The oldest existing fish. The oldest living fish is the coelacanth
Ancient coelacanth fish
Modern scientists consider the lobe-finned fish, which was called coelacanth or coelacanth, to be the most ancient fish on Earth. This fish is considered a transitional stage in the evolution from fish to amphibians: its ancestors “crawled” onto land from the depths of the sea during the Devonian period. Everything came from them existing species land vertebrates. There is plenty of evidence that these fish lived millions of years ago. This is confirmed by fossils dating back to 350 - 200 million years, but in the earth's strata about 60 million years old, the fossilized remains of these fish disappear. Scientists believed that coelacanths finally became extinct during the Cretaceous period. However, this turned out not to be the case.
The appearance of fish in modern times
To the great joy of the researchers, the fishing trawler "Nerin" at the end of December 1938 caught a strange fish, as if it had sailed from ancient times. This happened in the Chalumne River bed in Southeast Africa. The fish was caught at great depths. The trawler captain reported the unusual catch to the East London Local History Museum. After carefully studying the fish, scientists came to the conclusion that this was a specimen of the prehistoric fossil coelacanth fish. The fish was dissected and a stuffed animal was made from it. In honor of the head of the museum in East London, who first described this fish, Miss Marjorie Courtney-Latimer, and the place where the fish was caught (the town of Chalumna), it was named Latimeria chalumnae. We now know this fish as the coelacanth.
Live specimen
Over the next years, scientists, despite all their efforts, were unable to catch at least one more specimen of coelacanth. Only in 1954 were several fish caught at once, one of which was even kept alive for a long time. This fish was caught at a depth of 255 meters by a fisherman named Zema ben Madi near one of the Comoros Islands. To date, more than 20 coelacanths have already been caught, and we can say that ichthyologists have studied this fossil fish quite well.
What is she like?
Its length can reach 1.8 meters, weight – up to 95 kg. Despite such impressive dimensions, the fish’s brain weighs only 3 grams. The body of the fish is covered with very durable scales, the fins resemble limbs, they are also protected by scales. The fish has unusually sharp teeth. Coelacanth lives only near the Comoros Islands (between Madagascar and Africa) at a depth of up to 400 meters.
Earth - amazing planet. There is a countless variety of life forms on it, both relatively recent and very ancient. Here is a list of the oldest living things on Earth that will definitely make you feel young.
10. Martialis heureka
Age: 100-120 million years
This rare Amazonian animal has been dubbed the "ant from Mars" because it looks and behaves completely differently than any other species of ant. This is one of the oldest animals on Earth, according to various estimates, it appeared from 100 to 120 million years ago.
Martialis heureka live in the soil and do not have eyes, but nature has endowed them with numerous hair-like projections on the body. They help these strange ants sense vibrations and pressure changes in the surrounding soil.
9. Frilled Shark
Age: 150 million years
One of the oldest living members of the shark family. In 2007, a frilled shark was caught near Tokyo, which is very strange, because usually these predators live at a depth of 600-1000 meters. Scientists assumed that the female was sick, which is why she rose to the surface. The caught shark, despite careful care, lived only 2 days.
Special chemical and physiological adaptations allow the frilled shark, which is more like a snake or an eel, to survive at depths where not only humans, but also many marine inhabitants have no access.
8. Shchitni
Age: 200 million years
Perhaps one of the distant great-great-great (and many, many more “great-great”) great-grandfathers of these freshwater crustaceans saw a living dinosaur with his own eyes. Or the only continent at that time - Pangea.
The scutum is a very small animal, 2 to 4 millimeters long, that can survive even in the harshest geological conditions. Scuttlefish eggs can lie dormant for several years until conditions are right for hatching. And even the cannibalism inherent in shield insects could not destroy this species.
7. Sturgeon
Age: 200 million years
These largest freshwater fish are found in North America and Eurasia and are one of the oldest species of animals belonging to the class of bony fishes.
