Living Fossil Is An Informal Term For Any Living: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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Living fossil is an informal term for any living species (or clade) of organism which appears to be
the same as a species otherwise only known from fossils and which has no close living relatives.
These species have all survived major extinction events, and generally retain low taxonomic
diversities. A species which successfully radiates (forming many new species after a possible genetic
bottleneck) has become too successful to be considered a "living fossil". However, the term is
frequently misinterpreted.
Contents
[hide]
 1 Overview
 2 Examples
o 2.1 Bacteria
o 2.2 Plants
o 2.3 Fungi
o 2.4 Animals
 3 History
o 3.1 Other definitions
 4 References
 5 External links
[edit] Overview
There is a subtle difference between a "living fossil" and a "Lazarus taxon". A Lazarus taxon is a
taxon (either one species or a group of species) that suddenly reappears, either in the fossil record or
in nature (i.e. as if the fossil had "come to life again"), while a living fossil is a species that
(seemingly) hasn't changed during its very long lifetime (i.e. as if the fossil has always lived). The
mean species turnover time (the time a species lasts before it is replaced) varies widely among the
phyla, but averages about 2-3 million years. So, a living species that was thought to be extinct (e.g.
the coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae) is not a living fossil simply due to that definition (though it
may still be one because it hasn't changed much), it is a Lazarus species. Coelacanths disappeared
from the fossil record some 80 million years ago (upper Cretaceous). If, however, other Cenozoic
Latimeria fossil species were to be found, the coelacanth would be considered a true living fossil, as
that would fill in the gap where the species is "dead". Of course, species do not just appear out of thin
air, so all living Lazarus species (excluding disappearing and reappearing red list species) are
nonetheless considered living fossils, if it can be shown they are not Elvis taxa.
This section needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the talk page for details.
WikiProject Palaeontology or the Palaeontology Portal may be able to help recruit an expert.
(February 2009)
Some living fossils are species that were known from fossils before living representatives were
discovered. The most famous examples of this are the coelacanthiform fishes Latimeria chalumnae
and Latimeria menadoensis and the dawn redwood, Metasequoia, discovered in a remote Chinese
valley. Others include glypheoid lobsters, mymarommatid wasps, and jurodid beetles, all of which
were first described from fossils, but later found alive (2 species, 10 species, and one species
respectively). Others are a single living species with no close living relatives, but which is the
survivor of a large and widespread group in the fossil record, perhaps the best-known example of
which is Ginkgo biloba of the ginkgo genus, though there are others, such as the Syntexis libocedrii
(the cedar wood wasp).
Note that just because a living fossil is a surviving representative of an archaic lineage does not
necessarily require that it retains all of the "primitive" features (plesiomorphies) of the lineage it is
descended from; that is, they may possess one to many derived features (autapomorphies), that have
evolved since the time of their lineage's divergence. All that is required is that they can be
unambiguously assigned to an otherwise extinct lineage (rarely are they identical to the fossil forms).
See for example the uniquely and highly autapomorphic oxpeckers, which are not "true" living
fossils (as no fossils are known yet) but nonetheless appear to be the only survivors of an ancient
lineage related to starlings and mockingbirds.[1]
the 170 million year old fossil Ginkgo leaves on the left, and the living plant on the right.
Examples
Some of these are informally known as "living fossils".
Bacteria
 Stromatolite, a shallow-water, oxygen-creating, blue-green bacterium [a stromatolithe is not

