Editing Living fossil (section)

==Examples==
Some of these are informally known as "living fossils".
[[File:Ginkgo Stamm.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ginkgo]]s not only have existed for a long time, but also have a long life span, with some having an age of over 2,500 years. Six specimens survived the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombing of Hiroshima]], 1 to 2 [[kilometer]]s from [[ground zero]]. They still live there today.]]
[[File:OsmundaRegalis.jpg|thumb|Ferns were the [[Dominance (ecology)|dominant]] plant group in the [[Jurassic]] period, with some species, such as ''[[Osmunda claytoniana]]'', maintaining [[Punctuated equilibrium|evolutionary stasis]] for at least 180 million years.<ref name="pmid24653037">{{cite journal |vauthors=Bomfleur B, McLoughlin S, Vajda V |title=Fossilized nuclei and chromosomes reveal 180 million years of genomic stasis in royal ferns |journal=Science |volume=343 |issue=6177 |pages=1376–7 |date=March 2014 |pmid=24653037 |doi=10.1126/science.1249884 |bibcode=2014Sci...343.1376B |s2cid=38248823 |url=http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nrm:diva-315}}</ref><ref name="Palaeos website">{{cite web|last=Kazlev|first=M. Alan|year=2002|url=http://www.palaeos.com/Mesozoic/Jurassic/Jurassic.htm|title=Palaeos website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060105125654/http://www.palaeos.com/Mesozoic/Jurassic/Jurassic.htm |archive-date=2006-01-05|access-date=July 22, 2008}}</ref>]]

===Bacteria===
* [[Cyanobacteria]] – the oldest living fossils, emerging 3.5 billion years ago. They exist as single bacteria or in the form of [[stromatolite]]s, layered rocks produced by colonies of cyanobacteria.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci/text/extfirstlife.htm|title=cyanobacteria|website=ircamera.as.arizona.edu|access-date=2019-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503162408/http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci/text/extfirstlife.htm|archive-date=2019-05-03}}</ref>

===Protists===
* The [[dinoflagellate]] †''Calciodinellum operosum''.<ref name="Caloperosum"/>
* The [[dinoflagellate]] †''Dapsilidinium pastielsii''.<ref name="dx.doi.org"/>
* The [[dinoflagellate]] †''Posoniella tricarinelloides''.<ref name="Postricari"/>
* The [[coccolithophore]] ''Tergestiella adriatica''.<ref name="Hagino et al. 2015">{{cite journal|last1=Hagino|first1=K. |last2=Young|first2=J. R.|last3=Bown|first3=P. R.|last4=Godrijan |first4=J.|last5=Kulhanek|first5=D.|last6=Kogane|first6=K. |last7=Horiguchi|first7=T.|title=Re-discovery of a "living fossil" coccolithophore from the coastal waters of Japan and Croatia |journal=Marine Micropaleontology |date=2015 |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=28–37 |doi=10.1016/j.marmicro.2015.01.002 |bibcode=2015MarMP.116...28H |url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1462916/}}</ref>

===Plants===
* [[Moss]]
*'''[[Pteridophytes]]'''
** [[Horsetail]]s – ''Equisetum''
** [[Lycopodiophyta|Lycopods]] 
** [[Tree fern]]s and [[ferns]] 
*'''[[Gymnosperm]]s'''
** [[Conifers]]
***''[[Agathis]]'' – kauri in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific and almasiga in the Philippines
*** ''[[Araucaria araucana]]'' – the monkey puzzle tree (as well as other extant ''[[Araucaria]]'' species)
*** ''[[Metasequoia]]'' – dawn redwood (Cupressaceae; related to ''[[Sequoia (genus)|Sequoia]]'' and ''[[Sequoiadendron]]'')
