From mammoths and saber-toothed cats to dinosaurs, prehistoric animals capture our imaginations. If you’ve ever wondered if any creatures from the prehistoric past somehow survived extinction and live on today, you’re not alone.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Although some ancient-looking animals like crocodiles and sharks have changed little over millions of years, there are no prehistoric animals from the Jurassic or earlier periods still alive today.

In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the world of prehistory and the fossil record to uncover which iconic prehistoric creatures went extinct long ago versus those ‘living fossils’ that have clung to existence and remain on Earth with us today.

Defining ‘Prehistoric’ Animals

The term “prehistoric” refers to the time period before written records. As such, prehistoric animals are species that were around before recorded human history. This covers an expansive period stretching back over 3 billion years when the first single-celled organisms emerged.

Most prehistoric species are long extinct, but there are a few “living fossils” still around from eras past.

The Prehistoric Timescale

The prehistoric timeline is divided into major chunks based on dominant species and events:

  • Precambrian: 4.6 billion years ago (BYA) to 541 million years ago (MYA) – Origin of first lifeforms
  • Paleozoic: 541 MYA to 251 MYA – Rise of fish, early land animals, insects
  • Mesozoic: 251 MYA to 66 MYA – Age of dinosaurs and other reptiles
  • Cenozoic: 66 MYA to today – Mammalian species become dominant

The crucial factor is that prehistoric species emerged prior to recorded history, which only began around 3,500 years ago. By one estimate, over 99% of all species that ever existed are now extinct, wiped out by catastrophic events over eons.

Mass Extinction Events

There have been five major mass extinction events that profoundly impacted life on Earth:

Extinction When Percentage of Life Lost
End Ordovician 443 MYA 86%
Late Devonian 372 MYA 75%
End Permian (“Great Dying”) 252 MYA 96%
End Triassic 201 MYA 80%
End Cretaceous (loss of dinosaurs) 66 MYA 76%

These catastrophic die-offs wiped out millions of species, though some managed to endure as “living fossils.” For example, goblin sharks, solitary corals, and even the coelacanth still exhibit similarities to their ancient ancestors.

While extraordinary, these organisms represent a minuscule fraction that escaped eradication. As to what other innumerable species might still linger from lost ages, exploring exotic environments could lead to exciting rediscoveries.

Well-Known Prehistoric Animals That Went Extinct

Non-Avian Dinosaurs

Non-avian dinosaurs, like the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex and Brontosaurus, ruled the Earth for nearly 135 million years until they went extinct around 66 million years ago. It is widely believed a massive asteroid impact triggered catastrophic climate changes, leading to the demise of all dinosaurs except some bird lineages.

Today, over 700 dinosaur species have been discovered and described from fossils, though many more undoubtedly existed.

Woolly Mammoths

Woolly mammoths were elephant-like creatures well adapted to Ice Age conditions with long, furry coats and large tusks. Mammoths originated about 5 million years ago in Africa and later migrated into northern regions of Eurasia and North America.

While climate change and hunting by early humans contributed, woolly mammoths had disappeared from most of their range by 10,000 years ago. Isolated populations survived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until just 4,000 years ago, outliving many other ice age giants by thousands of years.

Saber-Toothed Cats

Famous for their elongated fangs, saber-toothed cats like Smilodon were formidable predators that lived from about 42 million to 10,000 years ago across Africa, Eurasia, North and South America. While sometimes called “tigers,” saber-tooths were only distantly related to big cats alive today.

Measuring over 500 pounds, Smilodon hunted large herbivores like bison and mastodons before dying out amid changing climates and loss of prey species at the end of the last ice age.

Terror Birds

Imagine an ostrich-like bird standing over 8 feet tall with a massive, axe-like beak for attacking prey—meet the aptly-named “terror birds”! These menacing predators thrived in South America for tens of millions of years until a few giant species persisted until about 2.5 million years ago.

Titanis walleri was one of the last and largest terror birds, spreading into North America before the isthmus of Panama connected the continents, forever changing patterns of animal migration.

Glyptodon

Looking like a Volkswagen Beetle on four legs, the heavily-armored glyptodon was a 2,000-pound ancestor of armadillos. About the size of a small car when rolled into a ball, it had a spiked tail club that probably proved formidable against Smilodon or groups of human hunters.

Glyptodons originated about 30 million years ago in South America and lasted until the very end of the Pleistocene epoch, about 10,000 years ago. Their passing marked the end of many spectacular megafauna that inhabited southern continents throughout the ice ages.

Ancient Animals That Still Exist Today

Crocodilians

Crocodilians are the closest living relative of dinosaurs. Belonging to the order Crocodilia, there are 25 recognized modern species, including crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharials. Evolutionary speaking, crocodilians go back around 240 million years to the late Triassic period.

Despite competition and climate changes, crocodilians continue to thrive after exist for so long on Earth, making them unquestionably “living fossils”.

Nautiluses

The nautilus is a marine mollusk that lives inside a unique spiral-shaped hard shell made of calcium carbonate and protein. Nautiluses were once more common when dinosaurs roamed the earth 95 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

Today the nautilus is the last living genus from the once diverse nautiloid cephalopods, making it a remnant and “living fossil” of that lineage. There are only around 30 recognized living species of nautiluses, at risk from overfishing and poaching.