an organism]
[edit] Plants
 Amborellaceae – a plant from New Caledonia, possibly closest to base of the flowering plants
 Araucaria araucana – the Monkey Puzzle tree
 Cycads
 Ginkgo tree (Ginkgoaceae)
 Horsetails – Equisetum (Equisetaceae)
 Metasequoia – Dawn Redwood (Cupressaceae; a borderline example, related to Sequoia and
Sequoiadendron)
 Sciadopitys tree (Sciadopityaceae)
 Liquidambar – tree (Altingiaceae)
 Whisk ferns – Psilotum (Psilotaceae)
 Welwitschia (Welwitschiaceae)
 Wollemia tree (Araucariaceae – a borderline example, related to Agathis and Araucaria)
[edit] Fungi
 Neolecta
[edit] Animals
 Vertebrates
o Mammals
 Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)
 Cypriot mouse (Mus cypriacus)
 Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
 Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
 Laotian Rock Rat (Laonastes aenigmamus)
 Volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi)
 Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi)
 Iriomote cat (Prionailurus iriomotensis)
 Monito del Monte (Dromiciops gliroides)
 monotremes (the platypus and echidna)
 Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa)
 Okapi (Okapia johnstoni)[2]
 Opossums
 Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii, Equus przewalskii or Equus
caballus przewalskii, classification is debated)
 Elephant shrews
o Birds
 Acanthisittidae (New Zealand "wrens") – 2 living species, a few more recently
extinct. Distinct lineage of Passeriformes.
 Hoatzin (Ophisthocomus hoazin) – One living species. Distinct lineage of
Neoaves.
 Broad-billed Sapayoa (Sapayoa aenigma) – One living species. Distinct
lineage of Tyranni.
 Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus) – One living species. Distinct lineage
of Passerida or Sylvioidea.
 Coliiformes (mousebirds) – 6 living species in 2 genera. Distinct lineage of
Neoaves.
 Magpie Goose (Anseranas semipalmata) – One living species. Distinct lineage
of Anseriformes.
o Reptiles
 Pig-nosed turtle
 Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
 Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)
 Crocodilia (crocodiles, gavials and alligators)
 Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus and Sphenodon guntheri)
 Flying Dragon (Draco sp.)
o Amphibians
 Purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis)
 Giant salamanders (Cryptobranchus, and Andrias)
o Lampreys
 Northern Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor)
o Bony fish
 Arowana and Arapaima (Osteoglossidae)
 Bowfin (Amia calva)
 Coelacanth (the lobed-finned Latimeria menadoensis and Latimeria
chalumnae)
 Queensland lungfish (Neoceratodus fosteri)
 Sturgeons and Paddlefish (Acipenseriformes)
 Bichir (Polypteridae) Family
 Hagfish (Myxinidae) Family
o Sharks
 Frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus)
 Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina owstoni)
 Elephant shark (Callorhinchus milii)
 Invertebrates
o Insects
 Mantophasmatodea (gladiators; a few living species)
 Mymarommatid wasps (10 living species in genus Palaeomymar)
 Nevrorthidae (3 species-poor genera)
 Notiothauma reedi (a scorpionfly relative)
 Orussidae (parasitic wood wasps; about 70 living species in 16 genera)
 Peloridiidae (peloridiid bugs; fewer than 30 living species in 13 genera)
 Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae (a jurodid beetle)
 Syntexis libocedrii (Anaxyelidae cedar wood wasp)
o Crustaceans
 glypheoid lobsters (2 living species: Neoglyphea inopinata and
Laurentaeglyphea neocaledonica)
 Stomatopods (mantis shrimp)
 Triops cancriformis (also known as tadpole shrimp; a Notostracan crustacean)
o Molluscs
 Nautilina (e.g. Nautilus pompilius)
 Neopilina galateae, a Monoplacophoran
 Ennucula superba - Nut clam
 Vampyroteuthis infernalis - Vampire Squid
o Other invertebrates
 crinoids
 Horseshoe crabs (only 4 living species of the class Xiphosura, family
Limulidae: Limulus polyphemus,Tachypleus gigas, Tachypleus tridentatus and
Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda)
 Lingula anatina (an inarticulate brachiopod)
 Liphistiidae (trapdoor spiders)
 onychophorans
 Valdiviathyris quenstedti (a craniforman brachiopod)

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 Stromatolite, a shallow-water, oxygen-creating, blue-green bacterium [a stromatolithe is not

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