The most terrible prehistoric inhabitants of the sea. The oldest living fish - coelacanth Primitive fish
largest freshwater fish
Catfish In the XIX century. in Russia common was caught catfish (Silurus glanis) 4.6 m long and weighing 336 kg. Nowadays, any freshwater fish that exceeds 1.83 m in length and weighs 90 kg is already considered large.
smallest freshwater fish
Pandaka The smallest and lightest freshwater fish is the pygmy pandaka (Pandaka pygmaea). This colorless and almost transparent fish lives in lakes about. Luzon, Philippines. The body length of males is 7.5-9.9 mm, and the weight is only 4-5 mg.
The smallest commercial fish
Sinarapan (Mistichthys luzonensis), a species of goby that is endangered and lives only in Lake Buhi about. Luzon, Philippines. Males are only 10-13 mm long, and it takes 70,000 fish to produce a 454-gram cake of dried fish.
The oldest fish
Eel In 1948 from the aquarium Helsingborg Museum, Sweden, reported the death of a female European eel (Anguilla anguilla) named Patti, who was 88 years old. It is believed that she was born in 1860 in the Sargasso Sea, North Atlantic, and was caught somewhere in the river at the age of 3.
The oldest goldfish
Golden crucian From China there have been numerous reports of goldfish - goldfish (Carassius auratus) living for more than 50 years, but only a few of these reports can be considered reliable.
most valuable fish
Beluga The most expensive fish is the Russian Beluga (Huso huso). A female weighing 1227 kg, caught in the Tikhaya Pine River in 1324, produced 245 kg of the highest quality caviar, which would cost $200,000 today.
Carp Far Eastern carp (C. Carpio) 76 cm long, champion of the most prestigious nationwide Japanese koi shows (koi is the Japanese name for carp) in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980, in 1982 was sold for 17 million yen. In March 1986, this ornamental carp was purchased by Derry Evans, owner of the Kent Koi Centre, near Sevenoaks, c. Kent, UK, price not disclosed; 5 months later, the fish, which was 15 years old, died. She was made into a stuffed animal.
A fish that can climb a tree
Anabas Anabas, or crawler fish, found in South Asia, is the only fish that comes out on land and even climbs trees. She walks the earth in search of a more suitable habitat. Gills of climbing perch are adapted to absorb oxygen from moist atmospheric air.
The smallest toad
Black-breasted toad The smallest toad - black-breasted toad (Bufo taitanus beiranus), living in Africa. The largest specimen was 24 mm long.
The smallest frog
Cuban dwarf The smallest frog and at the same time the smallest amphibian - Cuban dwarf (Sminthillus limbatus) living in Cuba; the length of a fully developed individual from the tip of the muzzle to the anus is 0.85 - 1.2 cm.
The biggest toad
Yeah, the biggest known toad - yeah (Bufo marinus), living in the tropical zone of South America and in Australia. The mass of a medium-sized specimen is 450 g. In 1991, according to measurements, the weight of a male of this species named Prince, owned by Haken Forsberg from Akers Stiekebroek, Sweden, was 2.65 kg, and the length from the tip of the muzzle to the anus in extended state - 53.9 cm.
The largest frog
goliath frog Goliath frog (Conraua goliath), caught in April 1989 by a resident of Seattle, pc. Washington, USA, by Andy Kofman in the Sanaga River, Cameroon, weighed 3.66 kg.
Here is a list (with photo) of ten prehistoric fish that were thought to be extinct. Feel free to mention in the comments the ones we have excluded.
Mixins
According to records, hagfish have been around for over 300 million years. These vertebrate predators feed mainly on fish, sometimes worms, live in relatively deep waters and reach a length of 45–70 cm. Mixins are very tenacious, can go without water for a very long time, starve for a long time and stay alive for a long time with extremely severe injuries. A case is described when a fish, being decapitated, continued to swim for another 5 hours.
alepisaurus
In ninth place in the ranking of prehistoric fish that were considered extinct is the Alepisaurus. Agree, it looks very much like a fish that lived in the time of the dinosaurs. Very little is known about their habitats, although they are widespread in all oceans except the polar seas. Alepisaurus can reach a length of up to 2 meters. It is considered very voracious - eat small fish and squid.
Aravans are a family of tropical freshwater fish found in the Amazon, and parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. They are voracious predators that feed on any small animals they can catch, including birds and bats (they can jump up to 2 meters). Often displayed in public aquariums and zoos.