However, due to the production of expensive black caviar, which has an exquisite taste, sturgeon fish are under threat of destruction. Over 15 years the livestock sturgeon fish in the Caspian Sea alone it decreased by 38.5 times
6. Coelacanth
Age - 360-400 million years
This ancient fish is one of the rarest and most endangered fish in the world. For a very long time it was believed that the coelacanth was an extinct species, but in last years these fish were discovered in the Indian Ocean.
Giant coelacanths grow up to 190 cm in length and live at a depth of about 100 meters. They have electrosensory organs that help detect the presence of prey, and the structure of the lobed fins is unique and not found in any other modern fish.
5. Horseshoe crab
Age - 230-450 million years
This strange crab, looking more like a facehugger from Aliens when turned upside down, was a contemporary of the most ancient dinosaurs. Despite its name, the horseshoe crab (aka horseshoe crab) is not a crab, but an arachnid. Its closest relatives were trilobites.
The body of the horseshoe crab reaches 60 cm in length and consists of two sections: the cephalothorax and abdomen. Both parts of the back are protected by a powerful shell, greenish-gray in color. Excellent camouflage against the background of silt. And on the tail needle there are spiny protrusions that help the horseshoe crab balance in the water during strong currents. The tail is also needed to “plow” the seabed in search of food and as a lever if the horseshoe crab suddenly capsizes. Alas, it does not always work.
This amazing creature swims funny - belly up, using its own shell as a boat.
4. Nautilus
Age - 235-500 million years
One of the last representatives of a very old group of mollusks. According to various estimates, this cephalopod appeared on Earth from 500 to 235 million years ago and is older than many species of dinosaurs. Thus, the nautilus is rightfully called a living fossil.
Its beautiful spiral shell could probably arouse the envy of modern cephalopods, deprived of such a luxurious shelter. Fortunately, this feeling is unfamiliar to them.
About 90 small tentacles, arranged in a circle around the mouth, help the nautilus to catch prey and repel attacks from enemies.
3. Medusa
Age - 505-550 million years
It is the most primitive aquatic animal (after the second most ancient animals on Earth). A jellyfish never has a headache, because it has neither a brain nor nervous system, but there are primitive digestive and sensory organs.
90% of a jellyfish's body is made up of water, giving it a clear, jelly-like appearance. But don’t be fooled by its apparent harmlessness. Many types of jellyfish are poisonous. And the most dangerous of them is the box jellyfish. Its venom can kill an adult human and many large animals almost as quickly as. Moreover, the victim dies within 2 to 15 minutes from severe painful shock or cardiac arrest. The box jellyfish is also known as one of the most transparent animals on planet Earth.
2. Sponges
Age - 580 million years
Who lives at the bottom of the ocean? These are sponges - one of the most primitive animals that are similar to plants.
They are nothing more than an aggregation of cells and have no internal organs or body parts. Sponges live in sea and fresh water. Some of the most famous types of sponges are corals. There are about 8 thousand species of sponges in the world. So SpongeBob, the famous cartoon character, has a huge number of living relatives with a very ancient pedigree.
1. Cyanobacteria
Age: 3.5 billion years
You've never seen this tiny bacterium, but it's one of the top 10 living organisms that have existed the longest on Earth. And it is precisely this that is one of the reasons why life on our planet became possible. Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are probably the first living organism to appear on Earth. It is a photosynthetic microorganism that lives in large colonies and produces oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Thanks to their activities, according to scientists, an “oxygen catastrophe” began - a change in the composition earth's atmosphere. This process began about 2.4 billion years ago and caused the restructuring of the biosphere and the global Huronian glaciation.
Today, cyanobacteria are one of the main sources of oxygen in the world. And thus support the existence of all other oxygen-breathing life forms.
The world's oldest animals that are still extant when most of their counterparts are long extinct are called living fossils. Studying these animals gives scientists more information about the evolution and successful survival strategies used in the animal kingdom.
Largest freshwater fish
Som In the 19th century. V Russia a common one was caught catfish (Silurus glanis) length 4.6 m and weight 336 kg. Nowadays, any freshwater fish whose length exceeds 1.83 m and weighs 90 kg is already considered large.
