06-08-1999 - Kids, Uncategorized

sagar: Author=’Marc Airhart’ program=” video=”Nick Barajas, Covington, GA
Aged 9. Description: “Long ago, when there were dinosaurs, dragonflies flew high and cockroaches and horseshoe crabs laid their eggs on the beach.” Using: “crayons and my imagination!”.*Did you know that cockroaches and dragonflies lived with the dinosaurs a long time ago? Cockroaches are still alive today, so why aren’t the dinosaurs?*

Let’s talk about fossils. No – not your principal, no – we’re talking about “living fossils!”

Next time you see a dragonfly floating over a pond, try to think back millions of years ago – and picture that same dragonfly sweeping past the head of a living, breathing dinosaur. Some insects, such as dragonflies and cockroaches, haven’t changed much since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. That’s why some people call them “living fossils.” Then there are horseshoe crabs . . .

Each year, huge swarms of female crabs crawl onto beaches to lay their eggs. They probably did this 300 million years ago, too. And their children – or really their children’s children’s children’s children’s children are still around today.

So why do we still have living fossils – cockroaches, dragonflies, and other creatures – but no more dinosaurs?

The answer is that living fossils are creatures that are really good at surviving changes on Earth. That’s why they’re still around . . .

While their mighty friends the dinosaurs only exist as plain old dead fossils.

Written by EarthSky