The most ancient animals in the world have survived to this day.
Our planet has been inhabited by millions of living beings since prehistoric times. Many animals died out, some radically changed their appearance, some survived to the present day, retaining their original appearance.
Which animals are the most ancient inhabitants of our world?
Crocodiles
The most ancient animals on Earth, surviving to this day, are crocodiles. They appeared on our planet in the Triassic period, about 250 million years ago and almost did not change their appearance.
Crocodiles belong to the group of aquatic reptiles. These are large predatory animals, reaching in length from 2 to 5 meters. They live in rivers and lakes, in the coastal part of the seas of tropical countries. They feed on fish, birds, small animals, but attack large animals and even humans.
Female crocodiles lay 20 to 100 eggs on land, covering them with earth, and guarding the masonry from enemies. When the crocodiles hatch from the eggs, the female carries them into her mouth into the reservoir. Crocodiles grow their whole life and live up to 80 - 100 years. Crocodile meat is edible and is eaten in some tropical countries.
In Japan, Cuba, the USA, Thailand, crocodiles are bred on special farms. Skin crocodiles are used in the haberdashery industry, they make bags, suitcases, saddles, belts and shoes.
Hatteria or Tuatha
Another amazing animal that has survived to this day, dwells in New Zealand - it's a hatteria or a Tuatha - a representative of the order of the beak-headed ones. This species of reptiles appeared on Earth 220 million years ago. The life span of the hatteria is 60 years, but some individuals live more than a hundred years.
Hatteria has greenish-gray scaly skin, and on the back there is a jagged crest, so the locals call this animal -tutara, which means "prickly".The Tuatha has short paws with claws and a long tail. On the sides of the head, there are large pupils of the eyes, on the upper side of the head there is a parietal eye, the so-called third eye, covered with skin.
This animal looks like an iguanas with its appearance, weighs 1.3 kg, the body length reaches 78 cm. Likes to settle in the petrel's house and lives with it in one hole, goes out hunting at night, swims well.
At the age of 15 to 30 years, females once every four years postpone from 8 to 15 eggs, from which in 12-15 months small hatch- ers hatch.
Hatteria reproduce very slowly and are an endangered species, listed in the Red Book and strictly protected by law.
Platypus
Platypus is another representative of ancient animals that has survived to the present day and almost did not change its appearance. The ancient platypus appeared on our planet 110 million years ago and was smaller in size than the modern one.
Platypus is a waterfowl, the mammal class belongs to the single-pass unit, dwells in Australia and is the symbol of this country.
The body of the platypus is 30-40 cm, the tail is flat and wide - 10-15 cm long, resembles the tail of the beaver, weight is up to 2 kg. The body of the platypus is covered with dense soft fur, dark brown on the back, and greyish-red on the abdomen. The head is round with a flat soft beak 65 mm long and 50 mm wide. The beak is covered with elastic naked skin, stretched over two thin long arc-shaped bones.
In the oral cavity there are cheek pouches in which food is stored. On short five-fingered paws there are swimming membranes that help the animal to row in the water, and when the platypus leaves on land, the membranes are bent, and the claws are exposed to the outside and the animal easily moves over the land and can dig burrows.
Female platypus lays 1 to 3 small eggs, only 1 cm in size, incubates eggs and after 7-10 days the naked, blind, 2.5 cm cubs with teeth are hatching, the teeth are retained until the female feeds the platypus milk, then the teeth fall out. Duck-billed platypuses grow slowly and live up to 10 years, eat mollusks, crustaceans, worms, swim and dive well, live in burrows, one by one, sometimes fall into a short hibernation for 5-10 days.
Echidna
Echidna is also the oldest animal that survived to our days and for 110 million years of its existence almost did not change its appearance. Modern echidna live in Australia and on the islands of New Guinea and Tasmania.
This is a small animal, like a hedgehog, all in needles. Hence the name "Echinos" - in translation from Ancient Greek means "hedgehog".
Echidna is a mammal from the detachment of single-pass. The animal's body is about 30 cm long. The back and sides are covered with large yellow-brown needles, the tail is small, only one centimeter in length, also covered with a bundle of small needles. Echidna have short, but rather strong limbs with large claws. The lips have a beak-like shape, the mouth is small, the teeth are missing, the tongue is long, sticky. With the help of the tongue, echidna catches ants and termites, which are crushed in the mouth, pressing their tongues against the palate. Echidna live in burrows that dig themselves, lead a nocturnal lifestyle, sleep during the day, swim well.
Once a year, females lay one egg each in size with a large pea, with a soft shell and move his bag, which appears on her belly. A hatched cub is left in the mother's bag for up to 55 days until the needles grow and feed on milk, licking it with a long tongue from the surface of the mother's skin. Then the female digs a hole for the cub, where it leaves him one to seven months old, returning every 5 days to feed him with his milk.