The world we live in is old, like over four and a half billion years old, and we've only

been around for a tiny fraction of that time. Some bizarre, funny, and outright terrifying life

forms have roamed the earth for far longer than us, though. Unchanged since the times of

the dinosaurs and beyond. So grab your backpack and get ready for an adventure

because we're about to go and find some amazing ancient creatures

that are still alive today.

For over 100 million years, a curious creature that looks more mythical than real has lurked in the freshwater lakes and swamps of Southern America.

The alligator gar looks like the love child of a crocodile and a coy carp and it's one very big boy.

Most of the time they grow to just over six feet long.

That's taller than your average dad. And reach over a hundred pounds. That's lighter than your average mom.

However, some can get much bigger, like a brute, which was almost 8.5 feet and weighed a whopping 327 pounds.

As well as being bulky boys, two rows of slender fang-like teeth

line the inside of their crocodilian mouths, making them formidable predators. While hunting,

the gars lie perfectly still in the water and silently wait until an unsuspecting fish

sw swims by. Then, two rows of slender, feng-like

teen, and spirene the inside of their cockadilly and mouths, and because their bodies are

protected by tough overlapping scales that work the same as medieval chain mail, gars have

very few natural predators. Even their eggs are poisonous, so any would-be pilferers have

learned to leave them alone.

As strong as these defenses are, though, overfishing and the destruction of their habitats has led to alligator gar numbers sadly dwindling in recent times.

And although I'd be terrified if one swam up next to me, I don't want to see such an ancient

species disappear.

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