living fossil
noun
: 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
Examples of living fossil in a Sentence
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According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the coelacanth is one of the most famous living fossils.
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Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2025
These fish are even sometimes referred to as living fossils because their appearance has changed so little over time.
—Maggie Horton, Country Living, 1 Aug. 2023
Published today in Paleontology, a new study seeks to settle the old debate over the whole living fossil thing.
—Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2017
Although the eel doesn’t have a fossil record to go by, the research team considers P. palau a living fossil, a name given to species that remain relatively unchanged after surviving for millions of years.
—Joseph Castro, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2011
Today’s Vampyroteuthis has sometimes been called a living fossil, the assumption being that these cephalopods found a cozy home in deep, oxygen-poor waters and stayed there in a cozy niche, eating detritus that falls from above, since the Jurassic.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Aug. 2022
Coelacanths tend to live in the same areas where the fishermen try to snag sharks with gill-nets and often snag the living fossil fish in the process.
—Mike Wehner, BGR, 21 May 2021
The past few years have been exciting times for companies like Ginkgo (named after a dinosaur-era tree that’s a living fossil) that work in the emerging field of synthetic biology.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes, 11 May 2021
The Ginkgo tree is a living fossil, with the earliest leaf fossils dating from 270 million years ago.
—Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 23 Oct. 2020
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Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 18 July 2025
These fish are even sometimes referred to as living fossils because their appearance has changed so little over time.
—Maggie Horton, Country Living, 1 Aug. 2023
Published today in Paleontology, a new study seeks to settle the old debate over the whole living fossil thing.
—Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2017
Although the eel doesn’t have a fossil record to go by, the research team considers P. palau a living fossil, a name given to species that remain relatively unchanged after surviving for millions of years.
—Joseph Castro, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2011
Today’s Vampyroteuthis has sometimes been called a living fossil, the assumption being that these cephalopods found a cozy home in deep, oxygen-poor waters and stayed there in a cozy niche, eating detritus that falls from above, since the Jurassic.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Aug. 2022
Coelacanths tend to live in the same areas where the fishermen try to snag sharks with gill-nets and often snag the living fossil fish in the process.
—Mike Wehner, BGR, 21 May 2021
The past few years have been exciting times for companies like Ginkgo (named after a dinosaur-era tree that’s a living fossil) that work in the emerging field of synthetic biology.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes, 11 May 2021
The Ginkgo tree is a living fossil, with the earliest leaf fossils dating from 270 million years ago.
—Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 23 Oct. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Living fossil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/living%20fossil. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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