Animals that coexisted with dinosaurs and still live today

True living fossils

According to studies dinosaurs dominated our planet for at least 230 million years, and the most accepted theory about their extinction was declared by Luis and Walter Alvarez, who in 1980 wrote a scientific article where they explained that a meteorite was the cause 66 million years ago, crashing in Yucatan Mexico. Considering this theory, let us see what species of animals lived those terrible scenes and are still with us:

1-Sturgeon fish.- This fish lives in the northern hemisphere, Asia, Europe and North America. It has an elongated body with bony structure, lacks scales and can grow to a large size, 2 o 3 meters on average, most of the surgeon species live in rivers an very few in the oceans. The surgeon is a species threatened today by overfishing, its eggs are considered a delicacy. Fossils of different species of surgeon have been found dating from the Triassic period, between 208 and 245 million years ago. Which indicates that it is a totally prehistoric species.

In the image, sturgeon fish, strangely shaped, elongated and that can grow up to 4 meters, a true planet's ecological ancestor.

These animals lived with dinosaurs and still they are with us

2- Horseshoe Crab.- It really is an arthropod (elongated invertebrate animals) with a grotesque appearance They live on the coasts of the sea, in low an sandy areas of North America and Asia, the fossils found of these beings date back more than 240 million years ago, that is, a living fossil and can be considered older than the dinosaurs.

3- Nautilus.- This species is a marine mollusk, a cousin of squid and octopus, only that it is covered by a shell. It swims by propulsion, nautilus ingests water between its shell and its body to be able to expel itself and have movement. According to studies of Nautilus fossils, it has been determined that its existence dates back more than 500 million years ago. Unfortunately Nautilus is in decline due its shell is highly prized in the jewelry industry.

4- Gar fish.- Although in reality this fish is not related to lizards or crocodiles, its appearance is very similar, elongated head, sharp teeth, hard scales. They grow to great size (350 punds of weight on average), and are founded in the rivers of North America. According to studies, this species appeared more than 157 million years ago.

The gar fish for thousands of years has been consumed by humans, ecological authorities of the different countries where this fish lives have established regulations for its capture.