*** ''[[Sciadopitys]]'' – a unique conifer endemic to Japan known in the fossil record for about 230 million years.
*** ''[[Taiwania|Taiwania cryptomerioides]]'' – one of the largest tree species in Asia.
*** ''[[Wollemia]]'' tree (''[[Araucariaceae]]'' – a borderline example, related to ''[[Agathis]]'' and ''[[Araucaria]]'')<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Chambers | first1 = T.C. | last2 = Drinnan | first2 = A.N. | last3 = McLoughlin | first3 = S. | year = 1998 | title = Some morphological features of Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis: Araucariaceae) and their comparison to Cretaceous plant fossils | journal = International Journal of Plant Sciences | volume = 159 | pages = 160–171 | doi=10.1086/297534| s2cid = 84425685 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = McLoughlin S., Vajda V. | year = 2005 | title = Ancient wollemi pines resurgent | journal = American Scientist | volume = 93 | issue = 6| pages = 540–547 | doi=10.1511/2005.56.981| last2 = Vajda }}</ref>
** [[Cycad]]s – although this has been challenged by multiple lines of evidence<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nagalingum |first1=N. S. |last2=Marshall |first2=C. R. |last3=Quental |first3=T. B. |last4=Rai |first4=H. S. |last5=Little |first5=D. P. |last6=Mathews |first6=S. |date=2011-11-11 |title=Recent Synchronous Radiation of a Living Fossil |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1209926 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=334 |issue=6057 |pages=796–799 |doi=10.1126/science.1209926 |pmid=22021670 |bibcode=2011Sci...334..796N |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Coiro |first1=Mario |last2=Seyfullah |first2=Leyla Jean |date=2024-03-14 |title=Disparity of cycad leaves dispels the living fossil metaphor |journal=Communications Biology |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=328 |doi=10.1038/s42003-024-06024-9 |issn=2399-3642 |pmc=10940627 |pmid=38485767}}</ref> 
** ''[[Ginkgo biloba|Ginkgo]]'' tree (Ginkgoaceae)
** ''[[Welwitschia]]''
*'''[[Angiosperm]]s'''
** ''[[Amborella]]'' – a plant from New Caledonia, possibly closest to base of the [[angiosperms|flowering plants]]
** ''[[Magnolia]] –'' a genus whose form is little changed since the earliest days of flowering plant evolution in the Cretaceous and possibly earlier<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vallejo-Marin |first=Mario |date=2017-08-01 |title=Revealed: the first ever flower, 140m years ago, looked like a magnolia |url=http://theconversation.com/revealed-the-first-ever-flower-140m-years-ago-looked-like-a-magnolia-81861 |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref>[https://arboretum.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/tree-of-the-month-magnolias.pdf]
** ''[[Trapa]]'' – water caltrops, seeds, and leaves of numerous extinct species are known all the way back to the Cretaceous.
** ''[[Nelumbo]]'' – several species of lotus flower are known exclusively from fossils dating back to the Cretaceous.
** ''[[Sassafras]]'' – many fossils of sassafras are known from the late cretaceous through the late pleistocene.
** ''[[Platanus]]'' Sycamore fossils are very abundant throughout the northern hemisphere with several extinct species. Sycamore leaves and fruits are quite common in plant fossils. Sycamores exhibit many primitive features as well such their exfoliating bark which is a result of a lack of elasticity. Platanus Occidentalis fossils are known from the pliocene and the pleistocene in North America.
** ''[[Tupelo (tree)|Nyssa]]'' Blackgum fossils go way back to the late cretaceous period. Many extinct species are recorded as well.
** ''[[Liriodendron]]'' Fossils from the cretaceous and the tertiary period are found with many extinct species. Tulip Trees at one point were present in Europe during the cretaceous and the early paleocene. Liriodendron Tulipifera fossils dating from the pliocene and pleistocene were discovered at the chowan formation in North Carolina.
** ''[[Liquidambar]]'' Sweetgums appeared during the mid-late cretaceous and several extinct species are found throughout Asia, Europe and North America. The genus was once widespread in Europe and Asia especially during the miocene. The American Sweetgum is a living fossil itself since fossil specimens dating from the miocene, pliocene and pleistocene were discovered in the eastern United States

===Fungi===
* ''[[Neolecta]]''

===Animals===
[[File:Wild shortbeak echidna.jpg|thumb|[[Echidna]]s are one of few mammals to lay eggs.]] 
;Vertebrates:
[[File:Hoatzins in Ecuador.jpg|thumb|[[Hoatzin]] hatch with two visible claws on their wings, but the claws fall out once the birds reach maturity.]] 
[[File:Crocodylus acutus jalisco mexico.jpg|thumb|[[Crocodilia]]ns survived the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|K–Pg extinction event]] that killed off the non-avian dinosaurs.]]
[[File:Tuatara.jpg|thumb|[[Tuatara]] are reptiles, yet retain more primitive characteristics than lizards and snakes.]]
[[File:Mitsukurina owstoni, Pengo.jpg|thumb|The [[goblin shark]] is the only [[Extant taxon|extant]] representative of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Mitsukurinidae]], a lineage some 125&nbsp;million years old ([[early Cretaceous]]).]]