The frilled shark looks more like a strange sea snake or eel than a shark. This rare predatory fish lives in the deep waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where it feeds mainly on squid and fish. They can reach a length of up to 2 meters (females are larger than males). The frilled shark is not dangerous to humans - most of these sharks spend their entire lives without seeing people.
The largest species of sturgeon can grow up to 6 meters long (like the largest representative of the white shark) and weigh up to 816 kg. They mostly stay close to the bottom, where they feed on small animals. It poses no danger to humans.
Arapaima
Arapaima - a tropical freshwater fish, is considered one of the largest freshwater fish in the world - the length is usually up to 2 m, but some individuals reach 3 meters, and the weight of the largest arapaima caught was 200 kilograms. It lives in densely overgrown waters in South America in the Amazon basin in Brazil, Guyana and Peru, where it feeds mainly on fish, as well as other small animals, including birds. An interesting feature of this fish is that it must come up to the surface every 5-20 minutes in order to get some air (like cetaceans). Considered one of the most dangerous creatures in the Amazon.
Sawfish rays
Sawfish rays are endangered and are found in the tropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, always near the coast, sometimes swim in the channels of large rivers. Sawfish rays are very similar in appearance to sawnose sharks, but compared to sharks, rays are much larger and reach up to 7.6 meters in length. Mostly peaceful, but if provoked, the stingray can become extremely aggressive and dangerous.
Mississippi cuirass
The Mississippi shell is a species of large predatory fish common in North and Central America. It is one of the largest freshwater fish (although sometimes wanders into the sea): reaches a length of 3-5 meters and weighs up to 150 kg. This is a voracious predator that can bite a young alligator in half with its jaws. To date, there are no confirmed, documented cases of human deaths from the attack of these fish.
In second place in the list of prehistoric fish considered extinct is the “Senegalese polyper” - a freshwater predatory fish common in Africa, which is relatively small - 50 cm long. It has very poor eyesight. The polypter hunts by smell and attacks all the fish that it can swallow. Also, this fish is often kept in aquariums.
Coelacanth
The coelacanth is the most famous of all "living fossils" and deserves to be number one on this list. These predators grow up to 2 meters and feed on small fish, including small sharks. They live in deep, dark waters off the east and south coasts of Africa and Indonesia. For 400 million years, coelacanths have not changed much. They are in danger of extinction.
We have already talked about strange, huge and very dangerous dinosaurs and others millions of years ago, but in fact some of these animals have survived to this day. Having undergone minor changes, or without changing their appearance at all, some of these creatures have perfectly taken root in the modern world. From fearsome descendants of deep-sea prehistoric sharks to a species of ant that has been around for 120 million years, today we bring you 25 prehistoric animals that still exist today.
25. Shields (Tadpole shrimp)
The shield shield, officially known as Triops longicaudatus, is a freshwater crustacean resembling a miniature horseshoe crab. It is considered a living fossil because its basic prehistoric morphology has changed little over the past 70 million years, exactly matching the bodies of their ancient ancestors who inhabited Earth as far back as approximately 220 million years ago.
24. Lampreys (Lamprey)
The lamprey is a jawless fish with a toothed, funnel-like sucker mouth. While there are well-known cases of them burrowing their teeth into the flesh of other fish to suck out blood, only a small number of the 38 known species actually do so. The oldest fossilized lamprey skeleton was found in South Africa and dates back to about 360 million years ago, but it certainly bears a striking resemblance to modern specimens.
23 Sandhill crane
Sandhill crane, endemic to North America and northeastern Siberia, is a large and heavy bird, weighing up to 4.5 kilograms. A 10-million-year-old fossil found in Nebraska is believed to be a sandhill crane, but scientists aren't sure if it's the same species. However, another fossil of the Sandhill Crane dates back to 2.5 million years ago.
22. Sturgeon
The sturgeon, which lives in the rivers, lakes and coastal waters of the subtropical, temperate and subarctic zones, is sometimes called a "primitive fish" because its morphological characteristics have remained virtually unchanged compared to the oldest fossil of this species found, approximately 200 million years old. Unfortunately, overfishing, pollution and other types of habitat destruction have brought this fish to the brink of extinction, with some species already on the brink of extinction.
