8 Relatives and Descendents of Dinosaurs Living Among Us

1. Chickens

Theropods or birds that have descended from a group of two-legged dinosaurs include chickens. Tyrannosaurus rex and the smaller Velociraptors belong to the same category.

2. Crocodiles

Crocodiles with their rubbery skin, their sharp teeth, and dangerous claws are a lot like dinosaurs. These creatures once resided with dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period which dates back to 145-166 million years.

3. Ostriches

These oversized birds are similar in shape to many dinosaur species, including the velociraptor. Today ostriches reside in Africa but have been around for more than 66 million years.

4. Sea Turtles

Turtles belong to the Archelosauria group. They once swam next to dinosaurs around 110 million years ago.

5. Sharks

These creatures have been on Earth for more than 450 million, making them one of the oldest species. Fossils reveal that sharks were much bigger and the largest species was called megalodon.

6. Snakes

Snakes have slithered on the planet for millions of years. fossilized snakes disclose that they have been around for over 140 million years, making them twice as old as the T-Rex.

7. Crustaceans

Crustaceans, like crabs and lobsters, predate dinosaurs by a good hundreds of millions of years. They are one of the species recorded of filter-feeders.

8. Tuatara Lizards

All lizards and reptiles are close relatives of dinosaurs. However, tuatara lizards are the closest. Today they are natives of New Zealand but have been on earth for 250 million years.