“Shark” is not a species. A whaleshark is a species. A tigershark is a species. “Shark”, representing multiple species of shark, is a division, specifically the Selachii division.
The Selachii division is 200 million years old. One galactic year for Sol is 225 million years old. This means that sharks, as we know them, have not existed as a division for two galactic years, barely even for one! Horshoe crabs have been around for 250 million years nearly completely unchanged by evolution, so they have been around for one galactic year… But nobody ever seems to talk about them…
Officially, what came before sharks are classified as a different division with “shark-like morphology”, but they aren’t sharks.
Sharks have existed for longer than the North Star, though. So there’s that.
The oldest fossils known are stromatolite fossils from 3.48 billion years ago. There are living stromatolites today. They predate Earth having significant oxygen in its atmosphere, because the cyanobacteria that formed them created the oxygen gas through photosynthesis from carbon dioxide. They’ve orbited the galaxy over fifteen times.
Sharks are so old that I’ve seen other comparisons, had never seen the milky way one before, that’s very interesting, the other ones I knew is that sharks are older than:
The rings of Saturn
Trees
So when sharks first evolved Saturn had no rings and trees didn’t exist yet.
Sharks also predate basically all big recognizable surface geology features on earth. They’re way older than the Grand Canyon or the Himalayas. It kind of makes sense once you realize they date back to the Pangea supercontinent.
Also, biologically modern humans are much older than Niagara Falls.
Or at least, didn’t have its current rings. I could be wrong but couldn’t it have torn apart other moons to create a different set of rings that then degraded over time?
The shark fact is impressive though. I like to tell folks that the galaxy is so big that the solar system hasn’t even made 1/4 of an orbit since the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. Might add some perspective.
Nitpick: there are many species of shark so maybe you meant taxonomic genus or family.
Well the specifics are the lineage which includes sharks, we found stuff that might be sharks but hard to prove are definitely sharks that’s 450 million years old (fossil sharklike scales)
And, this is copypaste from Snopes:
The earliest known fossil evidence of sharks (or their ancestors) are “shark-like scales” that date back to 450 million years ago, according to the National History Museum in London. However, whether these scales adorned “true sharks” or “shark-like animals” is an issue debated by the scientific community.
Nonetheless, scientists largely agree that, according to DNA evidence, living sharks, rays, and deep-sea fish called chimeras likely began evolving around 420 million years ago.
Part of the western Florida panhandle (WFP) is on Central time. Part of southeastern Oregon (SEO) is on Mountain time. That puts them one hour apart.
In the fall, when we go back into Standard Time, when the clock hits 2am, you flip the clock back to 1am.
So, during a normal night, WFP would be at 2am and SEO would be 1am. But on the night the time changes, WFP hits 2am and immediately flips their clocks back to 1am - which means that, for one hour a year (until SEO hits 2am and flips their clocks back), part of Florida and part of Oregon’s clocks are showing the exact same time.
I kinda struggled over how to word this - they’re not in the same time zone, but for this one hour they might as well be.
Trees are 385 million years old. Sharks are 200 million years old. Trees still out-date sharks.
Although… Trees have evolved multiple times in Earth’s history… So sharks are certainly older than certain trees. But not older than the whole tree concept thing.
For one hour each year, part of Florida and part of Oregon have the exact same time on their clocks.
Sharks have existed long enough as a species to have orbited the entire Milky Way Galaxy - twice.
CORRECTION!!
“Shark” is not a species. A whaleshark is a species. A tigershark is a species. “Shark”, representing multiple species of shark, is a division, specifically the Selachii division.
The Selachii division is 200 million years old. One galactic year for Sol is 225 million years old. This means that sharks, as we know them, have not existed as a division for two galactic years, barely even for one! Horshoe crabs have been around for 250 million years nearly completely unchanged by evolution, so they have been around for one galactic year… But nobody ever seems to talk about them…
Officially, what came before sharks are classified as a different division with “shark-like morphology”, but they aren’t sharks.
Sharks have existed for longer than the North Star, though. So there’s that.
The oldest fossils known are stromatolite fossils from 3.48 billion years ago. There are living stromatolites today. They predate Earth having significant oxygen in its atmosphere, because the cyanobacteria that formed them created the oxygen gas through photosynthesis from carbon dioxide. They’ve orbited the galaxy over fifteen times.
Sharks are so old that I’ve seen other comparisons, had never seen the milky way one before, that’s very interesting, the other ones I knew is that sharks are older than:
So when sharks first evolved Saturn had no rings and trees didn’t exist yet.
Trees are 385 million years old. Sharks are 200 million years old. Trees still out-date sharks.
Sharks also predate basically all big recognizable surface geology features on earth. They’re way older than the Grand Canyon or the Himalayas. It kind of makes sense once you realize they date back to the Pangea supercontinent.
Also, biologically modern humans are much older than Niagara Falls.
To be fair, that’s only about 140 years.
Sharks preceding trees is 🤯
Or at least, didn’t have its current rings. I could be wrong but couldn’t it have torn apart other moons to create a different set of rings that then degraded over time?
Worth pointing out that this is the shark lineage and not modern sharks. Sharks have evolved a lot over the last several hundred million years
In the same sense, jellyfish are older than sharks, and sponges are the oldest still-extant animal lineage. Or just sounds cooler to say sharks
no it’s this one named gary and he’s a dick. you know, mean shark gary?
Now that’s cool.
I don’t understand the clock one.
The shark fact is impressive though. I like to tell folks that the galaxy is so big that the solar system hasn’t even made 1/4 of an orbit since the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. Might add some perspective.
Nitpick: there are many species of shark so maybe you meant taxonomic genus or family.
Well the specifics are the lineage which includes sharks, we found stuff that might be sharks but hard to prove are definitely sharks that’s 450 million years old (fossil sharklike scales)
And, this is copypaste from Snopes:
Part of the western Florida panhandle (WFP) is on Central time. Part of southeastern Oregon (SEO) is on Mountain time. That puts them one hour apart.
In the fall, when we go back into Standard Time, when the clock hits 2am, you flip the clock back to 1am.
So, during a normal night, WFP would be at 2am and SEO would be 1am. But on the night the time changes, WFP hits 2am and immediately flips their clocks back to 1am - which means that, for one hour a year (until SEO hits 2am and flips their clocks back), part of Florida and part of Oregon’s clocks are showing the exact same time.
I kinda struggled over how to word this - they’re not in the same time zone, but for this one hour they might as well be.
Ah okay, I get it now. You explained that perfectly, thanks! That’s a good weird geography fact.
It’s not as impressive because Florida is further east, but the four Michigan counties that border Wisconsin experience the same thing.
Wouldn’t they be aligned twice per year?
I think when it flips the other way they get an extra hour further apart.
They are older than trees. The very concept of trees.
Trees are 385 million years old. Sharks are 200 million years old. Trees still out-date sharks.
Although… Trees have evolved multiple times in Earth’s history… So sharks are certainly older than certain trees. But not older than the whole tree concept thing.
They’re older than the North Star
Now that you mention it. The dinosaurs have not seen the North Star. Didn’t think of it.
I don’t see it.