Top 5 oldest species still living on Earth

Throughout history, conditions on our planet have changed, causing most living things to disappear from the face of the Earth.

However, some animals have survived for millions of years by adapting to the environment and continue to thrive even today. News Bytes offers to take a look at a list of some of the oldest and most resilient species that will amaze you.

Sea sponge: 760 million years old

Although the age of sea sponges is unknown, they are at least old enough to be the oldest living things on Earth, unlike microbes such as bacteria.

The fossil, found in a 760 million-year-old rock, is the oldest evidence of a sea sponge.

It surpassed the previous record of a 635 million-year-old sea sponge found in 2009.

Jellyfish: 505 million years old

Jellyfish were around 505 million years ago! Who would have thought, right?

In 2007, scientists at the University of Kansas discovered new fossilized jellyfish remains that date back more than 500 million years, 200 million years older than the oldest known jellyfish fossils.

Thriving in harsh water conditions, they require less oxygen compared to many other marine organisms.

Nautilus: 500 million years old

The nautilus has lived on our planet for half a billion years, surviving every major mass extinction that has ever occurred and rebuilding life as we know it.

Unfortunately, the nautilus is now endangered as people like their cool shells.

People collect nautilus for its unique spiral shells and keep for decorative purposes.

Horseshoe crab: 445 million years

Known as one of the most remarkable "living fossils," horseshoe crabs have existed on Earth for an amazing 445 million years, essentially remaining unchanged.

Furthermore, it is important to note that horseshoe crabs are not crabs at all; their closer biological relationship is with spiders and other arachnids, not crabs or lobsters.

Latimeria: 360 million years old

Latimeria was thought to be extinct, but fortunately, it is not!

Because of their striking resemblance to the ancient fish that later emerged from the water and became the first land vertebrate, scientists are studying this extremely rare and endangered fish with great interest.

Knowing the genetic code of latimeria will help scientists understand how they evolved.