Dinosaurs are fascinating for many people, but seeing an actual dinosaur on your travels is only possible at dinosaur-themed attractions and historic sites, such as Dinosaur National Monument where you can see over 1,500 fossils.
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But the good news is that there are still plenty of animals alive today that are related to or are descendants of dinosaurs. Many of them can be found worldwide, so you're sure to see at least a few of them during your travels.
Here are 10 dinosaur relatives still alive today and where you can find them, as well as what dinosaurs they're related to.
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10 Sharks
Sharks were around before dinosaurs
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Although sharks can strike fear into the hearts of many, they are pretty incredible animals. Sharks have been around for at least 450 million years, since before dinosaurs lived on land.
Sharks have survived five mass extinctions which wiped out at least 75% of other species. They still have resilience today, as some shark species can live for more than 200 years. The Greenland shark is one of the longest-living animals on Earth, with a lifespan of at least 272 years,
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Sharks started to look like sharks of today during the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. The ancient dinosaurs that sharks are related to are called agnathans, which are jawless fish that eventually evolved into dinosaurs. So, sharks are actually a precursor to dinosaurs.
Scientific Name
Selachimorpha
Where They Are Found
Oceans worldwide
Lifespan
Up to 200+ years (depending on species)
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Agnathans
9 Lizards
Lizards and dinosaurs share a common ancestor, but evolved separately
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The word "dinosaur" means "terrible lizard" in Greek. Although most lizards look like smaller versions of dinosaurs, dinosaurs and lizards split off from each other in the Late Triassic period. They evolved separately after this point.
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Lizards evolved from a group of reptiles called lepidosaurs, while dinosaurs evolved from archosaurs. Essentially, dinosaurs and the lizards of today are only distantly related, in the sense that they are both considered reptiles.
Scientific Name
Lacertilia
Where They Are Found
Worldwide except Antarctica
Lifespan
Up to 40 years (depending on species)
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Lepidosaurs
8 Snakes
Snakes share a common ancestor with dinosaurs but are more closely related to lizards
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Just like lizards are only distantly related to dinosaurs today, so are snakes. Ancestors of snakes are also part of the same group as lizards that split in the Late Triassic period. Snakes evolved from lepidosaurs as well.
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Snakes and lizards are still closely related to each other today, even though neither is close to dinosaurs anymore. But snakes seem to be scarier than lizards for many people, and there are many dangerous snakes in the U.S. and around the world, which makes them seem more like some of the ferocious dinosaurs, or "terrible lizards" that used to roam Earth.
Scientific Name
Serpentes
Where They Are Found
Worldwide, except Antarctica, Iceland, Ireland, Cape Verde, and New Zealand
Lifespan
20-30 years
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Lepidosaurs
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7 Turtles And Tortoises
Some turtle and tortoise adaptations evolved during the Triassic and Jurassic periods
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Turtles and tortoises are also distant relatives of dinosaurs, but they are more closely related to dinosaurs than lizards and snakes. Turtles and tortoises are thought to have evolved from a common ancestor of dinosaurs around 260 million years ago.
Some turtles, such as the alligator snapping turtle, even still look like dinosaurs today. Turtles and tortoises are part of a group called archelosaurs, which is a sister group to archosaurs.
The earliest known turtle was called Eunotosaurus. Some turtle and tortoise adaptations, such as their hard shells, evolved during the Triassic and Jurassic periods. They survived the mass extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Scientific Name
Testudines
Where They Are Found
Worldwide except Antarctica
Lifespan
Up to 100+ years (depending on species)
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Archelosaurs, Eunotosaurus
All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises.
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6 Crocodilians
These giant reptiles look very similar to some dinosaurs
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Crocodilians include crocodiles, alligators, gharials, and caimans, and they are part of the archosaur group just like dinosaurs. However, crocodilians split from the archosaurs about 250 million years ago.
Like turtles, crocodilians survived the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Interestingly, crocodiles haven't changed much since the Jurassic period. They evolved a body type that was suitable for their survival, and it obviously worked since they have well-outlived dinosaurs.