Horseshoe Crabs

The horseshoe crab dates back an astonishing 445 million years, even before dinosaurs. That prehistoric ancestry earned it the title “living fossil.” While not a crab or crustacean, these marine arthropods have a horseshoe-shaped hard shell and long spear-like tail, blue blood, and multiple eyes.

Four species exist today globally, with very little change over almost half a billion years of evolution. Horseshoe crabs may not win beauty contests but are ecologically vital. Their eggs fuel small coastal animals, and their blood is highly valuable in detecting bacterial contaminants in medical supplies.

Lungfish

Lungfish are freshwater fish that have the ability to breathe air using primitive lungs. They have existed pretty much unchanged for nearly 400 million years, back well into the Devonian period when the earliest land animals emerged.

Today just 6 species of lungfish remain across Africa, South America, and Australia. Lungfish can estivate in dried mud during droughts, going into a state of torpor or dormancy for years, or even decades while waiting for water.

That remarkable evolutionary adaptation is key to the species thriving for aeons relatively unchanged.

Coelacanths

Coelacanths look like ancient fossils come to life…because they essentially are! These unusual lobe-finned fish were thought extinct until surprise discoveries in 1938 off Africa and in 1998 around Indonesia.

Genetic studies confirm modern coelacanths are nearly identical to their fossil ancestors from a shocking 400 million years ago. These “living fossils” have many primitive features, including a hinged skull, oil-filled buoyancy bladder, small limbs with lobed fins, and metallic blue scales.

Coelacanths live deep offshore, only emerging at night, adding to the biological intrigue around this rare throwback.

Prehistoric Throwbacks vs Living Fossils

Defining Living Fossils

So called “living fossils” are creatures that have existed in their same form for millions of years. They have survived major extinction events and climate changes through geological time with minimal change to their anatomy.

A few examples include the coelacanth, horsetail plant, nautilus shellfish, and ginkgo tree. These types of species exist as relics of past eras, almost identical to what they looked like millions of years ago.

Animals With ‘Throwback’ Traits

Some modern animals exhibit “throwback” traits to extinct lineages. For example, the platypus is considered a throwback species because it is a mammal that lays eggs and produces milk like a reptile. The platypus is believed to retain this ancestral trait even as most mammals developed live births instead.

Another example is the hoatzin bird which has claws on its wings like archaeopteryx, an ancient dinosaur. The hoatzin is nicknamed a “living fossil” for its combination of reptile and avian features.

Key Differences

While animals with throwback traits have similarities to ancient lineages, there are key differences from actual living fossils. Living fossils have remained alive for millions of years with little morphological change.

Throwback species have unique blends of characteristics from extinct and modern groups, but they have still evolved over time. Additionally, true prehistoric survivors like mammoths or dinosaurs have all gone extinct. However some families like crocodiles or sharks trace their lineages back hundreds of millions of years even as new species emerged.

Will We Ever See Real Prehistoric Beasts Again?

Cloning Extinct Animals

Advances in genetic technology have sparked renewed interest in the possibility of cloning long-extinct animals like mammoths, dinosaurs, and woolly rhinos. While no extinct animal has been successfully cloned yet, scientists have made great strides in recent years.

In 2021, researchers were able to sequence the near-complete genome of the woolly mammoth using well-preserved specimens found frozen in Siberian permafrost. This breakthrough has brought scientists tantalizingly close to being able to recreate the DNA of extinct species.

However, many challenges remain. DNA tends to degrade over time, and viable mammoth cell samples have yet to be discovered. But with continuing improvements in genetic tools like CRISPR, de-extinction through cloning extinct animals may one day become a reality.

Rewilding and De-Extinction

Bringing back extinct species through advanced genetic engineering techniques is known as de-extinction. Many scientists are also exploring rewilding approaches that would reintroduce proxy species to ecosystems that have lost key species.

For example, rewilding projects have explored reintroducing modern relatives like elephants in place of the extinct woolly mammoth in Arctic tundra ecosystems. These approaches aim to restore lost ecological roles and dynamics.

Projects have already shown success in reestablishing natural grazing behaviors and promoting grassland regeneration. While proxy species lack adaptations of extinct creatures, their presence can still positively impact ecosystems.

Rewilding offers a more feasible near-term approach while advanced genetic techniques continue to progress.

Feasibility and Ethics

While de-extinction may one day be possible, many questions remain about the feasibility and ethics of bringing back long-lost species. Some concerns include animal welfare, ecological impacts, and unintended consequences of introducing novel organisms.

High costs and technical hurdles also pose challenges. However, responsible and ethical de-extinction or rewilding initiatives could offer conservation benefits. These approaches should aim to restore and strengthen fragile ecosystems harmed by biodiversity loss and extinction.

With careful oversight and planning, prehistoric species or their modern proxies may once again inhabit their ancient environments, helping foster healthier ecosystems.

Conclusion

While no actual dinosaurs or other extinct prehistoric beasts still walk the Earth today, plenty of fascinating creatures have changed little over millions of years, earning them the title ‘living fossils.’

And advances in science may one day make bringing back extinct animals a reality – though whether we should remains controversial.

The next time you marvel at an alligator gliding through swampy waters or a nautilus spiraling through the ocean depths, remember you’re catching a glimpse into our planet’s primordial past. Though most are long gone, some relics of bygone eras persist into the modern world, letting us explore prehistory firsthand.

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