Casierius is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous epoch It is one of the oldest eels.
How ancient are eels?
By analyzing the eels’ mitochondrial DNA, the researchers learned that the eels date back to 200 million years ago , 100 million years earlier than the oldest eel fossil that scientists have found so far.
Are sharks and eels related?
A strange-looking ancient fish that was closely related to modern sharks had an eel-like body and might have gulped small marine creatures whole. Sharks belong to a group of fishes called elasmobranchs, which have skeletons of cartilage rather than bone.
How big can an eel get?
At maturity eels range in length from 10 cm (4 inches), in the deep-sea Cyema atrum, to 3.5 metres (11.5 feet), in the moray Thyrsoidea macrura Eels occur to considerable depths in most oceans and are greatly diverse in
tropical seas
.
What is the history of eels?
The ancient Egyptians believed that eels were produced by the sun warming the Nile; Aristotle decided that eels emerged spontaneously from mud and rainwater Pliny the Elder thought that
new eels
developed when old eels rubbed away parts of their bodies on rocks.
Do eels have electricity?
Electric eels have three sets of internal organs that produce electricity The organs are made up of special cells called “electrocytes.” Electric eels can create both low and high voltage charges with their electrocytes. Electric eels generate their electric shocks much like a battery.
Are eels living fossils?
Researchers recently discovered a new eel in the
pacific ocean
that they’ve deemed a “living fossil.” It’s so new in fact, that they had to make up a new family, genus, and species to classify it. Arguably, the eel isn’t “new,” since the prehistoric creature has been around longer than humans.
Are eels asexual?
Freshwater eels spawn in the Sargasso Sea after migrating thousands of miles from
freshwater streams
and rivers. Researchers believe they spawn via external fertilization The females release millions of eggs into the water where they are fertilized by the male’s sperm.
What did sharks evolve from?
Most scientists believe that sharks came into existence around 400 million years ago. That’s 200 million years before the dinosaurs! It’s thought that they descended from a small leaf-shaped fish that had no eyes, fins or bones These fish then evolved into the 2 main groups of fish seen today.
What shark is not a shark?
The basking shark is a ram feeder, filtering zooplankton, very small fish, and invertebrates from the water with its gill rakers by swimming forwards with their mouths open.
What are sharks closest relatives?
The shark’s closest relatives are skates and rays , of which there are over 600 different species. Other lesser-known relatives are the chimaeras, which are rare in today’s oceans.
What’s the biggest eel on record?
The slender giant moray (Strphidon sathete) is the longest eel in the world. Even amongst eels, famous for their elongated bodies, the slender giant moray puts other species to shame. The largest specimen ever recovered measured an incredible 13 feet long.
Can eels grow forever?
They usually grow around a half-inch to an inch each year, but they have long life spans Some of the large eels in the region have been estimated at 60 years old or more.
How did eels evolve?
Ancestral eels evolved during the Eocene or earlier, in the western Pacific Ocean near present-day Indonesia. A group derived from this ancestor dispersed westward, by transport of larvae in the global circum-equatorial current through the northern edge of the Tethys Sea.
What is a prehistoric shark?
The biggest shark in the world The earliest megalodon fossils ( Otodus megalodon, previously known as Carcharodon or Carcharocles megalodon ) date to 20 million years ago. For the next 13 million years the enormous shark dominated the oceans until becoming extinct just 3.6 million years ago.
What is a prehistoric elephant?
mammoth, (genus Mammuthus), any member of an extinct group of elephants found as fossils in Pleistocene deposits over every continent except Australia and
south america
and in early Holocene deposits of North America.
Do eels evolve?
This makes them a great mystery of evolution. Now scientists have solved this puzzle. It turns out that the eels became two species 3.5 million years ago , when Panama arose from the sea, separating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. One group of eels were led to Europe by the Gulf Stream, where a new species emerged.
Are all eels born in the Sargasso Sea?
( Both American and European eels are born in the Sargasso Sea , but it is still unclear how their respective larvae know which way to go). As eels begin to reach the shores of their destination, they morph into a form known as a ‘glass eel. ‘ The eels are still transparent, just slightly larger.
What is the lifespan of an eel?
Lifespan: The lifespan of an eel varies depending on the species. American eels typically live for at least five years, with some reaching 15 to 20 years old Meanwhile, captive European eels have been reported to live over 80 years, but the species’ lifespan in the wild has not been determined.
Is Stingray a shark?
Stingrays, with their wide, flat bodies, may not look like fish, but they are. They are related to sharks , and like their shark cousins, they do not have bones. Instead, their bodies are supported by cartilage—the same material that you feel inside the tip of your nose.
Is Manta Ray a shark?
No, a manta ray is not a shark They belong to the same class of animal, which means they are closely related biologically – much closer than they are related to other fish, like tuna, but they are not sharks.
Sources
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/new-living-fossil-eel-is-older-than-eel-fossils
https://www.livescience.com/first-skeleton-ancient-shark-phoebodus-discovered.html
https://www.audubon.org/news/living-fossil-eel-discovered-palau
https://www.britannica.com/animal/eel
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/this-strange-eel-shark-once-swam-prehistoric-seas-360-million-years-ago