Smallest freshwater fish
Pandaka The smallest and lightest freshwater fish is the dwarf pandaka (Pandaka pygmaea). This colorless and almost transparent fish lives in lakes about. Luzon, Philippines. The body length of males is 7.5-9.9 mm, and the weight is only 4-5 mg.
Smallest game fish
Sinarapan (Mistichthys luzonensis), a species of goby that is endangered and lives only in Lake Buhi. Luzon, Philippines. Males are only 10-13mm in length and it takes 70,000 fish to produce a dried fish block weighing 454g.
Oldest fish
Eel In 1948 from an aquarium Helsingborg Museum, Sweden, reported the death of a female European eel (Anguilla anguilla) named Patty, who was 88 years old. She is believed to have been born in 1860 in the Sargasso Sea, North Atlantic, and was caught somewhere in the river when she was 3 years old.
The oldest goldfish
Goldfish There have been numerous reports from China of goldfish - goldfish (Carassius auratus) living for more than 50 years, but only a few of these reports can be considered reliable.
The most valuable fish
Beluga The most expensive fish is the Russian beluga (Huso huso). A female weighing 1,227 kg, caught in the Tikhaya Sosna River in 1324, produced 245 kg of the highest quality caviar, which would cost $200,000 today.
Carp Far Eastern carp (C. Carpio) 76 cm long, champion of the most prestigious nationwide Japanese koi shows (koi is the Japanese name for carp) in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980, was sold in 1982 for 17 million yen. In March 1986 this ornamental carp was purchased by Derry Evans, owner of the Kent Koi Centre, near Sevenoaks, c. Kent, UK, price not announced; After 5 months, the fish, which was 15 years old, died. She was made into a stuffed animal.
A fish that can climb a tree
Pineapple Pineapple, or creeper fish, native to South Asia, is the only fish that comes onto land and even climbs trees. She walks the earth in search of a more suitable habitat. Pineapple gills are adapted to absorb oxygen from moist atmospheric air.
The smallest toad
Black-breasted toad The smallest toad - black-breasted toad (Bufo taitanus beiranus), living in Africa. The largest specimen was 24 mm in length.
The smallest frog
Cuban dwarf The smallest frog and at the same time the smallest amphibian - Cuban dwarf (Sminthyllus limbatus), living in Cuba; length reached full development individuals from the tip of the muzzle to the anus is 0.85 - 1.2 cm.
The biggest toad
Yeah, the largest known toad - yeah (Bufo marinus), living in tropical zone South America and in Australia. The weight of an average-sized specimen is 450 g. In 1991, according to measurements, the weight of a male of this species, named Prince, owned by Haken Forsberg from Akers Stickebroek, Sweden, was 2.65 kg, and the length from the tip of the muzzle to the anus was extended - 53.9 cm.
The largest frog
Goliath frog Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), caught in April 1989 by a resident of Seattle, PC. Washington, USA, by Andy Coffman in the Sanaga River, Cameroon, weighed 3.66 kg.
Today the oceans are home to many scary creatures- these are man-eating sharks, and huge squids, and mysterious deep sea fish. But all the same, the creatures found in the depths of the waters did not come close in their parameters to those giant creatures that lived in the seas of the past.
Then you could meet huge sea lizards, monster sharks and even dangerous killer whales. If today marine life appears to us mainly as a source of food, then in those days man himself would have become food. Below we will tell you about the 10 most scary monsters who lived in the oceans in prehistoric times.
This creature is obviously the most famous on the list. Its name itself translates as “big tooth”. Many people would have a hard time even imagining a fossil shark the size of a school bus. Popular science sources like the Discovery Channel help, which, with the help of computer technology revived the monster. The shark was 22 meters long and weighed about 50 tons. It was one of the most large predators for the entire existence of the Earth. The bite force per 1 square cm was up to 30 tons. Although it seems that such a creature lived during the age of dinosaurs, megalodons lived on the planet 25-1.5 million years ago. Hence, giant sharks missed the last dinosaurs by about 40 million years. By the way, it is quite possible that megalodons managed to meet the first ancestors of people. Megalodons lived in warm oceans, hunting whales. But after the start of the ice age in the Pliocene, currents and ocean temperatures changed. Under the new conditions, the giant predators could no longer exist. Today, their closest relatives are considered to be white sharks.
