The Evolutionary Truth About Living Fossils

By William A. Shear, Alexander J. Werth

Appearances to the contrary, no species is exempt from selection, even when changes are difficult to detect in the fossil record.

Evolution

This Article From Issue

November-December 2014

Volume 102, Number 6

Page 434

DOI: 10.1511/2014.111.434

View Issue

To gaze upon a horseshoe crab is to glimpse a prehistoric Ordovician sea of nearly half a billion years ago. So moved was Charles Darwin by the appearance of these and similarly ancient-looking creatures—lungfish, lampreys, lampshells, and lycopods—that he coined the term living fossil to describe them.

The term living fossil has been used since Darwin coined it, referring to organisms that appear unchanged compared to fossil specimens, such as the gingko tree (Gingko biloba). However, the term has been confusingly applied as the field of biology has advanced in understanding evolution and genetics. Is the concept useful?

Photo courtesy of Jim Brace-Thompson. Inset, Visuals Unlimited/naturepl.com

To access the full article, please log in or subscribe.

American Scientist Comments and Discussion

To discuss our articles or comment on them, please share them and tag American Scientist on social media platforms. Here are links to our profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

If we re-share your post, we will moderate comments/discussion following our comments policy.

American Scientist