21. Chinese giant salamander (Chinese giant salamander)
The Chinese giant salamander, the largest salamander and amphibian in the world, can reach a length of 180 centimeters. As a living member of the cryptobranch family (Cryptobranchidea) that appeared 170 million years ago, this unique creature is also considered critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution and overfishing, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
20. Ant from Mars (Martialis heureka ant)
This ant species was discovered in 2000 in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. It is notable for its unusual morphology. The ant from Mars, belonging to the oldest known distinct genus that branched off from the ancestors of all other ants, has been estimated to have been roaming our planet for approximately 120 million years.
19 Goblin shark
The goblin shark, which can grow up to 4 meters long in adults, is a rare and poorly understood species of deep sea shark. Its strange and scary appearance indicates that this creature has its origins in the prehistoric era. The first direct ancestors of the goblin shark lived on Earth 125 million years ago. Despite the intimidating appearance and large size, this type of shark is practically harmless to humans.
18. Horseshoe crab
Horseshoe crabs are marine arthropods that live mostly in shallow ocean water on soft sandy or muddy bottoms. Considered the closest relative of the legendary trilobite, the horseshoe crab is one of the best-known living fossils, having remained virtually unchanged for an astounding 450 million years.
17. Echidna
Along with the platypus, the echidna is the only surviving mammal that lays eggs. Scientific studies show that echidnas diverged from platypuses approximately 48 to 19 million years ago. Their common ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas have adapted to life on land. Because of her very unusual appearance, the echidna was named after the "Mother of Monsters" in Greek mythology.
16. Hatteria (Tuatara)
Tuataria endemic to New Zealand grow up to 80 centimeters in length and are distinguished by a spiny ridge along the back, especially pronounced in males. Although they look like modern reptiles and lizards, their body structure is believed to have remained the same for 200 million years. For this reason, the tuatara is of great interest for studying the evolution of both lizards and snakes.
15. Frilled shark
The frilled shark, found at depths of 50 to 200 meters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is another scary-looking marine animal. This species of shark belongs to one of the oldest lineages of sharks still in existence, having existed since at least the end of the Cretaceous (95 million years ago) and possibly even since the end of the Jurassic (150 million years ago).
14. Alligator snapping turtle
Vulture turtles, primarily found in the waters of the southeastern United States, are one of two extant genera of the Cayman turtle family, a prehistoric family of turtles with centuries of fossil history dating back to the Maastrichtian stage (72 - 66 million years ago) of the late Cretaceous period. Weighing up to approximately 180 kilograms, the vulture turtle is the heaviest freshwater turtle in the world.
13. Coelacanth
Coelacanth, endemic to the coastal waters of the Indian Ocean and Indonesia, is a genus of fish that includes two extant species of the approximately Latimeria family. Thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1938, these species are more closely related to lungfish, reptiles, and mammals than to common ray-finned fish. It is believed that the coelacanth evolved into its current form approximately 400 million years ago.
12. Giant freshwater stingray
The giant freshwater stingray, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, grows to almost 2 meters in diameter and can weigh up to 600 kilograms. Its thin, oval pectoral fin disc is estimated to have evolved around 100 million years ago. Like most of the animals on this list, this species is also on the brink of extinction due to overfishing and aquarium display, as well as habitat degradation.
11. Nautilus (Nautilus)
Found in the deep slopes of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and the western central Pacific, the nautilus is a pelagic mollusk. Fossils found show that this creature has lived on Earth for an incredible 500 million years, which means that it has survived several mass extinctions and big changes on the planet. But then again, right now this species is probably closest to being wiped out forever due to heartless human activity and over-harvesting.
10. Medusa
Jellyfish, found in every ocean from the surface to the deep, may have settled in the world's seas as early as 700 million years ago, making them the oldest polyorganic animals. The jellyfish is probably the only species on this list that may be increasing worldwide as a result of overfishing of their natural enemies. However, there are also some endangered species of jellyfish.
9. Platypus
This egg-laying animal with a duck's beak, a beaver's tail and otter's paws is often considered the strangest animal in the world. Not surprisingly, his appearance is rooted in the prehistoric era. While the oldest platypus skeletal fossil found by scientists so far is only 100,000 years old, the first platypus ancestor lived on the Gondwana supercontinent as early as 170 million years ago.
