Species like the coelacanth and ginkgo that resemble ancient lineages with few relatives.
They show little change over long periods but are not evolutionarily frozen; their genes still evolve. Examples: horseshoe crab, nautilus, tuatara and Welwitschia.
The term is misleading but draws attention to ancient lineages. Some have low diversification rates.
Example: ginkgo has changed little in form for 200 million years.
Species like the coelacanth and ginkgo that resemble ancient lineages with few relatives.
Living Fossils is one of the 52 topics in Taxonomy & Biodiversity. It is rated Beginner, so it suits learners who are starting out in biology. Related topics in this area include Evolutionarily Distinct Species, Extinction Rate Estimation, Phylogenetic Diversity.
The coelacanth was thought extinct until found in 1938.
Living Fossils is a Beginner topic, so no earlier topic is required. Other Beginner topics in Taxonomy & Biodiversity that pair well with it include Taxonomy, Binomial Nomenclature, Taxonomic Hierarchy.
The closest topics to Living Fossils are Evolutionarily Distinct Species, Extinction Rate Estimation, Phylogenetic Diversity, Species. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Living Fossils. To practise the whole of Taxonomy & Biodiversity, use the Taxonomy & Biodiversity quiz.
Living Fossils: Species like the coelacanth and ginkgo that resemble ancient lineages with few relatives. Evolutionarily Distinct Species: Species with few close relatives, such as the tuatara, representing unique branches of evolutionary history. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Evolutionarily Distinct Species and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Taxonomy & Biodiversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Species with few close relatives, such as the tuatara, representing unique branches of evolutionary history.
🗂️ Taxonomy & BiodiversityCompares fossil background rates with current losses, suggesting a sixth mass extinction.
🗂️ Taxonomy & BiodiversityMeasures biodiversity by the total evolutionary history represented by a set of species.
🗂️ Taxonomy & BiodiversityA basic unit of classification; organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
🗂️ Taxonomy & Biodiversity