These animals were typical pliosaurs, representatives of the Jurassic period. They were first described from a single tooth found in France in 1873. At the end of the same century, a skeleton was also found. These were creatures from 6 to 25 meters long, with a large narrow head. Scientists believe that it could reach a length of 4 meters! The huge teeth reached half a meter. The creature swam with the help of huge flippers, rising to the surface for air. It could dive for a long time and deeply. Scientists based on the remains modeled the body of Liopreurodon. It turned out that he was not so much fast as very flexible. The sea dweller made quick leaps, attacking prey. There is no doubt that Liopreurodons were viviparous - such sizes simply did not give them the opportunity to crawl ashore to lay eggs.
Despite his unusual look, this creature is not a reptile at all. This is a whale, and by no means the scariest on our list. Basilosaurs are the predatory ancestors of modern whales. They reached 21 meters in length and lived on the planet 45-36 million years ago. In those days, basilosaurs inhabited all warm seas planet, being one of the most large predators. The whale actually looked more like a giant snake, as it had a long, sinuous body. His victims were large creatures, including dorudons. Today, just the fantasy of swimming in the ocean, where the alligator-snake-whale creature lives, can kill interest in water procedures for a long time. The physical characteristics of basilosaurs suggest that they lacked the cognitive abilities of modern whales. They did not have echolocation, and practically did not dive to great depths. They also had virtually no social skills; the whales were loners. As a result, the monster was quite primitive and could not pursue its victim if it got out onto land.
The name of this creature doesn't sound too scary. Meanwhile, it was one of the largest arthropods of all time. Cancer scorpions lived 460-250 million years ago, reaching a length of 2.5 meters. Only their claw was up to half a meter long. In those days, the oxygen level in the atmosphere was higher, which was the reason for the appearance of giant cockroaches and scorpions. Scorpio remained a sea dweller, although many of its relatives in those days began to explore land. These creatures became extinct before the dinosaurs; now it is not even clear whether they were truly poisonous. However, the structure of their tail resembles the structure of the same part of the body in scorpions, which makes it possible to assume the attacking function of the tail.
These animals belong to the duck-billed dinosaurs. They lived on the borders of water and land. Maiasaurs could jump into the water to escape predators. These creatures reached 7-9 meters in length, their weight was about 2-3 tons. Maiasaurs lived 80-73 million years ago. Using a flat, wide, toothless beak, the animals plucked vegetation or collected algae. Maiasaura's neck consists of many vertebrae, implying its flexibility. There was a small ridge on the skull. The hind legs were strong, supporting the weight of the body. Mayasaurs could defend themselves with the help of their powerful tail. The animals laid eggs, and babies about half a meter in length emerged from the eggs. Maiasaurs lived in herds, as evidenced by big number skeletons found next to each other.
This creature can be called a real carnivorous tank. Ferocious Predator reached a length of 10 meters, and its body was covered with plates that acted as armor. There is an explanation for this - dunkleosteus hunted both their fellows and other predators. They did not have bones in the usual sense; their role was played by sharp bony ridges, like those of a turtle. But the bite force was 8,000 pounds per square inch, which is comparable to a crocodile bite. The predator's skull was equipped with powerful muscles, which made it possible to pull food inside like a vacuum cleaner in a fraction of a second. The advantage of dunkleosteus was that the jaws were powerful and fast. The hunter opened his deadly jaws at high speed, capturing his prey with tremendous force. Almost none of the inhabitants of the ocean at that time had a chance to escape. Dunkleosteus was the most dangerous monster in the ocean at that time. These armored fish lived 415-360 million years ago.