A crocodilian called Deinosuchus was one of the largest prehistoric predators that once roamed Earth. Crocodiles of today likely look very similar to Deinosuchus, except that Deinosuchus was about the size of a bus!
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Scientific Name
Crocodylidae
Where They Are Found
Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia
Lifespan
Up to 70 years (depending on species)
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Deinosuchus, Archosaurs
5 Pelicans
Relatives of aquatic avian dinosaurs
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Birds as a group are the closest living relatives to dinosaurs, and pelicans are closely related to aquatic avian dinosaurs. Pelicans are part of a group of dinosaurs called theropods. They descended from and share some theropod features, such as their throat pouch and long beak that pelicans are known for.
Fossils show that pelicans existed 36 million years ago, and their beak hasn't changed much in 30 million years. The dinosaurs that pelicans are most closely related to are the archaeopteryx, Ikrandraco, and pelecanimimus, whose name means "pelican mimic".
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Scientific Name
Pelecanus
Where They Are Found
Worldwide except Antarctica
Lifespan
15-25 years
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Theropods, Archaeopteryx, Ikrandraco, Pelecanimimus
4 Cassowaries
The closest relative of some avian dinosaurs
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The cassowary, found in New Guinea and Australia, is one of the largest bird species and is related to ostriches and emus. It is also one of the birds that looks closest to what some dinosaurs might have looked like. Cassowaries, like other birds, are descendants of theropods, which survived mass extinction 66 million years ago.
Cassowaries share several characteristics with dinosaurs. They have three toes on their feet and a horn-like casque similar to many dinosaurs. Cassowaries even sound like dinosaurs. They can make a large, booming roar.
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Scientific Name
Casuarius
Where They Are Found
New Guinea and Australia
Lifespan
12-20 years
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Theropods
3 Tuataras
These reptiles originated during the Triassic period
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The tuatara, a reptile species found only in New Zealand, originated during the Triassic period, so it has literally been around since the time of dinosaurs. Many people consider the tuatara to be a living fossil. There is only one species of tuatara on Earth.
In fact, tuataras are the only surviving member of a group of animals in the order Sphenodontia. All the other members of this order died out around 60 million years ago.
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It's amazing that the tuatara was able to survive all this time, making them a huge area of study for scientists.
Scientific Name
Sphenodon punctatus
Where They Are Found
New Zealand
Lifespan
60-100+ years
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Rhynchocephalians, Sphenodontia
2 Ostriches
Ostriches are often considered "living dinosaurs"
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Ostriches are another species that is considered to be a living dinosaur. Found only in Africa, ostriches are the largest bird species, so it makes a lot of sense that they would be closely related to dinosaurs. Just like pelicans and cassowaries, evolved from therapods, and one therapod from the Cretaceous period, Ornithomimosauria, closely resembled the ostrich.
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But scientists have also analyzed a protein from a Tyrannosaurus rex and found a close link between arguably the most famous of dinosaurs and ostrches. Ostriches also have claw-like talons like many dinosaurs.
As the largest birds, ostriches also lay eggs similar in size to some dinosaurs, although dinosaur eggs can be small, as evidenced by some 80-million-year-old fully intact dinosaur eggs that were recently discovered.
Scientific Name
Struthio
Where They Are Found
Africa
Lifespan
30-40 years
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Ornithomimosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex
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1 Chickens
Many consider chickens to be the closest birds to dinosaurs
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The humble and unassuming chicken is considered to be the closest bird related to dinosaurs. Chickens evolved from therapods and have gone through fewer changes to their genes than other birds, making them most closely related to feathered dinosaurs such as the archaeopteryx.
The same study that found a link between ostriches and the T. rex also found a link between chickens and the T. rex. Characteristics that chickens share with the T. rex include walking on two legs and sharp claws on their feet.
Chickens are thought to be the closest living relative to the T. rex.
Scientific Name
Gallus gallus domesticus
Where They Are Found
Worldwide except Antarctica and Vatican City
Lifespan
5-10 years
Closest Dinosaur Relative
Archaeopteryx, Tyrannosaurus rex, therapods
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