* '''Mammals'''
** [[Aardvark]] (''Orycteropus afer'')
** [[Amami rabbit]] (''Pentalagus furnessi'')<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Robinson, T. |author2=Yang, F. |author3=Harrison, W. |year=2002 |title=Chromosome painting refines the history of genome evolution in hares and rabbits (order Lagomorpha) |pmid=12438803 |journal=Cytogenetic and Genome Research |pages=223–227 |volume=96 |issue=1–4 |doi=10.1159/000063034|s2cid=19327437 }}</ref>
**[[Nesolagus]] (''Asian striped rabbits'')
** [[Chevrotain]] (''Tragulidae'')<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Eldridge|editor-first1=Niles|editor-last2=Stanley|editor-first2=Steven M.|year=1984|title=Living Fossils|chapter=Tragulids as Living Fossils|series=Casebooks in Earth Sciences|pages=87–94|doi=10.1007/978-1-4613-8271-3_9|isbn=978-1-4613-8273-7 }}</ref>
** [[Chousingha]] (''Tetracerus quadricornis'')
** [[Elephant shrew]] (Macroscelidea)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tabuce |first=Rodolphe |date=2017-03-23 |title=3D model related to the publication: New remains of Chambius kasserinensis from the Eocene of Tunisia and evaluation of proposed affinities for Macroscelidea (Mammalia, Afrotheria) |url=http://morphomuseum.com/articles/view/37 |journal=MorphoMuseuM |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=e1 |doi=10.18563/m3.3.2.e1|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
** [[Giant panda]] (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca'')
** [[Baiji]] (''Lipotes vexillifer) (One living species)''
** [[Ganges river dolphin]] (''Platanista gangetica)''<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Braulik |first1=Gill |last2=Atkore |first2=Vidyadhar |last3=Shahnawaz Khan |first3=Mohammad |last4=Malla |first4=Sabita |date=July 2021 |title=Review of Scientific Knowledge of the Ganges river dolphin |url=https://riverdolphins.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Ganges-River-dolphin-Scientific-Knowledge-Review-July2021.pdf |journal=World Wildlife Fund |pages=5}}</ref>
** [[Indus river dolphin]] (''Platanista minor''')'''''<ref name=":1" />
** [[Hawaiian monk seal]] (''Neomonachus schauinslandi'')
** [[Koala]] (''Phascolarctos cinereus'')
** [[Laotian rock rat]] (''Laonastes aenigmamus'')<ref name=":2" />
** [[Monito del monte]] (''Dromiciops gliroides'')
** [[Monotreme]]s (the [[platypus]] and [[echidna]])
** [[Mountain beaver]] (''Aplodontia rufa'')
** [[Okapi]] (''Okapia johnstoni'')
** [[Opossum]]s (''Didelphidae'')
** [[Clouded leopard]] (''Neofelis nebulousa'')
** [[Bush dog]] (''Speothos venaticus'')
** [[Maned wolf]] (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'')
** [[Red panda]] (''Ailurus fulgens'')<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-panda |title=Red panda |date=2016-04-22 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |department=National Zoo |place=Washington, DC |access-date=2017-05-04 |language=en |quote=Red pandas are considered by many to be living fossils. They have no close living relatives, and their nearest fossil ancestors, [[Parailurus]], lived 3–4&nbsp;million years ago.}}</ref>
** [[Solenodon]] (''[[Cuban solenodon|Solenodon cubanus]]'' and ''[[Hispaniolan solenodon|Solenodon paradoxus]]'')
** [[Shrew opossum]] (''Caenolestidae'')
** [[Spectacled bear]] (''Tremarctos ornatus'')
** [[False killer whale]] (''Pseudorca crassidens'')
** [[Pygmy right whale]] (''Caperea marginata'')<ref name=Fordyce2013>{{cite journal |last1=Fordyce |first1=R.E. |last2=Marx |first2=F.G. |title=The pygmy right whale ''Caperea marginata'': The last of the cetotheres |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society&nbsp;B: Biological Sciences |year=2013 |volume=280 |issue=1753 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.2645 |pmid=23256199 |pmc=3574355}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/1219/Extinct-whale-found-Odd-looking-pygmy-whale-traced-back-2-million-years |title='Extinct' whale found: Odd-looking pygmy whale traced back 2&nbsp;million years |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=December 19, 2012}}</ref>
**[[Pacarana]] (''Dinomys branickii'')
** [[Rhinoceroses]] (Rhinocerotidae)<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=West|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Heard|editor-first2=Darryl|editor-last3=Caulkett|editor-first3=Nigel|last1=Radcliffe|first1=Robin W.