living fossil

noun

Updated on: 16 Mar 2018

Definition of living fossil

: an organism (such as a horseshoe crab or a ginkgo tree) that has remained essentially unchanged from earlier geologic times and whose close relatives are usually extinct

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Recent Examples of living fossil from the Web

Its spiral shape was inspired by the nautilus, the self-replicating living fossil.

— Washington Post, "Monument honoring Virginia native tribes awaits ceremony," 6 Mar. 2018
After all, the living fossils of the Indian Ocean’s depths hardly impinge on their Atlantic way of life—and if an Icelander found a pressing need to talk about them, why not just use the Greek word, as other nations do?

— The Economist, "An old tongue’s new tricksThe strange reinvention of Icelandic," 19 Dec. 2017
But now, the lethal combination of climate change, habitat loss and over-harvesting means that these living fossils face their biggest existential challenge yet.

— camilla cerea, Smithsonian, "Forget Dinos: Horseshoe Crabs Are Stranger, More Ancient—And Still Alive Today," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'living fossil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.