8. Long-eared jumper (Elephant shrew)
Widespread throughout southern Africa, long-eared jumpers are small, quadrupedal mammals that resemble rodents or opossums, but ironically more closely related to elephants. According to the fossil record, the first ancestors of this strange creature lived during the Paleogene period (66 - 23 million years ago).
7 Pelican
Surprisingly, these large, long-billed waterfowl are among the living fossils that have changed little since prehistory. The fossil record shows that the pelican genus has been around for at least 30 million years. The oldest fossilized skeleton, found in early Oligocene deposits in France, bears a striking resemblance to the modern form of a bird, with a beak morphologically identical to that of extant pelicans.
6. Mississippi Carapace (Alligator Gar)
Mississippi shellfish, one of the largest freshwater fish in North America, often referred to as "primitive fish" or "living fossils" due to the fact that they have retained some of the morphological characteristics of their earliest ancestors, such as a spiral valve and the ability to breathe and air and in the water. The fossil record traces the existence of the carapace to over 100 million years ago.
5. Sponge
It is difficult to measure exactly how long sea sponges have been on our planet, as estimates vary widely, but the oldest evidence for the existence of a sea sponge appears to be a 760-million-year-old fossilized skeleton recently discovered in stone.
4. Schelezub (Solenodon)
Slittooths are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing mammals. This small creature, endemic to several Caribbean countries, is often referred to as a living fossil because it has remained virtually unchanged over the past 76 million years, retaining the primitive mammalian characteristics typical of its prehistoric ancestors.
3. Crocodiles (Crocodiles)
Unlike the sandtooths and many of the other animals on this list, crocodiles really do look like dinosaurs. Including crocodiles, alligators, caimans, gharials and gharial crocodiles, this group appeared approximately 250 million years ago in the early Triassic period and their modern descendants still share many of the same morphological features of their distant ancestors.
2. Pygmy right whale
The pygmy whale, thought to be extinct until 2012 when it was rediscovered, is the smallest of the baleen whales. Since it is a very rare animal, little is known about its population or social behavior. What we do know for sure, however, is that the pygmy whale is a descendant of the Cetotheriidae, a suborder family of baleen whales that existed from the late Oligocene to the late Pliocene (28 to 1 million years ago).
1. Black-bellied disc-tonguing frog (Hula painted frog)
Even among the frogs, there are also living fossils. Like the pygmy whale, the black-bellied disc-tongued frog was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 2011. The frog was originally thought to have existed for only 15,000 years, however, based on phylogenetic analysis, it has been estimated that the last direct ancestor of the frog existed approximately 32 million years ago, making the black-bellied disc-tonguing frog the only extant member of the genus.
ancient coelacanth fish
Modern scientists consider the most ancient fish on Earth to be a lobe-finned fish, which they called coelacanth or coelacanth. This fish is considered a transitional stage of evolution from fish to amphibians: its ancestors "creeped out" on land from the depths of the sea during the Devonian period. All existing species of land vertebrates originated from them. There is plenty of evidence that these fish lived millions of years ago. This is confirmed by fossils dating back to 350-200 million years, but in earth layers about 60 million years old, the fossil remains of these fish disappear. Scientists believed that coelacanths finally died out in the Cretaceous period. However, this turned out not to be the case.
The appearance of fish in our time
To the great joy of the researchers, the fishing trawler "Nerin" at the end of December 1938 caught a strange fish, as if it had sailed from ancient times. It happened in the bed of the Chalumn River in Southeast Africa. The fish was caught at great depths. The captain of the trawler reported the unusual catch to the East London Museum of Local Lore. After a thorough study of the fish, scientists came to the conclusion that in front of them was a specimen of a prehistoric fossil coelacanth fish. The fish was dissected and made into a stuffed animal. In honor of the head of the museum in East London, who first described this fish, Miss Marjorie Courtney-Latimer and the place where the fish was caught (the city of Chalumna), it was named Latimeria chalumnae. Now we know this fish as coelacanth.
Live copy
Over the following years, scientists, despite all efforts, could not manage to catch at least one more copy of the coelacanth. Only in 1954, several fish were caught at once, one of which even managed to be kept alive for a long time. This fish was caught at a depth of 255 meters by a fisherman named Zema ben Madi near one of the Comoros. To date, more than 20 coelacanths have already been caught, and it can be said that ichthyologists have studied this fossil fish quite well.
What does she represent?