|last2=Morkel|first2=Peter vdB.|year=2014|title=Zoo Animal and Wildlife Immobilization and Anesthesia|chapter=Chapter 54: Rhinoceroses|edition=2nd|doi=10.1002/9781118792919.ch54}}</ref>
** [[Tapirs]] (Tapiridae)<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Eldridge|editor-first1=Niles|editor-last2=Stanley|editor-first2=Steven M.|last=Janis |first=Christine M.|year=1984|title=Living Fossils|chapter=Tapirs as Living Fossils|series=Casebooks in Earth Sciences|pages=80–86 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4613-8271-3_8|isbn=978-1-4613-8273-7}}</ref>
* '''Birds'''
** [[Pelican]]s (''Pelecanus'') – [[Morphology (biology)|form]] has been virtually unchanged since the [[Eocene]], and is noted to have been even more conserved across the Cenozoic than that of crocodiles.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Switek |first=Brian |url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/repost-the-pelicans-beak-success-and-evolutionary-stasis/ |title=The pelican's beak: Success and evolutionary stasis |type=repost |series=Wired Science |magazine=Wired |volume=152 |pages=15–20 |doi=10.1007/s10336-010-0537-5 |date=2011-03-21 |access-date=2013-06-10}}</ref>
** [[Acanthisittidae]] (New Zealand "wrens") – 2&nbsp;living species, a few more recently [[extinct]]. Distinct lineage of [[Passeriformes]].
** [[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]].
**[[Picathartes]] (rockfowls)
** [[Coliiformes]] (mousebirds) – 6&nbsp;living species in 2&nbsp;genera. Distinct lineage of [[Neoaves]].
** [[Hoatzin]] (''Ophisthocomus hoazin'') – One living species. Distinct lineage of [[Neoaves]].
** [[Magpie goose]] (''Anseranas semipalmata'') – One living species. Distinct lineage of [[Anseriformes]].
** [[Sandhill crane]] (''Antigone canadensis'') – Oldest living species.
** [[Seriema]] (''Cariamidae'') – 2&nbsp;living species. Distinct lineage of [[Cariamae]].
** [[Tinamiformes]] (tinamous) 50&nbsp;living species. Distinct lineage of [[Palaeognathae]].
* '''Reptiles'''
** [[Crocodilia]] ([[crocodile]]s, [[gavial]]s, [[caiman]]s and [[alligator]]s)
** [[Pig-nosed turtle]] (''Carettochelys insculpta'')
**[[Hickatee]] (''Dermatemys mawii'')
** [[Snapping turtle]] (''[[Chelydridae]]'') family
** [[Tuatara]] (''[[Sphenodon punctatus]]'' and ''[[Sphenodon guntheri]]'')<ref name="Herrera-Flores 2017"/>
**[[Asian forest tortoise]] (''[[Manouria emys]]'')
**[[Impressed tortoise]] (''[[Manouria impressa]]'')
**[[Xenopeltis|Sunbeam snake]] (''[[Xenopeltis hainanensis]]'' and ''[[Xenopeltis unicolor]]'')
**[[Leatherback sea turtle]] (''Dermochelys coriacea'')
* '''Amphibians'''
** [[Giant salamanders]] (''[[Cryptobranchus]]'' and ''[[Andrias]]'')
** [[Hula painted frog]] (''[[Latonia nigriventer]]'')<ref>{{cite news |last=Morelle |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |title=Rediscovered hula painted frog 'is a living fossil' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22770959 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=4 June 2013 |date=2013-06-04}}</ref>
** [[Purple frog]] (''Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis'')
[[File:Nautilus belauensis profile.jpg|thumb|[[Nautilus]] retain the external spiral shell that its other relatives have lost.]] 
[[File:Horseshoe Crab.jpg|thumb|upright|With little change over the last 450&nbsp;million years, the [[horseshoe crab]]s appear as living fossils.]]
