Oldest Animal Species

Goblin Shark - 125 million year old

Goblin sharks are among the most terrifying creatures to behold, and for that reason, we're glad they
dwell at the bottom of the ocean and rarely stray from there. That's why humans have so infrequently laid eyes on these beasts, even though they've been on Earth for as long as we have and much longer. A live goblin shark was caught in Japan in January 2007, but it died within days. Still, scientists were able to examine the specimen and learn much about this rarely encountered living fossil.

Tadpole Shrimp - 250 million years old

Although tadpole shrimp have been on Earth for more than 200 million years, they are classified as

an endangered species. Will they end their long run of existence before today's generations of humans? Maybe not. In 2010, scientists discovered a unique trait that gives these animals a shot at continued survival. It seems their eggs can lie dry and dormant for extremely long periods and still create new life when rehydrated. Said Dr. Larry Griffin from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, "Now that we know how this curious creature survives, we have realised that there's a good chance there are more populations out there."

Horseshoe Crab - 450 million years old

Horseshoe crabs are among the most well-known of "living fossils," having remained virtually
unchanged for an astonishing 445 million years on Earth. Canadian scientists found a new horseshoe-crab fossil that dated that far back in 2008. Although the creatures were already considered one of the oldest living animals on the planet, the new fossil proved that they were a full 100 million years older than we previously knew, and yet still the same today as they were all the way back then.

Nautilus - 500 million years old

Half a billion years. That's how long the nautilus has called our planet home, surviving all the major
mass extinctions that hit the reset button on life throughout the globe. But now the nautilus is in danger of becoming extinct. Why? Because humans like cool shells. People harvest the nautilus because they prize their unique spiral shells and use them for decoration. But we've over-fished them nearly to extinction. In places where a person used to be able to catch hundreds per day, now only one or two may be caught.