Its length can reach 1.8 meters, weight - up to 95 kg. Despite such an impressive size, the brain of a fish weighs only 3 grams. The body of the fish is covered with very strong scales, the fins resemble limbs, they are also protected by scales. The fish have unusually sharp teeth. Latimeria lives only near the Comoros (between Madagascar and Africa) at a depth of up to 400 meters.
Today, many terrible creatures live in the oceans - these are man-eating sharks, and huge squids, and mysterious deep-sea fish. But still, the creatures found in the depths of the waters in their parameters did not come close to those giant creatures that lived in the seas of the past.
Then you could meet huge sea lizards, shark monsters and even dangerous killer whales. If today marine life seems to us mainly as a source of food, then in those days the person himself would become food. We will tell below about the 10 most terrible monsters that lived in the oceans in prehistoric times.
This creature is obviously the most famous one on the list. Its name itself is translated as "big tooth". Many will find it difficult to even imagine a fossil shark the size of a school bus. Popular science sources, like the Discovery Channel, help to bring the monster to life with the help of computer technology. The shark was 22 meters long and weighed about 50 tons. It was one of the largest predators for the entire existence of the Earth. The bite force per 1 sq. cm was up to 30 tons. Although it seems that such a creature lived in the age of dinosaurs, megalodons lived on the planet 25-1.5 million years ago. Consequently, giant sharks missed the last dinosaurs by about 40 million years. By the way, it is quite possible that megalodons managed to meet with the first human ancestors. Megalodons lived in warm oceans, hunting whales. But after the beginning of the ice age in the Pliocene, the currents and the temperature of the ocean changed. Under the new conditions, giant predators could no longer exist. Today, their closest relatives are white sharks.
These animals were typical pliosaurs, representatives of the Jurassic period. They were first described on the basis of a single tooth found in France in 1873. At the end of the same century, a skeleton was also found. They were creatures from 6 to 25 meters long, with a large narrow head. Scientists believe that it could reach a length of 4 meters! Huge teeth reached half a meter. The creature swam with the help of huge flippers, rising to the surface for air. It could dive long and deep. Based on the remains, scientists have modeled the body of Lioprevrodon. It turned out that he was not so much fast as very flexible. The inhabitant of the sea made quick jerks, attacking prey. There is no doubt that liopreprodons were viviparous - such sizes simply did not give them the opportunity to crawl ashore to lay eggs.
Despite its unusual appearance, this creature is not a reptile at all. This is a whale, and by no means the scariest one on our list. Basilosaurus are the predatory ancestors of today's whales. In length, they reached 21 meters, and lived on the planet 45-36 million years ago. In those days, basilosaurs inhabited all the warm seas of the planet, being one of the largest predators. The whale actually looks more like a giant snake, as it had a long, sinuous body. Its victims were large creatures, including dorudons. Today, the mere fantasy of swimming in the ocean, where an alligator-snake-whale creature lives, can kill interest in water procedures for a long time. Basilosaurus physical data suggests that they were deprived of the cognitive abilities of modern whales. They did not possess echolocation, practically not plunging to great depths. They also had practically no social skills, the whales were loners. As a result, the monster was quite primitive and could not pursue its prey if it got out onto land.
The name of this creature does not sound too scary. Meanwhile, it was one of the largest arthropods of all time. Racoscorpions lived 460-250 million years ago, reaching a length of 2.5 meters. Only their claw was up to half a meter in length. In those days, the level of oxygen in the atmosphere was higher, which was the reason for the appearance of giant cockroaches, scorpions. The scorpion remained a marine inhabitant, although many of his relatives in those days began to master the land. These creatures became extinct even before the dinosaurs, it is not even clear now whether they were really poisonous. However, the structure of their tail resembles the structure of the same part of the body in scorpions, which makes it possible to assume an attacking function of the tail.
These animals belong to the duck-billed dinosaurs. They lived on the borders of water and land. Mayasaurs could jump into the water to escape predators. In length, these creatures reached 7-9 meters, their weight was about 2-3 tons. Mayasaurs lived 80-73 million years ago. With a flat, wide, toothless beak, the animals plucked vegetation or collected algae. Mayasaurus's neck is made up of many vertebrae, which implies its flexibility. There was a small crest on the skull. The hind legs were strong, supporting the weight of the body. Mayasaurs could defend themselves with the help of their powerful tail. Animals laid eggs, babies about half a meter long emerged from the eggs. Mayasaurs lived in herds, as evidenced by the large number of skeletons found next to each other.