* '''Jawless fish'''
** [[Hagfish]] (''Myxinidae'') family
** [[Lamprey]] (''Petromyzontiformes'')
* '''Bony fish'''
** [[Arowana]] and [[arapaima]] (''Osteoglossidae'')
** [[Bowfin]] (''Amia calva'')
** [[Coelacanth]] (the lobed-finned ''Latimeria menadoensis'' and ''Latimeria chalumnae'')
** [[Gar]] (''Lepisosteidae'')
** [[Queensland lungfish]] (''Neoceratodus fosteri'')
** [[African lungfish]] (''Protopterus sp.'')
** [[Sturgeons]] and [[paddlefish]] ([[Acipenseriformes]])
** [[Bichir]] (family ''Polypteridae'')
** ''[[Protanguilla palau]]''
** [[Mudskipper]] (''Oxudercinae'')
* '''Sharks'''
** [[Blind shark]] (''Brachaelurus waddi'')
** [[Bullhead shark]] (''Heterodontus sp.'')
** [[Cow shark]] (sixgill sharks and relatives) (''Hexanchidae'')
** [[Elephant shark]] (''Callorhinchus milii'')
** [[Frilled shark]] (''Chlamydoselachus sp.'')
** [[Goblin shark]] (''Mitsukurina owstoni'')
** [[Gulper shark]] (''Centrophorus sp.'')

;Invertebrates:
* '''Insects'''
** ''[[Cyatta abscondita ]]''(most recent common relative of ''[[Atta (ant)|Atta]]'' and ''[[Acromyrmex]]'' ant genera)
** [[Heloridae|Helorid wasps]] (1 living genus, 11 extinct genera)
** [[Mantophasmatidae|Mantophasmatodea]] (gladiators; a few living species)
** [[Meropeidae]] (3 living species, 4 extinct)
** ''[[Telephone-pole beetle|Micromalthus debilis]]'' (a [[beetle]])
** [[Mymarommatidae|Mymarommatid wasps]] (10 living species in genus ''Palaeomymar'')
** [[Nevrorthidae]] (3 species-poor genera)
** ''[[Nothomyrmecia]]'' (known as the 'dinosaur ant')
** ''[[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)
** [[Rhinorhipus|Rhinorhipid beetles]] (1 living species, Triassic origin)
** [[Rotoitidae|Rotoitid wasps]] (2 living species, 14 extinct)
** ''[[Sikhotealinia zhiltzovae]]'' (a [[Jurodidae|jurodid]] [[beetle]])
** ''[[Syntexis libocedrii]]'' (Anaxyelidae cedar wood wasp)
** ''[[Tricholepidion gertschi]]'' (silverfish with nearest relatives in Eocene)
* '''Crustaceans'''
** [[Glypheidea]] (2&nbsp;living species: ''Neoglyphea inopinata'' and ''Laurentaeglyphea neocaledonica'')
** [[Mantis shrimp|Stomatopods]] (mantis shrimp)
** [[Polychelida]] (deep sea blind lobster)
** ''[[Triopsidae]]'' (also known as tadpole shrimp; [[notostraca]]n [[crustacean]]s)
* '''Molluscs'''
** [[Nautilina]] (e.g., ''[[Nautilus pompilius]]'')
** ''[[Neopilina]]'' – [[Monoplacophora]]n
** [[Pleurotomariidae|Slit snail]] (e.g., ''[[Entemnotrochus rumphii]]'')
** ''[[Vampyroteuthis infernalis]]'' – the [[vampire squid]]
** [[Pleuroceridae|Pleurocerid]] snails<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Dillon |first1=Robert T. |last2=Robinson |first2=John D. |date=2009 |title=The snails the dinosaurs saw: are the pleurocerid populations of the Older Appalachians a relict of the Paleozoic Era? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1899/08-034.1 |journal=Journal of the North American Benthological Society |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1899/08-034.1 |s2cid=85340338 |issn=0887-3593|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* '''Other invertebrates'''
** [[Crinoid]]s
** [[Horseshoe crab]]s (only 4&nbsp;living species of the class [[Xiphosura]], family [[Limulidae]]<!--: ''[[Limulus polyphemus]]'', ''[[Tachypleus gigas]]'', ''[[Tachypleus tridentatus]]'', and ''[[Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda]]''-->)
** ''[[Lingula (genus)|Lingula anatina]]'' (an inarticulate [[brachiopod]])
** [[Liphistiidae]] (trapdoor spiders)
** [[Onychophora]]ns (velvet worms)
** ''[[Rhabdopleura]]'' (a [[hemichordate]])
** ''[[Valdiviathyris quenstedti]]'' (a [[craniforma]]n brachiopod)
** ''[[Paleodictyon nodosum]]'' (unknown)