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Sharks have been around for hundreds of millions of years, appearing in the fossil record before trees even existed. But what did they evolve from, are they 'living fossils', and how did they survive five mass extinctions?
Originating from a time before dinosaurs walked the earth, the earliest shark scales date back about 425 million years, and the earliest shark teeth are from the Devonian Period, about 410...
Sharks are hardly newbies on our planet. As a group, they have existed for at least 450 million years, surviving four of the "big five" mass extinctions, including the catastrophe that...
450 million years ago, during the Silurian period, sharks first began developing as a unique species. During that time, the ocean was filled with a variety of bony fish. One of these fish, the Acanthodian, was the very first ancestor of the modern shark.
Long before dinosaurs walked the Earth, sharks were roaming the oceans. Their legacy has been traced back at least 420 million years which is quite amazing. They have been able to evolve as needed to continue surviving.
Their fossil record predates most animals, including all land animals (dinosaurs included), trees, and even insects! They have survived all 5 major mass extinctions, including the Permian one that wiped out most life on Earth. Since sharks are made of cartilage, they do not preserve very well.
Yes, sharks did exist during the time of dinosaurs. They have been swimming in the world’s oceans for over 450 million years and survived five global mass extinctions. Sharks are ancient creatures that evolved long before dinosaurs walked on land.
After the dinosaurs (and their aquatic cousins) went extinct 65 million years ago, prehistoric sharks were free to complete their slow evolution into the remorseless killing machines we know today.
In fact, sharks and their relatives were the first vertebrate predators on Earth. Shark fossils date back more than 400 million years — that means sharks managed to outlive the dinosaurs, survive mass extinctions, and continue to serve an important role near the top of underwater food chains.
Having swum in the world’s oceans for over 450 million years and survived five global mass extinctions, sharks are ancient creatures that evolved long before dinosaurs walked on land. It wasn't until the Jurassic and the Cretaceous that sharks started to look more like the sharks that we see today.