This creature can be called a real carnivorous tank. The ferocious predator reached a length of 10 meters, and its body was covered with plates that acted as armor. There is an explanation for this - the dunkleostei hunted both their fellows and other predators. They did not have bones in the usual sense, their role was played by sharp bony ridges, like those of a turtle. But the bite force was 8000 pounds per square inch, which is comparable to the bite of a crocodile. The predator's skull was equipped with powerful muscles, which made it possible to draw food inside, like a vacuum cleaner, in a split second. The advantage of the dunkleosteus was that the jaws were powerful and fast. The hunter at high speed opened his deadly mouth, capturing the prey with great force. Almost none of the inhabitants of the ocean at that time had a chance to escape. Dunkleosteus - the most dangerous monster in the ocean at that time. These armored fish lived 415-360 million years ago.
This pliosaurus is one of the best known to the public and the largest in this family. For a long time there were disputes about the true size of this inhabitant of the depths. As a result, scientists proved that the Kronosaurus reached a length of 10 meters. In this case, only the skull reached 3 meters. The massive mouth contained abundant teeth, up to 11 inches long. Kronosaurus became famous as the "king of the ancient seas" and even the "t-rex of the ocean." It is no coincidence that the name of the predator was given in honor of Kronos, the king of the Greek titans. Kronosaurus lived in the southern polar seas, which could be very cold in those days. For the first time, the remains of an animal were found in Australia. The flippers of the animal are somewhat reminiscent of turtles. Perhaps the kronosaurs crawled ashore to lay their eggs. You can be sure that no one dug their nests, so as not to anger the formidable predator. Kronosaurus lived about 120-100 million years ago.
The length of these sharks reached 9-12 meters. At the same time, their uniqueness lies in the possession of a dental spiral on the lower jaw. Such a formation could reach a diameter of 90 centimeters. A mixture of a circular saw and a shark was a real marine horror. The animal's teeth were serrated, implying its carnivorous nature. It is unclear only where the spiral was located - in front of the mouth, or deeper. The latter option involves a different diet, softer (jellyfish). The structure of the body remains unknown. But the fact that Helicoprion was a rather intelligent creature is beyond doubt. The predator was able to survive after the Triassic extinction, perhaps due to its habitat in the deep layers of the ocean.
This ancient predator was something between the current killer whale and the common sperm whale. In 2008, the remains of a whale were found that hunted other whales. Its teeth were the largest for eating of any animal. Although the tusks of an elephant are larger, they are not intended for this. The diameter of the teeth was 12 centimeters, and their length was 36. The body of the ancient sperm whale was up to 17.5 meters long. Interestingly, the sperm whale lived about 13 million years ago, which means that it competed in the ocean for prey with megalodon. The head of a predatory whale reached 3 meters in length, there are signs that it contained echolocation organs, like modern toothed whales. Therefore, in the conditions of muddy water, the leviathan could navigate effectively. The animal was named after Leviathan, the biblical sea monster, and also after Herman Melville, author of the novel Moby Dick (which featured a giant sperm whale).
In diameter, this fish has reached 5 meters, besides, it is poisonous. The stingray is strong enough to pull a boat full of people. In this case, we are talking about a prehistoric super-fish whose descendants are still hiding in the fresh and brackish waters of the Mekong River and in northern Australia. Here, no one is surprised by two-meter slopes with a weight of three centners. These fish are already several million years old, the structure of their body allowed them to stay alive. Giant fish were able to survive even the ice age. For its size and unusual appearance, the stingray was called the "sea devil". In front of the body are small eyes, behind them are gills and a toothed mouth. Interestingly, there is a sensitive area on the skin around the mouth and nose that allows the stingray to pick up the electrical and magnetic fields of other living beings. This greatly facilitates the search for food. The freshwater predator has a terrible weapon - 2 powerful and sharp spikes on the tail at once. The largest of them acts as a harpoon, entering easily into the victim and being held inside due to notches. The force of the blow is so great that even the bottom of the boat cannot stand before it. The length of the spike reaches 38 centimeters. The second spike is smaller, it is designed to inject poison. This substance is deadly to humans. The stingray feeds on fish, mollusks and invertebrates. The female stingray is viviparous.