What Animals Are The Closest Living To Dinosaurs

70 one thousand thousand years agone, Tyrannosaurus male monarch was the scariest dinosaur around. Today, it's extinct only like any other dinosaur, but there still are some animals roaming the World that are connected to those aboriginal species.

From soaring birds to pond crocs, we've constitute x living species that call dinosaurs their (groovy-groovy-nifty-great-cracking-not bad-great) grans and grandads.

one. Chickens

Who are you calling chicken? Birds descended from a group of two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods, the members of which include the powerful predator Tyrannosaurus rex and the smaller Velociraptors.

Hang on, the T-king was 1 of the largest and most fearsome creatures to have e'er exist, and so all its relatives must exist huge and terrifying also, right? Non quite! Fossil studies have found that the mighty T-rex actually shares quite a considerable amount of Deoxyribonucleic acid with modern-day chickens and, by extension, all birds. At present you'll never await at a apprehensive pigeon the same manner!

2. Crocodiles

Chomp on this fun fact: many animals that yous see today share some impressive connections with dinosaurs, including crocodiles – and you lot can actually see the similarities in their rubbery skin, their fierce teeth, and their claws!

Chickens may be the rightful descendants of dinosaurs, merely we also know that crocodilians like crocodiles and alligators share mutual ancestors with dinosaurs likewise. In fact, crocs as we know them today are actually pretty like to their ancient ancestors of the Cretaceous period (near 145-166 million years ago) – and to think that these creatures outlived the dinosaurs!

3. Ocean Turtles

Recent studies have shown that turtles vest in the group Archelosauria, along with relatives like birds, crocodiles, and – you guessed it – dinosaurs.

Turtles evolved alongside dinosaurs, with ocean turtles emerging as a distinct type about 110 meg years ago. All living species of bounding main turtle accept origins that tin be traced dorsum to ancient times; about 80 meg years agone, a genus of extinct body of water turtles called Archelon swam the oceans. Each one of these guys was over four metres long and measured at five metres wide from flipper to flipper – we're shell-shocked!

iv. Ostriches

Ostriches are whacky-looking creatures at the best of times, only did you know that they're very closely related to a species of dinosaur dating back to the tardily Cretaceous period? And, when you think about information technology, this makes sense – because ostriches do have something of a dinosaur wait about them.

Their overall size and shape are quite similar to that of a handful of dinosaur species, including the notorious velociraptor; even their talons are claw-similar. This remarkable bird, now native to the plains of Africa, has survived a whole host of extinction events, having walked the Earth for over 66 million years.

5. Snakes

When we think of dinosaurs, we imagine huge beasts roaming the World, but non every animate being was so unduly large. Indeed, footing level was a hive of activity, with one of the most prevalent animals existence 1 we're very familiar with today: the serpent.

Snakes have been around for millions upon millions of years, somehow slithering their way out of umpteen mass extinctions. And scientists can prove this, with the discovery of several fossilised snakes revealing that they've been around for over 140 1000000 years – that's twice as old as Mr T-Rex.

6. Sharks

Sharks may not look like your typical dinosaur, merely these iconic creatures of the deep take been around longer than almost any other animal on the planet – over 450 million years to be exact. That ways, the sharks we know and honey today are descended from creatures that were effectually millions of years earlier dinosaurs were fifty-fifty a concept. It's well-nigh impossible to fathom.

Of form, sharks haven't always looked like they do now; nor were they always this size. Fossils bear witness united states of america that sharks used to be much bigger, with the largest known species, the megalodon, being around the size of a blue whale!

7. Crustaceans

Crustaceans, such as venereal and lobsters, have shown some real staying ability over the centuries, with several species known to have been around since the fourth dimension of the dinosaurs. Indeed, many species of lobster predate dinosaurs past hundreds of millions of years, and they're 1 of the earliest known species of filter-feeders on record.

And, every bit with sharks, we know that modern crustaceans are much smaller than their great-great-great-nifty grandparents. Fossilised remains highlight some truly formidable specimens; we're not sure we would have been every bit keen to accept a dip during the time of the dinosaurs.

eight. Bees

Bees are one of the most important creatures to inhabit planet World, and they've done so successfully for a lot longer than you might wait. Inquiry shows that bees emerged during the Cretaceous menstruum (approximately 60 million years ago), and then it'due south well-nigh certain they were buzzing from flower to flower when T-Rex roamed the wilderness.

What we do understand near bees, nevertheless, is that they aren't invulnerable to mass extinction events. Scientists believe their numbers were hitting on several occasions throughout history, though none were equally serious as the threat that they currently face through habitat loss.

nine. Duck-Billed Platypuses

It'southward non much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that duck-billed platypuses were effectually during the fourth dimension of the dinosaurs. These odd-looking creatures, native to eastern Australia, are a truly unique animal, whose only other related species are those plant in fossilised remains dating back millions of years.

We're non certain how platypuses survived the mass extinction which took care of their forebears, but we're certain happy to have them around. These unique critters are undeniably beautiful but sadly, their numbers are in turn down – with a 'Near Threatened' status on the Conservation Index.

ten. Tuatara Lizards

All lizards and reptiles are closely related to dinosaurs, but none more so than tuatara lizards. The last surviving fauna within the Sphenodontia family unit, these lizards, native only to New Zealand, were around when dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Tuatara lizards certainly look primordial, with dark dark-green scales, spiny backs and large, black eyes. These elusive chaps, which are classified every bit Vulnerable to Extinction, have been around for over 250 million years; it would be a shame to lose them now.

Nosotros promise you've enjoyed discovering some of the animals which really did walk with dinosaurs. Nature lovers young and old can encounter incredible marine life at Blueish Reef Aquarium Hastings. For information and tickets, visit the homepage or call our team today on 01424 718776.

Source: https://www.bluereefaquarium.co.uk/hastings/blog/news/10-living-descendants-and-relatives-of-dinosaurs/#:~:text=Crocodiles&text=Chickens%20may%20be%20the%20rightful,common%20ancestors%20with%20dinosaurs%20too.

Posted by: thomasthadvating.blogspot.com

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