This pliosaur is one of the most famous to the public and the largest in this family. For a long time there was debate about the true size of this inhabitant of the depths. As a result, scientists proved that Kronosaurus reached a length of 10 meters. Moreover, only the skull reached 3 meters. The massive mouth contained a profusion of teeth, up to 11 inches long. Kronosaurus became famous as the “king of the ancient seas” and even the “T-rex of the ocean.” It is no coincidence that the name of the predator was given in honor of Kronos, the king of the Greek titans. Kronosaurus lived in the southern polar seas, which could have been quite cold in those days. For the first time, the remains of an animal were found in Australia. The animal's flippers are somewhat reminiscent of a turtle's. Perhaps kronosaurs crawled ashore to lay their eggs. You can be sure that no one dug their nests, so as not to anger the formidable predator. Kronosaurus lived about 120-100 million years ago.
The length of these sharks reached 9-12 meters. Moreover, their uniqueness lies in the possession of a dental spiral on the lower jaw. Such a formation could reach a diameter of 90 centimeters. A cross between a buzz saw and a shark, it was a real sea horror. The animal's teeth were serrated, implying it was carnivorous. It is not clear where the spiral was located - in the front of the mouth, or deeper. The last option involves a different diet, a softer one (jellyfish). The structure of the body remains unknown. But the fact that Helicoprion was a rather smart creature is beyond doubt. The predator was able to survive the Triassic extinction, possibly due to its habitat in the deep layers of the ocean.
This ancient predator was something between the current killer whale and an ordinary sperm whale. In 2008, the remains of a whale were found that had been hunting other whales. Its teeth were the largest for eating of any animal. Although elephant tusks are larger, this is not what they are designed for. The diameter of the teeth was 12 centimeters, and their length was 36. The body of the ancient sperm whale was up to 17.5 meters long. Interestingly, the sperm whale lived about 13 million years ago, which means it competed in the ocean for prey with megalodon. The head of the predatory whale reached 3 meters in length, there are signs that it contained echolocation organs, like modern toothed whales. Therefore, in conditions muddy water The leviathan could navigate effectively. The animal was named after Leviathan, the biblical sea monster, and also in honor of Herman Melville, the author of the novel “Moby Dick” (it featured a giant sperm whale).
This fish has reached 5 meters in diameter, and it is also poisonous. The stingray is strong enough to pull a boat with people on it. In this case we are talking about a prehistoric super-fish, whose descendants are still hidden in fresh and brackish waters Mekong River and northern Australia. No one here is surprised by two-meter stingrays weighing three centners. These fish are already several million years old, the structure of their body has allowed them to stay alive. Giant fish were able to survive even glacial period. For its size and unusual appearance, the stingray received the name “ sea devil" In the front of the body there are small eyes, behind them are gills and a toothed mouth. Interestingly, there is a sensitive area on the skin around the mouth and nose that allows the stingray to detect electrical and magnetic fields other living beings. This makes it much easier to find food. The freshwater predator has terrible weapon- 2 powerful and sharp spikes on the tail. The largest of them acts as a harpoon, easily entering the victim and being held inside by the barbs. The force of the impact is so great that even the bottom of the boat cannot withstand it. The length of the spike reaches 38 centimeters. The second spike is smaller, it is intended for injecting poison. This substance is deadly to humans. The stingray feeds on fish, shellfish and invertebrates. Female stingrays are viviparous.
Do you know which animals have survived on our planet since ancient times? These mysterious creatures not only survived various cataclysms, but to this day continue to successfully prolong their lineage. and here is the first of them...
10. Hagfish
Judging by the fossilized remains, Hagfish existed more than three hundred million years ago, which automatically means that they inhabited our planet even before the first dinosaur set foot on it.
These animals are found in deep waters and are sometimes also called eels, which is fundamentally incorrect, since they have nothing to do with eels.
And that's not the whole point: the whole point is that Hagfish isn't even a fish. There are many things associated with this creature interesting facts: For example, having a skull, Hagfish does not have a spinal cord, but does have a second brain. Unclosed circulatory system has a main heart and three additional ones. They have virtually no vision, since their eyes are covered with skin, and they feed at night. However, they cannot be called completely blind - there are light-sensitive cells around the Hagfish cloaca. Hagfish is a pronounced predator, feeding on weakened animals falling to the seabed, into whose bodies it bites, eating out the entrails and muscles, using its powerful tongue with horny teeth. Sometimes they feed on worms.
