Sharks are older than the rings of Saturn and actually predate the existence of trees on Earth by at least ninety million years, having first appeared roughly 400 million years ago.

A closer look

Sharks are older than the rings of Saturn and actually predate the existence of trees on Earth by at least ninety million years, having first appeared roughly 400 million years ago. While plants were still figuring out how to build rigid wooden trunks using lignin, sharks were already cruising through prehistoric oceans as perfectly optimized, dead-eyed killing machines. They have survived five major mass extinction events, quietly outliving the dinosaurs, most giant marine reptiles, and pretty much everything else that tried to conquer the globe. You really have to respect a species that peaked before the concept of shade was even invented, just floating around the abyss for eons watching the rest of the planet burn, freeze, and explode while refusing to fundamentally change a single thing about their perfectly aggressive lifestyle