making people’s skin crawl since forever
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
oldest creepy crawlies
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at ancient
creepy crawlies that in some form or
another are still working their magic
today number 10 lice these bloodsuckers
have been annoying everyone since the
earliest days of human civilization
following in the footsteps of its main
food source researchers believe the
human head lice evolved from its
chimpanzee predecessor and dates back to
over 5.5 million years ago while that
doesn’t seem too old in the grand scheme
entomologists have discovered fossil
lice that suggest the parasite existed
during the age of dinosaurs which is at
the very least 65 million years ago
currently the earliest identifiable
sample sits at around 44 million years
old and holds many similarities to the
modern parasite that infests aquatic
birds number 9 cockroaches while the
belief that cockroaches could survive a
nuclear explosion is mostly a myth these
crawling insects have a long and storied
history as part of the blue todya order
the earliest roach like insects date
back to 320 million years ago but these
species share too little in common with
the modern cockroach to be considered as
direct ancestors however cockroaches
definitely coexisted with Dinosaurs
during the early cretaceous period and
researchers believe that termites also
evolved from the same family in 2015 a
100 million year old new species of
cockroach was discovered and it is
absolutely terrifying number 8 beetles
widely regarded as the most diverse
group of insects the story of the beetle
starts with the extinct protocol of
Terra which served as precursors to the
modern bug and can be traced back to 280
million years ago the modern beetle took
a while longer to properly form but all
for currently active suborders were
present during the late triassic period
so at the bare minimum the insects
evolutionary lineage goes back 200
million years
unlike other groups a beetles membrane
is protected by a hardened four wing
known as
the eletric which protects the insect
from parasites and predators number
seven flies belonging to the Diptera
order flies have a complex history with
entomologist predicting there are over a
million different species tip terns
existed during the middle triassic
period which is over 200 million years
ago
however flowering plants were not
available at the time so the ancestor of
modern flies probably came into fruition
during the Cretaceous period due to
changes in the eCos
dip Terrans underwent three main
diversification periods that gave rise
to new species the first happened 220
million years ago the second around 40
million years later and the last dated
back to 66 million years ago number 6
grasshoppers katydids and crickets we
opted to pack these three creepy
crawlies together as they all belong to
the same north of terra order a 2015
study by hojin song detailed the
evolution of these three insects
explaining the Orthoptera ins originated
over 300 million years ago before
dividing into two sub orders that gave
rise to a variety of super families with
over 4,800 species crickets debuted
around 250 million years ago and are the
oldest of the bunch while katydids and
grasshoppers date back to approximately
165 million years respectively
despite being the trio’s youngest
grasshoppers are actually the most
diverse group at up to 3 with around
8,000 species number 5 dragonflies and
damselflies
believed to be among the first creatures
to experience flight these insects
originated as wingless creatures more
than 450 million years ago but the first
flying organism came around
approximately 50 million years later
belonging to the odana to order
dragonflies and damselflies are
predators who feast upon other insects
and can be found all over the world
neither insect has changed much over the
years which is quite impressive since
their earliest known origins go back to
the Jurassic period
in other words dinosaurs might have
ruled the world but they could have used
some bug spray number 4 silverfish
regularly found living underneath rocks
these tiny wingless monstrosities are
the oldest insects on the planet a 2014
study brought together over a hundred
scientists to map the evolution of
insects by using DNA data
revolutionary analysis techniques with a
focus on the relationship between
different species among many other
findings the results asserted that
land-based insects emerged approximately
500 million years ago and in all
likelihood the earliest creatures
resembled the silverfish considered one
of the most primitive insects on earth
silverfish have never grown wings
possess long antennae and resemble a
fish number 3 millipedes and centipedes
defined by their flat bodies and dozens
of legs these arthropods are regularly
cited as the first creatures to
permanently transition from the sea to
land in 2004 a 420 million year old
millipede fossil was discovered that
contained holes to absorb oxygen
confirming that the arthropods had
colonized by the Silurian period labeled
as living fossils physically millipedes
have largely stuck to their original
shape however due to an overabundance of
oxygen the arthropods ancestors grew to
massive sizes that could exceed one
meter number two mites classified as
arthropods rather than insects primarily
due to their unsegmented body and eight
legs mites are everywhere but slip by
unnoticed due to their small size a
member of the a curry group which also
includes ticks these arachnids are
extraordinary entities that can be found
in nearly any aquatic or terrestrial
habitat and the majority are predatory
by Nature in comparison to some other
entries most of the fossils are
relatively recent but in 2002 a four
hundred and eighty million year old mite
was discovered in Sweden number one
spiders yes these eight-legged
nightmares pretty much inherited the
earth if falling from a crab like
ancestor true spiders are confirmed to
be over 300 million years old although
older fossils have been discovered that
shared traits with the arachnid better
classified under different orders the
modern spider is defined by a silk
spinning organ known as the spinner end
which appeared around 250 million years
ago fun fact
currently there are over 45,000 named
species of spiders in existence but
researchers believe the true number of
total species is more than double that
may be funs not the right word do you
agree with our pics check out these
other great clips from WatchMojo and be
sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
oldest creepy crawlies
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking at ancient
creepy crawlies that in some form or
another are still working their magic
today number 10 lice these bloodsuckers
have been annoying everyone since the
earliest days of human civilization
following in the footsteps of its main
food source researchers believe the
human head lice evolved from its
chimpanzee predecessor and dates back to
over 5.5 million years ago while that
doesn’t seem too old in the grand scheme
entomologists have discovered fossil
lice that suggest the parasite existed
during the age of dinosaurs which is at
the very least 65 million years ago
currently the earliest identifiable
sample sits at around 44 million years
old and holds many similarities to the
modern parasite that infests aquatic
birds number 9 cockroaches while the
belief that cockroaches could survive a
nuclear explosion is mostly a myth these
crawling insects have a long and storied
history as part of the blue todya order
the earliest roach like insects date
back to 320 million years ago but these
species share too little in common with
the modern cockroach to be considered as
direct ancestors however cockroaches
definitely coexisted with Dinosaurs
during the early cretaceous period and
researchers believe that termites also
evolved from the same family in 2015 a
100 million year old new species of
cockroach was discovered and it is
absolutely terrifying number 8 beetles
widely regarded as the most diverse
group of insects the story of the beetle
starts with the extinct protocol of
Terra which served as precursors to the
modern bug and can be traced back to 280
million years ago the modern beetle took
a while longer to properly form but all
for currently active suborders were
present during the late triassic period
so at the bare minimum the insects
evolutionary lineage goes back 200
million years
unlike other groups a beetles membrane
is protected by a hardened four wing
known as
the eletric which protects the insect
from parasites and predators number
seven flies belonging to the Diptera
order flies have a complex history with
entomologist predicting there are over a
million different species tip terns
existed during the middle triassic
period which is over 200 million years
ago
however flowering plants were not
available at the time so the ancestor of
modern flies probably came into fruition
during the Cretaceous period due to
changes in the eCos
dip Terrans underwent three main
diversification periods that gave rise
to new species the first happened 220
million years ago the second around 40
million years later and the last dated
back to 66 million years ago number 6
grasshoppers katydids and crickets we
opted to pack these three creepy
crawlies together as they all belong to
the same north of terra order a 2015
study by hojin song detailed the
evolution of these three insects
explaining the Orthoptera ins originated
over 300 million years ago before
dividing into two sub orders that gave
rise to a variety of super families with
over 4,800 species crickets debuted
around 250 million years ago and are the
oldest of the bunch while katydids and
grasshoppers date back to approximately
165 million years respectively
despite being the trio’s youngest
grasshoppers are actually the most
diverse group at up to 3 with around
8,000 species number 5 dragonflies and
damselflies
believed to be among the first creatures
to experience flight these insects
originated as wingless creatures more
than 450 million years ago but the first
flying organism came around
approximately 50 million years later
belonging to the odana to order
dragonflies and damselflies are
predators who feast upon other insects
and can be found all over the world
neither insect has changed much over the
years which is quite impressive since
their earliest known origins go back to
the Jurassic period
in other words dinosaurs might have
ruled the world but they could have used
some bug spray number 4 silverfish
regularly found living underneath rocks
these tiny wingless monstrosities are
the oldest insects on the planet a 2014
study brought together over a hundred
scientists to map the evolution of
insects by using DNA data
revolutionary analysis techniques with a
focus on the relationship between
different species among many other
findings the results asserted that
land-based insects emerged approximately
500 million years ago and in all
likelihood the earliest creatures
resembled the silverfish considered one
of the most primitive insects on earth
silverfish have never grown wings
possess long antennae and resemble a
fish number 3 millipedes and centipedes
defined by their flat bodies and dozens
of legs these arthropods are regularly
cited as the first creatures to
permanently transition from the sea to
land in 2004 a 420 million year old
millipede fossil was discovered that
contained holes to absorb oxygen
confirming that the arthropods had
colonized by the Silurian period labeled
as living fossils physically millipedes
have largely stuck to their original
shape however due to an overabundance of
oxygen the arthropods ancestors grew to
massive sizes that could exceed one
meter number two mites classified as
arthropods rather than insects primarily
due to their unsegmented body and eight
legs mites are everywhere but slip by
unnoticed due to their small size a
member of the a curry group which also
includes ticks these arachnids are
extraordinary entities that can be found
in nearly any aquatic or terrestrial
habitat and the majority are predatory
by Nature in comparison to some other
entries most of the fossils are
relatively recent but in 2002 a four
hundred and eighty million year old mite
was discovered in Sweden number one
spiders yes these eight-legged
nightmares pretty much inherited the
earth if falling from a crab like
ancestor true spiders are confirmed to
be over 300 million years old although
older fossils have been discovered that
shared traits with the arachnid better
classified under different orders the
modern spider is defined by a silk
spinning organ known as the spinner end
which appeared around 250 million years
ago fun fact
currently there are over 45,000 named
species of spiders in existence but
researchers believe the true number of
total species is more than double that
may be funs not the right word do you
agree with our pics check out these
other great clips from WatchMojo and be
sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
Please follow and like us: