, it was an artificial composition consisting of the skeleton of an Apatosaurus and the head of a Camarasaurus.
But in 2015, new studies were conducted. They showed a significant difference between the fossilized remains of Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus. This indicated that this reptile could indeed exist. The difference between these two species is mainly in size.
Tyrannosaurus
The bloodthirsty image of this most feared predator of the Jurassic period is also under threat. As the feathered revolution in paleontology progressed, some researchers wondered whether Tyrannosaurus rex had feathers. Until recently, more than 50 fossilized T-Rex skeletons were carefully examined, and nothing like this was found on any of them.
But in 2004, a primitive tyrannosauroid covered in feathers was found in China. In 2012, another sensational discovery was made - the discovery of Yutyrannus. This predator, being a relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, was covered with long feathers. So it’s worth thinking about the real appearance of the most terrible predator of all time.
Stegosaurus
At one time there were many different speculations around this dinosaur. According to one opinion, the stegosaurus had an additional brain in the pelvis, since the main thinking organ located in the tiny head could not cope alone. In fact, glycogen, necessary for energy regulation, could be located in this cavity in the reptile.
There were also different opinions around the supposed plates on the back of the stegosaurus. According to the most common one, these were a kind of “solar panels” to regulate the body temperature of a cold-blooded reptile. But there is no evidence for this version. It is also believed that spines and plates helped stegosaurs identify fellow tribesmen and identify opponents.
Pachycephalosaurus
Although this dinosaur is not one of the most popular reptiles of the Jurassic period, it is well known for its head, which it used as a battering ram.
Typically, representatives of this species are described as predators constantly fighting with the help of hard foreheads.
In fact, paleontologists strongly doubt this use of the hard skull of Pachycephalosaurus. Having studied the structure of the skull tissue, the researchers came to the conclusion that such a shield on the head would not have been able to cope with a really strong blow. Most likely, it was intended to attract the attention of individuals of the other sex during mating games.
Ankylosaurus
This dinosaur looks like a medieval heavy knight thanks to its thick armor plates located throughout its body. Even the most deadly fangs of a Tyrannosaurus rex could not overcome this defense.
As it turns out, it's not a matter of thickness. Thanks to the research of German paleontologist Torsten Scheyer, it turned out that the armor of the ankylosaur was quite light and thin. Its strength lies in a special complex combination of collagen and bones, reminiscent of materials such as Kevlar or fiberglass.
According to Scheier, this shell structure allowed it to be extremely strong in all directions. So the ankylosaur is more reminiscent of a modern soldier in a bulletproof vest than a knight in armor.
Spinosaurus
This dinosaur played a key role in "Jurassic Park" - it was the one that the writers chose for mortal combat with a tyrannosaurus. The choice was clear - the Spinosaurus, with a length of more than 15 meters, is almost three meters longer than the T-Rex. At the same time, the reptile has a long jaw studded with sharp teeth, and on its back there is a fancy crest.
The structure of the Spinosaurus remained a mystery until recently, since its existence was evidenced by fragments of skeletons found in desert areas North Africa. In 2014, American paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim discovered new remains of this reptile. They made it possible to say definitively: Spinosaurus is the only known aquatic dinosaur. It had small hind limbs suitable for swimming and a crocodile-like nose, and its body structure resembled early amphibians.
Pterosaur
In fact, these birds of prey are not dinosaurs at all, but this fact is often forgotten. Pterosaurs, or pterodactyls as they are most often called, are one of the groups of flying reptiles. Moreover, their sizes were completely different.
The largest pterosaurs were azdarchids - winged giants, equal in height to giraffes. Their wingspan is truly impressive - up to 10 meters. They can safely be called the most big birds of all times.
At the same time, there were also very tiny pterosaurs. Thus, the wingspan of a non-mycolopter was only 10 centimeters.
They might still be alive... somewhere. On another planet, in a distant galaxy. Or on our planet, but with a planet identical to ours - only your neighbor is a triceratops, not a police officer. It's fun.
It's worth noting that there are most likely no secret Spielbergian places on Earth where dinosaurs roam in secret (at least there is no convincing evidence of this). But this does not mean that there are no creatures around us - if not dinosaurs themselves - whose ancient relatives were these extinct animals. Before we get to the living fossils around us, let's discuss the latest rumors of dinosaurs being seen somewhere in nature.
The first will be Megalodon, a huge monster that lives in the seas. It is related to the modern and very living mako shark, but can grow up to 15 meters with a bite force greater than that of a Tyrannosaurus rex. In 2014, everyone was very happy when they showed it on TV documentary about the existence of megalodon in the ocean. And everyone was happy because, with the exception of paleontologists or scientists, almost no one doubts that megalodons are extinct. Megalodon tooth remains have been discovered, but none were younger than 1.5 million years old.
As with the megalodon, there are always rumors on the topic Bigfoot And Loch Ness monster, they say, these could also be dinosaurs. But in the case of this one, we can say that no one has ever found any evidence that they are genetically related to animals from the Jurassic, Triassic or Cretaceous periods. And in general, no evidence of their existence was found. There are also the Mokele Mbembe, who some believe still roam the jungles of central Africa. Although expeditions are still being undertaken to search for this Apatosaurus-type amphibian, they all quickly end. It seems that this 11-meter modern dinosaur does not exist in principle.
However, there are real dinosaurs in our backyard. Don't forget that birds either share a common ancestor with dinosaurs or evolved alongside them - some managed to survive the mass extinction around 66 million years ago. The fossilized remains of an anteater, 55 million years old, were found, and it also remained almost unchanged. And if you really want to find an ancient swimming animal in the ocean and you're not sold on the mythical megalodon, turn to the elephant shark. It is the slowest evolving mammal we know: the elephant shark has remained unchanged for 420 million years - 200 million years before the first dinosaurs even appeared.
