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One of the cutest and cuddliest creatures in the world, the red panda is actually of no relation to the panda bear. They are part of a unique family of animals, of which they are the only surviving member. Red pandas have been lounging around the forested mountains of Nepal and China for an estimated 25 million years, based on fossil records. |
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Alligator gars have remained virtually unchanged by evolution for the past 100 million years, since the early Cretaceous period. Apparently, no change has been necessary, as they have been a thriving species for all of that time, and even today are in no danger of extinction or endangerment. |
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Brachiopods are some of the oldest and, at one time, most populous invertebrates on the planet. According to the available fossil records, brachiopods first appeared over 500 million years ago, and shortly after became the most common shelled creature in the sea. They remained dominant until the Permian mass extinction, which occurred around 250 million years ago. While they managed to hold on, brachiopods have yet to return to their former glory. |
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The coelacanth fish has truly made the comeback of the epoch. With the earliest fossils of a coelacanth dating back more than 400 million years ago, these ancient fish were thought to have gone extinct during the late Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago. That is until, in 1938, scientists discovered that the coelacanth had survived in seclusion the entire time. |
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Horsetail plants are considered living fossils, as they have gone through little to no evolutionary change for their entire existence. Horsetails can be found nearly everywhere in the world, excluding most of Oceania and all of Antarctica. They first appeared in the early Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago. |
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It's no secret that sharks are some of the oldest fish in the ocean, but cow sharks are especially old and have remained virtually unchanged for their entire existence, which stretches nearly 200 million years. Unlike most modern sharks, cow sharks have seven gill slits on each side of their body, a characteristic shared with the most ancient progenitors of sharks. |
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Certainly one of the most unnerving creatures in the sea, lampreys are also some of the oldest. These primitive, bloodsucking fish have been around for at least 360 million years, according to the available fossil evidence. |
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The oldest multi-organ creatures to exist are still thriving in the depths of the ocean today. As of 2007, the oldest jellyfish fossils discovered date to over 505 million years ago. Some scientists speculate that they may have existed as early as 700 million years ago. |
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Sorry to disappoint you Keith . . . THAT was not fun. It was the old hurry up and wait syndrome. The good news is I did not get picked to serve on the jury of a murder trial. I wanted no part of that one. Went into "pseudo-lawyer" mode and at one point accused the defense lawyer of "stacking the deck" with his analogies.
So I am off the rest of the week. If they want me to show up again, they will send me another e-mail (by Monday) as I am still on call until the 20th. Daytime Updates will continue tomorrow |
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