Many people think that Dinosaurs were the only creatures to roam the land during their time, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Many animals alive today were alive when dinosaurs roamed the earth. They just survived what Dinosaurs couldn’t
THE SEA LAMPREY
Among the most primitive of all vertebrate species, the sea lamprey is a parasitic fish native to the northern and western Atlantic Ocean.
Because of their similar body shapes, lampreys are sometimes inaccurately called “lamprey eels.” Unlike “bony” fishes like trout, cod, and herring, lampreys lack scales, fins, and gill covers.
Like sharks, their skeletons are made of cartilage. They breathe through a distinctive row of seven pairs of tiny gill openings behind their mouths and eyes.
But the anatomical trait that makes the sea lamprey an efficient killer of lake trout and other bony fishes is its disc-shaped, suction-cup mouth, ringed with sharp, horny teeth, with which it latches on to an unfortunate fish.
The lamprey then uses its rough tongue to rasp away the fish’s flesh so it can feed on its host’s blood and body fluids. One lamprey kills about 40 pounds of fish every year.
Sawfish
The sawfish has been around for 56 million years. Despite their shark-like form and manner of swimming, they are rays.
These large- to huge-sized rays are characterized as having an elongate blade-like snout that has laterally placed tooth-like denticles set into sockets.
Sawfish inhabit all coastal tropical and subtropical waters, including estuaries and river systems. Sawfish developed from extinct primitive sharks. Sawfish are some of the largest rays living today.
The large-bodied species, which include the small-tooth, large tooth, and green sawfish, commonly reach 16.4 feet. We believe the maximum length of sawfish to be 24 feet.
The rostrum, often referred to as the “saw”, is used during feeding and for defense. It slashes its saw in a side-to-side motion to dislodge invertebrates from the substrate and to stun schooling fishes.
In addition, the sawfish can use its saw in defense against large predators such as sharks. Humans are too large to be viewed as potential prey.
Care must be taken when handling or approaching a sawfish of any size, as they may defend themselves when they feel threatened, using their rostrum to strike from side-to-side with considerable force.
Sounds like the aquatic version of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”!
