The deeper you dive into the ocean waters, the more you will explore the rarely-seen creatures living in the extreme depth. The study of fossil records depicted that many deep-sea creatures went extinct for millions of years. But as time passes, the environmental conditions changed, which provides a comfortable habitat to the ancient species, which begin to live deep in the sea. The existence of the prehistoric species deep in the sea has helped researchers to learn more about them in detail. Scroll down
Prehistoric Deep-Sea Creatures That Are Still Alive Today
The recent analysis of the deep sea by researchers shows that many species that went extinct in the past years are living there. Some of the recorded species are enlisted below:
1: Helicoprion
The Helicoprion is a shark-like fish that have lived in the coastal waters of North America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Australia. The fossils records of Helicoprion showed that they lived in the open waters for about 290 million years. They are approximately 33 to 39 feet in length. Recently, a specimen of the Helicoprion has been seen in the Idaho waters and is about 18 inches in length.
2: Ammonite
Ammonite belongs to a class of cephalopods that went extinct long ago. The fossil records show that they appeared in the Devonian period, about 66 million years ago. Their soft body makes them active swimmers and has recently been seen living in the depth of the ocean.
3: Megalodon Shark
Megalodon is the biggest known species of shark that ever lived in ocean water. Environmental factors such as changes in climatic conditions, loss of habitat, and shortage of food supply led to the extinction of species millions of years back. Recently, in the waters of Cortez especially near the deepest part of the oceans, researchers have seen a monster shark living there.
4: Wobbegong Shark
Wobbegong Shark is a common species of the tropical waters of the Pacific region, which have been known to live about 11 million years ago, but in the last past few years, these creatures are known to live in the deep waters.
5: Pygmy Right Whale
The fossils records of Pygmy right whales show that they have lived in the ocean waters for about 23 million years ago, and due to their exceptional feeding habitat and reproductive mode, the species are still alive today, commonly in the cold water of the Southern Hemisphere.
6: Frilled Shark
The frilled sharks are the most ancient species of sharks that have an approximate history of 80 million years. It was thought to be one of the extinct species of sharks but recently a single specimen of the frilled shark is sighted deep in the waters. Researchers are still trying to find out the exact locality of the highly migratory species.
7: Coelacanth
The is an extinct fish that have been known to live about 360 million years ago. But interestingly, the species have been rediscovered in 1938 deep in the ocean along the coastal waters of South Africa. However, they are not studied extensively as they have been rarely sighted.
8: Horseshoe Crab
It is the oldest species of crab that lived on the Earth. The study of fossil records shows that they have been living since the Ordovician period, about 445 million years dated back. Today, along Delaware Bay, millions of them have been seen without even a minor change in their appearance.
9: Lamprey
Lamprey is a parasitic fish that is known to live through four major extinctions, about 360 million years ago. They were once thought to be gone extinct but today in the Atlantic waters, the species have been sighted again. Some studies suggested that the reason for their existence is that they have a remarkable healing ability, which helps them to live for so long.
10: Leedsichthys
The fossil record of Leedsichthys shows that they had been common in the ocean waters in the Middle Jurassic period. It is known to be the largest ray-finned fish that ever lived in the extended waters. Recently, researchers have sighted 50 feet large specimens in South American waters.
Conclusion
Other than fishes, many other creatures are living in the ocean and seas that were thought to be extinct once. Their fossil records have been studied which shows that they lived in the ocean millions of years ago. But today, many of these deep-sea creatures are living in the deepest part of the ocean, providing researchers with a new pattern to study the extinct species once again.