15 Photos of Today’s Animals Compared to Their Prehistoric Ancestors

Millions of years ago, unknown creatures walked, ran and lived on our Planet, and the appearance of many of them would be perfectly appropriate for a new film in the Jurassic Park franchise.🇧🇷 Over time, evolution made “adjustments” to the bodies and behavior of such species, so that their descendants today would probably be afraid of the “great-great-grandparents”.

we, from awesome.club, we were curious to know what the distant relatives of many modern animals looked like. But a warning: be careful not to get scared when you see the genealogy of your darling and cute pets!

The ancestors of cats looked very different from what cats do today. Their ancestors, the myacids, were more similar to mustelid mammals of the genus mars and lived in trees, descending to the ground only in search of food. In fact, these prehistoric animals are the ancestors of not only felines, but also dogs, bears, and even seals.

As is known, the largest aquatic mammal on the planet is the blue whale, whose length can reach 25 m. Few people know, however, that the ancestor of the sea giant was the size of a raccoon (the indohyus) and this creature was not only terrestrial, but also a vegetarian. Over time, the indohyus’ body shape changed dramatically, and in order to hide from predators, the animal often needed to find shelter in the water.

The friendly and cuddly raccoons are related to one of the creepiest creatures to ever inhabit the Earth, the hyenodonts. It is known that the length of these fearsome animals could reach 4 m and that their teeth had the ability to self-sharpen.

Goats and sheep have always been considered some of the most lovable and domesticable animals there are. However, it is highly unlikely that its ancient relative was willing to cooperate with humans. The immense andrewsarchus was once considered the largest predator of mammals, weighing up to a ton.

Archelonians were true giants of the animal kingdom and weighed as much as today’s elephants. Although giant tortoises have been extinct for over 60 million years, it is still possible to find larger-sized specimens in the Indian Ocean and off the coast of North America. But of course they are more “current” species. Scientists say that these giants are unlikely to have survived the age of dinosaurs.

Sloths didn’t get their name for nothing: these slow, affectionate animals actually spend most of their lives sleeping. Its giant ancestors are believed to have had the same characteristic of slowness. But they were giants. Megatheria were not only as large as today’s elephants, they also weighed over 4 tons.

The extinct ancestors of “piggy Babe” were majestic creatures, who hunted using their sharp fangs and limited intelligence. Killer pigs, as they were also known, roamed the open plains of China, Europe and even North America for millennia.

The prehistoric relative of all modern boa and anacondas, the gigantic titanoboa, came to inhabit the territory of Latin America. The length of 13 m and an astonishing weight, however, did not prevent this animal from having a surprisingly “peaceful” personality. It is known that this giant snake fed exclusively on fish.

Opossums are small animals that inhabit regions of North and South America. They are often kept in zoos, which is unlikely to be the case with their prehistoric ancestor, the thylakosmilus. This animal’s keen hearing compensated for its relatively poor eyesight, and its upper tusks grew throughout its life. Perhaps because of its unusual appearance, rumors arose that this ancient creature could have survived to the present day: from time to time, similar animals are supposedly sighted in Africa, South America and even in the regions near the Sea of ​​Azove. .

Many years ago, the diprotodon, or giant wombat, was one of the most unusual representatives of the Australian fauna. These animals were as large as modern hippos and weighed up to three tons. The descendants of these vegetarian giants are koalas, which for a long time were considered relatives of bears.

Sharks have long been considered some of the most dangerous aquatic predators in the world. But their ancestors were perhaps even more terrible creatures. The prehistoric giant shark was as big as a five-story house and its physiology allowed it to live even in rivers.

The distant relative of today’s rhinos, the paraceratherium even appeared in some legends and ancient tales in Eurasia, as its habitat natural was the region between China and the Balkans. These fabulous creatures have also been represented in the cinema: the combat vehicles in the saga Star Wars were almost entirely inspired by the image of these prehistoric mammals.

It is perhaps hard to believe that the ancestors of horses could have had trunks. However, this trait was present in the distant relatives of today’s ponies, donkeys and zebras: Macrauchenia had a very strange appearance, even when compared to thylacosmillas and diprotodons.

The prehistoric ancestors of giraffes, the Samoterians, lived in what is now Ukraine and Moldova. However, these creatures did not have such a long neck. It was only during the process of evolution that this striking feature of giraffes emerged. It is believed that males with longer necks received more attention from females.

The Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the most famous dinosaurs, largely due to its cinematic representation in the iconic film Jurassic Park. And while the giant’s appearance bears little resemblance to that of a bird, the DNA of this legendary “monster” shares many similarities with that of today’s chickens. Believe it or not, scientists are seriously discussing the possibility that the prehistoric-era threat on Earth was a feathered creature.

Now tell us: which transformation did you find most surprising? We are curious!