Hagfish are a family of about 15 species. Fish are distributed in temperate and subtropical waters of the World Ocean.
Due to the fact that Hagfish is covered with a huge amount of unique type of mucus, no fish living in the same Hagfish biotope is able to harm, especially in light of Hagfish’s ability to tie itself in a knot. In other words, whether other marine life likes it or not, natural enemies Hagfish on the seabed do not. It lives in tropical and temperate waters of the world's oceans. Hagfish is part of the jawless family and is considered a living fossil. For the entire subphylum of vertebrates, this strange animal is considered basal. Hagfish has a fairly large body length - up to seventy centimeters. It is distinguished by its survivability and can live for a long time without water, go hungry and remain alive even despite receiving serious injuries.
9. Lancetfish
The origin of this natural wonder is clearly prehistoric. Its more official name is Big-Headed Alepisaurus. It looks like a fierce predator armed with sharp teeth and equipped with a sail on its back that surprisingly resembles the back of a dinosaur. However, this is only an apparent similarity. In fact, this “sail” is just an enlarged dorsal fin. Despite this, even scientific name consonant with the names of giant lizards (Akepisaurus ferox).
The literal translation of the name Lancetfish means large-scale lizard. This animal reaches two meters in length and sometimes even more, and the alepisaurus weighs up to nine kilograms. It has been seen in tropical and subtropical waters in all oceans.
During migrations, adult individuals can reach temperate and even subarctic waters, swimming even to the areas of Greenland, Iceland, Kamchatka and the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. It can live at a depth of up to two kilometers. Unfortunately, alepisaurs have not been studied enough, but it is known that individuals that have not reached sexual maturity are hermaphrodites. Regarding adult individuals, there is currently no reliable information about their functional hermaphroditism.
8. Arowana
Arowana refers to such prehistoric sea life like Osteoglossids. This type of sea creature lived back in the Jurassic period. Currently, fish of this species have been found in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Amazon. IN Lately Arowana began to be captured and preserved as aquarium inhabitants. This fish is an extremely greedy and voracious predator that devours any small animals, which include even the bats and birds, which Arowana manages to catch in flight. This ability is explained by the fact that Arowana can jump out of the water to a height of about two meters. In China, this fish is called the “dragon fish” because of its external resemblance to this character from Chinese mythology. In China they believe that good luck awaits the person who encounters this fish.
7. Frilled Shark
This sea predator is one of the most ancient primitive sharks that have survived to this day. This species appeared back in the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs ruled on land and beyond. These sharks were discovered quite recently. The length of their bodies reaches two meters. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced and the length of females is greater than the length of males. Frilled Shark lives at great depths and its diet is based on squid. These sharks do not pose any danger to humans and the majority of Frilled Sharks, fortunately, never see a person in their entire lives. Accordingly, these sharks are seen extremely rarely. In most cases, encounters with these fish are limited to scientists or fishermen noticing and recording dying or dead individuals that float to the surface of the ocean.
6. Sturgeon
Another prehistoric species that has survived to this day is the sturgeon. There were sturgeons already in Jurassic period(85-70 million years ago) and are known to the general public for being one of the main sources of black caviar. They are of great interest to science because they represent the subfamily of shovel-nosed animals (Scaphirhynchinae).
Representatives of this species are found, on the one hand, in the territory of Central Asia, and on the other, in North American territories, which gives reason to see in the living sturgeons the remnants of a very widespread species in former times. aquatic fauna. Currently, the sturgeon is under threat of complete extinction and is listed as such in the Red Book. Most major representatives sturgeon can reach a length of six meters in length.
The weight of individual individuals reached one and a half tons. There have been reports of individuals weighing two tons. Despite the fact that their size is approximately the same as that of most white sharks, sturgeons feed on small animals that live on the seabed and do not pose any danger to people. Characteristic feature sturgeon are its spiked scales located in rows along the sides and back, which makes this fish look like a knight. The similarity is enhanced by an elongated conical snout, reminiscent of a spear lowered to attack.
