A study published in March suggested that one of the most common fish in the U.S. is actually a super cool dinosaur monster that somehow survived every cataclysm for the last 150 million years.
You might think you’re cool, but you’ll never be as cool as the gar.
This “ultimate living fossil” evolves at an even slower pace than your ex, having seemingly gone unchanged for upwards of 150 million years, according to a study published in the journal Evolution.
The anatomically modern and weirdly wonderful slender toothy creatures have weaved their way through the lakes and rivers of the Americas since first appearing during the Jurassic period (163.5 million to 145 million years ago), Live Science noted. According to the study, these beasts have the slowest rate of molecular evolution of all jawed vertebrates known to man (except for your ex).
As Hurricane Flooding Recedes, Dinosaur-Like Fish Appears https://t.co/6Ch1r5hHZb
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 11, 2022
The study used the term “living fossil” to describe animals that have seemingly gone unchanged for millions of years. Researchers identified 471 different creatures that met the “living fossil” criteria, but gar and sturgeons had the slowest rates of change.
In fact, gar were found to evolve three orders of magnitude slower than any other living vertebrates, suggesting God made them correctly the first time (unlike your ex). (RELATED: Forget Sharks, Gar Week Is The Greatest American Tradition)
Aside from the fact all seven American species of gar are basically dinosaurs, they’re also cool for other reasons. For example, an alligator gar can grow up to 10 feet in length, which is definitely taller than your ex. They’re also edible but hardly ever eaten, probably because they’re just so majestic, ya know?