Living fossil
/ˈlɪvɪŋ ˈfɒsl̩/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any species discovered first as a fossil and believed extinct, but which is later found living; an organism that has remained unchanged over geological periods.
"The coelacanth and the dawn redwood are living fossils."
- 2 Any living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives in most anatomical details.
"Crocodiles are living fossils that haven’t changed their appearance much in millions of years."
Example
More examples"The coelacanth and the dawn redwood are living fossils."
Etymology
The term was coined by the English biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) in his work On the Origin of Species (1859): see the quotation below.