Editing Living fossil (section)

==== Retains many ancient traits ====
[[File:Liphistius malayanus 44930086.jpg|thumb|More primitive [[trapdoor spider]]s, such as this ''[[Liphistius]] malayanus'', have segmented plates on the dorsal surface of the abdomen and cephalothorax, a character shared with scorpions, making it probable that after the spiders diverged from the scorpions, the earliest unique ancestor of trapdoor species was the first to split off from the lineage that contains all other [[Extant taxon|extant]] spiders.]]

A living taxon with many characteristics believed to be primitive. This is a more neutral definition. However, it does not make it clear whether the taxon is truly old, or it simply has many plesiomorphies. Note that, as mentioned above, the converse may hold for true living fossil taxa; that is, they may possess a great many derived features ([[autapomorphy|autapomorphies]]), and not be particularly "primitive" in appearance.