5. Arapaima
It is a close relative of the Arowana mentioned above. As many scientists suggest, the Amazonian Arapaima is the largest freshwater fish on our planet. If you believe the descriptions, the length of this fish can reach four and a half meters, but it is very difficult to verify this statement, since it is currently extremely difficult to find an adult Arapaima. To date, average length this fish is two meters.
Hosted by Arapaima predatory image life, feeding mainly on crustaceans and small fish, although on occasion they can eat everything that can fit in their mouth. Arapaima moves quite slowly and has such interesting ability like the ability to exhale oxygen, just as animals from the cetacean family do. Arapaima does not pose any danger to humans, however, despite this, this unique species, like many others, is on the verge of extinction. These fish appeared in the Miocene period, but the subspecies it belongs to (Osteoglossidae) appeared on Earth much earlier.
4. Sawfish
The first representatives of this species appeared on Earth back in the Miocene period. Surprisingly, the sawfish has managed to survive to this day and can be found in rivers or at the bottom of the sea. Externally, the sawfish looks like a shark and reaches seven meters in length. The main weapon used by this predatory fish, is a sensory organ covered with sensitive pores, thanks to which the sawfish is able to hunt successfully, despite the fact that its eyesight is very poor. In most cases, sawfish are completely safe for humans and do not show any interest in them, but if aggression is shown on their part and they feel threatened, they may attack.
Judging by the fossils found, giant prehistoric sawfish formed the basis of the diet for the largest predatory dinosaur of all times - Spinosaurus. This assumption is made based on the fact that a tooth belonging to this fish was found in the vertebra of a giant sawfish. to a huge dinosaur.
3. Alligator Gar
This huge, scaly carnivore has been found in the southern United States and in eastern and northern Mexico. Despite its name and appearance, Alligator Gar is a fish that lives in fresh waters, although in some cases it can swim into sea waters. Alligator Gar can reach four meters in length and weigh up to two hundred kilograms.
This fish got its name due to its long jaws equipped with two rows of teeth, and its appearance very similar to that of a reptile. The Alligator Gar is an extremely bloodthirsty predator that prefers to ambush its prey when hunting. According to unconfirmed sources, Alligator Gar can attack humans, although no fatal attacks by this fish have been recorded to date. It must be said that Alligator Gar is one of the most ancient species of fish that live on our planet. The origins of Alligator Gar can be traced back to the Cretaceous period and may go back even further.
2. Polypterus Senegalus
When they talk about this inhabitant of the territory African continent fish, it is often mistakenly called a dinosaur. The reason for this confusion is the appearance worthy of a large reptile and the dorsal jagged fin, which only enhances the resemblance to the terrible giant lizards. Currently, Polypterus Senegalus is being caught for subsequent sale to aquarists, among whom keeping these exotic fish in an aquarium has become a fairly popular hobby.
Fortunately, this does not yet pose any threat to their population, since Polypterus senegalus is a fairly agile fish that is not easy to catch. Polypterus Senegalus is a fairly tenacious fish. For example, they are able to live without water for quite long periods of time and the only thing they need for this is for their skin to remain moist. When the skin dries out, the fish dies.
1.Coelacanth
Coelacanth is a real star today scientific world. This is not at all surprising, since it has every right to be considered the most famous species of fish that has inhabited our planet since the prehistoric period and, accordingly, has the right to first place in this list, since for a very long period of time it was believed that representatives of this genus have long been extinct, leaving the waters of our planet. However, in 1938, the coelacanth was rediscovered.
Previously, it was believed that coelacanths became extinct in Cretaceous period along with dinosaurs, however, discovery in South Africa in 1938, a living specimen of this marine inhabitant turned the ideas of paleontologists upside down. Since then, enough has been discovered a large number of coelacanths both in the western Indian Ocean, centered near the Comoros Islands, and near Indonesia, where the eastern population of coelacanths of a different species lives.
The coelacanth's usual habitat is dark, deep waters, which has allowed them to remain undetected for a long time. Fortunately, the meat of this fish has a terrible taste and smell and is therefore not used as food anywhere. However, despite this, the population of coelacanths is under threat of extinction, since these already few fish are caught for the purpose of sale to collectors and because of the alleged healing properties coelacanth.
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