There are two main reasons crocodiles survived the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. First, crocodiles can live for a very long time without food. Second, they lived in places that were the least affected when the asteroid hit Earth.
Alligators & Crocodiles: These sizeable reptiles survived–even though other large reptiles did not. Birds: Birds are the only dinosaurs to survive the mass extinction event 65 million years ago.
It is believed that due to the combination of slow incubation and the considerable resources needed to reach adult size, the dinosaurs would have been at a distinct disadvantage compared to other animals that survived the asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago.
Crocodiles
Well, crocodiles share a heritage with dinosaurs as part of a group known as archosaurs (“ruling reptiles”), who date back to the Early Triassic period (250 million years ago). The earliest crocodilian, meanwhile, evolved around 95 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period.
Crocodiles have cold-blooded metabolisms, which means they were able to live for long periods of time in severe darkness, cold, and with very little food.
There are two main reasons. First, crocodiles can live for a very long time without food. Second, they lived in places that were the least affected when the asteroid hit Earth.
Surviving crocodiles did not change throughout millions of years because they arrived at an equilibrium where they were efficient and versatile enough that they did not need to evolve to exist, reports the Conversation.
In fact, birds are commonly thought to be the only animals around today that are direct descendants of dinosaurs. So next time you visit a farm, take a moment to think about it. All those squawking chickens are actually the closest living relatives of the most incredible predator the world has ever known!
In an evolutionary sense, birds are a living group of dinosaurs because they descended from the common ancestor of all dinosaurs.
For approximately 120 million years—from the Carboniferous to the middle Triassic periods—terrestrial life was dominated by the pelycosaurs, archosaurs, and therapsids (the so-called "mammal-like reptiles") that preceded the dinosaurs.
DNA breaks down over time. The dinosaurs went extinct around 66 million years ago and with so much time having passed it is very unlikely that any dinosaur DNA would remain today. While dinosaur bones can survive for millions of years, dinosaur DNA almost certainly does not.
For many years, climate change was the most credible explanation for the dinosaurs' demise. Dinosaurs thrived in the planet's consistently humid, tropical climate. But in the late Mesozoic Era that corresponds with the extinction of the dinosaurs, evidence shows that the planet slowly became cooler.
If they didn't die, but instead kept evolving, they may have developed even bigger brains and keener senses. And given millions of years of evolution, perhaps they would have taken the path of primates, eventually developing tool use, sophisticated communication, and even complex societies.
Tardigrades have been around a long time.
Fossils date their existence on Earth to more than 500 million years ago. This means tardigrades have survived the planet's last five mass extinction events. They owe their longevity to some special characteristics.
How did sharks survive five mass extinction events? There is no single reason sharks survived all five major extinction events - all had different causes and different groups of sharks pulled through each one. One general theme, however, seems to be the survival of deep-water species and the dietary generalist.
Today there are at least 11,000 bird species. But with such a close relationship to the extinct dinosaurs, why did birds survive? The answer probably lies in a combination of things: their small size, the fact they can eat a lot of different foods and their ability to fly.
Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
Cassowaries are ratites, a group of large, flightless birds that includes ostriches, emus, kiwis, and others. The southern cassowary may be the closest living relative to dinosaurs on Earth.
No! After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth.
Birds are the only dinosaurs left. That might seem strange. A pigeon or a penguin doesn't look much like a Tyrannosaurus. But the connection is still there, all the way down to the bone.
Humans never lived with dinosaurs like the T-rex, but only birds. Modern humans are much younger and have only evolved recently, around 300,000 years ago.
The Komodo dragon is a living dinosaur and the world's largest lizard. Komodo dragons can grow up to 3-4 metres in length and weigh over 100kg. Found on the Indonesian island of Komodo, there is a stable population of about 3,000 to 5,000 Komodo dragons in the wild.
That said, two mammals that have undergone the fewest evolutionary shifts are the platypus and the opossum, says Samantha Hopkins, associate professor of geology at the University of Oregon.
Peds unanimously agree that Crocs are especially bad for younger children's developing feet. When they can't feel the ground, children are not only at a greater risk for falls and injuries, but also neurological and intrinsic muscle impairments that can lead to foot issues later in life.
They lack overall stability, can fall off the feet fairly easily when working out, and lack adequate foot protection.